Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment of the Indian auto market has gone through a major change in the past years. Major car companies seek out to expand their product range in this segment. The real testimony of increasing demand of SUVs among customers and car enthusiasts comes from the recent success of vehicles like Bolero and Scorpio. Indian home-grown companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors are ever-willing to plan things for increasing their market shares in this segment. As such, currently, there is an ongoing battle that seems to be closely followed by two well-known SUV models like Mahindra Bolero ZLX and Tata Sumo Gold BSIV.
Talking about engine specifications, Mahindra Bolero ZLX is powered by a 2523 cc m2DiCR engine that generates a peak output of 62 bhp besides the 195 Nm of torque. The engine of the car is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, which further transfers the power to the rear wheels of the vehicle. On the other hand, Tata Sumo Gold BSIV variant is equipped with a 3.0-litre CR4 engine that is capable of producing 83 bhp of power and 250 Nm of torque. The car of Tata Motors, is also provided with a 5-speed manual transmission having synchromesh function on all gears. As evident, the car of Tata Motors scores heavily on its Mahindra counterpart in terms of performance.
Coming to the dimensions of both the vehicles, Mahindra Bolero ZLX has a length of 4107 mm and a width of 1745 mm, besides the 1880 mm height. While for Tata Sumo BSIV the figures stand at 4258 mm, 1700 mm and 1925 mm giving due respect to length, width and height. So it can easily be seen the the car of Tata Motors is lengthier and taller than the one of Mahindra. On comparing the wheelbase of both the vehicles, Mahindra ZLX maintains lead over Tata Sumo Gold BSIV variant owing to its span of 2680 mm as opposed to 2425 mm of its rival car.
The most important factor that is crucial for presenting the good show by any car in India is its mileage. So on comparing the fuel efficiency of Bolero ZLX with Sumo Gold BSIV, it was found that the car of Tata Motors gives away marginally more as compared to the one of Mahindra. However, both the cars offer almost the same average and thus it would be hard to predict a clear winner.
As in overall appearance, the Bolero ZLX definitely wins over Sumo Gold because of its masculine and sportier design as compared to the boxy one given in Sumo Gold. The bumpers given in Bolero are far more attractive as given Sumo Gold. The front fascia of the Bolero, the aggressive styling of bumpers and the hawk-eyed headlamps clearly gives the upper hand to the car.
While for features, the model of Mahindra is provided with additional features as opposed to Tata Sumo Gold BSIV variant. Bolero ZLX edition is provided with ergonomic seats, which give utmost comfort to its passengers. Also to mention, the wooden console gives a premium feel in the cabin of Bolero. While in case of Sumo Gold, it has got a standard equipments, which does not appease the eyes.
In terms of pricing, Mahindra is offering its Bolero ZLX model at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 7.53 lakh while for Tata Sumo Gold BSIV variant it stands at Rs. 6.8 lakh. Therefore, a considerable difference between both the vehicles can be seen. So for deciding the winner in terms of price, credit must be given to Tata Motors, which has not only managed to lower the price of the vehicle but is also offering respectable features in it.
