Got my Bolero Storm : First Black VLX in India | 15,000 KMs done...

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Congratulations MC, your report is really an eye opener for people like me who have always liked the Bolero but havent known too many users to get the true picture.
Looking forward to the next part of your report.

Thanks!

I'm mightily impressed with the transformation that Mahindra Automotive division has gone through. I got driven around in my formative years in CJ3B's & MM540DP and its really amazing to see the improvement in quality in the present gen M&M products.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Phenomenal Stuff MileCruncher. It feels good that the both of us kind of started hunting for our respective cars at about the same time and both ended up in the Mahindra Camp. That said, it was the Bolero all the way for me - until the whole Scorpio price reduction happened.

You dont ever have to be careful with this one.

And it looks like we are both hurtling towards completing our 100k kms within the 4 year period (if you have taken the extended warranty)!

cheers

Yeah it feels good too. And I absolutely agree that you can not care about the Bolero and it keeps going on and on.

BTW I think I'll be able to do the 1 Lakh KM much earlier than 4 years. Inspite of continuous harping, was not able to get Extended warranty on the Storm. The standard is 2 years or 100k whichever earlier.

I guess it is Jai Ho Mahindra!

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

That said, it was the Bolero all the way for me - until the whole Scorpio price reduction happened.

Very valid point. With the revised Scorpio Prices the upper end Bolero is pushing Scorpio territory.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

BTW I think I'll be able to do the 1 Lakh KM much earlier than 4 years. Inspite of continuous harping, was not able to get Extended warranty on the Storm. The standard is 2 years or 100k whichever earlier.

This is silly of them. Are they concerned about higher warranty costs for the Storm due to the CRDe engine? I don't think it is fair to the consumer to do this.

[MileCruncher]

The "Storm" has already covered about 3190 Kms in less than a month. Sunday afternoon I crossed the 3k mark running errands around town when the sudden urge to go on a drive took over me and I went on a 80 KM spin. Some more driving yesterday and long test drives by M&M Folks took the odo to what it is today.

Anyways, continuing from where I left, these are the things that I dislike most in order of their dislike quotient:

Dislikes

Brakes: This is one thing that has been getting on my nerves. The presence of ABS on a vehicle of this size is definitely required. I have already aquaplaned the "Storm" twice. Pressing hard the brakes locks them up and then all you can do is pray to god. Braking behaviour on the dry also has been erratic with very good braking till 60 KMPH but beyond that I have been double pedalling and using engine braking to stop the vehicle. There have been scary moments when I have had to swerve in order to avoid hitting someone. I reported this problem to M&M Folks (right upto the Regional Service Head) and they checked the entire system, did a few things and dropped it back last night. Braking behaviour seems to have improved but I would like to drive more before I comment further.

AC: This has been another letdown. Even though the A/C cools quite well, its effectiveness inside the cabin is considerably reduced due to the angle of the vents. Firstly the A/C works only on recirculation mode with air blowing out only on the front and the movement of the vents restricting the direct air coming on the face of the driver or co-driver. Too much of glass area also reduces the effectiveness and I being against tints (due to their impact on night driving), have to put news paper on the windows along with shades. But the chhupa Rustam in the whole thing is that the glovebox can be used as a chill try for your beverages without any mods.

Factory Fitted ICE : All I can think is the less said the better. The headunit is so bad that everything sounds flat and uninspiring. I have had it changed to another Kenwood unit from my Uno and the whole scenario is changed now. The speakers are good and music sounds awesome.

Irritants

There are quite a few things that are becoming real irritants and I further get frustrated knowing that these are part of the Jeep package and I will have to live with it.

This is my first diesel and even though the cabin is quite well insulated with almost no engine sound with normal volume music, but the vibrations through the cabin below the torque range is not exactly pleasant. Also in true truck tradition, I have stopped using the inside RVM as the damn thing keeps vibrating due to the body vibrations and produces blurred images. As quoted by another Scorpio owner that in a Jeep-ish way, one needs to master the art of shifting from 2nd to 3rd, I have become used to double declutching. Another area that M&M needs to improve is the dashboard fitments and the various sounds that keep coming from here and there.

Recently my in-laws had a ride in the "Storm" and after feeling all the vibrations that the vehicle had to offer, FIL wanted to know how come a new vehicle had so much of vibrations and noises. I smiled and said "Its a Jeep that has PS, AC and Music System"

Summary

Now the million dollar question is am I happy with the Purchase. Hell YES!!! My driving style is slowly getting changed with me driving over road undulations or other abnormalities at twice the speed of what any sedan would do in such conditions. I love the torque range, the point and shoot characteristics and lording over those indicabs who think they own the roads. I am loving every moment of my ownership of the "Storm" inspite of all these shortfalls and not to sound very harsh, a point of advice to those thinking of buying, "it's not for the faint hearted".

P.s: Quality of mahindra Service coming up.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Brakes: This is one thing that has been getting on my nerves. The presence of ABS on a vehicle of this size is definitely required. I have already aquaplaned the "Storm" twice.

This was a very huge concern for me and was the number 1 reason why I said no to the Bolero CRDE. Aquaplaning does not depend on braking however. Aquaplaning is when your car is skimming over a great deal of water and has no contact with the tarmac and hence tends to dance around merrily. I have aquaplaned my Scorp + ABS innumerable number of times on the highway during thunder storms.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Factory Fitted ICE : All I can think is the less said the better. The headunit is so bad that everything sounds flat and uninspiring. I have had it changed to another Kenwood unit from my Uno and the whole scenario is changed now. The speakers are good and music sounds awesome.

That HU is only fit to play music from AIR. Another reason why I was playing it on for the SLE. M&M should release a CRDE SLE Variant instead of shoving things down our throat.

