Mahindra Armada

The Mahindra MM775 Hardtop 3-door, a predecessor to the Armada

The design of the Armada began with the Jeep. In the mid-1950s, American Motors Corporation made the "CJ-5" Jeep. From this vehicle, the MM540 Jeep was developed. The automotive firm, "Mahindra & Mahindra", developed the MM775 and Marshal series of steel-bodied estates with a long wheel base and three or five doors. The first one, the MM775, arrived in 1992 although a long-wheelbase five-door "Metal Wagonette" of the MM540 had been available in limited numbers since 1987. This, however, was a custom job with handbuilt bodies of low quality and was not cost effective. The later Armada was the 'upscale' version of these cars, a flagship model aimed at a more urban market than Mahindra's usual clientele.[2]

The Mahindra Armada had smaller wheels and lower-profile tires than other Mahindra Jeeps, giving it a lower stance and center of gravity. Thus, it was suited more to on road driving. Later models have disc brakes. It was originally fitted with Peugeot's 2.1-liter XDP 4.90 diesel engine with 62 PS (46 kW) and was available in either a two- or a four-wheel drive version.[3] A later 2.5 L Peugeot XD3P diesel engine gave the Armada a maximum speed of 100 km/h.

The Armada was joined by the more luxurious Armada Grand, which was first shown in 1996. It went on sale in 1998.[1] It has power windows and power steering; revised interior features and plastic grille; and an electro-mechanical 4x4 selector.

At the 2000 motor show in New Delhi the Armada Grand LX was shown; it had a completely new design in front-end bodywork, independent front suspension (on two-wheel drive models), a five-speed gearbox and much improved sound insulation. It was considered more upscale even though it was missing simple features such as a windscreen defogger. When it went on sale in August 2000, it received the name Mahindra Bolero.[1]