[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by koushik

There has been extremely negative review on Sumo Gold with various prolems on board in more than a dozen cars.It is in carwale Worst Sumo Gold - A Review on Tata Sumo by Ravi Kiran - CarWale

I am shocked with such a poor quality. Do you think it is a result of poor handling by rough drivers in transport business ?

This is the most biased review I have read after Etios review that somebody posted on his own website as well as here on T-BHP. This guy started with all negatives like break and clutch failures and then reveals the reason: constant breaking and riding the clutch. None of the manufacturers will replace breaks drums or clutch assembly due to riding clutch. He should actually be thankful to Tata that they replaced them for FOC.

Having said that, in general, Tata does have quality issues.

[koushik]

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

This is the most biased review I have read after Etios review that somebody posted on his own website as well as here on T-BHP. This guy started with all negatives like break and clutch failures and then reveals the reason: constant breaking and riding the clutch. None of the manufacturers will replace breaks drums or clutch assembly due to riding clutch. He should actually be thankful to Tata that they replaced them for FOC.

Having said that, in general, Tata does have quality issues.

I think Tata Motors has largely resolved quality issue in last two years in most of the cars.

I was on the verge of booking Gold GX CR4. But now I have decided to wait for another six months so that all possible corrections and improvements can be implemented and I may get a niggle free car !

In this price range there is no substitute for me in the market.I need SUV with big size , big engine , big power , big space , big reliability and in general everything big ! The sturdiness,manoeuvrability and higher weding depth ( distance between ground and alternator) of Sumo is unique and is in fact my need in rainforested area of West Kameng where I eventually want to use it.

[condor]

Originally Posted by koushik

I was on the verge of booking Gold GX CR4. But now I have decided to wait for another six months so that all possible corrections and improvements can be implemented and I may get a niggle free car

Good thing. Heard that there are couple of issues with the Sumo Gold, so makes sense to wait to buy this one.

[babu.sundaram]

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

This is the most biased review I have read after Etios review that somebody posted on his own website as well as here on T-BHP. This guy started with all negatives like break and clutch failures and then reveals the reason: constant breaking and riding the clutch. None of the manufacturers will replace breaks drums or clutch assembly due to riding clutch. He should actually be thankful to Tata that they replaced them for FOC. ....

+1 to this. More reason for taking with salt: No reason why someone would buy 13 vehicles it is shoddy! And no excuse for running without checking coolant!

(As far as I have heard from cabbies, Sumo is a true "no problem" vehicle! )

[koushik]

Originally Posted by condor

Good thing. Heard that there are couple of issues with the Sumo Gold, so makes sense to wait to buy this one.

I am ready to wait even longer.The point is that I want a car with high level of reliability.

[lohithrao]

I think the "reliability" part is over hyped by many, am sure we must or cant compare it to a Honda but it wont bad either.

For a simple reason, if it was a pain/no trust worthy then it wont have clicked with Taxi segment. the vehicle is put through so much of stress and still the vehicle takes all the abuse.

I wonder if the same treatment is sought on a so called "reliable" vehicle what would be the out come?

not trying to say that "Tata" excels in reliability but the issue seems to have been over hyped...

[prsnck]

Hello All,

We owned a Sumo Victa GX Turbo from 2005 to 2012. It was our stable workhorse with 86k km run and still worth 3.2 lakhs while we sold it. Currently we own a Innova, but still feels we missed the trick of a Sumo after had a feel of it for past 6 months.

Seems we may switch back to good old Sumo. Now with Sumo Gold being a head turner atleast with that CR-4 3.0 Engine. Anyways as most of the fellow bhpian's told it's worth to wait another 6 months, atleast till Nov - dec 2012 I am just keeping my fingers crossed for a minor refreshed Sumo Gold ( it's my wildest of thoughts) with all customer feedback and whatsoever niggles if any solved. Let's see.

Would love to write a detailed ownership of Victa, but not at this point of time with kiddo and wifey sleeping to glory..lol. I too feels sleepy, but can't resist to contribut my little cents to this thread.

Features I felt will miss from previous Victa GX to Gold after going through this post and some other reviews with pic's are :

1. Glove box between the front seats - Was an excellent support for hands to rest while doing long runs.
2. Spare Tyre on the rear door - Missed that rugged look.
3. Rear foot step is too big for the size of the vehicle, especially after Spare Tyre on the rear door is missing. Victa Rear foot step was so perfect.

Features they should not have inherited from Victa GX :

1. Not enough leg room for front passenger because of heavy plastic cladding below the glove box.
2. Huge space between brake pedal and clutch. I believe it was not so huge in Victa GX.

Will love to contribute more to this thread an really wanted to take a TD of Sumo Gold. Have been closely following this thread from last friday and sure will going ahead because the want to seriously check if the hype is (if any small hype it's able to create) is worth it and will surely indulge to get a GOLD medal for our family..lol.

Hope the old adage goes well with Sumo Gold - "Old is Gold".


rgrds
prsn

[condor]

Originally Posted by prsnck

Features they should not have inherited from Victa GX :

1. Not enough leg room for front passenger because of heavy plastic cladding below the glove box.

@prsnck, that cladding is because of the a/c & filter set-up. Behind that cladding is where you will find:

1. air filter (outside air filter)
2. Divertor (circulator mode control unit)



There is no free space there to make the cladding smaller. I have recently opened the dashboard of my Victa, and I have checked it.

