- The mHawk 100 1.5-litre diesel engine to make a comeback

- Essentially a facelift of the discontinued TUV300

The Mahindra Bolero Neo is the upcoming model in the SUV-centered portfolio of the Indian car manufacturer. Deriving its name from the popular and rugged Bolero and based on the defunct TUV300, the Bolero Neo will be launched in the country on 15 July. Ahead of its official unveiling, several spy pictures of the Neo have surfaced on the web that now gives a clear view of the exterior design as well as the updated cabin.

On the outside, the boxy silhouette of the TUV300 is maintained with subtle changes to its front and rear exterior design. For starters, the front grille looks entirely revised with mesh design and vertical chrome slats and a horizontal chrome bar that connects the square-shaped headlamps which now get the integrated daytime running lights. The front bumper is redesigned too. The square fog lamps now give way to rectangular fog lamps and a skid plate that gets a darker shade to enhance the SUV character of the Neo.

Moving to the side, a black stripe that runs across the side body matches the plastic cladding around the squared-off wheel arches that house the five-spoke alloy wheels. The rear looks mostly unchanged with the usual tailgate-mounted spare wheel, rear parking sensors, and a roof-mounted spoiler. The graphics for the vertically stacked tail lamps and the ‘Bolero Neo’ badge are the only changes here.

Inside, the cabin instantly reminds you of the TUV300. The two-tone beige and black colour theme on the dashboard along with the analogue instrument cluster, a touchscreen infotainment system and the higher placed aircon vents with silver inserts are all familiar and go well together. The Bolero Neo will be a seven-seat SUV with the second row having a bench-type layout and the third row getting side-facing foldable seats.

Talking about the engine, the Bolero Neo will bring back the mHawk 100 1.5-litre diesel engine that will now be BS6 compliant and is expected to put out almost the same output of 100bhp and 240Nm of torque. The transmission options are likely to include a five-speed manual and an automatic transmission. We expect the Bolero Neo to be priced between Rs 9 lakh to Rs 11 lakh price range; putting it in the competition with the Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, and to an extent its own sibling, the Mahindra XUV300.

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