Mahindra Scorpio vs Tata Safari in a classic drag race: Which SUV will win? [Video]

The Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari are both cult cars in India, with huge fan followings. While the Tata Safari is no longer built, the Mahindra Scorpio continues to be produced, and has gone from strength to strength over the years. While the Scorpio started out with a power and torque disadvantage over the Safari, it has always been the lighter of the two, and this somewhat negated the lower power and torque rating. Now though, the Scorpio makes the same power and torque as the Safari, and even gets an additional gear thanks to its 6 speed manual gearbox. After all these changes, how does the Mahindra Scorpio stack up against the Tata Safari? Well, the video we’ve lined up for you holds all the answers.

As the video clearly indicates, the Mahindra Scorpio pulls ahead of the Tata Safari in the drag race from about say 80 Kmph, and continues to build a decent gap till the very end. The results are similar in two different, back-to-back races, clearly establishing the fact that the Scorpio is faster than the Safari when it comes to an outright drag race. Now, for some background to these SUVs that were a part of the drag race.

The Mahindra Scorpio is barely a couple of years old, and has run about 10,000 kilometers. It’s powered by the 2.2 liter mHawk turbo diesel engine with 140 Bhp-320 Nm outputs, and gets a rear wheel drive layout and a 6 speed manual gearbox as standard. On the other hand, the Tata Safari in question uses a 2.2 liter DICOR turbodiesel engine with 140 Bhp-320 Nm outputs, paired to a 5 speed manual gearbox that drives the rear wheels. The Tata Safari is from 2011, and has clocked over 103,000 Kms. It also has aftermarket alloy wheels shod with fatter tyres, which significantly increase rolling resistance (not great for acceleration and fuel efficiency).

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So, it’s clearly a case of an old Tata Safari taking on a latest-gen Mahindra Scorpio, which is also likely to be the lighter of the two. In drag races, driver skill, condition of the vehicles and lower kerb weight make a huge difference to the final outcome. Had the Scorpio taken on a Safari Storme 400, which gets the 2.2 liter diesel engine in 154 Bhp-400 Nm state of tune and a 6 speed manual gearbox, the result could have been quite different.

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