Mahindra Scorpio-N vs Geely EX5

What's the difference?

It might seem like I’ve been harsh on the Scorpio but I actually reckon this vehicle is in fact a step in the right direction for Mahindra.

It’s nice enough to drive on-road – refined and comfortable – and it’s also a capable 4WD, with a few issues though…

It’s a good value-for-money prospect but it’s lacking a lot of driver-assist tech that should be onboard every modern vehicle, especially one that will serve as a family mover.

The Geely EX5 has good bones. It’s well packaged, sturdily built, efficient and jam-packed with technology. But questions remain. The EX5 really needs work on its safety systems and another round of chassis revisions to be competitive. 

Pricing, too, will be crucial for the EX5 to succeed in today’s savage new electric car market. 

If the list of nagging complaints can be fixed and Geely is able to back up its product with solid aftersales support, it could be a winner. The jury is still out on the EX5.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The Scorpion reminds me a bit of the early-generation Hyundai Terrcan – long bonnet, generic cabin, and it appears to sit quite low.

The Mahindra SUV has 18-inch alloy wheels, side steps, roof rails and sunroof.

It all looks fine and, anyway, the more interesting stuff on the Scorpion is under the skin – the fact that it is a body-on-frame 4WD.

The Geely EX5’s exterior design is conservative verging on anonymous. Perhaps that’s because the brand is unknown here, but forgettable details like the six-rectangle badge rear and haphazard ‘Geely EX5’ badge placement aren’t the height of fashion.

Inside, though, the EX5 improves. The two screens are presented well, as is the cabin with upholstery that isn’t just boring black. The design language is more conventional — in a good way — than, say, a BYD Atto 3 or Tesla Model Y and doesn’t seem to unashamedly copy elements from established carmakers.

Key touch points, such as the rotary volume control, the (wrong way around) window switches and door handles appear to be made of real metal, with knurling in some cases. The dash and door tops are all encased in squishy rubber, too.

As for sizing, the EX5 is the exact same length as a Toyota RAV4, at 4615mm long, though being wider (1901mm) and riding on a longer 2750mm wheelbase should mean more cabin space.

The cabin is tidy and functional. The 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia system is easy enough to operate without strife and the screen is clear, although it’d be great if it was bigger.

The tan synthetic leather interior trim looks good and superficially the whole interior looks nice, but if you inspect a little more closely the Scorpio’s cabin is missing the storage spaces, USB charge points and build quality of rival SUVs.

There’s one cupholder (between driver and front passenger), the door pockets are narrow and there are few other storage spaces.

With the third-row seats in use, there’s a very small rear cargo area, and those seats don’t fold flat so when they’re not in use they seriously impact the storage space.

As a result, the Scorpio is one of the few modern 4WDs that I’d consider taking out the third row every time long-distance loaded-up travel was on the cards – just so it’s a more practical touring vehicle.

Some features, such as the directional air vents, feel flimsy. Otherwise, the Scorpio’s cabin is suitably practical, rather than overly impressive.

Finding a comfortable driving position is easy in the EX5 Inspire with the octagonal steering wheel tilting and telescoping through a broad range of motion. The seats are supportive and well-bolstered, too — not a given in this class.

While we wish the front passenger seat was height adjustable, the Inspire’s leg rest and ability to lie the seats fully flat while charging is appreciated. The massage function has six modes, three intensity levels and is remarkably powerful. 

Between the EX5’s front seats is a floating centre console as gear selection is done via the right-hand stalk. It has two small cup holders on top, while under that is a generous, rubberised storage space perfect for handbags, cameras, or the like. It’s where the USB-A, USB-C and 12-volt socket are located for device charging.

There is a wireless charging pad that sits ahead of a large central storage box cooled by the air-conditioning. The Geely EX5’s door cards will easily accept a 600mL camping bottle.

Where the Geely EX5 falls down is the control layout. It is nice to have four physical switches beneath the touchscreen as shortcuts to switch the air-conditioning on or off, engage air recirculation and the front demister, but where’s the hazard light switch? It's on the ceiling.

