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S. Muralidhar

THE Scorpio has been a runaway success for Mahindra & Mahindra. So much so, that it has revved up the company's confidence in becoming a leading passenger vehicles manufacturer (of not just the utility vehicles kind).

Its minuses, such as the tenuous handling characteristics and uninspiring ride quality especially for passengers at the rear, and all, the Scorpio brought was a sort of Renaissance in the domestic utility vehicles market with its refreshing, contemporary design and relatively improved build quality — attributes enough for M&M to be flooded with bookings for the Scorpio.

This vehicle has also not yet developed model fatigue. Not surprising then that, despite having developed a few prototypes with significant modifications to the exterior and interior, M&M did not think these were necessary to keep alive the Scorpio's appeal.

The only changes the Scorpio has been put through are minor alterations to a few of the exterior features such as the bonnet grille and a change over from the gear-driven camshaft to a chain-driven one.

Now, after nearly three years since its introduction, this sports utility has been put through a major makeover.

A change that was necessitated due to the forthcoming change to the emission standard from Bharat Stage II (BS II) to the more stringent BS III, but which will eventually go on to substantially alter the performance of the Scorpio.

Scorpio CRDe

An overwhelming majority of all the Scorpios sold in the domestic market are diesel-driven and it is no surprise then that M&M has doubled up to develop the diesel BS III variant ahead of the emissions deadline. It is almost inevitable that diesel-driven cars adopt the CRD system to meet the new stringent emission standard that will be enforced from April.

The Scorpio's older SZ 2600 plus engine will continue to be offered for non-metro markets where the new emission norm will not come into force immediately. But the new Scorpio with the CRDe engine, initially launched in Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore, will replace the older version in the six other cities also where the new emission norm comes into effect.

The new Scorpio CRDe comes with a direct injected common rail diesel (CRD) engine, which in terms of technology is much like the engine offered on the Hyundai Accent and the Terracan.

The common rail diesel engine, which Hyundai sources from Detroit Diesel (a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler AG), carries the short form CRDi and has now almost become a generic term of this type of engine.

M&M joined hands with MICO Bosch for developing the CRD version of the Scorpio's 2.6-litre diesel engine.

Considerable changes to the engine had to be effected to make the system compatible and hardy. The common rail system in the Scorpio is the CRS Gen 2.2 type from Bosch, which is currently in use in many vehicles in the European market.

After the CRD system was incorporated, M&M has had the engine tested extensively in various conditions in India and in countries such as Spain, Switzerland and Germany.

Benefits of CRDe

Adopting a common rail diesel injection system for a diesel engine does much more than just reduce emissions. While that was the primary objective for M&M, the new CRD engine also comes with its concomitant benefits such as lower NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels and improved performance.

So, while the clean burning CRD system has brought down emissions, the complete combustion of diesel is also achieved through controlled injection thereby reducing noise and vibration.

The improvement over the previous diesel burner in the Scorpio is evident the moment you fire the engine in the new Scorpio CRDe.

The in-cabin noise level has been contained substantially both when the engine is idling and while accelerating. The latter and the cacophony of older diesels have been replaced with a more refined purring in the CRDe.

More evidence of the benefits of the new common rail injection system come when you step on the gas. The turbo lag is less and the throttle response time has improved thanks to the new engine.

The Scorpio now dashes forward the moment the pedal is depressed. There is none of the initial bit of hesitancy that the old engine gave the vehicle.

The new CRD system has boosted the peak power and torque output of the Scorpio's engine. However, while the increase in power of about 6 bhp (115 bhp now, compared to 109 bhp earlier) and the higher peak torque of 28.3 kgm (compared to 26 kgm) are not noteworthy in terms of absolute numbers, the improvement in the quality of the vehicle's performance is more striking.

M&M has also replaced the old BA 10/5 gearbox with a new NGT530 five-speed transmission, which offers a smoother shift.

While the new gearbox was distinctly less `notchy' when you shift gears than the one it has replaced, it is still not match the sedans in the same price category. M&M has also replaced the 15-inch wheels with 16-inchers.

But the improvement in ride quality and handling is only marginal.

Despite the switch to a CRD engine, the Scorpio is unlikely to come up with a significant improvement in fuel-efficiency. But for a vehicle in its class and size, the Scorpio was already a fairly frugal vehicle offering a mileage of about 11 kmpl for a mix of in-city and highway driving.

The changes in the new Scorpio are considerable and go on to make this SUV an even more attractive value-for-money proposition.

The fact that it will meet the latest emission norms will only be incidental to the improvement in overall performance.

M&M is now offering the new engine in a limited edition Sportz variant of the Scorpio, but it will soon be available across all variants. Prices will range from Rs 6.9 lakh to Rs 8 lakh (ex-showroom).

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