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Old 23rd December 2011, 08:31   #91
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by koushik View Post
That is true. One should wait for several months after launch of new product. I was delivered Tata Nano in April 2010 and in 20 months it has been upgraded twice by Tata Motors. And now there is new model with new engine design and more power .So it is better to go after proven cars.
Hmm. That is tricky. Sometimes if the car proves out to be too niggle free, than it may also go through tremendous price hikes. XUV might be affordable to many now but may not be so after say 6 months. All vehicles go through rigorous testing and it is not expected new launches to come up with significant shortcomings unless it is too radical a design like Nano.
Sumos are proven to be quite rugged and are preferred choice for hilly operators for long. However passengers might have unsettling ride due to stiff suspension (ruggedness demands relatively stiff suspension).
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Old 23rd December 2011, 21:18   #92
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by ajay0612 View Post
Hmm. That is tricky. Sometimes if the car proves out to be too niggle free, than it may also go through tremendous price hikes. XUV might be affordable to many now but may not be so after say 6 months. All vehicles go through rigorous testing and it is not expected new launches to come up with significant shortcomings unless it is too radical a design like Nano.
Sumos are proven to be quite rugged and are preferred choice for hilly operators for long. However passengers might have unsettling ride due to stiff suspension (ruggedness demands relatively stiff suspension).
Ajay I agree that Sumo is a proven vehicle but the new 3.0 L is for the first time CR4 engine with Delphi system. I have no clue as to if it would surely be niggle free.Sumo Gold is also offered with BSIII engine which is a proven engine being used in Sumo victa for long. But it lacks power of CR4 engine.
Yes I have seen that Sumo is the only choice for taxi operators in western , central and eastern Himalaya. Perhaps it's short wheel base and small turning radius is more suited to hilly road.One of the reasons that I prefer to go for Gold is to use it in Eastern Himalaya.
If you go through the history of TATA it is very unlikely that the new vehicle could be niggle free . We had had very very bad expierence with the newly launched Indica in 2001.Despite handling it very carefully it costed us extremely heavy in maintainance.
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Old 23rd December 2011, 22:38   #93
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Re: Newly launched Tata Sumo Gold BSIV and BSIII

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Originally Posted by SDP View Post
Doesn't 70 and 85 PS power sound somewhat less for a SUV? What exactly are your requirements?

Unsolicited advice (): Sumo being a age-old design, plus lack of any safety features, do you really want to get one? Why not wait for Duster or EcoSport and a get a current generation vehicle? How about XUV, did not like it?
SDP thanks for suggesting Duster. I have gone through Brazil website for Renault Duster. It has generous dimensions and even with diesel engine it's weight is less than 1300 kg.Very good power to weight ratio and excellent fuel efficiency.If it is marketed in India at a price around 8 to 9 lacs it would be a threat to many SUVS including XUV.
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Old 26th December 2011, 12:53   #94
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

This morning I test drove Sumo Gold - GX. Here is my experience:

Interiors:
- Loads of space everywhere
- Good looking dash-board (for an MUV)

Exteriors:
- Not much different from Sumo Vista added with some decals.

Driving experience:
- Responsive engine; decent pickup
- NVH levels inside is much better than the previous generation.
- Good A/C.
- Road manners is very good and easily swallows the humps and potholes.
- Space and head room at the jump seats is class leading.
- Overall fit and finish is not as good as New Bolero is.
- Distance between cluch peddle and break peddle is a way too longer than normal; will take some getting used to.
- I was shocked by the gear lever play on a new Sumo. Salesman explained that it is "normal" on Sumos.

Somehow, I am tending to bias towards New Bolero as a better overall package albeit cramped back seats in the Bolero.
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Old 26th December 2011, 13:48   #95
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

To me overall space and the little things like the driving position work against the Bolero, but to hear that the Sumo even now haasn't reached even Bolero level quality!!!
Good thing that the NVH is now okay,though powerful A/C,wonder if it would work perfectly in the long run.
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Old 27th December 2011, 21:03   #96
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by panchi View Post
This morning I test drove Sumo Gold - GX. Here is my experience:

Interiors:
- Loads of space everywhere
- Good looking dash-board (for an MUV)

Exteriors:
- Not much different from Sumo Vista added with some decals.

