Mahindra Scorpio N Vs Toyota Innova Crysta - Space And Practicality Comparison

Let’s find out how close the 7-seater Scorpio N comes to the Innova Crysta, one of the most practical three-row cars in India

The Mahindra Scorpio N is the country’s most popular car right now, and we can see that just from its incredible booking numbers. In this generation, it’s significantly bigger, more premium, and more powerful. Its vast price range puts it against a lot of competitors, including the likes of Toyota Innova Crysta. 

The Innova is known for its reliability and comfort, and the added choice of six or seven seats make it a popular family purchase. The Scorpio, on the other hand, does the same things but in a different way. The main difference is that the Scorpio N is an SUV, while the Innova Crysta is an MPV. Both of them are rear-wheel-drive, but the Scorpio N’s 4WD option also makes it an off-roader. 

So, now since both of them serve the same primary purpose of transporting a large group of people, let’s see which one fares better in terms of space, practicality, features, and ride quality. 

Looks

The Scorpio N is definitely a looker, carrying a bold stance and a dominating road presence. Some of its standout visual highlights include the Scorpion-tail inspired LED DRLs, dual-barrel LED headlights and LED fog lamps, massive 18-inch alloys, scorpion tail design treatment on the rear quarter glass, and a muscular shoulder line. The rear profile revives the huge vertical light strip that was first seen on the OG Scorpio. 

On the other hand, we have the rather traditional and simple looking Innova Crysta. Do note that the one we’re driving is the pre-facelift model, while the facelift gets a different grille and new dual-tone alloys. There are very few standout visual highlights in the Innova, compared to the Scorpio N. It also offers LED projector headlights, but goes with smaller and thinner 17-inch wheels. Overall, the Scorpio gives out an SUV look, while the Innova makes you feel like you’re looking at a proper boxy three-row MPV.

On paper, the Innova is longer than the Scorpio N, but the latter is wider and taller. 

Boot Space

In our boot space tests, where we fit three different sizes of suitcases and two duffel bags, the Toyota Innova Crysta was the clear winner. If you have all three rows up, you can fit a large and a medium-sized bag in the back of the Innova, but only one small suitcase in case of the Scorpio N. 

The Innova’s rear seats can be side folded, which opens up more than enough space to fit all of our testing luggage. We could fit four different-sized suitcases and a duffle bag, and still had space for another bag. In the Scorpio, the third-row seats can be folded, which can occupy three suitcases and a soft bag. But even when you fold the third-row seats in the Scorpio, half of the boot space is occupied by these seats. So comparatively, it offers less boot space than the Innova, even when the seats are up. 

Interior

Third Row Experience

The Scorpio N’s third row isn’t too generous as two average-sized adults will be comfortable for short distances, but not for long drives. The backrest support is good and you have ample headroom as well. Since there’s no slide function for the second-row seats, the knee room is limited. With a smaller seat base and the seat placed closer to the base, the underthigh support is not great. The absence of third-row AC vents might make it a bit suffocating/claustrophobic for people seated here. In terms of convenience, you just get a phone holder and a reading lamp. 

The Innova Crysta gets a better sense of space on the last row. The knee room isn’t limited here as the second-row seats do get the slide functionality. So the passengers in both the rows can work out a deal and get adequate space for both. While the headroom here isn’t as generous as the Scorpio N, the knee room, backrest, and under-thigh support is better. You can even recline the seats here for more comfort. Third-row AC vents, a bottle holder and a phone storage space add more to its third-row experience. 

Second Row Experience

We have the six-seater (captain seats) versions of the Scorpio N and the Innova. Both offer good comfort, backrest support, knee room and the seat recline function for more relaxation. Where the Innova gets slightly better under-thigh support, the Scorpio N offers a bit more headspace. Plus, in the Mahindra SUV, you have a higher seating position. 

The Innova is much more practical here, offering several storage spaces. It gets a USB socket, a 12V socket and a phone storage space at the back of the front armrest, two fold-out trays with cupholders and phone holder, twin cupholders mounted at the bottom of the left seat, bottle holders in each door, and roof-mounted AC vents. 

The Scorpio N’s door pockets are smaller and a bit harder to reach. You do get floor-mounted AC vents, but roof-mounted vents offer better ventilation. You have a C-type charging port with dedicated phone holders on the back seat pockets too. 

One point that we would like to highlight: both offer a high seating position, which makes ingress and egress difficult for the elderly. The experience seems better with the Scorpio N, as it gets a side step. 

Fit, Finish And Quality

At first glance, the Mahindra Scorpio N’s interior looks very plush and modern. The dual tone black and brown theme with soft-touch leatherette inserts on the dashboard makes it feel very premium. But on the other hand, the plastic quality and the fit/finish aren’t that great. The leatherette seats are plush to be seated on, be it the Scorpio N or the Innova. 

