Inspired mostly but could have been executed better

SHINING LIGHT! And I am not reffering to that headlamp alone. The Scorpio, wherever I drove it attracted unprecendented attention, if not admiration. At every traffic signal, every intersection and every parking lot I had people coming up to me inquiring about the car. Even women tapped on the window giving me the thumbs up and inquiring about the fuel efficiency (what else!) of the car and frankly no women every asked me anything about any car. It is a tribute to Mahindra's marketing blitz that almost all road users recognised the Scorpio, even the guy behind the counter of the local deli shook my hand and congratulated me on my choice of vehicle when I asked him to deliver my take-out to "that big Mahindra jeep blocking the road". Sirish Chandran

The looks of the Scorpio are burly and this is a bruising thing for the competition. Thanks to the sheer presence it has, especially when barrelling down the road and viewed in a front three-quarter shot, the Scorpio gives the impression that it can swat the competition. The high and finely muscled lines coupled to those beefy Bridgestones adorning pseudo-alloy look steel wheel rims is Bollywood at its most ingenious. But then the question to ask is, why not?

It is an ever evolving market place, where now more than at any other time previous in our nation’s automotive history, many C-segment car buyers are seeking an alternative. The wares available to these buyers have either been archaic (Bolero and Sumo), unstylish (Qualis) or pricey (Safari). It is Mahindra’s intention to compete with all of these models and come up with something that cannot be tagged with their deficiencies.

While waistline and the roof give it some sense of proportion, Mahindra weren’t bold enough to do some original thinking which was also contemporary. The front end is decidedly Korean and if any one has seen the Kia Retona Jeep they will know where the inspiration for the seven vertical slat grille comes from. The head lights though impart a bit of character while the wraparound bumper with the recessed spots adds a dose of style.

I wish the sides were cleaner and the metal punched in the new body shop rather than claddings being employed to enhance the rugged appeal. Same goes for keeping to rain gutters. And while we are at it, can you fellas tell us who it was who forgot to engineer an inner hinge for the tailgate and left it out in the open for us to comment on? Then there is the abruptly lopped off rear end.

So much about the gripes but there are plus points as well, like the fine stance at standstill, the trendy ski racks which change the Scorpio’s profile to a sporty one, the alloy-look wheel caps on the steel wheels, the brilliant surface finish of all the metal body parts and great plastic stuff on the exterior. But the panel gaps, though reduced from the days of the Bolero are omnipresent and it is in this area that better thought in design and execution will have to be lavished by Goenka and his team because nothing else will do.