Huckleberry Rao. Review on Mahindra Scorpio

I recently spent a couple of weeks driving a Scorpio. The Scorpio reminds me of my college friend Huckleberry Rao. While his real name is less esoteric, one can call him that because his outlook to life matches Huckleberry Finn, the loveable, happy-go-lucky Mark Twain character.

Huckleberry Rao is always great fun to be with. He knows great campsites in the misty hills beyond Karjat. He knows waterfalls where we would soak until we were blue with cold. Rao took us to hidden leafy glades at the creek behind Dombivili where we would gulp Maggi noodles cooked in a battered pan, washed down with warm Kingfisher beer. You could spend entire afternoons with Rao sitting on a dis-used railway bridge chucking stones into the river below.

Rao would scamper like a mountain goat over steep slopes while I huffed and puffed behind begging him to go slower . . . He would merely turn back and reply ‘You’ve got to run fast up slopes . . . it is easier that way.’ He would run all the way downhill and when accosted would say ‘It is downhill for chrissakes . . . it is only natural to run!’

The Scorpio engine is very similar, pulling at the leash like an eager puppy begging to be let loose. No turbo-lag, no hesitation, doesn’t feel like a diesel. And the low-pitched whistle of the turbo-charger is Rao whistling (off key as always) as he runs uphill and runs downhill! Gearshift though well spaced is a little notchy.

Though a charming fellow, Huckleberry Rao was not the most refined of characters – certainly not the best-behaved man in town. He would look the other way when girls talked to him. The first instinct of every girl I knew was to try & disassociate me from Rao! They never succeeded!! That sums up the Scorpio. Great fun to be with, charming style but not a well-mannered good boy like a Honda City. With little eccentricities that frustrate but also make the car very, very loveable!

The seating position is excellent and gives the meekest of drivers a superiority complex. All-round visibility is top-notch & I never had a problem parking or manoeuvring even in Mumbai. You know exactly where the bonnet tapers of and where the slab-sided rear of this handsome beast ends.

The robust build inspires confidence. It feels indestructible going over pockmarked rural roads and Kanchenjunga sized speedbreakers where even mighty trucks slow down to pay obseiance! Though it does this with nonchalant ease your backside is certainly not cosseted nor is the interior tomb-silent when you push the two port-side wheels on the unpaved shoulder of the highway to overtake the groaning truck in front of you. But try doing that with an Esteem or a Lancer and you’ll know what fear is!

Switchgear positioning & ergonomics are good, the instrumentation is very readable. The interior is nicely lit and the headlamps not only look good but are also powerful and well focused. Despite a high centre of gravity, the Scorpio is well balanced on turns and never feels top heavy. It takes the curves at Lonavala on the Pune Expressway with speed and aplomb.

My kids love the paint job and the chunky steering wheel elicits a grin every time. The gear stalk vibrates with the engine at idle and the brakes require a heavy foot. And the Scorpio is certainly not the right choice if you are planning to elope with your girlfriend in the dead of the night. The large-hearted engine is like a bombastic uncle who loves to announce his arrival. A dead pedal for the left foot was badly missed and I wish it had a bigger, sturdier glovebox.

But the Scorpio never ceases to entertain. The interior is the size of a standard Mumbai flat and will comfortably seat seven. If you fold the seats you can easily shift house without hiring a truck. With a Scorpio parked outside your house, you’ll find yourself looking forward to weekends with greater zeal. It improves your family life – your wife will love you even more, your kids will watch less TV and will be eager to keep you in the best of spirits.

Huckleberry Rao is now married and has kids. I still take time out with him sometimes on lazy Saturday afternoons, sitting at the Barrista on FC Road, Pune watching the long-legged PYTs walk past. That’s what serendipity feels like, that’s what happily approaching middle age with cherished memories of a thoroughly mis-spent youth feels like. And that is what it feels like to spend quality time alone with the Scorpio, a long winding road in front of you and your favourite music playing on the CD-Changer.

Middle age feels boring? Tired of your current clunker? Considering buying a 5-Lakh plus car? Do yourself a favour and check out the Scorpio. Even if you don’t wax eloquent over it like I do, at the very least you get 11 kmpl of Diesel economy and 2 more seats . . . handy to pick up your in-laws from the airport!

But a word of caution – never seat your significant other (spouse, girlfriend, mistress) in the centre of the 2nd row of seats with the rear AC vents at full blast! Why, you ask? Try it and you’ll know what I mean!