The Scorpio turns ten

The Scorpio is now 10 years old. Launched in June 2002, it was a game-changer for Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) which till then was known as a manufacturer of utility vehicles. With the Scorpio, M&M made the transition to a premium ‘car’ maker. In its press communications, M&M never called it an SUV, referring to it as a car, to emphasise the fact that it offered much more than a typical passenger car.

The Scorpio has ruled its segment virtually unchallenged. This can be attributed to several factors but the most important was the way M&M constantly refreshed the brand, adding new features aesthetically, in the interiors and under the hood.

The Scorpio was developed from scratch. Work began in 1996 with M&M spending about Rs 600 crore in Project IDAM, a fraction of what it would have cost global carmakers. The vehicle hit the sweet spot with the customer with its mix of looks, talent and value. Its butch looks resonated with buyers. The quality, though not top-notch, was above the threshold level. Above all, it was priced attractively, undercutting established rivals such as the Tata Safari and Toyota Qualis.

The first Scorpios were powered by a 2600cc DI turbo-intercooled diesel engine that generated 109bhp. In 2005, a common-rail direct-injection motor that bumped up power to 115bhp. Two years later, the 2179cc 120bhp mHawk engine found its way into the Scorpio’s engine bay.

Mahindra also continued to add value to the SUV with design tweaks and equipment upgrades. Over the years features like ABS, airbags, steering-mounted audio controls, rain-sensing wipers, light sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system, reverse park assist, engine immobiliser and cruise control were added.

Not that the Scorpio doesn’t have its flaws. The ride is unsettled and lumpy, the cabin is not very spacious and the fit and finish doesn’t have that all-important quality feel. Yet this Indian ‘SUV’ has been able to hold its own against the global majors with its engineering and marketing muscle, thanks to M&M’s acute understanding of the Indian customer, and its focus on getting its basics right, at the right price.

Since 2002, over 340,000 Scorpios have rolled out off the production line in Nashik. Today, six variants are on offer including an automatic. There is a pick-up version too, the Getaway which is also exported to over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia and Africa.

M&M is now working on a new Scorpio — W105 — and work is underway in full swing at the Mahindra Research Valley near Chennai. As the Scorpio enters its second decade, M&M wants to make sure the Scorpio’s birthday celebrations will continue.

Unique as the Scorpio is in terms of what value and technologies it offers the customer, it was also one of first vehicles to target women buyers with specific campaigns that targeted them, that in itself being a first for an Indian company. As M&M gears up to take the Scorpio into its second decade, it will hope that the new Scorpio will repeat the success of the first version but in a very different world. Today with its alliance with SsangYong, M&M can look at tapping the engine and styling expertise of its Korean partner to launch a vehicle that can take on competition from the likes of Ford India and Maruti as well as future rivals.

INTERVIEW WITH RAJAN WADHERA



RajanWadhera, chief executive — technology, product development and sourcing, spoke to Autocar Professional on M&M's technological climb with the Scorpio, and also gave a sneak peek into the next Scorpio.

What are the major milestones in the Scorpio’s technological evolution?

Firstly, to bring out the product itself was a big challenge. In 2007-08, we added a six-speed automatic transmission. We did all the validation and installation of the technology ourselves. Then we put in the 2.2-litre mHawk engine, the next level of common-rail diesel tech. It was the first dual overhead cam engine. The life of this engine is among the best today and it can run for 500,000km without any problems as compared to 250,000km with the previous engine.

How would you rate the Scorpio of today versus the first version as a consumer?

It's like chalk and cheese. Now, it’s way ahead, be it the mHawk engine, multi-link suspension, cruise control, or the follow-me-home lighting system. NVH levels, for example, have come down substantially with the mHawk engine. Panel gaps have also reduced. We have improved the wind and road NVH by extensive usage of dampeners, and by redesigning the door seals and gaps. We have made changes without affecting the structure in aspects such as tail-lamps, headlamps, body cladding and grille.

How much of the learnings have percolated from the Scorpio to other products?

We have used some of the learnings in the Xylo and the XUV500.

Have you roped in SsangYong to develop the next Scorpio?

With SsangYong, we're looking at modularity of platforms, common engines and aggregates and doing technology incubation programmes jointly so that we don’t spend money twice. We provide NVH expertise. They assist us with expertise in electronic reliability. We take their help in crash simulation and testing.

Will the next-gen Scorpio be at the same price level as it is now?

That will be the key challenge even as we will offer better comfort than the current one. The Scorpio’s design was done in 1996-1997 and it rolled out in 2002. The manufacturing technology of the frame then and now is very different. Now, the technology enables us to weld the complete frame together and the body mounting points are then installed. So the front suspension geometry, rear suspension geometry, body mounting will be perfect.

The new Scorpio will have a different weld technology. Similarly, the technology of the knuckles, lower control arm, upper control arm, suspension will be different. We are improving the basic engineering in the Scorpio. M&M wants to strike a balance between good ground clearance and bodyroll. We are working on the handling issue as well. The larger footprint will be a new drive-away chassis.

SUMANTRA BAROOAH