Mahindra Bolero

Mahindra’s journey with utilitarian SUVs has been a storied one, and the Bolero has had a big role to play in it. The nameplate has been in our market for more than 20 years, during which, it has become a reliable workhorse for innumerable purposes, including rural mobility, serving security forces, and even government officials.

With no proper update in more than two decades, the Bolero now feels dated in comparison to every other offering out there. Yet, the SUV still manages to stand out with its no-nonsense rugged appeal that carries out the task at hand, no matter how extreme it may be.

The Mahindra Bolero does not have any direct rivals in the country, but it can be considered as a rugged alternative to SUVs like the Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV 3XO and Maruti Suzuki Brezza.

If you were in the market for a rugged, capable and functional new SUV, the new-gen Bolero has been spotted testing recently and could arrive in 2026. But while that refresh is still sometime away, let’s take a look at why you should or shouldn’t consider the Bolero for your family.

The Mahindra Bolero has a boxy design which has no intent to wow you. With no updates to the styling, the design does feel basic, but still has managed to age rather well. What stands out immediately is its road presence. With a tall stance, boxy silhouette and a sense of ruggedness in the design, the Bolero looks much bigger than its actual sub-4 metre length.

The front shares a hint of resemblance to the Scorpio Classic in the way the big headlights flank the upright grille that is adorned with vertical slats. There are no LEDs here, only halogens in the headlight along with a sleek positioning lamp. You can see the housing for the fog lights in the metal bumper, but the actual fog lights are available as an accessory only. For added ruggedness, the bumper also gets skid plate-like three-pod design cue, right below the lower air inlet.

The side profile is as boxy as it gets. The roofline is flat, the tailgate is almost straight, and the big square windows further make the design look cubical. The 15-inch tyres get basic wheel covers and the 215/75 R15 tyre profile means that the Bolero gets a massive 16cm sidewall, compared to a regular SUVs 12-13cm sidewall. There’s plenty of space between the tyre and the wheel well, and the protruding wheel arches add width to the car. The only thing adding some style to the profile are the decals, and you also get a side step in the Bolero for easy ingress/egress. There’s a Bolero wordmark on the left hand side rear fender, while the ‘mHAWK75’ engine wordmark is present on the front fender.

The Bolero also gets two fuel lids. The one on the left is for the diesel exhaust fluid, while the one on the right is for the fuel itself.

At the rear, the utilitarian vibe is very apparent with the spare wheel mounted on the sideways-opening boot gate, and a large protruding step right in the middle where the number plate usually is. As a result, the number plate is housed on the bottom right side of the bumper. The tail lights are boxy, but look decent with their clear-lens-type styling. I also liked the spare wheel dual tone cover, which is adorned with a big Bolero wordmark. 

While I like the boxy and utilitarian nature of the Bolero’s design, there’s not much going on in terms of styling. Even the colour options on offer are basic with two simple monotone shades: Lakeside Brown and Diamond White.

Overall, it is a design that is meant to serve a function rather than allure anyone with its form. Things like the metal bumper and manually adjustable ORVMs will be an easy fix, but the manually-extending antenna on the A-pillar, no LED lighting elements whatsoever and sober wheel covers make the Bolero feel old.

Just like the exterior, the interior of the Mahindra Bolero feels utilitarian too. The design is old school with a rather thin dashboard that seems to be divided into three clear sections, one for the passenger, a central dashboard and one for the driver. The only thing that feels modern is the chunky three spoke steering wheel which is similar to the Thar. The cabin mostly makes use of dual tone light colours, with the dash finished in a darker, almost brown shade, while the seats get a beige finish. 

In terms of materials used, there is only a wood-type finish for the plastic around the central AC console and AC vents, which feels remotely acceptable. The rest is just plain plastics all around, which do feel cheap. The quality feels low, and they even squeak and rattle often. 

Both fit and finish have room for improvement all around. This could’ve been easily achieved by using slightly better finished plastics for at least the main touchpoints of the cabin. This is especially noticeable when you compare the Bolero with any of its price rivals including its own brother, the Bolero Neo!

