The Bolero is one of Mahindra’s most successful products. A utility vehicle that sits high on its list of bestsellers, the Bolero has been Mahindra’s bread and butter product for a long, long time. Now, in a move designed to cash in on the Bolero’s strong brand equity, Mahindra is all set to reposition the erstwhile sub-four-meter TUV300 as the Mahindra Bolero Neo.
- Bolero Neo is based on the TUV300
- Will get an all new more upmarket nose and updated interior
- Bolero and Bolero Neo could be sold side by side
Mahindra Bolero Neo: what to expect
The Bolero Neo will get a fresher-looking nose, with re-profiled headlamps and an updated grille. Mahindra's designers have tried to keep some of the Bolero’s design clues and so the Neo gets a Bolero-like clam-shell bonnet, the grille is bold and simple, and spy shots also show it gets flared wheel arches, and a Bolero-like thick band that runs along the fender. Also new is the warp-around front bumper and to add bling, Mahindra could introduce some LED strips as well.
Changes to the side and rear are expected to be minimal, save for minor trim alterations and new paint shades. On the inside, the interior will get cosmetic updates and a new look for the centre console. Under the hood, the Bolero Neo will continue to be sold with the same 1.5-litre three-cylinder diesel, upgraded to BS6 emission norms.
Mahindra Bolero Neo: launch timeline
The updated SUV has taken a long time to come and we expect Mahindra to launch the Bolero Neo in the coming months. Both, the Bolero and Bolero Neo are likely to be sold side by side, and that will mean prices for the Neo could start at around Rs 9.5 lakh.
Mahindra Bolero Neo: the TUV300 link
Mahindra launched the TUV300 back in September 2015 as the brand's "Tough" contender in the ever-growing compact SUV space. An SUV built on a traditional ladder chassis, it differed from the car-like monocoque chassis-based rivals like the Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport, to name a few. However, what’s important to remember is that, while the Bolero Neo uses a ladder frame chassis, it can’t draw a link back to Mahindra’s earlier Jeep-based products like the Bolero can.
Since its launch, the sub-four-metre TUV300 compact SUV has seen mediocre sales success, with an average of 1,579 unit sales every month. Mahindra updated the SUV with cosmetic tweaks back in 2019 and the company also introduced a four-metre-plus version of the TUV300 called the TUV300 Plus later, but neither of these really caught the fancy of compact SUV buyers. Both models in the TUV300 line-up were not upgraded for BS6 emission norms and have been off the shelves since April 1, 2020.
New Mahindra SUVs for 2021
Apart from the Bolero Neo and a few other variant updates, the company will also have two major product launches this year in the form of an all-new XUV500 and the Mahindra Scorpio that will hit the showrooms in the coming months.