Then there’s the large rotary dial which generally functions as a volume knob. Press it down and you can choose to have it adjust the temperature, fan speed, or — for some reason — one of several desktop backgrounds, including a computer-generated kitten playing with some wool. In this mode it also works as cursor for the multimedia screen, but never at any other time. Peculiar.

The convoluted menu structure has a strange control hierarchy. There's a shortcut target for the rear fog light, for example, yet to disable the lane-keep assist or adjust the regenerative braking power you need to jump through at least three sub-menus. And some of the text in the Geely EX5’s digital driver’s display is so small it’s almost illegible.

Then there are the typos and grammatical errors that should have been an easy pre-launch fix. A few include: ‘Distractive. Drive carefully’, ‘Keep safety distance’, ‘Driver is facial detection is missing’ and, a personal favourite: ‘The current battery is low, whether to enable super battery life?’ None of this inspires much confidence. At least the EX5’s processor is responsive for smooth tapping between the many menus.

The Geely EX5’s 1000-watt 16-speaker sound system is punchy and has presets – borrowed from Volvo and Polestar — which promise to emulate the sound quality of a recording studio, concert hall and other locations. Gimmicky in practice, plus, with the volume over 30 per cent, the EX5’s sound quality is disappointingly muddy.

Connectivity promises to be strong in the EX5 but the cars we drove were not fitted with 4G sims for live navigation, app downloads and remote smartphone control. Apple CarPlay will be added via a software update in July and Android Auto before the end of the year, says Geely. 

The Geely EX5’s back seat is very generous, at 188cm tall I had plenty of leg room, respectable toe room and excellent head room even underneath the standard panoramic sunroof. The floor is totally flat and, rarely, the middle seat is usable for adults.

Two more USB chargers can be found along with air vents, door pockets and a fold-down central armrest. There’s even a hidden sliding draw for storing valuables out of sight.

The Geely EX5 has ISOFIX child seat connectors on both outboard seats and three top tether anchors on its 40/60 split-fold backrest. 

The EX5 Inspire has a standard power tailgate which opens up to a total of 410 litres of boot space. If it looks a little shallow in pictures, that’s because the total space accounts for the large under-floor area (108L on its own) where Geely skipped a spare tyre.

There is one LED boot light, two shopping bag hooks and a wet storage area off to the side but, curiously, no parcel shelf.

The EX5 joins a new Chinese competitor set that’s bringing electric car prices down to — and below — size-equivalent combustion and hybrid-powered cars. 

Problem is, we still don’t know the exact price, but Geely has at least provided a guide. The Geely EX5 will be priced between $49,000 and $55,000. It has either 430km (Complete) or 410km (Inspire) WLTP-rated driving range and enough power to get out of its own way. 

When you consider high-spec combustion-engined mid-size SUVs like the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser ($51,410, before on-road costs), the Geely EX5 is shaping up to offer stellar on-paper value.

The entry grade EX5 Complete features 18-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, full LED exterior lighting with auto high-beam, rear parking sensors and roof rails that accommodate up to 50kg.

Inside, a huge 15.4-inch touchscreen with built-in navigation and 10.2-inch digital driver’s display should embarrass any combustion-engined rival. The upholstery is artificial leather, the front seats are heated and power-adjustable, the sound system has six speakers and there’s keyless entry with pop-out door handles.

Moving up to the tested Inspire brings larger 19-inch alloy wheels, a power tailgate, front parking sensors and a sunroof. Cabin niceties improve with illuminated vanity mirrors and 256-colour ambient lighting, though it notably lacks dual-zone climate control.

Veritable luxury features include driver’s seat memory and an ottoman for the front passenger, ventilation and massaging for both front seats, a 16-speaker sound system putting out 1000 watts, 13.4-inch head-up display and optional ‘Cloud’ cream upholstery colour.

With exact pricing still to be revealed, it’s impossible to say whether the Geely EX5 is better value than the Leapmotor C10, Deepal S07, Kia EV5, BYD Sealion 7 or XPeng G6, but it certainly shapes up well against the updated Tesla Model Y that has climbed north of $60,000.

