Mahindra Bolero Neo Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

The Bolero Neo is the only SUV in its class you would want to take with you for some off-road driving. With the locking rear differential, the Bolero Neo will have no trouble leaving its peers in the dust.

If the SUV-ness of the Bolero Neo is precisely what you were looking for in a sub-4m SUV, then this variant breakdown report should help you pick the right variant based on your feature preferences and budget.

Mahindra Bolero Neo Prices

The new Bolero Neo is available in 4 variants with a starting price of Rs. 8.48 lakh for the base N4 trim. The N8 cost Rs. 9.48 lakh while the N10 costs Rs. 10 lakh (ex-showroom). The top-spec N10 (O) variant is currently not on sale and Mahindra haven’t announced its prices either. We’ll update this article when the N10 (O) prices are available.

MAHINDRA BOLERO NEO | PRICES EX-SHOWROOM DELHI  | AUG 2021
VARIANT	MANUAL
N4	Rs. 8,48,001
N8	Rs. 9,47,999
N10	Rs. 9,99,900
N10 (O)	Not Available

2021 Mahindra Bolero Neo N4 Base Variant Features

The Mahindra Bolero Neo’s N4 variant costs Rs. 8.48 lakh (ex-showroom).

The base variant of this SUV offers the following notable features:

BOLERO NEO N4 FEATURES
Safety	Functional	Style
Central Locking	Internally-Adjustable Outside Mirrors	Body-Coloured Spare Wheel Cover
Cornering Brake Control	All Power Windows	Bolero Side Cladding
Reverse Parking Sensors	AC with Heater	Black Door Handles
2 Airbags	Tilt Steering	Body-Coloured Bumpers
ABS	MID	Artificial Leather Upholstery
	Engine Auto-Start/Stop

The base variant of the Bolero Neo looks very basic. It’s missing a music system, steering-mounted controls, power-adjustable outside mirrors and day-night inside mirror. We’d suggest you consider upgrading to a higher variant.

Mahindra Bolero Neo N4 vs N8 Variant Features

After the base, the N8 variant of the Bolero Neo costs Rs. 9.48 lakh, which is Rs. 1.0 lakh more than the N4. The notable additional features of the N8 variant are as follows:

BOLERO NEO N8 | FEATURES OVER N4
Safety	Entertainment	Functional	Style
Rear Washer and Wiper	Music-System with Bluetooth, USB, Aux	Wheel Arch Cladding	Wheel Covers
Rear Defogger	4 Speakers and 2 Tweeters	Manual Day/Night Inside Mirror	Spoiler
Remote Central Locking	Steering-Mounted Controls	Folding 2nd-Row Seat Backs
		Side Food Step

The N8 variant of the 2021 Bolero Neo gets several must-have features like a rear washer, wiper, defogger, music system with steering-mounted controls, remote central locking, day/night inside mirror and wheel covers. However, it’s still missing some critical features like power-adjustable outside mirrors, front and rear centre armrests and chrome grille. For budget buyers, the N8 looks more balanced from a feature perspective. Although, it’s not a value-for-money option as its features don’t justify the Rs. 1.0 lakh price difference. Therefore, we’ll suggest budget buyers consider the N4 variant and accessorize it to suit your needs.

Mahindra Bolero Neo N8 vs N10 Variant Features

The N10 variant of the 2021 Bolero Neo costs Rs. 10 lakh before taxes, registration and insurance expense. The Bolero Neo N10 variant is only Rs. 52,000 more expensive than the N8. The notable additional features of the N10 variant are as follows:

BOLERO NEO N10 | FEATURES OVER N8
Safety	Entertainment & Functional		Style
Cornering Lights	Front Armrests for Driver and Front Passenger	Power Adjustable Outside Mirrors	Chrome Grille
Fog Lamps	Center Cabin Light	Height-Adjustable Driver Seat	LED DRLs
ISOFIX Child Seat Anchors	Second-Row Center Armrest	Follow-Me Headlamps	Alloy wheels
	7-inch Touchscreen	Cruise Control	Light Grey Spare Wheel Cover

Even the N10 variant of the Bolero Neo lacks some essential features that we expect from a car at this price. For example, it’s missing an auto-AC, projector or LED headlamps, Android Auto and Apple Carplay for smartphone connectivity. Since this is a 7-seat car, we also expect it to offer rear AC vents at least for the second-row seats. It can greatly improve the cooling for third-row occupants. Even hatchbacks like the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios offer this feature.

The N10 variant not only justifies the upgrade over the N8 variant, it even justifies upgrading from the N4 variant.

Mahindra Bolero Neo N10 vs N10 (O) Variant Features

The price of the top-spec N10 (O) variant is currently not available, and neither is the N10 (O) variant itself. This variant will go on sale later. But, we know that this variant will only get 1 additional feature - a locking rear differential. This is what makes this SUV an SUV. Since the N10 itself costs Rs. 10 lakh, the N10 (O)’s price will breach the Rs. 10 lakh mark. Thus the top variant will become quite a bit more expensive for most buyers because of higher taxes. If you plan to go off-roading, then we would highly recommend waiting for the N10 (O) trim. For everyday city and highway use, though, the N10 will do just fine.

