I drove back to Mumbai from Pune and the Scorpio-N cruises effortlessly on the highway.
Interior
Get onto the side step and you have to climb into the Scorpio-N. There are grab handles on the A-pillar at both, the driver and front passenger side which makes things easier. Once you get in, the interior is a revelation. It feels plush and like nothing you ever saw in a Scorpio before. Fit and finish is great leaving a few plastics. I loved the coffee brown interior with soft touch faux leather surfaces on the dashboard. The piano black and silver finish feels classy, the door grab handles feel tough and built to last. I love physical buttons and the ones on the Scorpio-N have a good finish. The steering wheel has been borrowed from the XUV700 and feels great to hold. The instrument cluster is an analogue unit with a 7 inch MID with a nice graphics display. Very clear to read too. I like this old school stuff to be honest. The 8.0 inch touchscreen infotainment sits in the center. More on that later.
The front seats are large and are well cushioned. Support is great and the high driving position is spot on. The driver’s seat also gets electric adjust. The middle seat gets the option of captain seats or full bench. The captain seats would be my choice as it makes getting into the third row easier by just walking between them. The bench seat folds in a 60:40 split and third row access is by tumbling down the left side seat. There is loads of knee room and head room for the middle row and the seats themselves are very comfortable. There are rear AC vents with blower controls and two C-type ports as well. The third row gets front facing seats. While headroom is decent, knee rom feels compromised. What’s more, the second row doesn’t slide forward or backward for more room. There are no AC vents, charging ports or cup holders for the third row either. With all three rows up. The boot space is very limited and I could manage only a couple stroller bags. The third row does tumble down for more space though.
The features list includes dual zone climate control, electric sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, wireless smartphone charging, front and rear cameras, terrain drive modes in the 4×4 models, keyless go, auto headlamps and auto wipers. Another highlight is the fantastic Sony 3D sound system. It is easily one of the nicest OEM ones out there. However, there is no auto dimming mirror.
Coming to the 8 inch touchscreen, it features the Adrenox system that is also seen on the XUV700. The interface is quite similar as well. The graphics are crisp and the system is easy to use. There’s wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay along with Amazon Alexa. There’s a host of connected car features like SOS and remote functions along with location services. It comes with a few built in apps too.
