Looking at the Bolero from the front reminds you of Jeep Grand Cherokee, what with the rectangular headlamp units and vertical slats for the grille. Look at it from the sides or from the rear and you could be forgiven for thinking that this is an Armada, Armada Grand or even a Commander. The parentage of the Bolero shows through when viewed from the sides. Exposed rain gutters don’t belong here and what may I ask are external hinges doing on this vehicle? Believe me external hinges don’t make a car look any more manly or macho. On the plus side, the stickers screaming Bolero GLX look quite classy. The rear is typical Mahindra and none the worse for it. The spare wheel does obstruct rear vision especially while parking. The ride especially in places where you hardly find any roads is great. Take the Bolero onto a broken stretch of tarmac and believe me, the ride can be termed as plush. On a rough road, the Bolero rides better than any other MUV/SUV available today.The Bolero GLX comes with power assist for theworm and roller type steering.The steering gearbox features linkages mounted in front with double universal joints, which aid steering response. The power steering is very well weighted and is a pleasure to use.The Bolero is powered by the same old, trusty Peugeot XD-3P diesel engine that does duty in other jeeps. The 2498cc indirect injection engine has an aluminium head and a cast iron block. The engine pumps out 72.5bhp@4000rpm and puts out 152Nm of torque at 2000rpm.With the windows rolled up the engine is pretty well insulated from the passenger compartment.The interiors are terrible. First the steering seems to be oh-so-slightly offset to the left. Try to take in the entire
instrument cluster and the horn pod seems to obstruct half you vision. Good luck this part will remain invisible unless you peer over the horn pod in which case your eyes will be off the road. the power window switches occupy pride of place on the central console. First time I’ve seen a manufacturer taking such pride in power windows. Now let’s get the door locked. Contrary to other cars that I have driven, this lock needs to be pulled out rather than pushed in, and with considerable effort.Care for some music? Where’s that stereo now? Oh there it is, somewhere near my feet. Cool, very cool, every time I need to crank up the volume I will be doing a mini stomach-crunch. Getting a bit cold? Let’s turn off the AC compressor, but where in tarnation is it? Well it just isn’t there. You will have to turn off the thermostat and that’ll shut down the compressor. And that stupid green light slam-bang in the centre of the console indicates that the compressor is working. Something, anything better could have been done. The fan speed indicators aren’t backlit so are problematic at night. Even the thermostat isn’t backlit.
The Bolero remains true to its roots and remains one of the best SUV’s/MUV’s you can take to the dirt. But that is if you really arent too much bothered about interiors and finish. But if you use this for driving around in the city, try Qualis instead