[Mpower]

Once the Sumo gets a nice DI diesel it will easily go for many years unlces GM decides to get into a pricing war and undercut it.

[islero]

Sumo is a good rugged vehicle with a bargain price and a kinda established reputation.

I think it will stick around for a while.

The only really big flaw it has is the safety factor.

[varunroy]

[quote]

Originally Posted by BuRnT RuBbEr

sumo or no sumo, dont hurt the old man' sentiments about the amby....


sumo is good enough for ferrying people, vegetables and other goods in the V A S T rural india. there is absolutely no point killing it.

We now say that stopping the qualis was not a very good business decision. there is no way ratan tata will do that mistake. I am sure they will throw in facelifts on time. IMO another five years atleast.[/quote

]

If only the Tatas could improve the Quality of Spare Parts there cars would be unbeatable. The Sumo is here to stay for a long time. Its the most manouevarable hulk on City roads. It rugged build is fit for all types of Indian roads and its worthiness can be compared to our "old" mans Amby, If an Amby can carry 13-15 in rural Andhra, its anyones guess what the Sumo can do. It costs just 40 paise per KM per head, no wonder its so popular with the call centres. Only now these Companies have started diverting their attention to Taveras because of its better buiid , trouble free and low cost running. While the Taveras are underpowered for their size, the Sumos have a fairly good take off in todays push pull Traffic.I am sure the Victas would be relaunced with DICOR.

BTW, I have owned a 1961 Black Single owned AMBY and enjoyed it till 1998 when I bought the Sumo.

So long....

[devarshi84]

tata sumo has withstood competition from Toyota in the name of the ancient qualis. what else can u ask for.

One of my best friends has a Sumo which is more than 10 years old. They are still not looking to replace it.

Thats the best example of sumo being a reliable car.


and about amby???????? well its the car of the nation. Its no more a British vauxhall but the Indian Amby. Its the hallmark of our pride. I read somewhere that even today Amby sells more than 2500 units.

My roomie here is from Nasik and his dad owns a 66 ambassador. The car now has a new engine, floor shift gearbox blaupunkt stereo and much more. That's the love an amby generates.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by Fiero

i doubt the build quality of the rhino will match up even to a tata sumo ...

india is not a country with a dozen alternatives in each segment ... the sumo stands alone as a cheap people mover , and it stills sells quite a bit ... why discontinue it unless its sales drop or tata plans a 'replacement' for it??? ... which is not on the cards right now.

It doesn't mean that dis-continue the sumo just upgrade it otherwise a new product will come and eat it sales.

Case in point -- the maruti 800 and zen.......
When Tata came in with the indica it was ridiculed for its build quality among other things but it still sold because of pricing and other factors and also because ppl were looking for something new and different.

So even if the rihno has quality problems initially they might be overlooked by people who are looking for a different ride, also eventually these should be sorted out and then Tata will have a problem with the sumo on its hands and it might be too late to stop their slide in that segment. Mahindra has a huge chunk of the cheap suv market which was long held by the likes of Sierra (earlier) and safari later.......

Change should come about with the advent of time and not because it is forced upon you....

[hell_rider]

I can't remember wher, but if i do remember correctly, there was an article about TATA engaging a German firm to redesign/work on the SUMO. I read it quite recently actually.

[tsk1979]

Sumo is being put to rest after one facelift.
The minor facelift will come around July/Aug timeframe. 2007 will see the Safari/sumo platform being killed and X2 taking over.

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by ghostrider4385

Do you know the number of sumo's still used by BPO's and the likes to ferry employees from home to the office and back? It's pretty big. And why would these companies go for these sumo's? For the reason that they spacious and cheap! So now, wouldn't sourcing mechanicals from suv's like the safari dicor and other elements from all the above mentioned vehicles increase its price? And wouldn't this increase diter companies from going for the sumo?

You are perhaps not following my point a bit. The sumo is a good people carrier and is meant to be one but initially i remember families buying sumos in the urban areas but now the sumo has lost the 'huge family' car market due to the innova, tavera, qualis (now defunct). In a matter of time, Tata might also lose its rural market due to the advent of the advent of the Force Trax Cruiser and the Mahindra XL range which can carry more people due to their extra long wheelbases. Considering the fact that Indian highways are improving slowly but steadily the demand for MPVs rather than MUVs will increase atleast in the urban and the semiurban markets.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by Beeman

I think the sumo will ultimately be killed by the new rihno which is based on the old toyota qualis...........

I doubt that. Rhino's sole USP is the attractive price that is attributable to the tax concessions enjoyed by the manufacturer for setting up the factory in a backward area. I have serious doubts about the technological capabilities of the Rhino manufacturer as well as about their after sales service, two things that go in favour of Sumo strongly. Incidentally, the Rhino is not based on the Qualis, though it is very similar to Qualis.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Sumo is being put to rest after one facelift.
The minor facelift will come around July/Aug timeframe. 2007 will see the Safari/sumo platform being killed and X2 taking over.

The only notable difference between the current Safari/Sumo/207 platform and the X2 platform that I am aware of is in the rear suspension. According to press reports, X2 will have independent rear suspension. It will continue to have ladder-type chassis. Therefore, I wonder if it is correct to say that the existing platform will be killed. Probably the new platform will only be a derivation of the existing platform. I would love to know if there is something on this subject that I have missed out.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

Sumo should be put to rest for ?

No it should be shot an hung - totally unsafe for all

[2fast4u]

overall Tat has given India its version of the Discovery. if driven between 60 to 90 with no sudden swerves its perfect for Indian roads its a got a better suspension than Mahindra and even Qualis and space wise is also fine. maybe bigger and wider tyres, strut braces will help its handling.
The Discovery by Tata for India.

[hell_rider]

Originally Posted by ajmat

No it should be shot an hung - totally unsafe for all

i think thats a wee bit too harsh. while i agree its safety record is not enviable, it can also be argued that any vehicle has a set of limits with respect to certain aspects and these should not be crossed. I guess it can be said that a fair percentage of the sumos involved in accidents have been on account of the driver pushing it past its limits, especially with respect to high speed handling.

i have had a couple of experiences of long drives in Sumos, (never as a driver), but seated in the front passenger seat. I must say its damn comfortable and offers an amazing perspective of the road. And on the same trip, at one point we had packed 14 people into that Sumo due to a break down in the other vehicle. thats the reason i believe the Sumo if redesigned with emphasis on certain aspects, has a lot of potential.

Having said that, comparing it to the discovery is on the other extreme. :-)

[speedzak]

Time to send it to heaven! Hell wont be happy otherwise!

[nevertouchme]

Originally Posted by speedzak

Time to send it to heaven! Hell wont be happy otherwise!

Ha ha ha a good one ! ....