Five paint colours are available; Arctic White is no cost, while Shadow Black, Volcanic Grey, Moonlit Silver and Aquatic Green attract an extra charge.

The Geely EX5 is capable of outputting electricity either to a load like hairdryer, coffee machine or power tools at 3.3kW and to another vehicle at 6kWm adding 40km of driving range in an hour.

The Scorpio has 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, which produces 129kW at 3500rpm and 400Nm at 1750-2750rpm.

It has a six-speed automatic transmission, an auto-locking rear diff, and a part-time 4WD system with a dual-range transfer case incorporating low range.

Note: the Scorpio must be in neutral and stationary for the driver to shift into 4WD low-range, but the driver is able to shift between 2WD and 4WD High on the move, up to 80km/h.

Its '4Explor' system’s drive modes include 'Normal' (2WD for sealed surfaces), 'Grass/Snow' (4WD), 'Mud & Ruts' (4WD), and 'Sand' (4WD).

Geely claims the EX5’s front axle-mounted 11-in-one motor, transmission and power unit is the lightest and most compact in class. Though power and torque outputs of 160kW and 320Nm are nothing groundbreaking it was perfectly adequate for the EX5’s 1765kg tare mass.

In Eco, Standard and Sport modes the tip-in response is intentionally dulled to minimise wheel spin. Three are three regenerative braking levels; medium felt most natural, though High was acceptable. There’s no one-pedal drive mode in the Geely EX5.

The front-drive Geely EX5 Inspire's claimed 0-100km/h time is 7.1 seconds and its top speed is limited to 175km/h.

Official fuel use is listed as 7.2L/100km on a combined cycle.

Fuel consumption on this test was 9.6L/100km, which is impressive, especially in light of the fact that we spent the lion’s share of two days during the test period in 4WD low-range.

It has a 57-litre fuel tank, so, going by those fuel figures, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 593km out of a full tank. 

Note: That 593km is a best-case scenario figure and has not had a 30-50km safe-distance buffer subtracted from it, and it also does not take into account the fact that, when being used for touring, the vehicle will be loaded with people, pets, camping gear and more.

Real-world efficiency is one of the EX5’s most impressive attributes, with the Inspire’s WLTP-range being 410km dependent on returning energy consumption of 14.7kWh/100km.

Over a 100km distance taking in suburban, motorway and country roads, the EX5’s dash showed a lower-than-rated energy consumption of 13.5kWh/100km, representing nearly 460km of real-world range from Geely’s 60.22kWh ‘Aegis’ lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.

Along with the motor, some of the efficiency can be put down to the Geely EX5 Inspire’s quality 235/50R19 Goodyear EfficientGrip tyres.

Charging is middling for this pack, with the EX5 using a 400-volt architecture that allows DC power up to 100kW. Rejuicing from 20-80 per cent takes 28 minutes, says Geely, which is faster than the Deepal S07 and Leapmotor C10 but a long way short of the XPeng G6 and Model Y.

Three-phase AC charging caps out at 11kW, meaning you can take the EX5 from flat to full in around five and a half hours at home.

The Scorpio is a 4WD with a body-on-frame chassis. For those of you who don’t know (no shame in that) a body-on-frame chassis denotes a chassis onto which the vehicle’s separate body is attached, and the engine, wheels, and suspension are fitted.

The set-up is well suited to towing and/or carrying heavy loads, and 4WDing.

It’s 4662mm long (with a 2750mm wheelbase), 1917mm wide and 1857mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2100kg and a 12.6m turning circle.

Right, that’s enough (boring?) measurements for now.

This Mahindra 4WD is surprisingly refined on-road: quiet inside, comfortable and with a no-stress engine and a low-key workmanlike Aisin-sourced auto delivering a relaxed, almost lethargic combination on the road.

Steering has a nice weight to it, ride quality is okay, erring on the side of spongy rather than too firm, and some body roll creeps in on more energetic bends.

Overall, however, the Scorpio does satisfactorily well on sealed surfaces. But how does it perform off-road?

