[condor]

Originally Posted by jeepster

looks like this video is created to show the offroad capabilities of the new SUMO.

Nah ! It's from the promo video (also posted in the Sumo Gold thread). Let's not look at the promo video as actual prowess of the vehicle.

This is a 4x2 version, and the terrain they show is regular for many Sumo's in the rural areas. It's now where close to the "Make your own road" ad's that featured the 4x4 Safari.

[4x4addict]

The Sierra Platform with 4WD and better power-train & tyres is just what the doctor ordered. I feel it will be an overall better vehicle than the Thar 4WD. Ofcourse it will not have the CJ looks...

[lugnut]

"Pigs fly just fine, given the right amount of thrust !"

If the Tata stable can produce a thoroughly Indianized version of the Land Rover Defender 90/110 variants [read: cheaper, simpler], I'm sure they'll hit Mahindra where it hurts -
Have one car with variations that serve :
- Dehati / load bearing /people moving segment
- Uber rugged militarized / government services segment
- Weekend offroader/ lifestyle segment
and finally
- Hard core offroader

With BD over there, I'm sure they are plenty capable.

<Edited>***************************
{opinion}

BTW - whatever happened to the Indian Army tryouts for the personnel carrier (replacement of the MM550)?

Mod's Note: Let us keep our opinions in check. Or at least be a little more mindful of the language we use. Please be careful!

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Winger is not Merc, but Renault Trafic based.

Originally Posted by condor

Like Rajeev said, the Winger is an ex-Renault. Straight lift - the dies themselves. No inspirations there. Not like the Sonalika & Qualis.

Guys, I do not know about the dies, but the winger looks like a straight lift from the Merc MB 100/1000 series, not the renault one. I will try to locate and post the Merc vehicles which i have posted myself on T-BHP.

[KameshR]

Originally Posted by jeepster

I like what I'm seeing, a SWB 4x4 Xenon!

DB time and again stresses that the Thar is nothing but a Scorpio/Bolero in disguise, so you never know what his magic wand would do this time. No doubt, the Sierra has a cult following, so I wonder if he is going to give us an all new Sierra with the Xenon's underpinnings OR a SWB Xenon.

The charm of the sierra was its halfcab design (like the Ford Bronco), so it would be great to have it back in the same avatar, but it certainly needs little bit of styling changes. Hoping for some action in this arena!

[georgev]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

Its good news if TATA also is looking at Mini SUV segment. Its surprising why they drop or ignore their old models.

To give some competition to Gypsy and THAR they just need to bring in TATA Sierra 'Soft Top' version, give it a facelift, latest Dicor engine and 4x4. It was just the right size and shape, only if they learn to upgrade their models.
Many would love the original Hardtop Sierra with a 4x4 gear and why not at a price of 6 to 8 lakhs. Bang on!!
Pics: Google

+1, The Sierra still have a lot fan following, they should improve on plastics, quality panels, attractive bumpers etc...Still India is looking for a small SUV like the Mitsubishi ASX, Suzuki Jimny etc..

[Fillmore]

I only hope on the naming front they don't name it Sumo something.

I knew couple of folks who would have bought the Sumo Grande had it not had the 'Sumo' tag prefixed.

[HammerHead]

IMO, Tata Motors has lost its focus!
After Indica/Indigo series they totally ignored MUV/SUV market. I hope they are investing in 'All new Safari and All new SUMO' and a new compact SUV rather than something which has limited market demand!

[shankar.balan]

An excellent idea. They should simply revive the Sierra - which if I remember right did come with Borg Warner Electric shift on the fly 4WD in 1996 at a then pretty hefty price of 4.5 lacs or so.

The Sierra was one of the best lookers around and a hugely desirable vehicle. I guess with all their new technology they can easily revive it with lots of mod-cons added and make it a proper rival for the Scorpio itself, forget the Thar!

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

The Sierra Platform with 4WD and better power-train & tyres is just what the doctor ordered. I feel it will be an overall better vehicle than the Thar 4WD. Ofcourse it will not have the CJ looks...

