MAHINDRA might be merely less than 20 years on the South African soil, but the Indian manufacturer is showing resilience and slowly but surely beginning to reap rewards-winning new friends while retaining old ones.
After test driving the new generation of Mahindra Scorpio-N SUV for a week recently, the experience only served to endear me to the brand.
Daily I woke up to its new shape of supremacy. Rugged, an imposing new front grill, a striking bonnet scoop-the boxy shape ala Land Rover. Grootkop, in Afrikaans.
Even standing still, the Scorpio N makes a statement, attracting a noticeable curiosity from other motorists and passerby’s.
Unlike the previous edition of Mahindra Scorpio which the drivers had put an extra effort on its hard pedals, the new Scorpio is no doubtingly a vast improved offering than its predecessor. It’s got three rows of seats and imagines itself as a 7/8-seaterlarge SUV family vehicle. The seats also come with foldable individual armrests for both front passengers.
Apart from a leather-trimmed steering (with Steering Wheel Controls), you get a 7” touchscreen infotainment, an HD reverse camera (Intellipark System with rear parking sensors) as a built-in satellite navigation.
With three raw seats, it can easily accommodate seven passengers even though space in the last row of seats is pitiable, ideal only for young ones. The third row of seats is removable, which makes for boot space.
For the driver, the seats are patched at a slightly higher angle which gives that master of all your survey feeling.
For added safety, when you turn the vehicle, its intelligent headlights move in the direction you are taking, lighting your path for more sure-footed driving.
Cruise control also makes extended trips easier with the steering-mounted audio and cruise controls, dynamic reverse parking camera, and dual airbags are featured as a standard.
More features include Features:
• Front + Side + Curtain Airbags
• AdrenoX Connect, Alexa Built-in
• Inbuilt Navigation
• Wireless Android Auto + Apple CarPlay
• Rear Camera
• Rich–Coffee Black Leatherette Interiors
• Push Button Start
• Sunroof
Prices:
Scorpio N Z4 Diesel: R473 999
Scorpio N Z8 4X2 Diesel: R519 999
Scorpio N Z8 4X4 Diesel: R569 999
Standard Mahindra Scorpio-N warranties and service plans:
All trim levels, from the base model to the top-spec Mahindra Scorpio-N Z8L, come standard with an attractive 5-year/150,000km warranty and a 5-year/100,000km service plan.
