[HarshGtR]

Mahindra to launch Bolero facelift by October 2019 to meet new safety norms.

Mahindra’s bestselling SUV is set to get a major upgrade to meet the safety and emission standards that will come into effect from April 1, 2020. The Bolero, though ageing, is still going strong 19 years after it was launched and will be ‘future-proofed’ to meet the latest regulations.

As part of the upgrade, Mahindra will offer ABS across the Bolero line-up from this month. The SUV range will also get features like driver's airbag, seatbelt reminder warning, speed warning and rear parking sensors before July 1, 2019. However, a more serious upgrade will be carried out before October 1, 2019, when all cars have to meet the stringent offset front and side crash standards.

The Mahindra Bolero facelift will also get an upgraded engine by April 2020 as by then all internal combustion engines will have to shift to the much cleaner BS-VI standards. Mahindra, however, won’t employ an all-new engine. Instead, to keep the Bolero cost-competitive, it will continue to offer the antiquated 2.5-litre m2Di engine that, incredulously, will be upgraded to the BS-VI level.

It is not clear if the Bolero will get the mHawk engine at a later stage, but given the huge cost impact of the extra BS-VI hardware, it seems unlikely.

Source: ACI

[4x4addict]

I don't think they can ever get the MDI3200 TC (2.5 M2DICR) to meet BS-VI norms without severely compromising the power output of an already feeble engine. My guess is that it wll get the 1.5 Marrazo engine de-tuned to the silly Bolero numbers. They may also upgrade the m-sparrow 1.5, 3-Cylinder engine from the Power+ model. Since this is a 3 Cylinder low capacity (mhawk -1 cylinder) engine, there is some hope of making this one BS-VI compliant.

[Doge]

Can anyone shed some light on how this relic will pass the crash tests?

[GTO]

Sure seems to be a news article from ACI just for the heck of it. The upcoming norms are going to force product updates on all the older cars, so there's no real "news" here.

Originally Posted by Doge

how this relic

Well said.

The Indian crash tests aren't going to be anywhere as difficult to pass as the NCAP. IMHO, the government is laying out a minimum standard to get the ball rolling, and will eventually make it stricter over the years. Just as they did with BS-1 emission norms to soon, BS-6. This will be similar in principle to how we moved from carburetors to fuel-injection almost overnight.

And heck, if the Eeco can be updated to meet the safety norms (link (Maruti to upgrade Eeco, Omni to meet crash safety norms)), so can the vintage Bolero.

[SandyX]

Mahindra, however, won’t employ an all-new engine. Instead, to keep the Bolero cost-competitive, it will continue to offer the antiquated 2.5-litre m2Di engine that, incredulously, will be upgraded to the BS-VI level.

The only thing i care for in this article is this part. This vintage roots engine deserves to keep chugging.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

power output of an already feeble engine.

Americans are going gaga over this 'feeble' engine in their Roxors, and looking for them as crate engines to repower their old wheels. They've managed to pump out reliable 100hp+ & 300Nm+ from this mill. Indian Stage VI may blunt it some but the block is capable of well above stock numbers. I'm sure you're aware of all this.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by SandyX

The only thing i care for in this article is this part. This vintage roots engine deserves to keep chugging.

My hunch is that you will be disappointed come April 2020, cause the MDI is going away. If it was a peice of cake to upgrade antiquated engines to BSVI, Mahindra needn't have spent crores developing a new engine range.

Originally Posted by SandyX

Americans are going gaga over this 'feeble' engine in their Roxors, and looking for them as crate engines to repower their old wheels. They've managed to pump out reliable 100hp+ & 300Nm+ from this mill. Indian Stage VI may blunt it some but the block is capable of well above stock numbers. I'm sure you're aware of all this.

By Americans, I am sure you mean a large sampling of the USA population not just a handful of Roxor enthusiasts.



When private enthusiasts make alterations to increase engine power, there are not bound by 3 major limitations of an automotive manufacture, i.e

1) Engine Life/Longevity

2) Emissions
3) Cost

4) + in India (mileage too).



So a hobbyist pushing 100+ bhp won't help Mahindra to use this engine post BSVI norms.



My point was not if the engine can make 100 bhp, but whether Mahindra can make it BSVI compliant without loosing the feeble power output further.



When I call 63 bhp/19 KGM Torque from a 2.5 Liter DI engine feeble, don't take it personally, no matter how you slice and dice it, it is feeble. An American enthusiast taking it up to 100+ bhp is irrelevant cause we don't know the cost or complexity of this upgrade.

[SandyX]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

An American enthusiast taking it up to 100+ bhp is irrelevant cause we don't know the cost or complexity of this upgrade.

OT







These are kits from respected shops, not some lone enthusiast hackjob. Also one of the first things done on a roxor coming off the factory floor. Production is 5k/year, so there will only be a handful of owners there. Stage 1 @90hp/200+Nm is a more common tune outside hard wheeling. I'm not saying it's the Be All power train but they seem to reliably get around the 'feeble' and give its unrestricted rightful place. If interested, do go through roxor enthusiasts USA FB group to see what they doing to our domestically well neglected Thar version. Again, it's my hope this block lives on at least for the non-metro market given its potential and simplicity.