Front Seats

With the help of side steps, getting in and out of the Bolero is fairly simple. Now, in terms of driving position, the Mahindra Boleno does offer a rather commanding position, but the adjustability is strictly limited. There is no height adjustment for the driver’s seat, and even the steering wheel is fixed. You can only slide and recline your seat, so you might not be able to find your ideal or comfortable driving position.

In terms of the seat comfort, they are wide, but mostly flat. There is barely any support for the thighs, and even the underthigh support could’ve been better. But you still get slight side supports, which do feel accommodating for larger occupants. There are adjustable headrests, but no front central armrest. 

Visibility is great with an upright seating, big windows and a sleek A-pillar, which will inspire confidence even in new drivers. 

Rear Seat

The rear seats of the Mahindra Bolero are comfortable. The cushioning feels nice, you sit tall and the seat base offers good support for the underthigh. Headroom is generous, even for tall passengers, but the foot room feels restricted due to the brackets of the front seat mounts.

There’s enough space to sit three people abreast, but the middle passenger does not get a dedicated headrest. The other two headrests are adjustable, and there’s also a flimsy central armrest for some added comfort. You get a good view from the rear seats. In terms of functional amenities, you don’t get anything apart from powered windows. It even misses out on rear AC vents, which I feel should be a compulsory offering for a car with three rows of seating.

The last row gets jump seats, that means the occupants sit facing each other. For easier ingress/egress, there is a grab handle on the top, so you can step and get inside without much effort. Once inside, the space feels enough only for kids. Tall people won’t have enough headroom, while even regular-sized adults will have their knees brushing against one another. Just like the second row, there is no AC here, but you also don’t get any seatbelts.

Practicality

The Bolero’s in-cabin practicality is surprisingly limited. There are no bottle holders in the door pockets. There's an open storage in the central console along with two cupholders behind them. The glove box is deep, but the opening isn’t wide and while the driver’s door does get a pocket, it is only good enough for some papers or small and thin items.

Rear passengers get seat back pockets only.

Charging Options

Mahindra has equipped the Bolero with a 12V socket for the front passengers. There are no USB type-A or type-C ports available.

Overall, the cabin of the Bolero offers a basic experience only. Forget style and feel, it even asks for a compromise on functional stuff with limited adjustability, practicality and basic amenities.

Features

The 2025 Mahindra Bolero does not offer the same feature experience as other cars around the Rs 10 lakh mark. It doesn’t compromise on the absolute basics, but that’s about it. There’s nothing more to its features list, which gets manual AC, powered windows, front map lighting, central locking and manual inside rear view mirror.

There is no infotainment system, but a single DIN audio system, that supports USB and AUX connectivity, and also offers a bluetooth connection for a wire-free experience. You can take calls through this system as well. As for the sound system, it is absolutely basic.

The driver does get a digital instrument cluster, which extends into the centre of the dashboard. It is an MID display with a tachometer and digital speed readout, while information like the mileage, trip details and clock (time display) are relayed on the display in the centre.

So the Bolero just covers the absolute basics and nothing more. For 2025, even if we consider the fact that the Bolero is purpose-built, and not for creature comforts, the features list is rather rudimentary. Basic equipment like rear AC vents, electrically powered ORVMs and rear parking camera are not creature comforts, but basic requirements these days, and their addition would’ve made the experience much better.

The jump seats in the boot of the Mahindra Bolero restrict the space on offer. If there are people sitting, then the space is non-existent. But if there’s nobody sitting and the seats are folded, you will be able to store a full suitcase set that includes one small, medium and large suitcase, along with a few laptop bags.

Loading and unloading the luggage will require some additional effort due to the bump in the loading lip.

The 2025 Mahindra Bolero comes with a single 1.5-litre, four cylinder, diesel engine, which is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission only. There is no automatic transmission on offer, and neither is there any petrol or CNG powertrain.

1.5-litre diesel

This engine became a lot more refined after its BS6 update in 2021. However, by modern day standards, and owing to the overall insulation of the vehicle, the refinement levels aren’t up to the mark when compared to other diesel offerings. It does get loud when accelerating, while vibrations are felt on the gear lever even when idling.

