Seven-seat SUVs are popular these days. Almost 20 years ago one of the first few to set the trend was the homegrown Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari. Now that car had a few updates and engine changes but it’s remained the rugged upright SUV that had a very bouncy ride. Now 20 years later Mahindra is giving us a 2022 all-new Scorpio N and nothing remains the same with the old Scorpio except for the name and even that has an ‘N’ tacked on to the end. So this is all new.
Mahindra has priced this very competitively. They price it from 12 lakh to 19 and a half lakh Rupees for the manual variant. The automatic prices are going to be announced later. They’re very big on this and they’re calling it the big daddy of SUVs. Can it go big?
The 2022 Mahindra Scorpio N is still a body on frame construction. But this time it’s a new platform. The same one as on the new Thar. It’s lighter and stiffer to ensure better dynamics. There’s a lot of high-strength steel used to ensure Mahindra maintains its track record of a good Ncap rating. It’s also the reason this new Scorpio N has only a forward-facing third row and no side-facing ones. Dimension wise it has grown in length, width, and wheelbase. But it’s lower in height than before. Ground clearance is 170mm laden which means when it’s fully loaded.
2022 All-New Mahindra Scorpio N – Design
Dimensions
2022 Mahindra Scorpio N is 4662mm longer, 1917mm wider, and 1857mm taller. It has a wheelbase of 2750mm. It comes in 17-inch and 18-inch steel and diamond-cut alloy wheels both.
Exterior
Now what’s changed is the very flat square lines that the Scorpio had before. The front and rear screens are more raked. The window line kinks up to the rear and the creases on the side are softer too. It sits on a smart set of 18-inch alloys and there is black cladding around the wheels and at the bottom of the doors. But it’s not as prominent as before. There’s a footboard on the side to help you step up into the cabin. The windows are also underlined in chrome that kinks up at the D-pillar and over the rear glass to imitate the lifted tail of a Scorpio N.
The front carries the Mahindra trademark grille with chrome. It looks slats and is flanked by the double-barrel headlamps and LED brows lower. Down the fogs also have a LED surround that imitates the Scorpio N sting again. Beefy chin skid plates and a long bonnet give it the butch SUV look.
The Scorpio N does have attitude but the rear is probably the most unflattering part of the car. The vertically stacked lamps that imitate a Volvo actually make it feel a bit disproportionate. The tailgate is very large and it opens outwards not upwards.
Scorpio N – Luggage space
It is scooped to accommodate luggage. When all three rows are up, the space there is very tight. The floor kind of curves in so the largest open space is actually in the middle where you can get a sack or a stroller.
On the sides, it’s narrower. So, you really can’t fit a stroller or anything large size. Just about one bag will come into the back of the rear seat. Once you flip the seats down there is more space here but again it’s narrow. So you know fitting a large suitcase, you probably have to line them up. In a large-size SUV, one expects a lot of room for luggage, and though the Scorpio is big enough the way the seats fold and flip creates pockets of space instead of a flat storage area.
Interior
Now if someone had just sat you inside this car and told you this was the 2022 all-new Mahindra Scorpio N you would not believe it. Because that’s how much this interior has evolved and it is completely modern, new, and very fresh looking.
You get a dual-tone dash. You get a nice leatherette finish that runs right across the dashboard. This dual-tone coloring is on the seats as well which has nice stitching around the edges. It’s got a perforated finish. Quality is very good. The dual finish is offered in Rich-coffee black leatherette. The plastics are a little hard but it’s textured very well. So it really doesn’t look like hard plastics around the cabin as well. So overall quality looks very good.
You get a nice satin chrome finish that surrounds the central console. In the middle of it, is the 8-inch touchscreen as the infotainment system. The infotainment system is full of features. Find more about it in the Infotainment system and comfort features section below.
There’s a nice steering wheel with all the steering controls. You also get analog dials and a MID which have a host of functions similar to the XUV700. But its usability has improved. In the center, you have the air-con controls. The rotary knobs and their toggle-style switches are below for shortcuts just like in the XUV700. Below that, you have the wireless charger for your phone. You have two USB ports, cup holders, and a shallow bin for storage. You also have a glove box which is fairly large and nice. You have door pockets as well and it can hold a one-liter bottle but accessing the door pockets is a little hard due to space congestion.