The Scorpio handled the undulating dirt track leading to our off-road test site with ease, riding nicely over the light to medium corrugations, and was only ever minimally unsettled by the bumpy terrain.

This Mahindra is able to be shifted between 2WD and high-range 4WD (4H on the dial) so you can keep moving even when the road/track surface changes all of sudden.

The Scorpio has plenty of old-school foundational 4WD mechanicals onboard – low-range and a rear diff-lock (albeit an automatic one) – and it also benefits from off-roading-oriented tech such as its 4Explor system with selectable terrain modes, each of which adjusts engine output, transmission settings and traction control to best suit the terrain, conditions and driving style. 

It also has hill descent control and hill hold control.

Even its forward-facing camera comes in handy. I still think of these as more a novelty – I prefer to get out and check the track ahead or get a spotter to do the work for me – but I can see the inherent value of this tech in helping the driver to maintain vision, especially if forward visibility is compromised, say for instance up and over the crest of a steep rocky hill, or edging towards a steep drop into a creek bed.

While the Scorpio’s 400Nm may seem a bit lowly, that torque is on tap across a good spread of revs, and this 4WD does well with what it has. The engine keeps everything moving along nicely.

In terms of off-road-relevant measures, the Scorpio has 227mm of ground clearance, a guesstimated wading depth of 500mm or so (it’s not listed), and approach, departure and ramp-over angles of 27.2 (good), 21.3 (not so good), and 23.5 (okay) degrees, respectively.

The Scorpio is quite an effective off-road wagon and it tackled every obstacle it faced without fail, but it has to be driven with extreme care and laser-focused concentration.

No harm in that, I hear you cry. In response, I say, sure, but it’s bloody exhausting work having to nurse a vehicle through even innocuous terrain in order to avoid nudges, bumps and scrapes to its underbody and side steps.

Not to mention how tiring it is having to anticipate if/when off-road traction control and/or the auto diff-lock will engage – or not – at crucial moments.

Not a major concern on flat ground, but think about the auto rear diff-lock cutting out on you while driving up a rocky 32-degree hill. Yep, I’m old.

Now for some more of the Scorpio’s less-than-ideal characteristics.

1. I hinted at this in the previous paragraph: off-road traction control doesn’t seem as well calibrated as it should be. It’s a bit patchy in its application, and certainly not as seamless as the tech in something like the GWM Tank 300 (yes, I know – the Tank costs about $15,000 more.)

2. The automatic rear diff lock is on the wrong side of clunky, abruptly engaging as it senses wheel-spin then disengaging just as abruptly when it deems the problem over ... even if it isn’t quite over yet.

3. The Scorpio feels low: a lot of underbody components are vulnerable to rocks, tree stumps, track debris, and the AdBlue tank sits low behind the rear left-hand wheel.

4. The side-steps seem very flimsy. The right-hand side-step took a soft knock going over an exposed tree root early on one test day, which I thought nothing of. But when I looked at it soon afterwards, the fasteners had popped out at the front and middle of the sidestep.

I didn't think the bump had been anywhere near enough to result in that.

5. The Scorpio’s standard tyres – MRF Wanderer SUV tyres (255/60R18 “All-Season”) – are not great for hard 4WDing.

They don’t offer anywhere near the degree of grip you need in difficult 4WDing and they quickly became gummed up with mud. The Scorpio does have an underslung full-size steel wheel spare.

The Mahindra Scorpio Z8L has a listed payload of 510kg, and can legally tow 750kg (unbraked), and 2500kg (braked). Gross vehicle mass (GVM) is a listed 2610kg; gross combined mass (GCM) is 5155kg.

I experienced a bit of an issue on a drive home after a few hours of tough 4WDing: 4H kept trying to engage during a 100km stretch of highway.

A dot kept flashing above 4H near the shifter, and terrain modes (other than Normal) kept flashing on the centre console and driver info display and I was being prompted to drop below 80km/h to shift into 4H.