The Innova’s dual-tone black and beige cabin, despite looking premium, looks very old school. The velvet inserts on the door pads add to its rich cabin experience. The cabin looks very neat and simple, but isn’t near the Scorpio N in terms of a modern feel. The Innova, however, fares better than the Mahindra in terms of plastic quality. 

First Row Practicality

There’s no suspense here but the Innova is the winner. With space for three 1-litre bottles in the door pockets, flip-out cupholders in front of the AC vents, a bottle holder and three cubby storage spaces in the centre console, storage under the armrest, and dual glove box compartments offer a lot of cabin space, making it more practical. 

As for the Scorpio N, it gets a 1-litre bottle holder in each door, storage under the centre armrest, a comparatively smaller glove box, two cupholders ahead of the gear lever, and a phone docking space behind the lever. However, it does gain a small advantage with two USB chargers and a wireless charger (limited to the top-end 4WD AT variant), while the Innova makes do with a 12V socket and one USB charger. 

Features

Mahindra Scorpio N leads this space, with much more comforts than the Innova Crysta. 

Both the cars offer a feature-rich experience, with more than enough things for your daily usage. The Scorpio N goes the extra mile with more premium offerings like full LED lighting, electric sunroof, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. The Innova’s highlights over the Scorpio N include one-touch power adjustment for all the windows, telescopic steering adjustment, third-row AC vents, and a unique feature where you can adjust the AC settings of the rear seats from the front row. 

The Scorpio N’s touchscreen feels more smooth and seamless to use over the Innova. However, both aren’t the best in the segment when it comes to usability and clarity. 

Safety

On the safety front, the Innova gets more standard features compared to the Scorpio N. You get three airbags, hill start assist, and ESC right from the base variant, while the Scorpio gets all-wheel disc brakes, rear parking sensors, and dual airbags. ESC and hill start assist are available from the Scorpio N’s second-from-base Z4 AT variants. 

Moving towards the top-end variants, the Innova gets seven airbags, front parking sensors and a rear parking camera. The Scorpio gets six airbags, but gains on a front parking camera and hill descent control. 

Ride Quality And Comfort

Mahindra Scorpio N and the Toyota Innova Crysta both are great when it comes to high-speed ride quality. Both can gobble up undulations and potholes easily, inside the city as well as out on the highway drives. During the city drives, you will feel some side-to-side movement in both cars. The discomfort will be felt less if you go over potholes without slowing down. The Innova is one of the benchmarks when it comes to well-planted highway rides, and the Scorpio N manages to almost touch it. 

Drive Experience

Let me tell you first, both the cars are rear-wheel drive and we’ve driven their automatic guises. They both drive effortlessly in the city and out on the highways. It’s just that both are suited for different purposes. The Scorpio drives in for a more spirited manner while the Innova goes for a sedate and relaxed experience. 

We drove both the turbo-petrol and diesel engines of the Scorpio N. The engines are punchy and quick on their toes. The petrol engine is more towards the performance side and with ample grunt, it just feels very exciting to drive. But we don’t mean to say that the diesel isn’t exciting to drive, it’s just the petrol is better in this regard. Moreover, the automatic gearboxes are in good sync with the engines and they’re very smooth and slick. There’s minimal power loss while shifting between the gears, even if you suddenly mash the pedal. In terms of refinement, again, the petrol engine is the clear winner out of the two. 

The Toyota Innova Crysta is more of a cruising machine. The 2.4-litre diesel engine is nice to rev and offers more than enough grunt for quick overtakes. However, in case of a sudden hard acceleration, the gear shift does give a slight kickback effect. On the refinement side, the Innova has the typical diesel engine noise even at idle. 

While the Scorpio N’s performance is a first-time charmer, the Innova’s experience grows on you. The more you drive the Innova, the more you’ll like its grunty engine. But let’s not forget the part that you get a 4WD option with the Mahindra, which makes it a part-time off-roader too. 

Verdict

The Innova Crysta is much costlier than the Scorpio N, demanding up to Rs 6 lakh when we compare select variants. Despite its heavy pricing, it is still one of the best-selling MPVs in India, primarily because of its stress-free ownership, reliability, and service/repair costs. Its spacious and highly practical cabin and comfort make it one of the best family cars in the market

The Scorpio N is also a spacious three-row SUV, but doesn’t match up with the Innova Crysta. The SUV outshines the MPV when it comes to the driving experience, ride and handling, and features. So if you want a no-nonsense people mover, the Innova fits the role better, but if you want something more fun, the Scorpio N is a better proposition. 

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