[rohan_iitr]

Anyone who has stayed in or visited Bhopal must have come across these Tata 407 based mini buses run by private operators, which is the preferred mode of transport for common man in Bhopal.

These 407 were killing machines on the road because of their great pickup and power. The private operators use to race against each other to reach the passengers waiting at the next bus stop.

We had our share of fun in these mini-buses during out school days. You could travel from one corner of the city to the other in less than 5 rupees.

Rohan

[amit_mechengg]

now the NA are replaced with turbo, called as turbo .

[pjbiju]

Congratulations to Tata.

I too can never foget the Tata 407 truck since that is the first four-wheeler that I drove on my own. I learnt driving on that (without ever going to a driving school or having an instructor). I used to love the torque and the engine note.

[W.A.G.7]

Congrats to Tata! I remember this truck, when we used to go to school, this was very common on the roads. As much as I remember, there were 2 common colours, blue and pista green. Also, there was a 6 wheeled version of it too (with higher payload capacity), I don't remember what it was called. (maybe 608?). The engine note was nice, but at that time, we (friends circle) used too think it was too noisy.

[GTO]

Added this picture to the opening post. Thanks to Mr. Bangalore for sharing it on this thread

[Latheesh]

407 not only destroyed competition. It helped TATA to push sales of their off-highway machineries too. I remember their backhoe loader fitted with Perkins engine was selling around 150/year. Once they replaced engine with 497 TC sales zoomed to around 500 next year and 1000+ units year after that. only reason for this drastic increase is it has same engine as 407, that was the key selling point.

[Soccerfan]

In Kerala, its called as "Kutti Benz" (the small benz) . The bigger tatas are called as benz owing to the mercedes benz assocation

[bejoy]

Tata is going to launch a facelift for 407, next year. Saw it on Manorama news channel yesterday and though it looks good, I like the classic look. Could not find any pictures of it online. Here is a screengrab.

[1100D]

Loved these machines, especially encountering them on the highways and the way they used to move on less than perfect highways at high speeds, made them quite a sight to watch and a challenge for cars to keep ahead.

However always wondered why the Cab-Forward 407 never had the same charm or capability.

[torquecurve]

Have driven three LCV's till date. 407, the Canter and the Swaraj Mazda.

The 407 is the best of the lot. The turning radius is amazing. The engine has enough torque to pull another 407 with the puller being loaded. (seen this).

The pick up is really good for a vehicle of this class, Low end and Mid range torque is very good and so many drivers tend to be a little rash. (like a scorpio).

The steering for such a big vehicle is superb. You dont really need to put your shoulder to turn the vehicle.

Congrats to my favourite automobile company.

[Technocrat]

Great thread GTO & now that you mentioned, it was indeed the Truck which killed a lot of LCV's made in Joint venture with international brands.

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Anyone who has stayed in or visited Bhopal must have come across these Tata 407 based mini buses run by private operators, which is the preferred mode of transport for common man in Bhopal.

These 407 were killing machines on the road because of their great pickup and power. The private operators use to race against each other to reach the passengers waiting at the next bus stop.

We had our share of fun in these mini-buses during out school days. You could travel from one corner of the city to the other in less than 5 rupees.

Rohan

Oh you bet, while they improved transportation over the Bhat suars(if you know what I mean), they surely caused a lot of accidents as this kind of power & pick-up was unseen by CV drivers.

[teamveevee]

Technically 25 birthday was Feb 28, So belated happy birthday, but we could say Happy Silver Anniversary.
It is amazing that the same design lasted for 25 years. Congratulations TM.

[ACM]

Yes it makes for an IIM case study.

A key reason for the success was that the Indian drivers were not comforable then driving without a nose upfront and the other options in the market then had a flat front with the engine below the driver and co driver seats. The 407 nose made them feel secure and also made the experience a bit more standard truck like - which they then wanted.

That couple with the right engine, and service network meant that it is still the No1 vehicle in the segment. Thanks for the nostalgic post GTO.

[m_upreti]

This is the only CV I have ever driven, in the avatar of a School Bus owned by a friend. Amazing pickup and response. I used to call my WagonR the mini 407 (immediate post launch the car was a butt of many a jokes for its looks)

[supremeBaleno]

Not too much into LCVs, but it is amazing coincidence that this thread came up just around the time I was discussing this LCV with a friend, who is an LCV driver. He was mentioning about the vehicle, how reliable it was and how he did numerous trips all over Kerala including to the hills (Idukki) without any issue. The one he drove was recently sold off after 15years for some 1.67lakhs !!! The only con he mentioned was the low FE.