The edge of the door is very close to the seat. So there’s very little space to get things in and out. The seat has power adjustment for the driver’s side. The passenger’s side is manual. You get the satin finish along the chunky door handles as well. Piano black touches that you see around the cabin.
So overall, it does look very rich.
Seating of second and third row
The second-row seat is good for three men. The shoulder room is ample and the bench feels wide enough. The floorboard is flat. There is an option for the captain seats as well.
Getting into the third row can be done from one side only. The one-touch tumble-down feature is available on one side only. Another side seat only folds down. You have lots of space to access the third row. There is a fixed amount of space in the third row. You sit with your knees up because the seat is quite low to the ground. There is less space for a leg stretch and less headroom also.
Sitting for a long journey in the third row can be tiresome for tall people. The window area is quite big and nice so it doesn’t feel too hemmed in.
The good dynamics also mean that backseat passengers will now be far more comfortable. The middle row of the Scorpio N has a good amount of legroom. The back of the front seat is scooped out to make more space for knee room. There’s enough space even for taller people. You can stretch your feet out under the seat as well. The seats themselves are extremely comfortable. You have an armrest but the issue really here is that this seat doesn’t have a slider.
So you can’t open up more room for yourself and get more comfortable or make more leg room for yourself or adjust space between the third row and the middle seat. Because this is a fixed seat and that’s a big miss. However, you can recline this so once you recline and stretch your legs out you can get pretty comfortable for a long journey.
The infotainment system and comfort features
On the feature front, Mahindra Scorpio N has a very long list of it. However, most of the features are available in the higher variants only. In the base variant Z2, for the infotainment purpose, you get only touch with basic features of entertainment without Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and built-in Alexa. With the higher variants, the list of features increases. And in the top-spec variant called Z8L, you get a plethora of features.
In the top variant, the infotainment system comes loaded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with built-in Alexa. The SONY 3D immersive Audio with 12 speakers and a dual-channel sub-woofer is available only in the Z8L variant. Mahindra has not provided any information about the type of audio system present in the other variants. It also has a built-in navigation system. The 10.66cm Monochrome instrument cluster is replaced by a 17.78cm color TFT in the higher variants.
On the comfort side, Mahindra has now used Watt’s link suspension in the rear to improve the ride quality. There is dual-zone climate control in the front and AC with vent and module in the second row. However, there is no vent in the 3rd row. We can hope that the 2nd-row vents are powerful enough to maintain the air conditioning of the 3rd row. There is also a cooled glove box and an Activated carbon filter is provided for better comfort for the passengers. The cabin refinement overall is very good. So you don’t really hear much else from the outside. You don’t hear the suspension or road noise filter through.
A Lot has been done by the Indian SUV makers to provide quality rides to the passengers. The puffins at M&M have not only worked on dynamics but they’ve also worked long and hard to ensure that the sore point of the earlier Scorpio its bouncy ride was a thing of the past. The roll center of the car was worked to ensure stability and a long-travel suspension with frequency-dependent damping was used to smoothen out the ride.
The biggest change in this new 2022 Scorpio N is in the ride quality. Gone is that bouncy feeling of the backseat where you were tossed up like a salad. This one is much flatter. It is more composed. There’s less body roll. So, overall the ride quality is much better. As you pick up the pace it stays flat and comfortable as well. So, the right quality, on the whole, is a massive improvement.
2022 Mahindra Scorpio N – Specifications
Engine and transmission
All New 2022 Mahindra Scorpio-N will come with two engine options with both manual and automatic transmission.
The petrol variant is powered by mStallion, Turbo Petrol Direct Injection (TGDi) 2L engine that churns out 149.15kW (200hp) of max power. When mated to 6-speed manual transmission, it delivers a max torque of 370Nm and a max torque of 380Nm for the 6-speed automatic transmission system.
The diesel variant of the 2022 Mahindra Scorpio N uses a 2.2L 2nd generation (Gen II) mHawk engine with CRDi (Common rail direct injection) technology. The diesel engine comes with the option of two max powers of 128.6kW (172.5hp) and 97kW (130hp). The 128.6kW engine has options for both manual and automatic transmission and delivers a max torque of 370Nm with manual transmission and 400Nm with an automatic transmission system. While the lesser power variant of 97kW comes mated to a 6-speed manual transmission only and delivers a max torque of 300Nm.
