Thread: Mahindra Scorpio Auto

a lot to like about the Scorpio. It's relatively cheap to own and maintain. The light controls are a boon around town and the diesel engine delivers good performance without compromising on economy. In essence, it is the quintes¬sential SUV for driving around town. Now, in a bid to take the game further away from rivals, Mahindra & Mahindra has given the Scorpio an automatic gearbox.

The Scorpio Auto looks similar to the regular car, save for a monogram on the rear door. But does the six-speed auto and 120bhp mHawk diesel engine make the Scorpio a better car to drive around town.Without giving away too much of the story too soon, we'll just say yes, it does.

The gearbox has two modes the regular 'D' and a manual-like 'M'. Slot the lever in 'D', press the throttle and it moves off smoothly. The gearbox is programmed to move up as soon as possible. On a light throttle, the upshifts happen at around the 2500rpm mark. This ensures that in traffic, the gearbox will deliver good fuel efficiency and that noise levels will be lower too. The gearbox responds well to any inputs given to the accelerator pedal.



Downshifts are quick, and it sometimes jumps down two gears, depending on how much you press the accelerator pedal. Nonetheless, at certain city speeds between 30 and 40kph the 'box is constantly hunting between gears. It's not something that will unsettle you though. There is no manual option on the gearbox which limits its appeal. The other mode 'M' is ideal when you want to shift quickly.It holds gears till the engine redline, ensuring that there is no drama when you need an extra dose of power for a quick overtaking move. In this mode, the gearbox holds the car in a lower gear which is good when coming down an incline.

Zero to 100kph takes only around half a second over the manual Scorpio. There is absolutely no doubt it is quick. In terms of economy you will get 9.0kpl in the city and 13.2kpl on the highway. Good figures by 'automatic' standards. The cabin remains unchanged. You get clean and sporty-looking dials and the meaty steering wheel which comes with stereo controls on it. The high mounted stereo and oval air- conditioning vents are similar to those on the regular car. The of the cabin is decent but you'd wish that some plastics were better finished.

The first two rows of seats offer decent space but the third row is best left for small kids. There's other equipment too like ABS, alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitor, parking sensors, automatic wipers, headlamps and even cruise control. The Scorpio has always been associated with a relatively inexpensive owning and maintaining experience and we expect that to continue with the automatic Scorpio as well.