2023 Mahindra Scorpio price and specs: $41,990 drive-away, but key safety tech absent from new 4WD

The 2023 Mahindra Scorpio four-wheel-drive – the first new model from the Indian car maker – has arrived in Australia, priced from $41,990 drive-away with six seats and diesel power.

However, as reported first by Drive, the Scorpio – sold in India as the Scorpio-N – will arrive without life-saving technology standard on most new cars, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear-cross traffic alert and lane-keep assist.

Autonomous emergency braking is now mandatory for all newly-introduced vehicles approved for sale in Australia, from 1 March 2023.

But Mahindra has exploited a loophole that only requires vehicles to be granted approval with Australian motor vehicle regulations before March 2023 to be legally made available for sale, even if the first deliveries to customers begin after that date.

AEB – which is standard on sub-$20,000 hatchbacks and $30,000 work utes – is now not required to be fitted to the Scorpio until March 2025, when it is required for all vehicles on sale in Australia, irrespective of when they were introduced.

The Scorpio has received a five-star safety rating from the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP) – but these standards are far more lenient than those of the ANCAP safety body in Australia, which devotes more than quarter of its test criteria to the fitment and effectiveness of advanced safety technology.

The new Mahindra from India is a four-wheel-drive, body-on-frame wagon similar to a Ford Everest or Isuzu MU-X, with a Watts linkage live rear axle, independent front suspension and standard four-wheel drive with selectable driving modes.

Although the car industry classes the Scorpio in the same size category as an Everest or MU-X, its dimensions – 4662mm long, 1917mm wide and 1857mm high – mean it is smaller than all of of its key rivals (see table below).

Its footprint is closer to a car-derived, medium-sized SUV such as a Toyota RAV4 or Nissan X-Trail.

All Scorpio variants in Australia seat six people – rather than the seven-seat layouts of most competitors.

The Mahindra Scorpio arrives in Australia with nationwide drive-away prices across the two-model range, of $41,990 drive-away for the base Z8, or $44,990 drive-away for the Z8L flagship edition.

However, the prices are billed as “introductory” offers in effect until June 30. It is unclear what will happen after that date – and if prices will increase, or the national drive-away offers will be deleted.

Both variants are powered by a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, which develops 129kW at 3500rpm and 400Nm at 1700-2750rpm, and connected to a six-speed automatic transmission.

These figures give the Scorpio the lowest power and torque figures among its key, albeit larger competitors – which offer closer to 500Nm in four-cylinder form.

Mahindra claims the Scorpio-N will use 7.2 litres per hundred kilometres of diesel in mixed city and highway driving, according to Australian lab testing.

The company quotes a 2500kg braked towing capacity and 750kg unbraked towing capacity for the Scorpio, while payload is between 510-525kg (depending on specification).

The Scorpio is the first Mahindra model to offer a new seven-year, 160,000km warranty for private buyers.

Mahindra claims the underpinnings of the Scorpio have undergone one million kilometres of testing across four continents, including 120,000 kilometres of testing in Australia.

The 2023 Mahindra Scorpio opens for orders and test drives tomorrow, 20 April 2023.

Note: All prices above are drive-away.