Forgotten Mahindras of India: Bolero Invader to Voyager

Mahindra and Mahindra is a brand that needs no introduction in our country. Its automotive division is actually one of the oldest car brands in India dating back to the days of our independence. The company first started its journey as a steel trading company but later moved into the automotive space when it began manufacturing Jeep licensed utility vehicles in India. Over the years, Mahindra has come up with a lot of models and while some of them became very popular in the market, some didn’t. Therefore, Mahindra vehicles have been forgotten over the years. Here are 11 such models that have been forgotten in the market over the years.

Mahindra Legend

Often regarded as the spiritual predecessor of the modern-day Mahindra Thar, the Mahindra Legend was a butch two-door lifestyle vehicle. It was based on the chassis of the legendary Mahindra MM540/550 which in turn had its chassis derived from Willy’s Jeep. The Mahindra Legend was known for its off-road capabilities and came powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine that churned out a maximum of 58 Bhp.

Mahindra Armada Grand

One of the early hits by Mahindra in the passenger vehicle segment, the Armada became extremely popular in the Indian market. The Armada Grand, however, didn’t enjoy the same popularity despite being a version based on the Mahindra Armada. It has a different grille and round headlamps that made it look different from the regular version. The vehicle also offered a 4X4 drive system as an option.

Mahindra Voyager

Before MUV and MPVs actually became popular in India (leaving aside the Omni), a lot of manufacturers tried to experiment with such body types but failed to gather good response from the buyers. Mahindra was also among the manufacturers who launched a MUV during the late 90s in India. It was known as the Voyager and was basically a rebadged version of the Mitsubishi LS300. It came with a high price tag and though it was a fairly good vehicle, it never became popular with the masses. Powering the vehicle is a Peugeot 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine.

Mahindra Commander

The Commander is another forgotten Mahindra vehicle. The rugged utility vehicle was first launched in India in 1991. Since then, Mahindra launched a lot of different variants of this vehicle. The Commander was sold with a soft top and multiple seating options. The company also introduced an LWB variant of the Commander and it specifically became popular in the semi-urban markets for its extremely rugged body. It came in 650 DI and 750 DP versions and both 2WD and 4WD drivetrain options were available.

Mahindra Bolero Invader

The Bolero MUV gave birth to this vehicle, though it didn’t enjoy the same success as the Bolero. Called the Bolero Invader, this lifestyle vehicle had 3-doors and a partial soft roof lining with side-facing rear seats. Mahindra aimed the Bolero Invader at young customers and the vehicle was powered by a 2.5-litre diesel engine that generates a maximum power of 63 Bhp and peak torque of 117 Nm. Low popularity forced Mahindra to discontinue the model later though.

Mahindra AXE

Mahindra supplies vehicles to various defence forces around the world. One of its for-military-use vehicle is the AXE, which was dubbed as the Indian Hummer. The AXE was based on an Isreali vehicle and looks extremely intimidating. It came powered by a 2.7-litre diesel engine that produces a maximum power of 173 Bhp and peak torque of 346 Nm. There was also a 4.-litre petrol engine on offer.

Mahindra Boats

Mahindra launched a marine brand that manufactured luxury yachts. Yes, this is a very lesser known fact but Mahindra is India’s first organised boats manufacturer. It still offers quite a few numbers of boats of various sizes and functions in the Indian market. Mahindra even supplies boats to the defence forces around the world.

ATVs

Mahindra operates mPACT sub-brand in the USA where it sells ATVs under the brand name. There is a wide range of ATVs under the mPACT brand available in the USA market. Interestingly, Mahindra also launched the Roxor ATV in the USA market under the Mahindra brand sometime back.

Moto3 Bike

Mahindra showcased the Moto3 bike during the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo for the first time. The manufacturer is pretty active in the world of motorsports and the Moto3 segment racing bikes are used by various racing teams. The bike is powered by a 250cc, single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine which develops a maximum power of around 50 Bhp.

Formula E car

Mahindra and Mahindra has slowly but steadily made a decent name for itself in the Formula E championship races. The manufacturer developed its own powertrain for the race car and the sleek looking racecar has been built with help from other Mahindra entities. To let you know, Mahindra became the first Indian team to complete the FIM championship and als won a few races.

GenZe

The GenZe is a US-based company that manufactures electric two-wheelers. It was acquired by Mahindra sometime back and its flagship product is an electric scooter with a top speed of 50 km/h and a range of 50 km. It takes the battery 2.5 hours to charge completely. Called the GenZe 2.0, it can exchange data with AT&T products like Global SIM and Control Centre to build what Mahindra calls “the GenZe Mobile Rider Solution”. The GenZe 2.0 has been spotted testing in India too and Mahindra could bring it our markets officially in 2020.