The love Indian car buyers possess for big, powerful diesel engines on massive SUVs is parallel to none. One of the prime examples of this is the Mahindra Scorpio-N. Recently, it was revealed that from January to October of this year, the company has managed to dispatch a total of 97,880 units of this SUV. However, the astonishing part is that out of these, 95 percent of the sales translated to 93,025 units for the diesel models, while only 5 percent of total sales (4,855) came from petrol-powered models. Now you may be wondering why this difference is so huge; well, the following are the reasons.
Fuel efficiency and running costs
It is no secret that for Indian car buyers, mileage is one of the most important things. The diesel Scorpio-N offers significantly better mileage than the petrol-powered models. In cities, the petrol Scorpio-N offers 10.14 kmpl, while the diesel models offer 12.73 kmpl, both with automatic transmissions. On the other hand, the same cars offer 13.29 and 16.23 kmpl. Additionally, the running costs of the diesel-engined models are lower than that of petrol variants.
Better on-road performance of diesels
Apart from the mileage, the driving feel of the bigger diesel engines, according to a lot of people, is better than that of petrol models. The diesel-powered models offer more torque, and they are easier to drive on long stretches of highways. Their overtaking capabilities with just a tap of the accelerator without needing to downshift are what make them more preferred.
Better resale
Another one of the major reasons behind the massive success of Scorpio-N diesel is better resale values. Diesel-engined vehicles in India are seen as more reliable models and hence, later down the line in their life, they fetch more value than petrol counterparts. At the moment, there are not a lot of Scorpio-N models in the used car market, but most likely in the upcoming years, the diesel models will trade for significantly more than the petrol-powered Scorpio-Ns.
Other states have not restricted diesels
One of the reasons why the Mahindra Scorpio-N diesel is selling more in India is that, apart from Delhi NCR, most states have not imposed a 10-year ban on diesel engines. In Delhi NCR, the maximum allowed age for the petrol-engined cars is 15 years, whereas for diesel cars, it is 10 years. For this reason, a lot of buyers there prefer to go with petrol Scorpio-N models. However, the rest of the states do not have such a law, so diesel cars are selling in more numbers.
4X4 only comes with diesel engines
For the true off-road lovers, the company offers the Scorpio-N with a 4X4 option. However, this option is only limited to diesel-engined variants. Mahindra offers 4X4 on Scorpio-N diesel from Z4 variant onwards, with the most affordable option priced at Rs 18 lakh. Apart from this, Scorpio-N diesel gets two states of tune for the same 2.2-litre diesel engine. The lower-powered tune offered in the lower trims offers 130 bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque. Meanwhile, the more powerful tune offers 172 bhp and 370 Nm of torque. The petrol, on the other hand, is offered with only one 2.0-litre engine that makes 203 bhp and 370 Nm of torque.
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