Mahindra Scorpio's design has been an eye-catcher among SUVs and has bagged many an award for its styling. Designed completely in-house by Mahindra, it has been one of the major success stories in India. Scorpio's interiors look quite modern with a nicely rounded and organic-looking dashboard with large buttons and knobs. The front seats are pretty comfortable and offer the best lower back support.

The Scorpio's chassis is extremely rigid and stiff and you don't get any rattles. The suspension is very supple and in city traffic or at low speeds, it glides over the road, the soft suspension working noiselessly to filter out the bumps. Even on rough or bad road, at least when driven at low speeds, the suspension copes pretty well. The steering and other controls are pretty light, which makes it o easy to drive in town.

Mahindra has been working on the Scorpio almost constantly and has now launched VLX model with m-Hawk engine that makes use of 2nd generation Bosch common rail injection system with solenoid injectors. The 4 cylinder, m-Hawk features VGT develops 290 Nm of torque in a wide range of 1600-2800rpm. The VGT will help to eliminate turbo lag. It develops 120bhp and can reach 60kmph from zero in just 5.7 seconds. All this is possible because the light weight mHawk engine, with its all-aluminium cylinder heads is tuned for power.

Turbochargers feed concentrated gusts of wind into a Variable Geometry Turbine, a simple yet cunning device that partially closes to trap the air inside at high pressures. This generates tremendous torque even at low speeds. A decrease in gross weight, coupled with a reduction in base engine friction, ensures that parasitic losses of power are seriously lowered and acceleration gets even better. The sporty bonnet scoop provides a direct passage for air to rush into the mHawk’s new top-mounted intercooler. The intercooler, in turn, directs this air into passages to optimise engine cooling.

The reduced mass of the m-Hawk will also help in improvement of dynamics, the m-Hawk engine is built from aluminium alloy and hence it is 60kg lighter than the current 2.6L CRDe engine. Other than the m-Hawk engine, mahindra has refreshed the interiors of the scorpio. New features added in VLX are ABS, Cruise control, Headlight sensor, Wiper sensor, Reverse parking sensor, Stereo controls on steering wheel, smart new alloy wheels and working bonnet scoop but its surprising to see that there are no airbags !!

The advanced Intellipark system allows you to keep a look out for anything happening behind you without having to turn your head. Moreover, reversing ultrasonic sensors in the rear help you judge the distance between the vehicle and anything in its way. A sophisticated warning system allows you to judge the location of any obstacle in the rear view mirror. There is also tyre pressure monitoring system which tells you the exact air pressure and temperature of each tyre. The sensors located in each tyre monitor pressure and temperature and any unwanted changes in either will immediately flash on the instrument cluster, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable driving experience.

There are certain design weaknesses, especially at the rear where it looks relatively boxy, as well as the upright stance and the third row is also cramped and tall passengers are also short on headroom. Also the small central console controls and buttons are often inaccessible while driving the car. Air con vents in between the front seats are effective cooling for rear passengers. Overall, this model sounds great with path breaking technology and user-friendly, modern features; V-series is a clear validation of Mahindra's customer-centric approach to business. This package would delight the evolved, new age customer.