[TusharK]

Tata Motors has launched the Winger 15 Seater in Maharashtra. The mini-bus is priced from Rs. 12.05 lakh (ex-showroom) and will be available across 23 Tata dealers in the state.



The Tata Winger 15S measures 5,458 mm in overall length, 1,905 mm in width and 2,670 mm in height and the internal cabin height is 6 feet 3 inches, which is claimed to aid passenger movement. It has a ground clearance of 180 mm and luggage capacity of 585 litres.



The Winger 15S is built around a monocoque chassis. It features independent front suspension with anti-roll bars and hydraulic shock absorbers and rides on 15-inch wheels. On the inside, the Winger 15S comes fitted with push back seats with USB charging ports for each row and individual air-conditioning vents.



The Winger 15S is powered by a 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder DICOR diesel engine which produces 99 BHP @ 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque @ 1,250-3,500 rpm. The engine is paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox and drives the front wheels.



Link to Team-BHP News

[Tapish]

This may give a good competition to Force Traveller, but why monocoque? Travellers are rugged and work well in the hills. I'm not sure if a monocoque Winger will be sturdier than the Traveller. The segment this targets (travel operators) would value longevity and cheap service/ maintainance above all else.

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by Tapish

This may give a good competition to Force Traveller, but why monocoque? Travellers are rugged and work well in the hills. I'm not sure if a monocoque Winger will be sturdier than the Traveller. The segment this targets (travel operators) would value longevity and cheap service/ maintainance above all else.

Force Motors says that the Traveller has a monocoque construction as well.

Their website http://www.forcemotors.com/vehicle/traveller-3350 says "Monocoque body structure provides total safety and car like ride quality"

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[Tapish]

Originally Posted by FourWheelDrift

Force Motors says that the Traveller has a monocoque construction as well.

Thanks FourWheelDrift. I stand corrected. I always thought the Traveller was ladder on frame.

[mercedised]

The biggest negative of this vehicle is the entrance, which is from front passenger door. Tata should know that for a mass-traveller the ingress-egress should be the easiest. Secondly, the looks are well beyond dated, feels like from Sumo's era. This might end up as a intracity A to B van.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by mercedised

The biggest negative of this vehicle is the entrance, which is from front passenger door. Tata should know that for a mass-traveller the ingress-egress should be the easiest. Secondly, the looks are well beyond dated, feels like from Sumo's era. This might end up as a intracity A to B van.

Ingress-egress on the Winger is better than the cramped front entrance with that narrow set of curved steps on the Traveller, especially this one with the tall floor where you can walk through the cabin without bending.

As for looks, the Traveller is a 80s Mercedes Transporter while the Winger is a late 90s/early 2000s version of the Renault Trafic V1 (1981-2001). Technically more recent - its just that we're used to the Traveller and hence it does not seem as oddball as it really is. The 2.2 Dicor on this one is also much more recent and refined than the Traveller's 2.6 clatter-prone oil burner.

IMHO the Winger in high-roof configuration looks pretty good excepting that 90s grille. Its the low/flat roof version that looks out of place.

Having said all that, both of these are outdated vehicles and should be replaced.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Good effort IMO. I liked the looks too, simple and clean, less aggressive looks.

Whether it is Traveller or Winger, I always felt short of space (leg space and shoulder space) and more prone to motion sickness. I will prefer paying little more and hiring 2 Innova cars.

I would like to have these vehicles with interiors customized for 6 to 8 people in a spacious manner. Bigger bucket seats or couches. A thick mattress at the back.

The advantage over the cars (for the long journey) will be that you can move around a bit; not confined to the seat.

[SmartCat]

Can Winger be registered as a private vehicle? The website shows a typical happy Indian family (husband, wife, 2 kids - a boy and a girl) on the beach with Winger.

[libranof1987]

Surprising that an a/c vehicle has the sliding-type windows; won't there be cooling loss? All the a/c Travelers I have seen have a single-block, sealed window.

Also, why is this launched just in MH, any significance?

Originally Posted by smartcat

Can Winger be registered as a private vehicle? The website shows a typical happy Indian family (husband, wife, 2 kids - a boy and a girl) on the beach with Winger.

They probably rented it? Although, 15 years back, my neighbor bought a used Traveler for personal use and got it refreshed. They were a joint family of 10 and used that for their Pune - Goa travel. It was a private registration then.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Also, why is this launched just in MH, any significance?

