All you need to know about the new Mahindra Bolero Power Plus

We had spotted test mules of the Mahindra Bolero long time back and with the camouflage restricted only to the bumpers. While we thought it was just another facelift in the making, Mahindra pulled a fast one by bringing in the Bolero Power Plus with a new engine, a very aggressive price tag and of course, the new bumpers. So here is a rundown on all you need to know about the new Bolero Power Plus.

The Bolero Power Plus will be offered only with the SLE, the SLX and ZLX trims of the Bolero that is available with the shorter body shell measuring 4107mm in length. The new front bumper resembles the Scorpio with the fog lamp recesses and the mesh grille above the integrated bash-plate. The rear bumper also now sticks real close to the tailgate. The new bumper design has helped Mahindra beat the magic number of four metres with the length now down to 3995mm. In spite of the shortened length, the body shell is still the same and hence, space has not been compromised.

Mahindra has tweaked the interior as well. The beige and brown theme continues to be present but the seats are now contoured to offer better comfort. The steering now supposedly offers better manoeuvrability and a digital instrument console that reads out a host of information. On the outside, the headlamps have been reworked and the Power Plus gets new decals on the side.

Another big change is the new mHawk D70 engine. Mahindra has replaced the age-old 2.5-litre oil burner with the latest three cylinder 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine that is also available with the Mahindra TUV300 and the Nuvosport. The new engine offers better power and torque, 70bhp and 195Nm as against the earlier 63bhp and 179Nm. Not only that, the new three cylinder mHawk engine is five per cent more efficient and should deliver around 15kmpl.

The criterion that concerns us the most after fuel economy, is price and Mahindra has slashed the prices of the Bolero Power Plus by almost one lakh rupees. And this is due to the smart usage of rules and regulations laid down by the government of India. With the length now less than four metres and the engine capacity less than 1500cc, the Bolero Power Plus attracts only 12.5 per cent duty as against the 30 per cent it did before, a cost saving of almost 17.5 per cent on the manufacturing cost. Mahindra has passed on the savings to buyers with the Bolero Power Plus SLE now at Rs 6.86 lakh, the SLX at Rs 7.51 lakh and the ZLX for Rs 7.85 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).