Mahindra launches new feature-laden Scorpio at Rs 7.98 lakh

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) launched its much-awaited Scorpio facelift today, the first major upgrade for the SUV that is hugely identified with its brand apart from the rugged and time-tested Bolero. The SUV has a sticker price starting at Rs 7.98 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai). A thoroughly updated model, the new Scorpio gets a host of changes in terms of mechanicals, cosmetics and interior.

It is learnt that M&M spent a total of Rs 250 crore on the new Scorpio project, which comprises 150 crore on the product and Rs 100 crore on the platform. 

The chassis is brand new and is built using a hydroforming procedure, which makes it a lot stiffer than before. The five-speed manual gearbox is new and claims to improve shifts. These changes along with the suspension setup, that has also has been tweaked, should offer better ride and handling than before.

Launched over a decade ago, the Scorpio which was born out of M&M’s Project IDAM (which began in 1997) helped the company in more ways than one. The first indigenously-developed SUV helped M&M arrest its declining market share in those days as well as break new ground too.

M&M roped in a slew of international auto parts makers to design and develop the original Scorpio. The 120-member team, whose average age was 27, worked on the vehicle, a tribute to India’s young engineering talent in those days. And leading the team was Dr Pawan Goenka, who had returned from General Motors in the US, and today heads both the Auto and Farm Equipment divisions. M&M spent Rs 600 crore on the project which may seem little today but was a princely sum way back then. The Scorpio received a good reception and set off M&M down the path to being a major SUV manufacturer. The company offered several new features and firsts on the Scorpio including telematics options, the CRDe engine, micro-hybrid feature as well as the MHawk engine that debuted in 2007. On the softer side, the Scorpio’s adverting campaign broke new ground with women being targeted as potential buyers.

M&M sold in the region of 50,000 units in the last fiscal including two months in which it crossed the 5,000-unit market. M&M will hope that this facelift will help bring in more numbers. M&M has had great success with the refreshed Bolero, launched in end-2012 which has been selling about 7,000 units a month.

What’s new?

The face of the new Scorpio gets a slightly redesigned bumper, an updated grille and newly-designed projector headlamps with LED daytime-running lights. The rear gets subtle changes to the bumper, LED tail-lights and a roof-mounted spoiler. Also new are the foglamps, scuff-plates and 17-inch alloys.

Changes on the inside include a power-window button on respective doors, horizontal AC vents, new instrument cluster, climate control and a new touchscreen infotainment system. The new steering wheel, taken from the XUV 500, comes with controls mounted on it. There are airbags and ABS too. The new Scorpio also offers seating configurations ranging from seven- to nine-seater options as per the trims.

The 2.2-litre mHAWK and 2.5-litre m2DiCr diesel engines have been carried over from the old car, but the nomenclature of the trims have been changed to S2, S4, S6, S8 and S10. The S4 and S10 trims are available in 4x4 versions

With considerable updates being made to the popular Scorpio, Mahindra has a good package in hand to cash in on the festive season.

Speaking at the launch in Mumbai today, Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group, said, “The Scorpio was a tremendous leap of faith for us when it was launched 12 years ago, establishing the foundations for the development of an entirely new generation of vehicles from Mahindra. More importantly, it helped to transform the Mahindra brand, giving it a sophisticated urban edge at a time when we were primarily thought of as a rural player. This new generation Scorpio will deliver exceptional value while offering Accessible Technology to our customers across India.”

Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “When we unveiled the first Scorpio in June 2002, it was an emotional moment for all of us at Mahindra and for me personally. It was a defining moment for the company. An icon, a style statement was born. The Scorpio did wonders for the Mahindra brand in urban India. To see the Scorpio become the pride of over 450,000 customers, sell over 50,000 vehicles each year for the last 3 years in a row, rule Indian roads for over 12 years and transform the SUV space in the country, is a remarkable achievement. Over the years we have continuously updated the product to ensure that the brand stays relevant. Today we have shifted the orbit further as we unfold a new chapter in the story of the iconic Scorpio, with the launch of the new-generation Scorpio”.

Photograph (L-R): Dr Pawan Goenka, executive director, M&M, and Anand Mahindra, chairman, Mahindra Group,  at the launch of the new-generation Scorpio in Mumbai today.