Mahindra Bolero

The Mahindra Bolero is a nameplate that has been around for over two decades and in that time it has managed to retain its old school charm. However, while the design and its underpinnings are still rugged and capable, what’s inside this SUV has become outdated and needs to evolve.

We recently drove the Bolero to see how capable it really is and what’s missing that needs to be addressed.

From the front the Mahinda Bolero looks like a big and chunky block of metal heading your way. The fascia is upright, the massive halogen headlamps hide sleek LED DRLs, the chunky grille features chrome strips and Mahindra’s twin-peaks logo, and fog lamps are housed in a big and bulky looking metal bumper.

The profile is as flat as a fresh piece of paper. You get flared wheel arches that house 15-inch alloy wheels, there is a side step which helps with ingress and egress, a brushed aluminium strip spans the width of the car and also houses the indicators, and the exposed door hinges bring out its ruggedness even more. 

To top it off, you get massive ORVMs, flap-type door handles, and massive windows (including the large quarter glass).

At the back, you get the same block type look. The large rectangular tail lamps are the only contrasting colour, you get a step here as well to enter the third row, and there is a rear-mounted spare wheel offset from the centre.

The Bolero’s design is something that instantly grabs attention, not because it looks too premium or modern, but because you don’t see such rugged and old school designs anymore. So anytime you notice a Bolero, you instantly feel the urge to check it out.

As for colours, you can buy the Bolero in four shades: Stealth Black, Diamond White, Dsat Silver, and Rocky Beige. Except for the black shade, all other colours come with golden decals on the side profile.

Design & Quality

The Bolero’s cabin looks as old school as its exterior design and while some may appreciate how it looks, the design has now become outdated. The cabin quality too has nothing to impress you with.

You get a dual-tone brown and beige cabin theme which starts with the dashboard. The dash in itself is upright and with minimum clutter. For some contrast, you get a dark brown strip on the dashboard, and the centre console and AC vents have a wood-like paint finish.

In terms of cabin quality, you get just the basics. All surfaces are covered in plastics, most of them are smooth but some are a little rough like the ones on the door pads.

The only soft touch padding is on the steering wheel, the buttons feel tactile, and a pinch of premiumness is added by the piano black strips on top of the doors.

Front Seats

However, you do get leatherette seats in the top-spec variants, and beside being premium, they are also spacious. The front seats offer good space for tall people. The side support holds you in place and the underthigh support is enough for you to not complain.

But, there are two things missing. You don’t get any sort of adjustment in the steering wheel, which feels like a big miss, and the driver seat has no height adjustment, which is necessary for short people driving this big and tall SUV. As a result, the driving position feels awkward, especially because of the angle of the steering wheel.

Getting in and out of the Bolero also requires some effort. While you do get side steps to enter and exit the vehicle, they still require you to climb inside the car rather than just opening the door and sliding in. This alone requires you to make additional efforts, especially for the elders, and on top of that there are no grab handles placed on the pillars to make the process easy.

Second Row

The second row offers similar space as the front. You have more than enough headroom, knee room and legroom, so you won’t complain, and the underthigh support is adequate. There is room here for three passengers to travel with minimum shoulder overlap and the flat floor allows the middle passenger to sit comfortably, however, the middle occupant does miss out on a headrest.

For two passengers, the centre armrest adds convenience and offers a more comfortable and relaxing seating arrangement.

Third Row

The shortest review of the third row is that it is not an ideal place to sit in. Here you get side facing seats which offer little to no support (neither side nor underthigh), the passengers have to sit with their knees up, the headroom is just enough, and there are no seatbelts which makes this place unsafe.

Our advice is to only use these seats when you have no other option left and even then try to use them for short journeys only.

Storage & Practicality

For storage, the front row passengers get bottle holders on the doors which have been bolted on.

There are two small cupholders next to the hand brake, small pockets on the door pads, and there is a small glovebox.

Second row passengers get seatback pockets, a single cubby placed behind the handbrake, and a small storage on the door pads. The third row passengers do not get any storage options.

To charge your phone, you get two Type-A and one Type-C USB port next to the touchscreen and one 12V socket below it. There are no charging options available for the second and third row passengers.

Boot Space

While Mahindra has not mentioned an official figure for the boot space, you do get enough to keep an entire suitcase set (small, medium, and large) and a couple of duffle bags, provided that you lift up the side facing seats. Also, since the boot lip is tall, you have to make efforts while loading or unloading the boot, and that can be tiring.

This is a place where the Bolero feels the most basic because even in this day and age, the SUV comes with bare minimum features. However, considering that this is a purpose built machine, the features on offer are just about enough for your daily needs. For infotainment, it gets a 7-inch touchscreen, but instead of being tall with large icons, it is wide and looks more like a smartphone.

This screen does not lag, but the response time is slow, there is no support for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, but you can mirror your phone to use maps, and it is paired to a basic sound system. Other than this screen, you get a semi-digital MID, all power windows, steering mounted controls, and manual AC with rear AC vents.  

While there are no other features to talk about, we do appreciate the strong cooling of the AC. Even if the temperature dial is closer to the warm setting, the cooling effect is genuinely strong, which will be super useful in our harsh summers. 

Even in terms of safety, an update is needed. You only get dual-front airbags, ABS, rear parking sensors, an engine immobilizer, and seat belt reminders (front facing seats only).