BOLERO NEO N10 (O) FEATURES OVER N10

Functional

Locking Rear Differential

2021 Mahindra Bolero Neo Variants - Which One To Buy?

The base N4 variant is pretty basic. The N8 offers a decent balance of features but it also offers poor value for money. Therefore, budget buyers should consider the N4 variant instead of the stretching to accommodate the N8. If you have the budget for the N8 variant, then you should skip it and jump straight to the N10 as it offers far better value than the N8 trim.

Right now, we don’t know when the N10 (O) variant will go on sale and how much it’ll cost. But when it comes to the market, we’ll update this article and our verdict.

MAHINDRA BOLERO NEO | RECOMMENDATION
Variant	VFM Rank	Price	Recommendation
N4	Rank 1	Rs 8,48,001	Suitable for budget buyers
N8	Rank 2	Rs 9,47,999	Not recommended
N10	Rank 1	Rs 9,99,900	Top recommended
N10 (O)	NA	Not Available	NA

2021 Mahindra Bolero Neo Engine Specs

The new Mahindra Bolero Neo 2021 is only available with a diesel engine, which makes 100PS of power and 260Nm of torque. While the demand is growing for petrol engines and automatic transmissions, the Bolero Neo stays true to the Bolero roots and offers neither.

It has respectable power and torque output for its class. However, the Neo is a ladder-frame car and much heavier than the front-wheel-drive monocoque cars. This extra weight will affect its torque-to-weight figures, everyday drivability and fuel efficiency figures.

MAHINDRA BOLERO NEO VS COMPETITION DIESEL ENGINE SPECS COMPARISON
	Bolero Neo	Bolero	EcoSport	Venue	Sonet		XUV300	Nexon
Displacement	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L	1.5L
Cylinder	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4
Cubic Capacity	1493cc	1493cc	1498cc	1493cc	1493 cc	1493 cc	1497cc	1497cc
Drivetrain	RWD	RWD	FWD	FWD	FWD	FWD	FWD	FWD
Maximum Power	100PS @ 3750rpm	76PS @ 3600rpm	100PS @ 3750rpm	100PS @ 4000rpm	100PS @ 4000rpm	115PS @ 4000rpm	116PS @ 3750rpm	110PS @ 4000rpm
Peak Torque	260Nm @ 1750-2250rpm	210Nm @ 1600-2200rpm	215Nm @ 1750 - 2500rpm	240Nm @ 1500 - 2750rpm	240Nm @ 1500 - 2750rpm	250Nm @ 1500 - 2750rpm	300Nm @ 1500 - 2500rpm	260Nm @ 1500 - 2750rpm
Manual	5-speed	5-speed	5-speed	6-speed	6-speed	--	6-speed	6-speed
Manual FE	17.29kmpl	16.75kmpl	21.7kmpl	22.7kmpl	24.1kmpl	--	20.1kmpl	22.44kmpl
Automatic	--	--	--	--	--	6TC	6AMT	6AMT
Automatic FE	--	--	--	--	--	19kmpl	19.7kmpl	22.44kmpl

2021 Mahindra Bolero Neo Dimensions

The Bolero Neo’s 184mm ground clearance may not seem like much until you factor in the ladder frame construction. This car can take a hit on its underbelly and shake it off like it’s nothing. The Neo’s 384-litre boot space is also respectably large. The fact that you can accommodate 2 extra occupants in a pinch also earns it a few extra points.

The Bolero Neo is about as wide as you’d expect any other car in this segment but it’s significantly taller for its class. Similarly, its 2680mm wheelbase is also far better than the rest of the sub-4m SUVs.

MAHINDRA BOLERO NEO vs B2-SEGMENT DIESEL SUVs DIMENSIONS COMPARISON
	Bolero Neo	Bolero	EcoSport	Venue	Sonet	XUV300	Nexon
Length	3995mm	3995mm	3998mm	3995mm	3995mm	3995mm	3993mm
Width	1795mm	1745mm	1765mm	1770mm	1790mm	1821mm	1811mm
Height	1817mm	1880mm	1647mm	1605mm	1642mm	1627mm	1606mm
Wheelbase	2680mm	2680mm	2519mm	2500mm	2500mm	2600mm	2498mm
Seats	7	7	5	5	5	5	5
Boot Space	384-lt	--	352-lt	350-lt	392-lt	257-lt	350-lt
Ground Clearance	184mm	180mm	200mm	190mm	205mm	180mm	209mm
Fuel Tank	50-lt	60-lt	52-lt	45-lt	45-lt	42-lt	44-lt
Tyre Size (Base)	215/75 R15	215/75 R15	195/65 R15	195/65 R15	195/65 R15	205/65 R16	195/60 R16
Tyre Size (Top)	215/75 R15	215/75 R15	215/60 R16	215/60 R16	215/60 R16	215/55 R17	215/60 R16

What Are The Colour Options for 2021 Mahindra Bolero Neo?

The 2021 Bolero Neo is available in the following colours:

• Black
• Silver
• Solid white
• Metallic white
• Red
• Beige (Off-white)