City Performance

The Bolero with its diesel engine feels at home in the city. I particularly enjoyed driving it because of the generous amount of torque, which is available right from low speeds, irrespective of the gear you are in. So you don’t have to downshift a lot in the city to make an overtake and in fact, all your regular city commutes can be done in 3rd and 4th gear itself. You can even pick the car up from standstill in second or third gear with ease, and the engine won’t complain a bit.

Using the manual itself has two sides to it. The clutch is light, so you won’t mind heavy stop-and-go city traffic. But the gear lever feels a bit notchy, so you have to be careful and accurate while changing gears.

When driven calmly, the Bolero can return a fuel efficiency of around 15kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

The generous amount of torque in the lower end of the RPM range might make the Bolero a great mobility tool in the city, but the SUV runs out of breath on the highway. It will cruise comfortably at triple digit speeds, but it takes a lot of time to reach those speeds. 0-100 comes up in around 23 seconds, which is much slower than every other sub-4m SUV on the market right now.

In gear acceleration isn’t great either as the performance tapers down significantly after 3,000 RPM. As a result, you will have to be patient and plan your overtakes at high speeds, irrespective of the load inside the vehicle. I would recommend you to drive the Bolero with a calm head on fast moving expressways.

On the highway, the Baleno returns a fuel efficiency of around 17kmpl.

Ride Comfort

The Mahindra Bolero offers good comfort in terms of ride quality. Despite being a ladder-on-frame vehicle (most regular SUVs have a monocoque chassis), the ride feels rather cushioned for the front occupants. Yes, at slow speeds, over speedbreakers and regular potholes, you will feel movement inside the vehicle, especially if there’s not much load inside. But as soon as you load up the vehicle, the ride becomes much settled, much more absorbent, at least for the front two rows. The third row passengers will still complain about the ride being too bouncy.

Increasing your speed over rough roads also helps improve comfort, and you can tackle bad roads without breaking a sweat. But overall, the ride will always be much more comfortable for the front two rows than it will be for the third row.

Handling

The Mahindra Bolero feels easy to drive in the city with a light steering wheel. It feels like any other SUV at regular speeds, but the body roll is much more significant around a corner at higher speeds. The suspension is soft, and if you push the car too hard around a corner, the inner rear wheel can lift up quite easily as well. So I would recommend you to drive the Baleno in a calm and composed manner around hilly regions or ghats. 

Braking distance of the Bolero isn’t great at high speeds, as it takes much longer than the regular sub-compact SUVs to come to a halt from 100kmph. Keeping this in mind, it would be better to drive it carefully at higher speeds with a safe distance from the car ahead, especially during heavy rains.

The 2025 Mahindra Bolero is available in three variants: B4, B6, and B6(O).

Bolero B4

• Sparse base variant gets no wheel covers, decals and misses out on body coloured ORVMs.

• Gets manual AC with heater, power steering wheel, and remote fuel lid opener. No power windows.

• Features the MID driver’s display, but no music system.

Bolero B6

• Better looks with body coloured ORVMs, wheel caps, decals and chrome bezels on the grille.

• Improved interior experience with fabric seats and wood finish on the centre console.

• Adds basics like power windows, central locking, front map lighting, remote key locking and 12V socket.

• Also features a music system.

Bolero B6 (O)

• No changes in styling, but headlights get cornering function.

• Adds rear wiper and washer in the safety kit.

• The driver gets more read outs on the display with information like distance to empty, gear indicator, digital clock and door ajar indicator.

CarDekho recommends:

• The mid-spec B6 variant of the Bolero is recommended for its added functional features.

• Premium of the B6(O) variant is a little steep for not a lot of feature additions.

The Mahindra Bolero is not a regular modern day vehicle and it isn’t for regular urban families. The SUV looks and feels like it was launched two decades ago, and even its features and safety kit offer an outdated experience, which feels rudimentary at best. But what you can’t take away from the Bolero is its rugged and indestructible feel. It is a proven and dependable workhorse, that was, and still is, best suited for people with a rough and tough usage. Because if there was a car that can take serious punishment without emptying your wallet, it is the Mahindra Bolero. That being said, you can get all the capabilities of the Bolero with more comfort, better quality, improved cabin space, superior ergonomics and more features if you choose the Bolero Neo instead, and for just a minor increase in budget at that!

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