Decent at sensible speeds, hairy and scary if pushed a bit harder.

Did we mean to scare you? It was not intentional but then that is what we experienced with the Scorpio. The attributes of the Scorpio are its great ride quality and the sure planted feel afforded by the Bridgestones. Using it as a pleasurable highway cruiser is the best way to enjoy the performance but try to even pitch it into corners with the same elan and alacrity as you would an Ikon or even a Qualis and you better thank your stars you have Mediclaim and Life Insurance and hope the vehicle has comprehensive insurance as well. I am of course dramatising the scenario but the Scorpio does try to lean into corners like a motorcycle, a thing hairy enough on two wheels itself. We think the suspension needs to be better firmed up so that wheel placement is precise and the body control eliminates the sway which is so unbecoming. The steering gear which is termed speed sensitive is anything but and on both vehicles we found it giving way too much assist to be near lifeless at low speeds and just about the same at high speeds. This is one major area which needs to be addressed and quickly at that.

Saving it the blushes are the Bridgestones. At times the Scorpio does give the feeling it is just about to start pitching, but the leech-like grip afforded by the Japanese radials helps keep things in control. It seems that there are two cars at play here, the front suspension brilliant in its attempts while the rear bounces all over the place. The wheelbase to track ratio could have been optimised, but with this spec having been frozen, Pawan Goenka’s men will have to find some other solutions to enhance the handling and control.

I do not know what it is about Mahindra vehicles and their braking ability. The original Armada scared me lifeless (for want of a better word!) some ten years ago when the wrong pedal went to the metal and didn’t come back up! The Bolero pitched itself straight into a retaining wall during our braking test at the VRDE a year and a half ago and now with the Scorpio we found the brakes fading within two hours of continuous driving. While slight bite is there for some time, with extended running, even in Pune city, the brake pedal started getting mushier and mushier and on a couple of occasions we had to resort to using the handbrake to obey traffic signals even at crawling speeds. One doesn’t know whether the modulation is wrong, the servo is not effective or if the LSPV is not synchronised. Maybe the brake fluid is boiling when it shouldn’t be or the pad and caliper material and design need a once over but looking thoroughly at the braking system is a must or it will spoil what is otherwise an entertaining vehicle to drive.