Even though it comes from an agricultural background, the SZ 2600 DI engine is the strength of the Scorpio. Employing a KKK turbocharger, this turbodiesel was developed for Mahindra by famed Austrian engine consultancy AVL from a previous tractor engine it had done for the Mahindra Arjun. The large displacement plus the brilliantly matched turbo makes for torquey power delivery which is a delight and a boon for a vehicle of its girth and weight. On the flip side are noise and high fuel consumption.

Make no mistake about it, the greatest attribute about the new Scorpio is its powerplant which is the way forward for the rest of the industry. And this is not difficult to comprehend. The four-cylinder direct injection all-cast iron engine has cubic capacity on its side to begin with: 2609cc (sporting all-square cylinder dimensions of 94x94mm). This engine was earlier used in some of the Mahindra tractors and because the block could afford a large displacement this was chosen as the mill to be developed by AVL of Austria which designed the powerplant’s internals, gave it an 18.8:1 compression ratio, added a KKK K04 turbocharger (operating at 2.2 bar boost pressures) and gave it robustness to take on tough operating conditions. This push-rod unit, no overhead camshaft here even though some others might have suggested so, activates overhead valves but as you will read further, this doesn’t impinge on the performance delivered. Mahindra states that the engine develops 109bhp (at 3800rpm), making it the first Indian-built UV to have power output in excess of the 100bhp mark. No less impressive is the 255.2Nm of torque (made at 1800rpm). The Scorpio needed this sort of engine performance given its bulk and weight (1895kg kerb weight) and while we would have liked a bit more, generally the power and torque on tap will be appreciated tremendously by all those who desire street cred from their SUV. Mahindra has done a good job of packaging the ancillaries under the bonnet. Given the fact that air con and power steering were to be OE from day one, Mahindra thoughtfully adopted a very large radiator which is a step in the right direction. On the engine front there is much to applaud Mahindra for, especially on the thought process behind its concept and development, considering the fact that it can work itself better with turbocharging to meet future emission legislation.

A hydraulic clutch is employed to effect the transfer of power via the 5-speed manual gearbox which is essentially the Peugeot BA-10 unit standardised by Mahindra some years ago. Nothing wrong in the choice of ‘box but Mahindra could have looked at getting the shift actuation to be less clunky and smoother shifting than what we have at the moment. Mahindra has worked on the BA-10 transmission for the Scorpio application but it yet needs to go that extra mile to make it just right for those C-segment carwallahs it is trying to lure. I can’t resist adding that nothing else will do.