But at this rate, you're ODO is not going to beat your warranty! Come on man, just drive to Leh and back and finish with it instead of all these 80 km drives

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

This was a very huge concern for me and was the number 1 reason why I said no to the Bolero CRDE. Aquaplaning does not depend on braking however. Aquaplaning is when your car is skimming over a great deal of water and has no contact with the tarmac and hence tends to dance around merrily. I have aquaplaned my Scorp + ABS innumerable number of times on the highway during thunder storms.

I had never been able to aquaplane my Fiat's previously however much water. And the tendency for the brakes to lock-up I think also aggravates the problem.

That HU is only fit to play music from AIR. Another reason why I was playing it on for the SLE. M&M should release a CRDE SLE Variant instead of shoving things down our throat.

The HU that I put from my Uno is nothing fancy. Its I think MPC-339 which I got as a special deal for about 3.8k in Delhi (with bill and 2 years warranty). Really bugs me that M&M doesn't even spends 3k on its HU.

But at this rate, you're ODO is not going to beat your warranty! Come on man, just drive to Leh and back and finish with it instead of all these 80 km drives

Amen!
Will do soon!

[MudMover]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Amen!
Will do soon!

Hey MC,

Reviews like yours serve as a great motivating factor for other owners like me. Great going there! I would love to hear about a Leh trip from you.

Last month, I had to attend my bro's wedding in M'bai but my ticket on the Mumbai Express did not get confirmed even on the date of the journey. So I returned home, slept a little and then hopped onto my Storm and drove to M'bai non-stop. It took me 15 and a half hours, driving at 80-90 kmph. Since I drove without A/C all the way, I got 14.5 kmpl as well! On the return trip, I gave a lift to my Bro & his new bride since they did not get a ticket on the train as well (I guess it runs in the family!). Now, everyone jokingly refers to my Storm as the 'MUMBAI EXPRESS'.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I had never been able to aquaplane my Fiat's previously however much water. And the tendency for the brakes to lock-up I think also aggravates the problem.

Strange. I have aqua-planed by Palio S10 on the Bangalore-Chennai highway at about 80 KMPH and could literally feel the car lifting off with zero traction. A friend aquaplaned his Petra 1.6 and had a bad skirmish thereafter.

[The Wolf]

Great buy Milecruncher, your machine definitely suites your name...congrats!!!

Ok, one question to the Mahindra techies out here, can this car be converted into an all wheel drive? If yes, at the showroom or after market? Approx cost of this upgrade.

As much as I know about Hondas Im absolutely pityful at SUV scenes however I was looking at this one SUV extremely closely since its launch. Well, I seem to have fallen in love with it even without driving it once

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by MudMover

So I returned home, slept a little and then hopped onto my Storm and drove to M'bai non-stop.

WOW...i like that.
That's exactly what the Bolero is made for.
Mud Moving and Mile Crunching.

[MileCruncher]

All you Bolero masters (like shaolin Masters!) out there, a quick question to you all. I was listening intently to my Storm while idling. On pressing the clutch in idling, even though the RPM is not increasing, I'm hearing an extra "kat kat" sound which in normal circumstances mean a problem with the clutch release bearing. Is this normal on the Bolero or is it actually the Clutch Release Bearing ?

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

On pressing the clutch in idling, even though the RPM is not increasing, I'm hearing an extra "kat kat" sound which in normal circumstances mean a problem with the clutch release bearing.

I've heard a very dull kat kat sound in my DI Turbo. I never bothered.



Experts here might've a different say.

[MileCruncher]

It was raining quite heavily over here in Hyd and while coming back home, went into a puddle of water at 60 KMPH. Water got splashed from left side onto the windscreen, blinding me for about 2 seconds. Is thsi a regular problem with the Bolero's and is there any solution to fix this

[musicmanaman]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

It was raining quite heavily over here in Hyd and while coming back home, went into a puddle of water at 60 KMPH. Water got splashed from left side onto the windscreen, blinding me for about 2 seconds. Is thsi a regular problem with the Bolero's and is there any solution to fix this

This problem has been reported by many Bolero owners, I remember reading some in mouthshut.com a while back, it's some sort of design flaw.

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

It was raining quite heavily over here in Hyd and while coming back home, went into a puddle of water at 60 KMPH. Water got splashed from left side onto the windscreen, blinding me for about 2 seconds. Is thsi a regular problem with the Bolero's and is there any solution to fix this

Yes, this is a design issue. But Mahindra thinks this is fixed with those plastic thingies at the bumper corners, which is far from true.



I'm not aware of any solution to this.

[MileCruncher]

The Storm completed its First Service at 5025 Kms on 11th July, 2 month and 5 days after purchase.

Things undertaken:

1. Engine Oil and Filter Change
2. Transmission Oil change
3. Differential Oil Change
4. All suspension and body nuts and bolt tightened
5. Door Alignment checked
6. Fluid top-up
7. Full Wash with Polish

Things that I was suggested by the service guys but didn't get done:

1. Engine treatment - I feel engine treatment should not be put in an engine so early in its life when the engine is still bedding in.
2. Anti Rust Treatment - Didn't think I need it.
3. Teflon Coating on the paint - Teflon coating on a jeep bought for roughing out in the wildnerness.
4. Fuel Filter - The fuel filter has a life of 15k Kms but the SA wanted me to change it nevertheless as part of the first service. Told him a categorical NO!

Bill: Rs 2242/-

After service Storm feels like new. Clutch has become smoother and the engine I feel has become quieter. Previously was getting about 9.5KMPL in city and 11.5 KMPL on highway with 100% AC and some really aggressive driving. Have done a tank full after the service, lets see how much it improves.