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      Tata Sumo Drive Report

      Aditya Chatterjee

      Aditya Chatterjee

      Opening

      Tata Sumo Drive Report

      The Sumo as we all know started the SUV trend in India. It was indeed one of the first vehicles of this body type. It has been hauling passengers in the country for quite some time now.

      Tata Sumo Images 22

      We decided to have one with us for a brief time and find out how does it feel to own one. Throughout our review, we drove the Sumo on all possible terrains and also used it for mundane activities. The Sumo doesn’t offer features like many modern SUVs but then how much of a hindrance is it to drive around in one. After all, it has the potential to go where some of the modern SUVs might not dare.

      Our drive report on the Sumo covers different aspects of this iconic SUV 

      Appearance Exterior

      From the time, the Sumo has not got under the designer’s hand for any major modification in the way it looks except for mild makeovers. I might not get everyone’s vote here but I actually like the no-non-sense styling of the Sumo. It has an old school design with mainly straights and flats.

      Tata Sumo Images 10

      Our red 8731 Sumo was a GX variant and thus it came with all the goodies Tata offers in its top end variant which included body coloured ORVMs. These ORVMs are internally adjustable. The squarish headlights with a straight cut radiator grille along with a plain no frill bumper constitutes the front look. This look has been retained for many years perhaps to make everyone connect with the design.

      Tata Sumo Images 19

      Body coloured mirrors, vinyls and a side step board is what comes standard in this trim. The roof line progresses upwards before ending at the rear section. In order to make it look contemporary, they shunned the spare wheel from the tail gate and got it repositioned under the floor. We guess the previous one on the tail door made it look more rugged as presently in order to fill the void, there are vinyls pasted on the tail door but then it does not compensate for the missing spare wheel.

      Tata Sumo Images 12

       

      Appearance Interior

      It is not one of those cars which will sweep you away with modern machinery and features to make your life easy but then it won’t make you complain either. Why?

       Tata Sumo 19

      Step inside the cabin and it feels really roomy with its large proportions of room. The headroom and legroom is really comforting for the front row passengers. It remains the same for the second row except for the legroom which gets uncomfortable. No one dared to seat on the third row facing benches for long as the knees of the passengers kept hurting and the roll experienced while driving made them throw up.

      Tata Sumo 2

      This one gets a new Kenwood music system with Bluetooth. It doesn’t look as impressive but then it functions impressively. It actually pairs phones easily and the same can also be used for Bluetooth telephony with a Mic embedded on the roof. The music system also offers multiple music adjustments which are effective as well. The speaker quality is not the best in the segment but compared to the below average units of the earlier model, this one feels nice.

      Tata Sumo 15 

      Performance Drive

      Get the Sumo started and the 3.0L Diesel engine is at its loud best. If anyone has driven earlier generation models, the experience of driving the Sumo was not very memorable considering the vibrations and discomfort. Not that the vibrations have gone off completely but then the new CR4 engine feels comparatively refined.

      Tata Sumo Images 3

      We decided to be adventurous with this one and thus got the vehicle dropped just the Gateway of India in Mumbai. The traffic scene in peak hours is very chaotic with visitors flocking it to see the iconic landmark of Mumbai. In city traffic, steering the Sumo was very easy.

      The clutch is surprisingly smooth and the shifts too were decent. At lower engine speeds, the engine gets evidently audible because of its large displacement but then once the windows are rolled up; it gets cancelled with the good level of insulation inside the cabin.

      Tata Sumo Images 2

      And now how the Sumo feels on highways. Firstly, it has a tall design and thus the body roll around corners at high speeds is evident. The tyres start screeching thus limiting acceleration. It does not come with fancy safety bits like ABS and traction but even then the Sumo manages its way.

      The 3.0L unit gets the Sumo to reach speeds of 110 km/h but then post that it needs a really long stretch of road to push the speedo further. Obviously, the Sumo is not a high speed car it is for rugged applications. The external ORVMs which jet out obstruct the wind flow creating an irritating noise. This happens as the speed goes on increasing.

      Tata Sumo Images 23

      The Sumo has a lot of takers for real time users who want a rugged solution to their normal commute. During both the driving conditions, the Sumo performed really well without any complaints or issues.

       

      Tech Specs

      Technical Specifications
       Make Tata
       Model Sumo Gold
      Variant GX
      Engine Type 3.0 CR4
      Power in PS/RPM 62/3000
      Torque in Nm/RPM 250/1600-2000
      Transmission 5/MT
      Ground Clearance 190mm
      Tyre Rating 215/75 R15
      Turning  Radius 5M
      Dimensions in MM
      Length 4258
      Width 1700
      Height 1925
      Wheel Base 2425
      Fuel Tank  65L

      Features

      Features GX EX
           
      Engine Immobiliser Yes Provision
      CD MP3 With AUX input Yes No
      Central Locking Yes No
      Keyless Entry Yes No
      Door Ajar Warning Yes No
      Front and Rear Fog Lamps Yes No
      Exterior Body Graphics Yes Yes
      Rear Wiper and De fogger Yes No
      Seating Option 7 &9 Yes Yes

      Competition All Specs

      Specifications
      Tata
      Sumo Gold
      Mahindra
      Bolero
      ICML
      Rhino
      Variant GX S LX LD
             
      Engine Type 3.0 CR4 M2DiCR CRDFI
      Engine CC 2956 2523 1994
      Power in PS/RPM 62/3000 46/3200 120/4000
      Torque in Nm/RPM 250/1600-2000 195/1400-22000 285/1750-2500
      Transmission 5/MT 5/MT 5/MT
      Ground Clearance 190mm 180mm 170mm
      Tyre Rating 215/75 R15 215/75 R15 205/65 R15
      Turning  Radius 5M 5.8M 5M
      Dimensions in MM
      Length 4258 4107 4400
      Width 1700 1775 1750
      Height 1925 1880 1885
      Wheel Base 2425 2680 2541
      Engine Immobiliser Yes Yes Yes
      CD MP3 With AUX input Yes Yes Yes
      Central Locking Yes Yes Yes
      Keyless Entry Yes Yes Yes
      Door Ajar Warning Yes Yes Yes
      Front and Rear Fog Lamps Yes Yes Yes
      Exterior Body Graphics Yes Yes Yes
      Rear Wiper and De fogger Yes Yes Yes
      Seating Option 7 &9 7 & 9 7 9

      Conclusion

      We agree it is a practical SUV and also can drive almost everywhere with its tall ride height and sturdy suspensions but then it also demand great number of updates which Tata Motors should seriously consider. They should begin by giving it a new modern design which will make the urban consumers connect with the brand enthusiastically.

      Tata Sumo Images 7

      Spacious and roomy cabin in the Sumo is great but then why not give it a complete makeover instead of just adding a music system which was not a great addition as the aftermarket is filled with such options. Perhaps the Horizonnext initiative will eventually bless the Sumo with modern changes.

      We would like to mention that during its stay of 2000Kms with us it did not report any problem not even of minor nature and did duty perfectly. We got a mileage of 11 Kmpl during our test runs. Even though it is 2 decades old now still it has a strong following of its own who swear by its performance. This number can increase if only the company takes the Sumo seriously.

      Tata Sumo Images 18 

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