[man23ish]

Well i for one is all for this vehicle.. Gives you an amazing road-presence, utility value, 4x4, ample space to store all your luggage.. And the twin-cab can seat 5 people comfortably.. What else does one want from a vehicle.. I would term this is as an All-Purpose vehicle.. You can take it to work and you can take it out for fun drives (roads or no roads).. More, you can mod' the rear luggage area to have a nice sofa..

This would be Tata's reply to Maruti's Gypsy, which is also a capable vehicle.. The only thing going against Gypsy is its Fuel Efficiency.. The TATA SUT (imho) will in all probability have a better FE than say the Safari, Sumo and other Mahindra vehicles..

I am just hoping that the rear-seats are more comfortable than the Tata-207 twin-cab..

I just need to somehow convince my wife about this vehicle..

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by man23ish

I just need to somehow convince my wife about this vehicle..

If you can do THAT, my friend - you should consider a change of career and start selling automobiles instead.

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

If you can do THAT, my friend - you should consider a change of career and start selling automobiles instead.

Ha-Ha Good one that.. But seriously, i want to know if the rear-seat ride/comfort is any better for long journeys.. I am comfortable with the Amby's and the Sumo's rear seat comfort..

[man23ish]

Has anybody from T-BHP has test-driven this vehicle or are we just speculating about why TATA launched this vehicle in the first place??

I would like to know the following things..

1> How is the ingress and egress comforts?
2> How is the rear seat ride quality on bad roads? In other words, how good is the suspension?
3> Does this car come with an independent front suspension?
4> What is the city/highway fuel efficiency?
5> How is the handling and body-roll on this vehicle??
6> What is the turning radius of the vehicle?
7> How capable is the 4WD option as compared to the gypsy?
8> Has Tata reduced the ground-clearance on this truck to make it a real sports truck?

How is this one different from the 207-DI and the 207-DI-EX models currently being sold in the market as commercial vehicles apart from the 1983cc TC engine, the 4WD and the A/C?

Eagerly awaiting your replies.. I have a decision to make..

Cheers,
Manish

[Mpower]

Dosen't the dealer have any test vehicles yet.? The front suspension is independent should be similar to the Sierra 4wd.

[Revvmaster]

Originally Posted by man23ish

Has anybody from T-BHP has test-driven this vehicle or are we just speculating about why TATA launched this vehicle in the first place??

I would like to know the following things..

1> How is the ingress and egress comforts?
2> How is the rear seat ride quality on bad roads? In other words, how good is the suspension?
3> Does this car come with an independent front suspension?
4> What is the city/highway fuel efficiency?
5> How is the handling and body-roll on this vehicle??
6> What is the turning radius of the vehicle?
7> How capable is the 4WD option as compared to the gypsy?
8> Has Tata reduced the ground-clearance on this truck to make it a real sports truck?

How is this one different from the 207-DI and the 207-DI-EX models currently being sold in the market as commercial vehicles apart from the 1983cc TC engine, the 4WD and the A/C?

Eagerly awaiting your replies.. I have a decision to make..

Cheers,
Manish

Ok Manish here's the lowdown on the SUT

1. Ingress and Egress are only an issue during climbing in as it is a bit on the higher side.

2. Rear seat comfort is ok. Seat has very little recline if any. Leg space isn't all that great for the size of the vehicle. The suspension is quite good. Honestly you can throw the vehicle on bad roads and not feel quite a bit. The trick is to drive fast on not so good roads, pussyfooting won't help.

3. Independent Fron suspension up-front.

4. Can't specifically comment on fuel efficiency. Hard driving with a mix of city and highway driving as well should give you 8kmpl.

5. Handling is quite ok for a vehicle its size but steering has no feel. Body roll is absolutely minimal, something very very amazing on it.

6. Turning circle is 13+metres. Very very bad.

7. 4WD is quite capable off-road. Not tried it in a rocky area but can tell u it holds well. The ultimate 4WD king is still the gypsy though.

8. Ride height could be marginally higher if not the same.

And to top it all, i have test driven the vehicle extensively. Some 200+ kms. Don't ask me how.

Revv

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Revvmaster

Ok Manish here's the lowdown on the SUT

1. Ingress and Egress are only an issue during climbing in as it is a bit on the higher side.

This tells me that the body is more like the 207-DI cousins and not like the original Tata-Mobile.. I am a bit saddened to hear that.. Coz, the Tata-mobile had just the right height to get in..

Originally Posted by Revvmaster

2. Rear seat comfort is ok. Seat has very little recline if any. Leg space isn't all that great for the size of the vehicle. The suspension is quite good. Honestly you can throw the vehicle on bad roads and not feel quite a bit. The trick is to drive fast on not so good roads, pussyfooting won't help.

The original Tata-Mobile had sufficient leg-space for the rear seat, anything less than that would be a disappointment..

Originally Posted by Revvmaster

3. Independent Fron suspension up-front.

4. Can't specifically comment on fuel efficiency. Hard driving with a mix of city and highway driving as well should give you 8kmpl.