Also, while the standard Bolero has not been crash tested, the Bolero Neo has been tested by Global NCAP, and it only received a 1-star safety rating. There are some issues with the rear seatbelts too. First of all the clipping mechanism placed in the seat just goes inside the cushioning, making it very hard to get it out and clamp the seatbelt in. Secondly, if the car is placed on an incline, sometimes the seatbelt will lock itself and you won't be able to pull it out to wear it.

Engine and Performance

With the Bolero, you get a 1.5-litre diesel engine that comes paired only with a manual transmission. The details are mentioned in the table below:

This engine packs a lot of torque and feels eager to move, but this nature comes at the cost of less refinement which you get in the form of vibrations and loudness.

City Performance

When driving inside the city, the Bolero feels ready to move. There is so much torque that you don’t even have to press the accelerator. You slowly release the clutch and it moves itself. .

City drives feel easy in terms of performance as you can easily pick up pace and you don’t need to think twice before performing an overtake. However, it gets a hard and a long clutch which is difficult to operate, and this, combined with its eager nature, made me feel like I'm in a Rohit Shetty movie where a slight miss of the clutch pedal will result in me flying over the cars ahead of me.

The steering also feels hard, especially when you’re driving in the city at slow speeds. It requires a lot of effort to turn and doing it constantly is nothing short of an exercise for the arms. Driving the Bolero in the city can be a challenge, but one thing that makes life a little better is the fuel efficiency as the diesel unit can give you around 13-14 kmpl in the city very easily.

Highway Performance

On the highways, you have enough power to go till 70-80 kmph in no time and with the grunty diesel engine you can quickly perform overtakes. But beyond the aforementioned speeds, it takes some time to pick up the pace and the engine tends to become loud when pushed hard.

While the mid range has a good amount of power to tackle your regular highway commutes, and the eagerness at low highway speeds is really appreciated, once you get to higher speeds and you want to overtake someone, most of the time you'll have to downshift to get the required momentum. You won’t feel any lack of power with this engine, but it is best to drive it in a relaxed manner and not want any sporty or exciting drive from it.

Ride Quality

Since it is a ladder-on-frame SUV, side to side movement is expected. When driving over bad roads in the city or changing lanes on the highways, the body roll results in a lot of movement inside the cabin. Enough to make you a little uncomfortable, especially if there is no load in the vehicle. But as soon as you add more passengers or weight inside, the suspension feels more cushioned over imperfections and that is when you can carry speeds over potholes and speedbreakers without any issue.

And when you do drive over those rough city patches while carrying a little more speed, you won’t have to worry about things like ground clearance. 

Handling

In a straight line at high speeds, the Bolero feels stable and handles highway undulations very well. But, when driving around a sharp corner, the body roll does not let you feel confident enough to carry speed. 

If you try to take a corner at a relatively high speed of 60-70 kmph, your inner wheels can easily lift up in the air due to the excessive body roll, and that can lead to a dangerous affair. It is best if you take those corners at a low speed and do not expect a fun-to-drive nature in those areas.

The Bolero is being offered in four variants: B4, B6, B6 (O), and B8.

Mahindra Bolero B4

• Gets halogen headlamps, halogen tail lamps, 15-inch steel wheels, and cladding on the sides.

• Cabin gets vinyl seat upholstery, 7 seats, and seat back pockets.

• Features include power steering, manual AC, and a MID.

• Safety kit gets dual front airbags, ABS, rear parking sensors, and seatbelt reminders.

Mahindra Bolero B6

• The exterior gets 15-inch steel wheels with wheel caps.

• Cabin features fabric upholstery and bottle holders.

• Additional features include power windows, centre locking, steering mounted controls, 12V and Type-C charging ports, and key with buttons.

• The infotainment package gets a 7-inch touchscreen.

Mahindra Bolero B6 (O)

• Exterior gets front fog lamps.

• No changes to the cabin.

• Additional features include a rear wiper and washer and a semi-digital MID.

Mahindra Bolero B8

• Adds 15-inch alloy wheels to the exterior design.

• Cabin comes with leatherette seat upholstery.

• No additional features.

CarDekho Recommends

• Pick the B6 variant as it offers most daily use features in a value-for-money proposition.

• Go for the B8 variant if you want a more premium package.

The Mahindra Bolero has always stood out thanks to its old school design and abuse-friendly capabilities, and it still does. It is a purpose-built SUV which works best if you’re not asking too much from it. Because it does a great job of being an eye-catching boxy SUV that can take you across almost any challenging terrain.

But, if you want anything more from a car, whether its cabin premiumness or good features, then the Bolero is not the car for you. It lacks the features we now take for granted and for those looking for a more complete package, there are other sub-compact SUVs they can consider.

Other Cars To Consider Other Than The Mahindra Bolero

Mahindra Bolero Neo

Reasons to consider

• More premium version of the Bolero

• Better feature and safety package

• Better cabin space and practicality

Reasons to ignore

• More expensive

• Ride quality feels a little less comfortable at low speeds

Renault Triber

Reasons to consider

• Exterior and interior styling feels fresh

• Offers petrol and CNG options

• Better cabin packaging with more space and storage options

• More usable third row

• More creature and safety features

• Comfortable ride quality

Reasons to ignore

• Not as rough and tough

• Doesn’t have rugged SUV look of the Bolero

• No diesel engine

• Will struggle on rough roads and tricky terrains