While it may seem that of late that the Mahindra Scorpio-N is the only SUV making the headlines with its booking turnout, the original iconic Scorpio body style will continue to live on in the form of the Scorpio Classic. The Classic will be sold alongside the Scorpio-N, and it now gets a bunch of cosmetic tweaks, updated interiors and a few updates to the mechanicals as well.
In terms of the design, the Mahindra Scorpio Classic continues to retain the basic shape as its predecessor, but the looks of the SUV have now been spruced up. Up front you get a new grille, now sporting the Mahindra Twin Peaks logo which is now commonplace on the newer Mahindra SUVs such as the XUV700 and the Scorpio-N. The headlamps are now projector units, with new LED DRLs complimenting the earlier LED eyebrows, and the Scorpio Classic gets cornering lamps too. The alloy wheels continue to be 17-inchers, now sporting a revamped dual-tone design. The Classic also gets side body cladding with the Scorpio lettering on it and as you move towards the back, you will notice that the Scorpio now gets a filler cap on each side, one for the DPF fluid and one for fuel. There's also a ski rack and the vertically stacked tail lamps are now LED units and the rear tailgate – which continues to open sideways, a Scorpio trait – you now get the Twin Peaks logo along with a Classic badge, In addition to the four schemes earlier on offer – red, black, white and silver, you also get a new Galaxy Grey color scheme on the Scorpio Classic, and its the latter which is my personal favourite of the lot.
On the inside, the Scorpio Classic features the same basic layout as the outgoing model but with a number of updates. The overall colour scheme is beige and black, and the dashboard now gets wooden inserts. There are two trims on offer – the Classic S and the Classic S11, and the top-spec S11 gets leatherette upholstery and quilted seats, along with armrests for both the driver and passenger seats. A 9-inch infotainment touchscreen is also offered on the Classic with support for smartphone projection and the Scorpio Classic is available in both 7-seat and 9-seat configurations – with the option of captain or bench seats for the second row, along with jump seats or a bench seat for the third row. The Classic also gets AC vents for the second row of seats.
The Scorpio Classic is powered by a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine and this is actually the Gen 2 version of the workhorse used in the earlier Scorpio. In terms of power, the engine is actually down on power compared to before, making 128bhp to the outgoing car’s 136bhp, but it promises to deliver better fuel economy and better refinement thanks to its all-aluminium construction and the overall weight of the engine being lower than before. In terms of torque, the Classic makes 300Nm and it can only be had with rear-wheel-drive – no 4X4 on the Scorpio Classic – with power being sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed manual transmission that now gets a cable-type shift.
Prices for the Scorpio Classic will be revealed on August 20, and going by the pricing of the outgoing Scorpio which was priced at Rs 18.62 lakh for the top-spec S11 trim, you can expect the Scorpio Classic to be priced similarly, sitting a rung under the Mahindra Scorpio-N in terms of positioning.