My dear old Bolero - Lovely Jeep

[shankar.balan]

I’ve owned a Bolero Sportz since May 2005 till I sold it a few days ago. My Dad, my Brother in Law and I have had one or other of the Mahindra Vehicles with us at all times over the last thirty years. Right from the old Mahindra International, through the CJ 500 long chassis, the original MM540, MM540DP, Marshal, Armada, MM550DP soft top and hard top, the (old) Bolero , (old) Scorpio, new Bolero Sportz and now the new 2.6 Crde Scorpio I ve just bought.

Feedback:
The Bolero combines great value for money, with toughness, solidity, tough looks and aggressive go anywhere capability even in its 2WD avatar. The strong ladder chassis can handle anything from mud to stones to bad roads to jungles!
Advantage clean burning diesel fuel driven which means you don’t need to think twice before taking an out of town trip, however far off. The XD3PU engine delivers well and is much more silent than the newer DI Turbo though this is in itself a good engine.
I really love this jeep. I have enjoyed many outstation drives, hill drives, some relatively lighter off- roading compared to what I have done earlier in my MM550DP.
I tended to use it a lot within the city too, because of the sheer feeling of safety within and for the storage space it has available as well as the fact that no auto rickshaw will try stunts when they see the Bolero looming up in their rear view mirrors!
I have seen the newest variants of the Bolero (SLE and SLX) and appreciate some of the things added - the new ones have a shorter gear shift making them a little more sporty and responsive. I also appreciate that they have changed the position of the music player to a more accessible space unlike before.
There are a few more changes, largely cosmetic and these are not really to my personal taste.
One other change made recently in the front bumper is very good. When you drive in wet conditions, the special bumper front overhang will prevent water splashing onto the bonnet and wind screen, unlike in the earlier versions. This was absolutely necessary and I am glad they’ve done it.

Suggestions for improvement:
1. They should give the Bolero the Scorpio’s 2.6 Turbo Crde engine and increase its capabilities, efficiency and performance in terms of BHP (atleast 100 BHP vs the current 68BHP), more torque, better fuel efficiency, better noise reduction and great power!
2. Must make the rear passenger seat foldable 60:40 or even completely foldable as one single piece and allow the seat to be rolled over and rest against the back of the front seats like in the Scorpio. One can gain so much more space for storage.
3. Must give an AC / Heater as standard in all variants. This is necessary too.
4. Must Pump up the Brakes/ Braking capabilities with better technology to handle the increased Power. If possible include ABS.
5. Why not change the tyre size to 235/70/R15? This way one gets the wider footprint but not the taller stance, since anyway the Bolero is shorter than the Scorpio and therefore more stable. I will testify to this as I have driven both vehicles in the hills. Please however give the Bolero the Bridgestone Dueler HT Tyres as standard rather than the JK and Apollo – one feels rather short changed when one cannot control the tyres coming as OEM when one buys a new jeep.
6. Must give rear seat headrests and a centre armrest as standard and a pair of decent fog lamps as a standard fitment in all variants.
7. And MUST PLEASE change the cheap sounding, original horn!!! The first thing I did after buying it was to change the original horn to a regular BOSCH Horn. Even a decent ROOTS horn will be sufficient- since it makes enough noise to get moving obstacles like autos and things out of the way.
8.Shorter gearing (something like the MM550DP with the bent gear shift lever to make it more responsive or even a shorter gear stick like in the latest Bolero SLX.
9.Front bumper fairings/ mud flaps to prevent water splashing onto the hood in wet conditions, which currently obscures the windscreen completely and can be very dangerous at speed.
10.Offer the option of the standard heavy duty Mahindra Towhook at the rear, a snorkel type exhaust system, rear windscreen washer/ wiper as well as AURA 5 spoke alloy wheels to all customers and charge them for the same.
11. Improve its rear suspension to at least a semi independent Torsion-bar system, if not the completely independent multi-link type, because the current leaf spring system is extremely bumpy and uncomfortable.
12. Please offer colours like that lovely HENNA green which Mahindra has discontinued and the equally lovely TURF Green like mine for all true jeep/ 4WD enthusiasts to enjoy. And please allow the customer to choose whether he wants the contrast coloured cladding and plastics or plain grey as per his personal taste.
Frankly if these above changes can be made and the Bolero re-introduced with the same radiator/ front end as it used to have in the 2005 model, I would have chosen it ANY DAY OVER A SCORPIO!!
The only real issue I have had with this Jeep was that recently after doing 22000 odd km, the Propeller Shaft assembly started making some little metallic noise while shifting gears, because according to the service centre, some play had developed in the three star joints.
I decided to change the entire assembly at a cost of about 9000 Rs to keep the vehicle in top condition. However, this should not happen in a carefully maintained vehicle and after only 22000 odd km run!
I have now just sold this vehicle to a person as enthusiastic as myself . I will probably buy another Bolero once it comes in a Crde avatar and with the above changes as requested!
All in all I am one highly satisfied Bolero customer.
It is a lovely vehicle.

[rippergeo]

you've been busy.
the new posts section is flooded with your threads.all of them honest and interesting. thought I should compliment you on all of the threads- scorpio,safari,tucson,this one, gypsy.
great work.
hope there'll be more.

[shankar.balan]

thanks very much

i enjoy cars and i also enjoy writing about them to share impressions with others.
what better forum than this one, which is dedicated to people who love cars and indeed, are so knowledgeable themselves!
cheerio

Originally Posted by rippergeo

you've been busy.
the new posts section is flooded with your threads.all of them honest and interesting. thought I should compliment you on all of the threads- scorpio,safari,tucson,this one, gypsy.
great work.
hope there'll be more.