Everything about the Bolero is just about adequate, and th engine is not an exception with 75 bhp and 210 nm of torque. The 1.5 liter diesel engine has no problem cruising happily in 5th gear with speed as low as 50 kmph. 

Once you get used to extremely long pedal setup, driving at low to medium speed is a breeze. We managed to get about 17.7 kmpl in our mixed driving condition. On our trip to Spiti-kaza-hikkim the number dropped to about 14.6, but with 5 people and tons of suitcases. Proving Bolero’s consistent efficiency with varying loads. 

The robust body in the frame chassis is meant to tackle tough terrains, which Bolero does with uncanny ease. We took it to max 100kmph on GFR and found no problem whatsoever, but beyond that, the Bolero starts to shake wildly indicating it's about high time Mahindra revised its sturdy but age-old chassis. Also, the drums in the rear aren’t exactly confidence inspiring in any car, let alone something as large as Bolero.

Ride and Handling

The leaf spring in the rear means that comfort is just about OK on most roads. But if you own any other car in this price point like Sonet, Ertiga, Carens, etc, you will feel the difference as to how raw the Bolero rides. I recently got to test the 3XO and compared to that, the Bolero is a violet rider, but in a raw adventurous kind of way. 

On the plus side, the Bolero can tow and carry loads running into the 100s of kilograms without as much as a squeal. I have met a couple of people who have driven a Bolero daily on “paved” Gurgaon roads and had nothing to complain about except body roll and random vibrations, every now and then.

What is there to complain about, it's NVH or random judders through door panels and body when going over 40 kmph on half paved roads, of which there are plenty in Haryana. I get the whole “you are getting a 7 seater for under 10 lakhs” vibe but my teeth literally rattled on occasions!

Considering its price of just 10 lakhs, the interior seemed just about adequate. The base variant gets Vinyl seats, but we had the luxury fabric option, pun intended. There is AC with a neat wooden finish decor around it, along with Power windows all around and central locking. The ingress and egress may be a bit of a chore for those with knee problems due to Bolero’s high riding nature. 

The classic black interior theme and lots of hard plastics gave the interior an unmistakable utilitarian vibe, something the crowd it was designed for appreciated. 

Mahindra has kept things simple throughout the cabin, their no gimmicky large touchscreens and ADAS/AI carp of any kind bar a small multi information driver display. Now we are slowly starting to understand why it has sold 1.4 million units since its launch. Our unit came with ok sounding 4 speakers and a 12V socket, something that is not available in the B4 variant which costs just 1 lakh less at 9.79 lakhs!

We found the front seats to be supremely comfortable during our short time with it. The cushioning was better than most of Mahindra’s vehicles. The high seating position and excellent view of the front hood meant navigating and cutting through traffic was easy peasy. What was opposite though is its extremely large turning radius, and subsequent onslaught of colourful vocabulary from fellow drivers in the middle of the road!

The second bench seats may look comfortable, but when using them, our rew complained about lack of knee room a lot. Thankfully I am not that tall, but folks who are above 5’10 will have comfortably settled in. 

The third row or lack thereof means two front facing jump seats that can be folded when not in use for some decent boot space. We never tried the third row, which is good for average-sized adults only.

Mahindra claims the boler has 370 liters or soft obbot space, which may seem small on paper but is plenty if you are not planning on using the third row jump seats. 

Mahindra recently gave Bolero a thorough refresh with LED DRLs upfront along with a new grille/bumper combinations. In a time where every car looks like a blend of very shape imaginable, The Bolero makes a solid case for itself in the design department with its pure and classic body shape, heavy duty bumpers and go anywhere appeal. 

Mahindra has given the owners plenty of accessories to choose from, ranging from Chrome strips to roof rails, rain visors, and designer interior mats. And in case you were wondering, the Range Rover-esque large spare wheel is also bolted at the back giving it macho-ruf-tuf appeal

Our white example was the loaded B6(O) variant, which somehow came with a set of stylish looking brown/red graphics. We got 15 inch steel wheels with wheel covers, but you can go for alloys that are available as an optional extra. 

Mahindra has appreciably upgraded the safety suit of Bolero with dual front airbags and ABS system. The safety features may be there for the safety of formality, but Bolero once came with no ABS and was notorious for flipping on its side when braking hard. Something is better than nothing, but I expect a 6 airbag version is coming soon. 

We had no problem storing a couple of large pelican cases and our camera gear along with a couple of overnight bags.

Mahindra Bolero is a no-nonsense 7 seater that can pretty much go anywhere with untouched reliability and load carrying capacity. It offers a good value for money proposition if you are ok with its bare bones features and “raw” ride quality.