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Mahindra have a no-frills, just-get-the-job-done UV in the Bolero and as is only right, they are making the best of it. Last year, we got the Bolero-based, soft-top Invader which was, supposedly, Mahindra’s attempt at doing a Maruti Gypsy. A diesel-powered Gypsy. And by all accounts, it’s been a successful attempt too, with the Invader doing extremely well in certain parts of the country. Which brings us to the Bolero XLS. The
sport-ute segment taken care of, it was time to look at the people-mover niche, which is what the XLS caters to. The thing is big – it has three rows of seats which can take three occupants each – making it a nine-seater. The ‘ordinary’ Bolero can only seat seven people.
An extended weekend was coming up and test car keys were up for grabs. Bijoy wanted the Scorpio, Srini wouldn’t let go of the Zen and Pablo rather fancied the City. Which left the poor XLS, which nobody wanted to drive. I was none too happy with being fobbed off with the large Bolero’s keys but it was either that, or a ‘dheemi local’ from Wadala to Belapur. Mumbai-ites will know what I’m on about but if you aren’t from Mumbai, get this – boarding a Navi Mumbai-bound local train from Wadala at seven in the evening isn’t an entirely happy experience. The possibilities are infinite – your feet may get trampled upon, your shirt may lose a button or three, you may get a well meaning elbow in your face and you just might dislocate an arm. So the Bolero XLS it would be.
Easier done than said
The XLS looks like any seven-seater Bolero. Except for the extended rear, that is – the standard Bolero has been extended at the back, to accommodate a third bench. Here, I must say that they could have tried to do a cleaner job of this extension thing – the extension seam/joint on the body is clearly visible, which can’t be such a good thing. All said, it still looks pretty much like a standard Bolero and perhaps sticking with the Bolero family look is the right thing to do for Mahindra.
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