I would expect the high-way F.E to be more because of its light-weight.. Also i guess it should be possible to use Pete's Tuning box to set the right amount of power and fuel injection..

Originally Posted by Revvmaster

5. Handling is quite ok for a vehicle its size but steering has no feel. Body roll is absolutely minimal, something very very amazing on it.

Amazing for a vehicle its size.

Originally Posted by Revvmaster

6. Turning circle is 13+metres. Very very bad.

7. 4WD is quite capable off-road. Not tried it in a rocky area but can tell u it holds well. The ultimate 4WD king is still the gypsy though.

8. Ride height could be marginally higher if not the same.

And to top it all, i have test driven the vehicle extensively. Some 200+ kms. Don't ask me how.
Revv

200+ kms on a vehicle that is yet to be launched in India?? Did you drive it in Europe/Africa?? If so, I hope that the specs for the vehicle in India is the same as the one currently exported..

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by man23ish

This tells me that the body is more like the 207-DI cousins and not like the original Tata-Mobile.. I am a bit saddened to hear that.. Coz, the Tata-mobile had just the right height to get in..

The original Tata-Mobile had sufficient leg-space for the rear seat, anything less than that would be a disappointment..
..

They are using the same body or the same cab from the Tatamobile so there should be no difference in leg space.

Its the tall height that gives you the amazing road presence, which the Tatamobile was missing. You can always install running boards.

[racing4cure]

if launched orginnaly as planned as in 4 years ago this would have a outseller...but now..wiht so much competation..i dunno...but then again it a tata...anything can happen..!

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by racing4cure

if launched orginnaly as planned as in 4 years ago this would have a outseller...but now..wiht so much competation..i dunno...but then again it a tata...anything can happen..!

Hi Racing4Cure,

What do you mean by so much competition?? Which other SUV-cum-Pickup truck is available in India?? Who would the competition be??

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Mpower

They are using the same body or the same cab from the Tatamobile so there should be no difference in leg space.

Its the tall height that gives you the amazing road presence, which the Tatamobile was missing. You can always install running boards.

How is the rear-seat head-room.. The 207-DI cousins have a very poor headroom.. Anybody above 5'10" can feel his head touching the roof.. Is that still true for the Tata-TL 4x4 vehicle.. I thought, that the seats of Tata-mobile were a bit lower and the legroom was great (car-like)..

Road-Presence is alright, but rear-seat comfort (head-room and leg-room) becomes an important parameter for any passenger vehicle.. Why else do you think the Sumo became popular in the first place??

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by man23ish

Which other SUV-cum-Pickup truck is available in India?? Who would the competition be??

Mahindra MAXX twincab.

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Mahindra MAXX twincab.

I have a high respect for Mahindra Vehicles especially the Mahindra classic 4x4 and the Scorpio..

But, certainly IMHO Mahindra MAXX does not come half as close as the TATA Telcoline in the looks department.. Besides, i am not sure it comes with a Power-Steering, A/C and a 4x4 option.. Mahindra MAXX can be a reliable work-horse, but it is certainly not a life-style vehicle.. And it is certainly not the kind of vehicle that you would want to take on the twisties and off-roading into the woods.. I am hoping that the Telcoline would take me off-roading and also get me back..

The reason i mentioned I am hoping is that we all know about the reliability of new TATA launches.. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence in New Tata launches, but this is one heck of a vehicle i am finding very hard to resist.. atleast for now..

Another concern i had is if the 1983CC TC engine would pack sufficient punch.. The official figures quote 92 BHP, but i find that hard to beleive.. I am concerned about the vehicle being underpowered for its size..

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by man23ish

The reason i mentioned I am hoping is that we all know about the reliability of new TATA launches..

If its any consolation, this is not really new. For a change the foreigners have been the guinea pigs for the last 3 years as the vehicle is sold in about a dozen countries already.

Originally Posted by man23ish

Another concern i had is if the 1983CC TC engine would pack sufficient punch.. The official figures quote 92 BHP, but i find that hard to beleive.. I am concerned about the vehicle being underpowered for its size..

It is underpowered for load-carrying applications (thats why the 407 engine does duty on the workhorse instead), but is more than sufficient for passenger applications, especially since the vehicle is not very heavy.

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

If its any consolation, this is not really new. For a change the foreigners have been the guinea pigs for the last 3 years as the vehicle is sold in about a dozen countries already.

It is underpowered for load-carrying applications (thats why the 407 engine does duty on the workhorse instead), but is more than sufficient for passenger applications, especially since the vehicle is not very heavy.

Yes, i read about it during one of my numerous google searches.. and that is indeed a consolation as the people in other countries <read foreigners> tend to be more demanding of the quality of foreign vehicles in their country..

Passenger applications is what i intend to buy this vehicle for, and since the same engine powers the Sumo i am reasonably confident that the power should be sufficient with a decent kmpl of Fuel efficiency..

So far all the reports i am getting about this vehicle are very positive.. I am looking forward to a test-drive myself..