[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - thank you all for your reply. I wish I could say more. Samajhnewale ko isharakaafi hai. Both smilies are justified, one "for me" , the other one also "for me only" .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Ashley Nair]

DHABHAR.BEHRAM;2158278]Dear all - thank you all for your reply. I wish I could say more. Samajhnewale ko isharakaafi hai. Both smilies are justified, one "for me" , the other one also "for me only" .

Agreed, sir. But please answer one question -will the MDI3200A will be replaced/supplimented by a low cost Crdi (as rumoured) based on the same platform? At least give an ambiguos answer, as a goodwill gesture, as you always do

[4x4addict]

Behram Sir, you got to be kidding me.

Plonking a CRDe engine in a dated platform, tweaking the brakes a little doesn't make the Bolero modern by any means.

What about folding middle row? What about better interior ergonomics? If you can get past the ugliness, the Grande is much more refined and practical than the Bolero as a personal/family use vehicle. However, i would admit that it doesn't have the proven track record of the Bolero. But, if you read the reviews/ownership reports of team-bhps who have owned/(and sold) Bolero VLX, it hasn't exactly been a bed of roses.

[PAVAN KADAM]

I have test driven the new Bolero.

Nothing excited me, whatever that thing was inside, everywhere i look, i can find Hard plastics, unfinished corners, Crude gaping panel gaps all over., Extremely rigid suspension.

The Plus point being, a decent enough A/C with thermostat to adjust temperature , Good turning radius, car like driving,not powerful but torqey engine, good brakes and a nice acceleration.

If you ask any layman without T-BHP knowledge to compare the Grande and the Bolero, his family will rush him to TATA motors to book the Grande

[bblost]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

If you ask any layman without T-BHP knowledge to compare the Grande and the Bolero, his family will rush him to TATA motors to book the Grande

Tell me you are joking right.

Mahindra
Bolero : 7987

Tata
Sumo : 1688

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...s-figures.html

I have test driven the Grande and the Bolero.
And they are both not in my list when I change my vehicle.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by bblost

Tell me you are joking right.

Mahindra
Bolero : 7987

Tata
Sumo : 1688

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...s-figures.html

I have test driven the Grande and the Bolero.
And they are both not in my list when I change my vehicle.

I am amused and shocked by the way we play number games here on T-BHP,

Its time we accept and compare Oranges to Apples.

The Bolero is made and sold to an entirely different category of people, why dont we see as many Bolero's as long distance Taxi's, but most of the Grande's sold go to High end Taxi segment.

I am saying this taking a layman into consideration. The same happened to my neighbour, he TD'd the Bolero/Scorpio and the Grande 4 days ago (He is not aware of T-BHP) as a family man and with a particular budget, he booked the Grande and now since a day i see an Orange Grande parked in front of his house.

Is it BANNED to call a Spade a Spade, i cant do that, but its also not my tirade against the Mahindra's.

The Bolero is too crude to be brought as a family car.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

I am amused and shocked by the way we play number games here on T-BHP,

Its time we accept and compare Oranges to Apples.

The Bolero is made and sold to an entirely different category of people, why dont we see as many Bolero's as long distance Taxi's, but most of the Grande's sold go to High end Taxi segment.

I am saying this taking a layman into consideration. The same happened to my neighbour, he TD'd the Bolero/Scorpio and the Grande 4 days ago (He is not aware of T-BHP) as a family man and with a particular budget, he booked the Grande and now since a day i see an Orange Grande parked in front of his house.

Is it BANNED to call a Spade a Spade, i cant do that.

The Bolero is too crude to be brought as a family car.

Pavan. I did not say the Grande is a bad vehicle. I did not say Bolero was a great.

In fact I made it quite clear that both these vehicles are NOT in my list as and when I change my car.

The point is, both these vehicles are just as good or as bad as each other.
The Bolero however has a great lead over the Grande in sales.
If you look at the Mahindra V/S Tata in the SUV/MUV segment, Mahindre sells a lot more than Tata.

They must be doing something right to have taken such a dramatic lead considering that both of them are relatively new players.

And I found it quite hopeless when you said a layman would rush to a Tata Showroom as soon as he TD's the Bolero. They are not doing that are they.

But I am happy for your neighbor. In terms of turning radius, I found the Grande on par with my hatchback. Makes for so much comfortable city driving.

[raj_5004]

Sales figures speak a lot about a car. It shows what the customer really wants from his car.

Regarding taxi market, I am into this business & all taxi owners need is reliability, space & FE. Bolero is short on space & FE is not that great, when compared to tavera. Which taxi owner in his right mind would buy a bolero? Tavera is dated, so the obvious choice is the Grande (not considering the innova). And as i said, grande seems to be the most reliable TATA around.

I have seen quite a few Sumo grande taxis. Come to mumbai & the only grande you will see is the yellow board, white & red coloured 'Kingfisher Airlines' taxis. They are battered & very much abused but still seem to be running well.

So overall, it all depends on your priorities. If you need outright power, refinement & reliability, the bolero VLX is for you. however if you give more importance to space, looks, interior design, then the grande is more apt for you.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

Its time we accept and compare Oranges to Apples.

Were you serious?

Anyways, was getting a big Tata serviced at the dealership. Happened to go to the stock area and to my surprise there were just too many Grande's, the plain ones.(not the DICOR, but Turbo ones with black bumpers)

I quizzed them and as per them, they are having a hard time selling the Grande's.