Of course, I’d earlier switched from 4H to 2WD at the end of our filming day (at the 4WD location) and made sure I'd engaged Normal mode before I left the dirt and drove onto a sealed surface.

When the 4H-related issues kept happening on the highway I was able to fix the problem by stopping, switching the Scorpio off and back on again – but I had to do this every 5.0km or so four times before it finally sorted itself out.

To Mahindra’s credit, technical staff members are looking into the issue.

Underpinning the Geely EX5 is the new Global Intelligent Electric Architecture, or GEA for short. It is a newer and lower-cost version of the group’s SEA platform as used in Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr and Smart products and the bones are good.

The Geely EX5’s body doesn’t rattle, creak or shimmy over nasty road surfaces. Some solid knowhow has made its way into the brake pedal calibration which is light but delightfully smooth. It’s impossible to detect where regenerative slowing ends and hydraulic begins.

It has allegedly undergone Australian suspension localisation but don’t expect outright handling excellence, the EX5’s ride is still pillowy — verging on melted marshmallow — soft. Some will find this acceptable, however there’s plenty of potential for improvement.

Over large bumps both in town and at speed it takes the Geely EX5’s rear end between two and four rebound cycles to settle. There’s also a large amount of lateral ‘head toss’, with both attributes key ingredients in making back seat passengers car sick.

I also experienced a low-frequency boom in the EX5's cabin over concrete and rough coarse chip surfaces common on Sydney roads. Otherwise, the EX5’s is a mostly quiet car.

The sharp steering is light around town but weighted up unnaturally through corners. With high quality tyres and stability control that intervenes very early, you’re unlikely to get out of shape in the EX5 on a twisty road at least.

That said, with good bones like McPherson struts up front and multi-link rear suspension we would love to see Geely revise the EX5’s chassis to bestow the sort of fluency that makes the Kia EV5 and combustion equivalents like the Toyota RAV4 and Mazda CX-5 so much more pleasant to drive. Doing so would provide the EX5 a clear point of difference from the XPeng G6, BYD Sealion 7, Deepal S07 and Leapmotor C10.

The Geely EX5 is yet to be tested by ANCAP or other relevant safety testing body. 

The EX5 has seven airbags including a front centre one, a Short Blade battery that has been extensively tested to minimise fire danger along with 16 advanced driver assistance features including auto emergency braking, driver attention monitoring, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist and more.

It is all well and good to tick the safety aid boxes but in practice, the EX5 leaves a little to be desired. Various mysterious beeps and bongs are semi-constant but more soothing than some rivals.

The EX5’s lane-keep assist worked well enough in the morning but was flummoxed by brighter afternoon light and shadows, once grabbing control of the wheel and pointing the car at an upcoming vehicle, another time towards the grass. Sometimes the system simply didn’t work to keep the EX5 in the lane at all.

The adaptive cruise control has an ‘Intelligent’ program that convincingly changes lanes by itself when prompted by the indicator. Unfortunately, like the lane-keep system, shadows on the road caused a few phantom-braking episodes.

Activating the adaptive cruise control is not intuitive because the steering wheel controls are poorly labeled. It’s the left directional and ‘ok’ button set, if you’re wondering, and you cancel cruise by hitting the cross button below the similar looking asterisk customisable hot key.

The standard surround-view camera is high quality with plenty of different angles to minimise kerb strikes.

Like the suspension tuning, Geely ought to send out engineers with a fine tooth comb to iron out issues with the safety systems before hitting start on public sales.

The Mahindra Scorpio Z8L has a seven-year/150,000km warranty.

Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km. 

Pricing details were not available at time of writing.

Geely is doing its best to ensure smooth parts supply from launch, having run around for 12 months stocking inventory and partnering with DB Schenker for logistics.

To promote the EX5, Geely’s launching with three years complimentary servicing and one year (or 1000kWh) of free charging on the Evie network for those who order an EX5 before February 28.

Geely has yet to announce warranty details. The brand will want to aim for more than five years, as seven years is fast becoming the minimum standard for new vehicles.

Service pricing is also yet to be confirmed, though maintenance will be due every 12 months or 20,000km.