But because the Victa GX has 7/8 seats, there is sufficient leg room for both front seat & middle row passengers. Not so in case of the 10 seater /lower variants.

[prsnck]

Originally Posted by condor

@prsnck, that cladding is because of the a/c & filter set-up. Behind that cladding is where you will find:

1. air filter (outside air filter)
2. Divertor (circulator mode control unit)

Attachment 946580

There is no free space there to make the cladding smaller. I have recently opened the dashboard of my Victa, and I have checked it.

But because the Victa GX has 7/8 seats, there is sufficient leg room for both front seat & middle row passengers. Not so in case of the 10 seater /lower variants.

Oh my god, Condor you literally peeled off the dashboard. Hope you did not do this exercise just for me..lol

Ya, there is sufficient leg room for both front seats. But could have done more better without this cladding, since on long journeys you feel and tends to move your feet around and stretch rather to fullest possible. After all the word refurbish or upgrade is just to improve comfort, aesthetics and on all fronts a better vehicle.

Next on my wish list was an ABS for the top-end version GX. Not only wish but a must I felt for this vehicle being powered with a 3.0 L engine and should pick up good speed. So that mean Sumo Gold is in the range of Fortuner in Engine Capacity atleast. Innova have a 2.5 L Engine.

Btw, slightly off topic - max speed i could gather on Sumo Victa was 120kmph. It was on the awesome bangalore-goa route, exactly the stretch between Goa and Karwar.

rgrds
prsn

[koushik]

Tata Sumo design is expected to be upgraded similarly as old short wheelbase landcruiser is upgraded from old to new and shown in the following pictures.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by koushik

Tata Sumo design is expected to be upgraded similarly as old short wheelbase landcruiser is upgraded from old to new and shown in the following pictures.

We all want the Sumo design to be radically new,or atleast contemporary, but by showing the pic of two generations of LC Prados, haven't you ommitted 3-4 generations in between???

[koushik]

Originally Posted by DicKy

We all want the Sumo design to be radically new,or atleast contemporary, but by showing the pic of two generations of LC Prados, haven't you ommitted 3-4 generations in between???

You are right. But old generation Prado somewhat looks like existing Sumo and again the new generation Prado SX (shown in the picture) has similar 3 litre four cylinder diesel engine and also the wheelbase and the other body dimensions close to Sumo Gold.
So Tata should have come out of boxy design and find a compromising body design like Zylo which does not look boxy at all.

[a_myth]

My office recently brought two Sumo Golds along with a Mahindra Bolero. The new cars were a welcome addition to the existing work horses. My work takes my to almost the whole of Goa including forest roads, mining areas (not the explosive kind, but iron and manganese ore) and the usual roads. All three vehicles have done approx. 5k kms in the past two months. The other day i engaged one of our driver in a conversation. When the topic of the new Sumo came up, this is what he had to say. "Power is good, but it doesnt like bad roads".

The next day, i took the vehicle for our 100 kms daily trip. In the middle row, the first thing you notice is the space. i am almost 6 feet, but i could sit comfortably. In the Bolero you feel a bit claustrophobic. The abundance of glass area also helps. When i reached for the door to close it, WTH??? The inside door handle is downright cheap. Also the power window switches are oddly placed.

Once we hit bad roads, i realized what the driver was talking about the other day. The dashboard felt as if TATA technicians have somehow forgotten to screw it in place. Also the B pillar starts shaking, making both the doors dance along with it. TATA really needs to sort such things out. In comparison, the Bolero felt very well built. No rattling of any panels till date.

[koushik]

Originally Posted by a_myth

My office recently brought two Sumo Golds along with a Mahindra Bolero. The new cars were a welcome addition to the existing work horses. My work takes my to almost the whole of Goa including forest roads, mining areas (not the explosive kind, but iron and manganese ore) and the usual roads. All three vehicles have done approx. 5k kms in the past two months. The other day i engaged one of our driver in a conversation. When the topic of the new Sumo came up, this is what he had to say. "Power is good, but it doesnt like bad roads".

The next day, i took the vehicle for our 100 kms daily trip. In the middle row, the first thing you notice is the space. i am almost 6 feet, but i could sit comfortably. In the Bolero you feel a bit claustrophobic. The abundance of glass area also helps. When i reached for the door to close it, WTH??? The inside door handle is downright cheap. Also the power window switches are oddly placed.

Once we hit bad roads, i realized what the driver was talking about the other day. The dashboard felt as if TATA technicians have somehow forgotten to screw it in place. Also the B pillar starts shaking, making both the doors dance along with it. TATA really needs to sort such things out. In comparison, the Bolero felt very well built. No rattling of any panels till date.

Sumo Gold is available in two versions. Sumo Gold BSIII and Sumo Gold BSIV (CR4 engine).May I know to which Sumo Gold you are refering to.

[condor]

Originally Posted by prsnck

Oh my god, Condor you literally peeled off the dashboard. Hope you did not do this exercise just for me..lol

I had it opened to work on the firewall. That's when I had taken the pics.

Originally Posted by a_myth

When i reached for the door to close it, WTH??? The inside door handle is downright cheap.

Yes, they have standardised on the ones they gave to the taxi segment / lower variants. I have nice, chunky, soft-touch handles on my Victa.