[Shreyas Agarwal]

Originally Posted by GTO

And heck, if the Eeco can be updated to meet the safety norms (link (Maruti to upgrade Eeco, Omni to meet crash safety norms)), so can the vintage Bolero.

I think the Eeco will easily meet the new safety norms because in the ncap it scored more than the Alto and even the humongous Mahindra Scorpio.
Whereas these two cars scored 0 in adult occupant protection, the Eeco managed to score a decent 1.13.
(Although all these scored zero stars).

Here are the images:
Alto

Scorpio

Eeco


What Maruti will do is add a few more beams and 2 airbags and it will get a 1 star (the bare minimum) easily.

And once again, with no competition, it will take place of its daddy, Omni, and give tough competition to sales of Samosas and Vada paavs with those numbers.

Though, I agree that it will not be able to meet the norms if they are updated further but it is a good interim arrangement.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by SandyX

OT

Off Topic Exactly!!



This thread is not about how much power can be eked out of the Roxor engine, but the future of the Bolero platform after the new emission and safety norms kick in.



Apologies, but haven't really bothered to go thought details of the images as it is really irrelevant to this thread.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

When I call 63 bhp/19 KGM Torque from a 2.5 Liter DI engine feeble, don't take it personally, no matter how you slice and dice it, it is feeble. An American enthusiast taking it up to 100+ bhp is irrelevant cause we don't know the cost or complexity of this upgrade.

Quoting myself from another thread -

I have driven a 2WD Safari Storme with the same engine (Varicor 400) on steep slopes. And it sucked big time. The problem is that the first gear is not low enough and you get caught in the engine's turbo lag. If you loose momentum on a steep slope you have rev the engine past the turbo lag and then dump the clutch. Not a smooth graceful takeoff. A bolero DI would do the same routine without a sweat. That to with only 63 HP and 5 people on board.

The "feeble" engine somehow beats the "brawny" engines when pulling on a slope. I don't mean it personally but sometimes i wonder if people have real driving experience before passing judgements on the "feebleness" of engines based on paper figures.

[TusharK]

Scoop! Updated Mahindra Bolero caught testing

Thanks to Vivekanand Muthukrishnan for sending these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!



The updated Mahindra Bolero has been spotted testing. It is expected to get a BS-VI compliant engine and new safety features.



The spy images suggest that the new Bolero could look identical to the current model. The test car has camouflage on the grille, which suggests that could receive a redesigned grille. The car has the same single-pod headlamps with integrated turn signals and bumper with circular fog lamp pods.



The Bolero has grey plastic trim along the sides. At the rear, the car has a tail gate mounted spare wheel that has a dual-tone cover. The ZLX variant seen here has body coloured ORVMs and rear seat headrests.



One of the images reveals an mHawk D70 badge placed behind the front fenders. The Bolero is on sale with the 3-cylinder, 1.5-liter mHawk D70 diesel engine developing 70 BHP @ 3,600 rpm and 195 Nm of torque @ 1,400-2,200 rpm in the sub 4m guise and the 2.5-liter M2DiCR engine that puts out 62 BHP @ 3,200 rpm and 195 Nm @ 1,400-2,200 rpm in the regular model.





Link to Team-BHP News

[fx45]

Nice catch. Looks like this is more of an engine or component testing mule rather than a design update. Yes the grille does look new, which could feature in the updated model with Airbags, ABS and Rear parking sensors.

Dont think the Bolero will be able to clear the crash test norms that come into effect later this year - without major changes.

[GTO]

Thanks to Ujjwal Saxena for sending this image in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Here's a pic of the inside. Is this the ABS warning light? Gosh, the Bolero is really the KING OF JUGAAD . In every car I've driven, the ABS light is part of the instrument cluster, but Mahindra didn't want to take the effort & update that.

[Sheel]

Bolero used to rule the roost in my part, not any longer. Scorpio M2Di/EX/S2/S3 have taken over more than 75% of sales of the Bolero.

Scorpio is more spacious. Is a more modern iteration and has better comfort [of course relatively]. Is as abuse friendly, plus in the taxi segment, people tend to prefer the Scorpio over the Bolero.

I have heard, the Bolero does good numbers in Maharashtra, anything specific that it excels at and the Scorpio does not, or just a heard mentality?

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Sheel

I have heard, the Bolero does good numbers in Maharashtra, anything specific that it excels at and the Scorpio does not, or just a heard mentality?

A few things it does excel at, over the Scorpio are: -

1. FE - being smaller, it offers better FE, by around 2-3kmpl, and that matters a lot in the taxi segment.

2. Better ride when loaded - Believe it or not, when loaded, it handles and rides better than the Scorpio over bad/undulating ghat roads, found a lot in MH.

3. Cost of maintenance - While the Scorpio M2Di has the same engine, its suspension and brakes are slightly costlier to maintain than the Bolero, hence.