Revving up: The Hybrid feels almost 10-15 per cent faster than the regular Scorpio

Say ‘hybrid’ to someone, and they’ll think ‘Prius’ or ‘Civic’. Toyota and Honda have the world’s most popular hybrids, yes — but what if you got ‘Mahindra & Mahindra’ as a response?

Under the hood

The car which caught my attention at the Auto Expo in January was the Scorpio Hybrid. I wanted to see if the Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) baby was all smoke, mirrors and stickers, or the real thing. A few months later, there I was, about to steer the Hybrid Scorpio through the gates of M&M’s R&D facility at Nashik.

To start the Scorpio Hybrid, you turn the key. There’s a moment’s pause, with no frenzied whirring of the starter motor audible. That’s because there isn’t one.

Then, Mahindra’s high-tech common-rail M-Hawk diesel comes alive with its familiar soft pitter-patter. It’s an automatic, so I place the box in ‘D’ (driving mode) and squeeze the right pedal. There’s that strong tug as I accelerate, maybe a touch more than normal, and it moves forward smartly on just a dab from the throttle.

It gathers pace effortlessly and keeps the momentum going even when you upshift. There’s a central console-mounted screen that has a couple of active display diagrams and I stop and select the one that shows the flow of power. It tells you how much electric power the Scorp is using, whether its motor is acting like an alternator and topping up the batteries or if power is being supplied to the car via only the 2.2l M-Hawk engine.

Driver’s deal

I start driving with one eye on the screen, watching to see if the Scorpio is being provided an electrical assist or not. On small throttle openings, the assistance is not impossible to detect. The M-Hawk common-rail diesel is one of the most impressive motors of its kind with minimum turbo lag and a large wedge of torque available from a low speed. But the disdain with which the Hybrid is pulling and the total lack of any lag from the motor tells me there is some alchemy at work. And the display proves it.

Inside story

The E-machine bar on the display is showing activity and arrows lead from the battery to the motor through to the gearbox. So it is the electric motor assistance that’s been helping the Scorpio move so effortlessly. I flatten the throttle on an open stretch from a cruising speed of around 40 kilometres an hour and am pleasantly surprised by the instant shove. It feels almost 10-15 per cent faster than the regular Scorpio and the crisp throttle responses are fantastic. The whole car feels lighter, like someone’s lopped 200kg off the car.

The Hybrid may feel amazingly lighter than the regular Scorpio, but in reality it is 180kg heavier! The culprits are the heavy batteries and motor of the Hybrid drive system. But this is a trade-off for better overall efficiency. The Hybrid Scorpio has been designed and engineered with the help of FEV, a German company that provides tech solutions and engineering services. This is not a plug-in hybrid, so you can’t plug it into the wall socket in your garage and charge it. The Hybrid Scorpio uses the greater efficiency of the electric motor to augment the diesel motor.

Despite being called a hybrid, the energy comes from only one basic source — the diesel engine. The electrical energy in the batteries is obtained as a result of the combustion of diesel in the engine. The VSC (Vehicle System Control) allows the engine to charge the batteries during times of partial load, when much of this power would otherwise have been wasted. The batteries also get some amount of energy from regenerative braking, where the electric motor is made to act as a generator.

The charge now gets ‘wound back’ to the battery pack. The energy stored in the batteries is then returned to the car via the motor much more efficiently.

Final verdict

On the return leg of our long drive, I steer towards some of Nashik’s traffic, to test the start-stop system. I’m greeted by silence and a stopped motor a few seconds after I’ve put my foot on the brake. The aircon blower stays on, but the compressor is switched off. M&M says it will also install a manual override, so if you’re stuck in traffic, you can keep the aircon going. The instant I take my foot off the brake, the engine springs back to life.

Start-stop provides an additional boost to the overall fuel economy as well, making this Hybrid Scorpio 20 per cent more efficient.

The Scorpio Hybrid won’t hit showrooms for a couple of years yet. Though this prototype may have performed well, putting the car into production at the right price will be a challenge.

spec check

MAHINDRA SCORPIO HYBRID

Length: 4325mm*
Width: 1700mm
Height: 1916mm
Wheelbase: 2680mm
Kerb weight: 2030kg (est)
Engine: 4 cyls in line, 2179cc, diesel
Power: 120bhp at 4000rpm
Torque: 28.5kgm at 2800rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed auto
Electric motor: Permanent magnet Synchronous motor
Continuous power: 15Kw@1500rpm
Peak power: 30Kw
Cooling: Water/Glycol
Battery type: NiMH
Nominal voltage: 288V