[Sudarshan]

Any kind of Land Rover (Defender, County ,110 etc ) looks like a distant dream to me , considering it for the the average ( normal ) budget conscious off roader Guy (& his pocket )
Even if they ( Tata ) borrow the Series 3 SWB Land Rover ( 1971 to 1983 ) & put a BS 4 engine in it , it wont be costing bellow 10 Lakhs , considering the material quality & workmanship involved .

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

The Sierra Platform with 4WD and better power-train & tyres is just what the doctor ordered. I feel it will be an overall better vehicle than the Thar 4WD. Ofcourse it will not have the CJ looks...

+1 , perfect solution ,& with a BS 4 engine of-course

Originally Posted by KameshR

I like what I'm seeing, a SWB 4x4 Xenon!
==so I wonder if he is going to give us an all new Sierra with the Xenon's underpinnings OR a SWB Xenon.

Another workable Idea ( provided all CMVR requirements are met )

Sudarshan

[zipperone]

Given that the production know how and the design of the SWB defender would cost nothing to TATA and a fully indigenous production of the defender 90 stripped down version, TATA should be able to produce it in sub 6 lakh price. The defenders are not very complicated machines to put together and given cheaper labor in the Indian scenario, it is achievable IMO. TATA already has trained personnel assembling the free lander and it won't need much work churning out the defender 90 or 110. They could easily meet the annual sales number of the THAR and GYPSY put together with the 90 and the 110 could pull the Bolero buyer easily. The new efficient diesel that goes into the current defender will surely make it a great value for money and ahead of the game in this segment.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

TATA makes some very poor look alikes. Look at the Sumo, Winger etc, all copied from the Mercs even though the TATA BENZ marriage was over a long time ago.

Winger has nothing to with Merc. It is based on old-generation Renault Traffic.

[ashis89]

Sierra is the best trick that TM has got up its sleeve. We only need to watch if it's able to exploit it to its max potential.....may be we should send some Sierra fan mails to Ratan Tata urging him to make this move

[shivshanker]

IMHO most of us are romancing the college days desire for the Sierra, me including.

But I am sure there are a lot many more designs that TM can roll out, yes Sierra can be one of them, but don't u all think the the Xenon is nothing but the Sierra in a slightly different avatar. for that matter so is the Safari and the Dicor. All are more of less the same, if I am not wrong also based on the same Chassis frame.

Whereas, with the JLR integration, TM is in a wonderful position to get the design and the required known-how from LR, Engine from Fiat and so on. So maybe we should expect such a change and encourage it too. (maybe influence those reading this thread too)

Hat's off for the Thar, a wonderful product. The best in a long time, this was possible since M&M had the dies, the Chassis and the engine, all that they had to mate the 550 body and get the new vehicle approved. But what was new in it, I ask this b'cos it was sold on the romantic image of the open Jeep, wind in your hair.

Again my cynical view is that the THAR is a great product of amalgamation of different product and parts bins within Mahindra.

In my case, while my heart said an Army auction, surprisingly the mind also wanted to pickup an Army auction jeep, managing time between office work and the home front did not permit me to go down that path, so I looked forward to the Thar. By the time it was launched, I moved out of India.

The reason for the long post,

Friends, let us hope for a new "videshi" product, some thing new.. not another SWB with the same bonnet shape. BTW the defender is manufactured in Malaysia and sold in the local market for 148K MYR, which is just around 20-21 Lakhs, based on UK SPecs.

If the Defender makes inroads into India, I am sure, this will change the SUV market.

[vivekgk]

It's heartening that Tata hasn't forgotten about its roots, the UV segment, whether it's MUV or SUV. What they need to do now is to revive the Sierra, the FUV (Fun UV). That's what the Sierra was about, really, Fun! It had the show, and in Turbo and 4x4 modes, the go as well. It was never that capable off-road (maybe in the 4x4 model that wasn't sold here), it wasn't that great on it (suspension/handling issues), but it oozed the Fun image, the marketing was spot-on (as is the case with all Tata vehicles), and there was nothing like it before, during or after its reign.

It's good to know that this project is in safe hands. This time though, I hope they let him go all-out and build the 'Real Thar'. Can't wait. And this time, BD has the Tata as well as Land Rover parts-bins to pick and choose from!