My Mahindra Bolero beater car: Ownership & driving experience

Gone are the days when a cold start of a Bolero used to sound like a tractor. The 1.5 mHawk engine is smooth and silent.

BHPian raj_5004 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Here are some pics of our beater car that we use at our native.

It's a Bolero Power+ in SLE trim. This car was barebones and we have recently done a few convenience & cosmetic mods to it:

• Central locking
• Power windows
• Roots Windtone Horn
• Android Head Unit
• Rain Visors
• Leather seats
• Fog Lamps with DRL (looks tacky but get the job done)
• Front grille change (not to my taste though)

Driving the Bolero is an adventure in itself! The new 1.5 ltr motor can be termed 'adequate' at best. It picks speed decently till about 90 kmph, after which it is a struggle. But the good part is that it's torquey, so even if you load up the UV, it will still pull cleanly without any hiccups. I was pleasantly surprised at the NVH of this engine though. Gone are the days when a cold start of a Bolero used to sound like a tractor. The 1.5 mHawk engine is smooth and silent.

The steering is vague without any feel, so keeping the UV pointing in the right direction at high speeds is sort of guesswork.

Ride is good at low speeds but hit an undulation at high speed and the passengers are bound to puke. Braking is again mediocre and engine braking is more of a necessity rather than a good driving technique.

Reliability is the major forte of the Bolero. It keeps performing without any complaints and I can vouch for the fact that it can take any abuse you throw at it with minimal complaints or issues. Service costs are low since the parts are cheap.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.