The turbo ones get gobbled up by Bolero mercilessly. The MK-II's suffer the same fate either in the hands of its own sibling* or the Xylo.

My friend is owner of Mahindra dealership over here and I have seen them ordering Boleros. No color or model is specified, send what ever you can. And rarely would you find Bolero in the yard. The Xylo is there (picking up & outnumbers the MK-II) and Logan.

Tata is selling Indica and Sumo's in my place by the simple virtue of very easy finance option by Tata Motors. Mahindra is outselling Tata is (M/S)UV segment. At least at my place.

*Who can resist a Safari?

P.S--there are two Tata's parked so I am not biased

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear all - let me put some thoughts across. I will always use a Mahindra vehicle (besides my fiats of course but that's another story) due to obvious reasons. When I sold my Scorpio, I could have easily gone in for another Scorpio. Then, why did I buy a Bolero? OK, here goes - NO FLAB AT ALL / ABSOLUTELY TAUT AND COMPACT SHAPE / DECENT TRIM LEVEL TO MY LIKING / GREAT POWER TO WEIGHT RATIO (which I can "tweak" and I have "tweaked") / REASONABLE PRICE / GREAT MARKET ACCEPTABILITY SO NO RESALE ISSUE / WITHOUT DOUBT BEST IN COUNRTY CUSTOMER CARE NETWORK (I WAS PART OF IT TILL 2007) ETC.

But the most important point that you must know is that this vehicle occupied my MINDSPACE. As I walked through the Bolero assembly line everyday, every brown colored Bolero VLX being made caught my attention ("buy me, buy me", they would shout). My family wanted the Bolero VLX to be in burgandy red color. I even considered choosing one out of 3 burgandy reds which were available, but "that something" which endeared me to a brown Bolero VLX just did not happen with the burgandy red Bolero VLX.

So guys, now tell me what happened with me?

In my opinion, I would put it that the success of the Bolero in whichever form it is now has occupied the CUSTOMER'S MINDSPACE. This is the true success of the brand which makes me feel extremely good.

I am thoroughly enjoying my Brown Bolero VLX - MH 15 CM 6341, let anybody say anything.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[raj_5004]

I have seen Behram sir's bolero. though i dint get a chance to sit in it, I think i am allowed to reveal that the mods done on the car is such that its now faster than the scorpio mHawk!!!

[n.devdath]

OT:
I would never recommend a Bolero VLX/GLX whatever "X" even with a jet engine over the Scorpio. It is an extremely outdated chassis which handles like a boat, bad, no, actually very bad ergonomics and NVH Levels and most of all, a rock hard suspension resulting in a tough time, especially in the middle row.

Does the Bolero have potential? Yes.
Give a good 5 seater configuration like the Yeti, revamp its suspension and steering systems to something more modern, plonk in a 4wd from the Scorpio/Thar, improve the interiors and ergonomics and sell it a cult avatar for half as much as the Yeti.

But then, that is not the motive of this thread so I put to rest my post here.

[indianvirus]

hello all,

Here I am not advocating any vehicle nor I am biased towards any.

This is just a thought. We know bolero sales 6-7K a month, but how many of them is purchased as a family car (leaving exception on TBHP)? I see companies, labour contractors, police and other government bodies, security services etc. buying them for obvious reasons like reliability and ruggedness. Even if families buying them, it is in rural or semi urban areas. I don't see many "family" boleros in urban area.

Having said that I personally sat in my friends bolero (again provided by government as he is government employee). This particular bolero was of high trim level with A/C and all, and done good 60-70K kms. but still it was pulling 5 people with great acceleration. I was surprised with low noise and vibration level inside the cabin. It didn't feel as crude as it feels from outside. I was surprised with this one.

But still I don't see myself buying one as it is cramped, not so refined and dated. It is "jack of all, king of none" vehicle.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

WITHOUT DOUBT BEST IN COUNRTY CUSTOMER CARE NETWORK (I WAS PART OF IT TILL 2007) ETC.

OT: Do you really mean it? It is a well known fact that when it comes to customer care, no manufacturer has been able to beat MSIL. Be it the spread, the experience or the issue resolution. In fact, in this year's JD Power CSI report, M&M has slipped behind TML as well.

[Spitfire]

Ok so i made the Title of my post - Bolero Fan (I Believe)

Hope that clears any misunderstanding towards where my loyalty lies.

Now coming to some quotes on here:

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

The Bolero is too crude to be brought as a family car.

Ok, if you say so (considering you are the ultimate authority on family cars). But I have a family a 2.5 year old kid. Recently (Diwali) we did a 1.5k kms trip with family in the Bolero. This is our daily drive. Our only car. Other cars owned by us (family) - a E220 (wife family, thier costliest car of the lot) and a Honda City (ANHC, dad's present car). We (me and wife) are used to better "cars" then the Bolero. We still hold on to this one. Why? Because we think its an ideal family car for "us". We meet people who turn their noses on the Bolero mostly those who drive the new gen cars. They ask me why this? I say you wont get it. And that should be your attitude. If you dont get it dont comment. It sells and lot of families get it. We have a small club running of Boleroes all use it as a family car. Not everyone is satisfied (but then which car does?) but it surely works as a family car.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

OT:
I would never recommend a Bolero VLX/GLX whatever "X" even with a jet engine over the Scorpio.

I like your attitude towards the Bolero. Ever strong and unwavering. And no, hitting medians and thanking the Scorpio for saving your skin doesnt make it a better car.