Saar: The original Bolero was launched in August 2000. That means it took less than 18 years to achieve this sales milestone.

Mahindra’s workhorse, the Bolero, has always been the unanimous choice for customers wanting a blend of simplicity, practicality, and robustness. Clearly, that has worked for Mahindra as Bolero has crossed 10 lakh cumulative sales ever since it was first launched in August 2000. That means the simple, no-nonsense SUV took less than 18 years to achieve this feat.

In a statement, Veejay Ram Nakra, chief of sales and marketing, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said:

Bolero has regained its position in the top 10 passenger vehicles in India, which is a validation of the confidence consumers, in semi-urban and rural India, have reposed on the brand.

In a bid to revive the falling sales numbers, Mahindra introduced a more powerful variant of the Bolero last year. Called the Bolero Power+, it was also trimmed down in overall length to less than 4 metres to fall in a lesser tax slab. In fact, ever since Power+ went on sale, it has helped the Bolero brand to grow steadily. That is quite an achievement in a market where a lot of new sub-4 metre SUVs are available.

The Bolero Power+ is powered by a 1.5-litre mHawk D70 engine that puts out a modest 71PS/195Nm. Over the standard Bolero, which is powered by a 2.5-litre m2DiCR engine, the Power+ has 8PS more power and the same torque. Transmission duties are handled by a 5-speed manual transmission. Price-wise, where the Bolero Power+ ranges from Rs 6.86 lakh to Rs 8.18 lakh, the standard Bolero falls between Rs 7.75 – 8.98 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The count of variants for the Power+ ends at four, whereas the standard Bolero is offered in eleven variants.