Bolero Test Drive! IT SUCKS!!
I have been planning to buy an affordable UV (After graduating from the thought of buyin a small car) or a car with a larger than Sedan Space (Marina) I had been storming my brain taking in account reviews and peoples word on which one would be a good buy.
So here I am on a Hot Tuesday afternoon waiting for the SAI Service guys to show up with the Bolero Sport, that was the one I was getting to take a test drive in, I had plans to Buy the Fully Loaded GLX variant, Which only has more features than the Sport (like power windows, sound system and all that jazz) Everything else is the same.
I get a call from Lopez (the guy who was co-ordinating with me on the whole deal) and he tells me that they are nearing my house and asked for directions,So I got down to the main Road and waited while keeping him online.
In the distance I saw a Bright Silver bolero Approaching me, as it got closer it looked sweeter, when they got to me I directed them into our lane and asked them to park in our garage. As this vehicle moved past me, I was simply amazed
at how good the Bolero Sport looked with its bright silver color and the SUPER looking Decals...It looked like a really sporty and mean machine...
AND THATS ALL..
It only ''LOOKED'' like a sporty and mean machine.
What I was about to discover next was something I REALLY would not expect!
So Lopez and his company of two insignificant others (from the showroom)
park it into my garage...
And by now I am all excited to see what this vehicle has to offer, Cos I read reviews here on mouthshut, where in some people said it had a powerful engine and one ''DUDE'' wrote a poetry on it personifying this vehicle to be a
''PROWLING TIGER'' (MY A$$ !!)
So I say ''Hey lopez, would you like something to drink first or can we take this baby out now?'' he says ''Sure sir lets go..''
He throws the keys to me and smiles! ... I smile back!!
But First, with the keys in my hand I took a walk around the vehicle and looked closer... and thats when I noticed, the finishing of the paint job and sheet metal was not such a pleaser, I sat down and looked at it from the sides and noticed the plastic work was wavy and not perfectly flat like it should be, it was not such
a great disappointment but it did tinker the mind.
(Only because my excitement was clouding my decisions at the time)
Then I came upfront and looked at it face to face, she LOOKED nice!! Bold and Beautiful! There are people who complained about the external hinges making the vehicle look dated, but that was not a bother for me, I liked that look!
The rear was exactly what I expected... ''nothing much''
The wheels/tyres looked well matched according to the body design of the vehicle and gives the bolero a good stance.
SO NOW I was done looking at it from the outside.
I opened the door on the drivers side to take a look on the inside.
NOW...
Lopez and company were lucky that it was my brain and not my mouth that went...
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHH!!!!!
I WAS SO ''UNCOMFORTABLY NUMBED'' BY WHAT I SAW!!!
THE DASHBOARD!!
CHEAP F#c@i%g!!! PLASTIC!!! That was PATHETICALLY FINISHED!!!
The plastic toys you get at Bandra Fair NOW have a better finish THAN THIS!!!
I MEAN WHAT THE F#$@!!!
YOU PAY ALMOST 6 Lakhs FOR A VEHICLE THAT HAS DASH FINISH LIKE THIS!!!!
NOT ACCEPTABLE MAN!!! NO WAY!! M&M SHOULD BE ASHAMED TO THROW CRAP LIKE THAT AT PEOPLE!!! MORE SO, I WONDER HOW PEOPLE CAN TAKE SUCH CRAP!!!VALUE FOR MONEY MY A$$ !!
THE TATA SPACIO WOULD BE A BETTER CHOICE WITH A ''VALUE FOR MONEY'' tag, because it defnitely has a better finished interior!!
MOVING ON!! the steering wheel looked like a piece of crap!
The leather wrap looked like a piece taken from the ''MOCHI''
THE STEERING COLUMN HOUSING PLASTIC TOO WAS CHEAP! MAN IT WAS SO BAD!!!
I THEN LOOKED AROUND More, The DOORS are held From opening 180 deg. by only a rivetted Nylon strap! HOW WEAK!!! The Fabric work on the interiors were very substandard too!
THE knobs and switches were Crude.
OVERALL FIT AND FINISH of the bolero from the insides is just not worth any POINTS AT ALL!!!
THATS ALL about the looks of this vehicle.
By now 50% of my excitement had been brutally butchered down by what I had seen.
But I had to get on with the drive! So everyone belted up!
I turned on the ignition and off we went.
Now my analysis...
The pick of the engine was no big shakes at ALL!! VERY ORDINARY and UNIMPRESSIVE!! 2500 CC of Crap!
While the gearshift was a 6 out of 10, I would give the suspension an 8 out of 10, (the only thing that impressed me) Felt soft enough and sturdy enough too.
The Clutch pedal was pretty hard, Braking was decent, but could be better.
The Power steering needs more power...seriously!
THE AC CHILLS!! VERY NICE!!
We were 5 of us in the vehicle, Me, My Girlfriend and Lopez and company! And with 5 people in the vehicle it was ok while the road was flat!!Trust me the torque that is talked about of this vehicle is really INSIGNIFICANT!!
At times it felt like the engine would just stall!!
We reached a stretch which had a gentle slope and on this piece the engine was struggling, I was expecting it to take on atleast such a simple slope with ease, but it cried out with no success, I had to lower down to third gear and keep the rev high to make it to the top where the road got flat again. SO some of those who have mentioned about the bolero being good off-road!! I COMPLETELY DISAGREE!! try getting it enough power for on-road use first!
And then I'm thinking what if the vehicle had to be occupied with a full load of passengers and some baggage?? I did'nt even bother myself to answer that.
I was completely disapointed with this test drive.
When we got back, Lopez says ''So what do you think sir?'' and
I said ''I need to think about it, and I will give you a call''
(Although I had made up my mind) I did not want to disappoint Lopez who was very kind and the hard working types.
So coming down to it all...
I do not recommend this vehicle at all for the price you pay!
ALL IN ALL the bolero is really not something that you could ''Break Free'' with, You would be the one lagging behind while all others would have already had the taste of freedom! LOL!
This vehicle makes me modify the good ole saying into
''Beauty is only Sheet Metal Deep''. Because thats what it is.
For all that people have said about this vehicle, I would think that people who buy this vehicle are totally ignorant about what value they recieve for their money.
They should try other options before buying a ''Bolero''
I had even talked to a friends, friend who owned one, and he said that its a good vehicle, I have no Idea why and how he could say that. (Which almost made me buy it)It's also kinda obvious that when people buy something they will not say its bad, to avoid the humiliation of making a bad choice, they would always want to say its good. (Well not everyone but most people do it.)
AND NOW GUESS WHAT!!
Yesterday I test drove the SUMO VICTA GX Turbo... and wha-do-ya KNOW??
I AM BUYING IT!!
I will write a review on the SUMO VICTA GX Turbo when I have driven it atleast for a month. Because the test drive was IMPRESSIVE!
Thanks to Mouthshut.com for adding the SUMO Victa on my request in its list of Telco vehicles.
Gotta go...Until the next review... May the force be with you!
