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-   -   Is Bolero A Good Buy? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-muvs-4x4s/39921-bolero-good-buy.html)

Is it wise to buy a bolero as it is a cheaper suv/muv? or is there any alternative?
any suggetions?

Very less data is provided for members to suggest anything.
Can you describe your usage, city/highway driving, Self/driver driven and so on.

What will you be using it for? You may also want to check out the Sumo Victa in a simlar price range or even the Sumo Grande which is about a lakh more.

The Sumo victa is probably much better for driving and passenger comfort. Again both these vehicles should be purchased only if you don't want to spend more for a Scorpio/Safari.

Bolero is a first class vehicle - I used one for 3 years and absolutely enjoyed it.
My driving was of course predominantly in the city but with regular long distance/ hill trips and a bit of light off road too.
You could read the Bolero general review Ive written on this site.
Personally I would certainly recommend it if you cannot afford a higher end SUV/Jeep type vehicle.

However, as I understand it, Bolero with the Scorpio Crde engine is currently under testing - it may be reasonably soon that they will launch the Bolero with this Scorp Crde engine -2.6. This will increase its BHP from the current 68 to 100! The indications as far as I know are that this vehicle will arrive in the market around September 08.

Suggest you hang in there for a bit because Mahindra doesnt generally publicize much about what its plans are - they just happily make plans and launch new things whenever they feel like - the public are allowed to be pleasantly surprised at times! Like for example they ve just launched a less expensive MHAWK called VLE - which costs about 10.95lacs (BLR) as against the regular MHAWK VLX which costs 11.6 lacs (BLR).

Even a month ago when I bought my Scorp no one had any idea that this VLE would be launched - irritating, but true.

Don't go by looks alone.

Suggest you take a test drive on a used (not new) vehicle and decide for yourself.

A typical passenger car can be comfortable at speeds above 90-100 km/h.
Under that shiny sheet metal, the Bolero is a jeep. Like all jeep universals, it was never meant to be driven fast. If the driving (dis)comfort does not bother you, and the levels of NVH are bearable, it is a good low priced truck and will take on the roughest terrain you throw at it.

Boleros are easy to maintain and well supported by Mahindra.
And if you must have it, you can also opt for the 4x4 version.

Kindly eloborate more on your requirements so that members will be able to give you more specific inputs for your choice of vehicle. Is it that you are looking only for a cheaper muv or is there more that you expect from you vehicle in terms of comfort, handling, safety, and importantly what kind of driving do you day on a daily basis, is it city driving or involves rugged terrains etc. etc.

The new balero looks good and if this is true, go for it, once its launched.

@Shankar, Even I am considering a BOLERO as one of the options, but I want to know more about it maintanability/reliability/FE. How would you rate BOLERO with respect to these factors?

Hi Bullboy,

It would be great if you could outline your needs more clearly. In the meanwhile, do visit the following threads. They will be of immense help to you:

1. Bolero

2. Bolero 2

3. Bolero - Offroading

4. Old review.

Even I am considering buying one, here's my dilemma...

I own a Baleno currently. Brilliant drivers car. More so if you like to drive fast. But with two kids, speed is no longer my primary concern as it was earlier. Also lately I have developed this liking for traveling out of the city to remote places. Two issues I face here

1. Low GC of Baleno. I love my Baleno and my heart bleeds whenever the car's bottom scrapes on bad roads.

2. Concerns about petrol quality in remote areas.

So what I would ideally like to have

1. Sturdy car with comforts (A/c, PS, Power Windows etc) that can take a family of five to any part of India,
2. Good fuel economy
3. Excellent reliability
4. Good ergonomics.

I have been reading about Bolero for sometime and going by what the owners have reported, I am reasonably convinced about the first 3. In fact I am assuming that the DI turbo in the Bolero can take a lot of abuse with respect to adulterated fuel.

What I would like to know is

1. How good is it to travel in a Bolero (say compared to a Sedan, Baleno) for the passengers ?
2. Is it easy to drive, my main worries are the clutch and the gear box. Are
they really hard ? I am planning a test drive but would like inputs from the owners. Given that I will use this for my office commute and other drives within the city, hard clutch/gearbox means I wont buy this.
3. Given that the same engine does duty in the Scorpio M2DI as well, what would it take to get the Bolero spec's similar to the M2DI ?

One thing to keep in mind is that reviews posted by GTO above are for the earlier GLX which used to come with the Peugot XD3P engine which could rev upto about 4500 rpm. The current version come with the same engine as in the Mahindra major which is derived from the original International Tractor engine and doesn't in anyway feel like the old GLX or the Sumo Victa Turbo engine. It makes very good low end torque and hence lugging power, but forget about 0-60 timings. You will have enough time to make your breakfast before it hits 60 kmph.

4x4 bhai,

What about the SLX 4wd? That seems to come with the XD3PU engine. Is that the same one? It makes much less torque tho!

I may be speaking too soon but I think they will detune it to churn out a lower bhp.

Initially i was looking for a car ( read first vehicle) .but i prefer some space inside the vehicle and i could not afford safari . so looking for some cheaper alternatives . the vehicle should not be heavy on maintenance also cheaper to run.

You may want to check with your nearest dealer. When I checked six months back, I was told that they have not made the XD3P BSIII compliant so it couldn't be registered in the cities. He even went as far as to say that Mahindra is not taking orders for it. But unfortunately sometime delears are the ones who know least about the vehicles they sell.

Seeing Shankar's post about the trials of the scropio engine, Mahindra may be plannign to replace the DI engine in the higher variants of the Bolero rather than make the XD3P engine BSIII compliant.