I have always noticed more white board Wingers and Force Travelers on MH Roads (Highways) than Karnataka each time I drive to Pune, Yellow boards beyond all these quite regularly too.

I suspect the only reason to launch this first in the state of Maharashtra would be to test the acceptance for the product and then slowly spread the footprint elsewhere.

On your question on sliding windows for an AC vehicle: This is a proper people mover and with a variety of travelers sitting inside, not each one would like to have the AC working all the times and will crave for fresh air.

Having manual/sliding windows will help and economical too even if you compare them with rolling (& manual) windows which will need sliders/Channels for each, Removable pads inside to work on these windows, handles for each and the few extra nuts and bolts to hold each of them. Not to forget the fact that these windows being next to each other and rolling mechanism would need good space between 2 windows resulting in change in structural design to the skeleton itself.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Can Winger be registered as a private vehicle? The website shows a typical happy Indian family (husband, wife, 2 kids - a boy and a girl) on the beach with Winger.

Definitely yes and I replied the same above that I regularly see many White board Wingers in Maharashtra.

Long long ago, one of my relatives in Rajkot Gujarat, who always had this fascination for people movers had picked this (Registered privately):



Image source: Google

[TejasKinger]

I've always wondered why minivans such as the Toyota Hiace or the Nissan Urvan have never been popular in India.

Sometime in 2015, we had hired a Nissan Urvan 4x4 to take us through Kenya for a family vacation. This was an older example and had already done a few lac kilometers by then. It lacked creature comforts, had tons of rattles and squeaks, sounded coarse but was equally comfortable demolishing jungle trails as well as munching miles on highways.

Quite recently about 10 of us went on a short trip to Sri Lanka. I noticed the popularity of three vans - The Nissan Urvan, The Toyota Hiace, and The Micro Tourer (A licensed copy of the Toyota Hiace built by Micro Cars of Sri Lanka). We hired a Micro Tourer 14-seater with a driver and boy what a lovely ride it was! This was a relatively recent model loaded with all the bells and whistles. This one had done about 1.5 Lac Kilometers, yet had absolutely no rattles or squeaks. The 2.8L Toyota diesel engine was butter smooth, we munched highways, twisties, narrow streets in extreme comfort.

These vehicles are far better than what is available in today's market for large families, for travelling, for hotel and airport transfers, it beats me as to why we don't have a market for these in India yet. We have the Xylos and the Innovas and then the Tempo Traveller; Nothing in between. I'm hoping the Winger creates a solid case for more products like these.

Attaching a few pictures of these rides.

[Anwesh]

The Traveller is not allowed private registration in MH. Might be possible if Force Motors release the shortest wheelbase, flat roof version with a sliding door in the middle. They had the tooling for that a few years ago. Winger has a short version with nine captain seats that could be registered with private plates.

Regards

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Anwesh

The Traveller is not allowed private registration in MH.

I have seen quite a few each time I have driven and also seen few of them with lettering on the body from a trust or an organization and regular chassis. Not the extended one.

May be some special arrangement but I definitely remember this very well.

Here's something which I found on OLX and it pretty much confirms what I have been seeing on MH roads all these years. That both Tata Winger and Force Traveller can be registered as Private vehicle (White Board).

[Turbo Head]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Here's something which I found on OLX and it pretty much confirms what I have been seeing on MH roads all these years. That both Tata Winger and Force Traveller can be registered as Private vehicle (White Board).

Attachment 1788004

So does that mean, you can drive one on your usual car driving license ?
Or you still need commercial D/L for the same ?

[rrsteer]

I am looking to buy a Winger as a private vehicle.
I have shortlisted a Winger which is registered as a private vehicle and being driven by an individual. It is registered in Moga, Punjab.

The vehicle in question is a 2013 model and has the DI engine. It has run about 70k kms. The exterior of the body looks quite good and even the interior is in relatively good shape (no or very little rattling). In terms of driving the car the steering had a lot of play, the gears were difficult to slot, the brakes were spongy. Is this inherent to the Winger or something that needs to be rectified? Also the engine was spewing black smoke on acceleration or when being pulled. Can something be deduced from all this information about the health of the engine and vehicle in general?

The owner is asking 2.5 lacs for the car, is it a fair price?

I want to build the Winger as a family tourer and have a total budget of 4 lacs that includes refurbishment related expenses (e.g. replacing existing seats with 6 Innova captain seats )