[phamilyman]

Chalo ji BUSA bhai, next time I come to Mumbai, I'll arrange a BUSA-Tavera drag. You'd like Power or Turbojet? or OMR?

[BUSA]

Chalo ji BUSA bhai, next time I come to Mumbai, I'll arrange a BUSA-Tavera drag. You'd like Power or Turbojet? or OMR?

Some Power Horse for me

P.S Pardon my ignorance, whats OMR?

[anupmathur]

I think he wants you to down a bottle or two of Old Monk Rum as fuel before your 0-100 drag against the Tavera.
In which case, to keep things fair, the same should be poured down the Tavera's fuel filler pipe too!
And I know already which one will win!

_____________________

Back to the topic - nothing else will do. Has to be a 4X4 Bolero. IMHO.

[AirWind]

List has so far suggested - Bolero's, Trax's, used Safari's/Scorpio's, Tavera's to Gypsy's - how about an ICML Rhino (International Cars & Motors Ltd)? Don't think it comes in a 4x4 avathar.

[bent_gate]

Hey guys, I know this is five year plus old thread... I am the OP, so wanted to post a follow up response here.

Firstly, thanks for all the feedback and apologies for not acknowledging earlier all the wonderful feedback.

Secondly, my experience. So, back in 2008, looking for a vehicle that I could use for driving to work, occasional long distance urban touring trips, weekend mild offtrails (I kayak, hike, climb and mountain bike) I considered the following;

- Mahindra Bolero (didn't get any attention from the showroom folks, so walked away - a decision I have regretted many times more recently)
- Tata Safari (the loaded version which I liked was out of my budget)
- Tata Indigo Marina (didn't just cut it for me, seemed a tad under powered)

Finally, I figured I couldn't have one do it all car, and chose to go with Hyundai Verna, since it met some of my requirements, the price point, and planned to on picking up a used Jeep for my weekend trips.

That spare jeep didn't materialize as I couldn't come to terms with the kind of jeeps that were available for 2-3 lakhs. (Had just returned from US, where I had sold a 2000 Jeep Cherokee for USD 6k, and putting down Rs.2-3 lakhs for decade plus old jeeps that constantly needed further work, didn't make sense to me) Plus other competing financial issues, made me rethink the original decision and decided to use the sedan as far as I could stretch.

Verna is a good sedan, reasonably powered vehicle, that does well in traffic and brilliantly on the highway. Not a very powerful car, but just about enough to keep up with most (relatively, most), vehicles on the road today.

Where the Verna struggled with me; the mild off-trails I assumed I would be doing turned out to be rather back country stuff. Rock smattered roads, mud roads grooved deep with rain water runoffs, slushy plantation trails, steep slippery double track mud trails, and so on.

At some point, I stopped putting the Verna through such experiences and bought a Maruti Zen. It suffered too, but with less heartache from my end (at that price point). But then surprisingly, with less weight to transact, it did relatively better than the Verna and comparable to the other shuttle vehicles my friends drove. However, I always ended up 10 or 15 minutes later than my friends at the destinations, if it were a 100 odd km trip. Such was it's ability to speed up on the highways. But it is a spiffy vehicle for the city.

Then for last couple of quarters, I had been considering a Mahindra Thar, pretty seriously. The only thing that kept stopping me was that trails itself aren't the destination for me, they are what get me to my destination. Meaning, I would have to spend more after market to install hard top, roof rack, etc.

Then after almost a year of dithering I started looking at a Bolero 4wd. It just made such logical sense. Pretty good looking vehicle for the price point, sturdy, good resale value, good mileage, covered, ability to go all the places I can imagine, good torquey drive, a decent suburban SUV.

It just so happened that a used one came up for sale. And I picked it up.

Apparently, it used to be a serious 4wd war horse. And now, with a roof rack installed, it is a pack mule. Only thing that niggles me is the middle seat that is fixed. I will have to get to it at some point.

Sometimes, I wonder if I had stayed put at that Mahindra Showroom and simply test driven a 4wd Bolero five years back...

[teja484]

Not posting for five years in a thread that you started is a serious infraction. It attracts major penalties and you are now obliged to us. Just kidding.

However, you are obliged to put up some pictures and also plans of the modifications that you have in mind. Like a roof top tent with ladder, or a bunk bed inside the car making it a caravan.

Good luck with the find and many happy miles!!

[bent_gate]

Originally Posted by teja484

Not posting for five years in a thread that you started is a serious infraction. It attracts major penalties and you are now obliged to us. Just kidding.

However, you are obliged to put up some pictures and also plans of the modifications that you have in mind. Like a roof top tent with ladder, or a bunk bed inside the car making it a caravan.

Good luck with the find and many happy miles!!

Haha... I suppose this quick reply redeems all my prior infractions.

I am not one to make major mods. But I did add a thule roof rack to the Bolero for transporting kayaks and such. Also, planning to find a folding middle seat (have been following up with my local garage, with little success), and redo the music system with certain budget.

And sometimes, I dream of getting a Thar engine fitted into the Bolero bay... It would make for a much more perfect tourer cum back country vehicle with a little more oomph.

[teja484]

Originally Posted by bent_gate

Haha... I suppose this quick reply redeems all my prior infractions.

I am not sure if you remember this advertisment of the Bajaj Avenger. Well, they make it appear as if 'Forgiving will make you feel godlike.' However, with out you putting up pictures, forgiving gets all the more difficult.

Originally Posted by bent_gate

I am not one to make major mods. But I did add a thule roof rack to the Bolero for transporting kayaks and such. Also, planning to find a folding middle seat (have been following up with my local garage, with little success), and redo the music system with certain budget.

Well, that is exactly what i thought about the seats. However, I was thinking of getting a seat that can be folded all the way back 180degrees and folding the front seats all the way back(removing the head rest) and making a bed out of it for two people. This arrangement might of course mean getting rid of the third row but i would do just that.

Originally Posted by bent_gate

And sometimes, I dream of getting a Thar engine fitted into the Bolero bay... It would make for a much more perfect tourer cum back country vehicle with a little more oomph.

Dreaming of getting the Thar engine? No offence, but unless you are buying a new Thar engine, you will dream for a long time to come. Not sure how soon you will have a used Thar engine in the market. I have read somewhere( i think it was Mr. Behram Darbar who said) that the Thar CRDE is essentially the Scorpio engine. So you might wanna look for a Scorpio engine. I know of a guy who plonked in a Scorpio engine into a Bolero Invader and ended up with a beast at hands. The FE went down a bit though.

Good luck with the mods, and if you plan the engine change, do let me know and I will buy your engine. I need a good one(at a good price) for the Jeep(CJ3B).

[condor]

Originally Posted by bent_gate

Haha... I suppose this quick reply redeems all my prior infractions. .

Not quite, but it does give a little redemption to have come back & upated on the turn of events.

Good luck with your vehicles. Do post the pics, and continue with the mods.

[balajird]

Good that this thread got bumped up now, I am almost in similar needs except that I dont especially need a 4x4 as the chances of off-roading is very rare (read nill) but a seven seater with good urban driveability and mileage for approximately 6 - 7 L on road is something I am thinking of.

Recommendations?

[ag408]

I am also looking for something in the range of 6-7 lakhs, but more of a sedan class vehicle. My wife loves the Duster for its design, but the base model does not have any features and I am not willing to shell out the money for that! Sorry if I am hijacking a different discussion, but any views on cars I can consider? Amaze is done and dusted and I'm not too sure I want to buy one.

I am definitely looking at all safety features (ABS + air bags (at least driver and passenger)) Any suggestions.