Mahindra Scorpio facelift to be launched in late 2014

The Mahindra Scorpio was originally launched in India in 2002 and instantly elevated Mahindra’s stature from a manufacturer of workhorse Jeeps and MUVs to one capable of making a good SUV. The Scorpio’s biggest rival for the longest time, the Tata Safari was usually quite outclassed both on road and in terms of sales figures. In recent years though, the increase in the number of more modern options in the same segment did seem to hurt the aging SUV’s sales.

Although Mahindra is said to be working on a replacement for the adding body-on-frame construction Scorpio, that car will not be ready for another few years. In the interim though, Mahindra has decided to give it a thorough makeover to combat the likes of the Nissan Terrano, Ford Ecosport and the Renault Duster. Speculating from recent spy pictures, the Scorpio facelift will get an even edgier front end with sharp headlamps and a new sharper grille. The headlamps, possibly a twin barrel setup with an inbuilt projector and daytime running lights, will also compliment the new bumper. The new bumper is said to receive a larger intake area with a mesh grille along with two additional fog lamp enclosures on each sides.

The rear end of the facelifted Mahindra Scorpio too will go through a major revamp with a newly designed tailgate and a set of new sharper tail lamps. Although the spy pictures do not show much of the new design, a Mahindra insider did hint of possible upgrades like LED technology being used in the tail lamps for the new Scorpio. Other visual upgrades will include new side mouldings, a redesigned spoiler and a new engine scoop for the 2.2-litre CRDe turbocharged engine’s intercooler.

The new Mahindra Scorpio will also get a refreshed interior, which seems to have been inspired from Mahindra’s flagship SUV, the XUV500. The new beige interior panels have been lined with faux wood inserts to give the Scorpio a slightly more premium look. There will also be a new touch screen infotainment system in the top of the line Scorpio with possible additional features like GPS navigation. The new interior also includes other changes like rectangular AC vents as compared to the original round ones and a new XUV500 derived instrument cluster.

The new facelifted Mahindra Scorpio will receive the same CRDe 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine making 122PS and 290Nm of torque. There will also be a base model offered with a CRDe 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine that will produce 76PS and 200NM of torque aimed mainly at the likes of fleet and taxi operators. The new facelifted Scorpio will retain the same ‘NGT530R’ 5-speed manual transmission and will be offered with both two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive. The availability of an automatic transmission though is uncertain considering the poor sales of the Scorpio automatic and the long waiting periods for the transmission itself.

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The new 2014 Mahindra Scorpio is slated for launch around the end of 2014. Considering the fact that the Mahindra Scorpio outsold both the Ford Ecosport and the Renault Duster, the Scorpio selling 50,900 units as compared to the Ford’s 45,000 and the Renault’s 46,700 units, expect the new facelifted version to do exceedingly well too. We expect the facelifted Scorpio to be priced between Rs 8-12.5 lakhs (ex-showroom).

Picture Credit: CarToq