Scorpio N – Petrol Engine
- mStallion, Turbo Petrol Direct Injection (TGDi) 2L Engine
- Max Power – 149.15kW (200hp)
- Max Torque – 370Nm with 6-speed MT & 380Nm with 6-speed AT
Scorpio N – Diesel Engine
- mHawk (GenII) Engine with CRDi (Common Rail Direct Injection)
- Max Power – 128.6kW (172.5hp) & 97kW (130hp)
- Max Torque – For 128.6kW Engine: 370Nm with 6-Speed MT & 400Nm with 6-speed AT
- Max Torque – For 97kW Engine: 300Nm with 6-speed MT only.
Drive modes and performance
2022 Scorpio N also has the drive modes zip, zap, and zoom like its sibling XUV700. This is for the diesel variant. Zip basically is the mode that you would use for fuel economy, zap for city driving, and zoom when you’re out on the highway. There isn’t much of a step up between the different modes. There is a marginal change in the response of the gear shifts and the throttle. So city or highway the Scorpio N is comfortable in its stride. There is an area that it could do with a little improvement.
Though the brakes are a bit grubby. There’s a lot of travel in the pedal and then they suddenly catch. So it’s something you really have to get used to. Another area where the diesel engine could have been better especially considering M&M’s own track record is refinement. The engine is quite refined but pushes it hard and you will hear it. It is a bit noisy and boomy. You do hear the clatter of the diesel engine.
A lot of work has been done by the engineering team at Mahindra and Mahindra to ensure dynamics that can keep up with the kind of performance that the new 2022 Scorpio N delivers. It definitely shows the steering is quite light at low speeds so you’ll find it very easy to twirl this car around in the city and nip in and out of traffic gaps. But as you pick up the pace it weighs up quite well too. It’s got a good on-center feel. So you get a lot of confidence at higher speeds out on a highway and even during cornering it puts the car where you want it to go. The way the new Scorpio N goes around corners comes as a pleasant surprise. Though there is body roll it is well contained and there is agility that you don’t quite expect.
Scorpio N – The Four-wheel drive (FWD) system
The four-wheel-drive system is quite advanced and apart from electronically activating four-wheel low and four-wheel high you can also dial through various modes like sand, snow, mud, rut, and normal. These have been carefully calibrated and use the ESC and four-wheel drive to modulate power to the wheels where it’s needed. It also has a brake lock differential for the front and rear and a mechanical lock differential at the rear.
The Scorpio N also has 500 millimeters of water waiting for depth. So the small puddles are really no trouble at all.
2022 Mahindra Scorpio N – Safety features
Scorpio N has some of the safety features like ABS with EBD, rear parking sensor, front airbags, ventilated disk brakes for both front and rear wheels, and ISOFIX anchorage as standard. In the higher variants, you also get the features like Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Hill Hold and Descent Control, Driver Drowsiness Detection, side and curtain airbags, TPMS, and an SOS Switch.
2022 Mahindra Scorpio N – Variants, colors, and price
The 2022 Mahindra Scorpio N will come in a multitude of variants and we counted 25 of them. Feature-wise, there are five variants; Z2, Z4, Z6, Z8, and Z8L. There are three engine and two transmission options to choose from. The price for base variant Scorpio N Z2 with petrol engine and manual transmission starts at Rs. 11.99 lakh and the price for the top-spec variant with petrol engine and manual transmission starts at Rs. 18.99 Lakh. The prices for the automatic will be announced in July with deliveries expected to start in the festive season. At this price range and features, 2022 Mahindra Scorpio N will face direct competition from Tata Harrier, Kia Seltos, Tata Safari, Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Citreon C5, and Jeep Compass.
The SUV is available in seven colors to choose from.
It’s not only capable in the off-roading conditions but even out on the road. It’s got two really nice engines with great performance. Ride and handling are very good. In fact, the handling is something that you don’t expect from a Scorpio. So this 2022 Mahindra Scorpio N has evolved on many levels. It may not be the best in areas like the third row, the feature list, or luggage space but it does still have enough of all.
The back seat is spacious and it is comfortable enough but honestly, if you’re looking at the top-end variant of this car at this price you could get even better and you could get even better from within the Mahindra family. The XUV700 for instance would offer you more space and more comfort well.