Driving experience:
- Responsive engine; decent pickup
- NVH levels inside is much better than the previous generation.
- Good A/C.
- Road manners is very good and easily swallows the humps and potholes.
- Space and head room at the jump seats is class leading.
- Overall fit and finish is not as good as New Bolero is.
- Distance between cluch peddle and break peddle is a way too longer than normal; will take some getting used to.
- I was shocked by the gear lever play on a new Sumo. Salesman explained that it is "normal" on Sumos.

Somehow, I am tending to bias towards New Bolero as a better overall package albeit cramped back seats in the Bolero.
The engine , gear box (except fifth gear)and final drive ratio of Gold BSIV is the same as that of Safari (3.0L dicor) and 3.0L Xenon with the difference that GOLD engine is detuned in proportion with reduction in body weight.If short wheel base of Gold is ignored it is very close to Safari (3.0L Dicor) in performance. Pick up power and pulling power is excellent and one can easily cross speed of 150 kmph. This pick up is not possible with Bolero.
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Old 28th December 2011, 16:52   #97
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by koushik View Post
The engine , gear box (except fifth gear)and final drive ratio of Gold BSIV is the same as that of Safari (3.0L dicor) and 3.0L Xenon with the difference that GOLD engine is detuned in proportion with reduction in body weight.If short wheel base of Gold is ignored it is very close to Safari (3.0L Dicor) in performance. Pick up power and pulling power is excellent and one can easily cross speed of 150 kmph. This pick up is not possible with Bolero.
Thanks! Is there any chance of 3.0 being reintroduced in Safari?
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Old 1st January 2012, 12:24   #98
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by directinjection View Post
Thanks! Is there any chance of 3.0 being reintroduced in Safari?
Safari with 3.0L Dicor is already there in export market.
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Old 2nd January 2012, 20:37   #99
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by koushik View Post
The engine , gear box (except fifth gear)and final drive ratio of Gold BSIV is the same as that of Safari (3.0L dicor) and 3.0L Xenon with the difference that GOLD engine is detuned in proportion with reduction in body weight.If short wheel base of Gold is ignored it is very close to Safari (3.0L Dicor) in performance. Pick up power and pulling power is excellent and one can easily cross speed of 150 kmph. This pick up is not possible with Bolero.
Auto Car India has test driven both Bolero m2Di and Sumo Gold CR4.

Bolero m2di performance figures:
0-20 1.60
0-40 4.34
0-60 8.67
0-80 14.97
0-100 25.61
0-120 52.56

Sumo Gold cr4 performance figures:
0-20 1.64
0-40 4.41
0-60 8.75
0-80 14.77
0-100 25.87
0-120 47.81

Ask can been seen performance of the UVs is pretty much the same.
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Old 3rd January 2012, 00:47   #100
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by JediKnight View Post
Auto Car India has test driven both Bolero m2Di and Sumo Gold CR4.

Bolero m2di performance figures:
0-20 1.60
0-40 4.34
0-60 8.67
0-80 14.97
0-100 25.61
0-120 52.56

Sumo Gold cr4 performance figures:
0-20 1.64
0-40 4.41
0-60 8.75
0-80 14.77
0-100 25.87
0-120 47.81

Ask can been seen performance of the UVs is pretty much the same.
This is a surprise ! Look the difference between the two powerplants. Sumo has power output of huge 85 PS against just 63 PS of Bolero .Similarly Sumo CR4 has massive torque of 250 NM against just 190 NM of Bolero M2DICR .Even final drive ratio of 3.36 for Sumo CR4 is well suitated for high speed.May be perhaps Bolero lacks the top speed of Sumo CR4 .
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Old 3rd January 2012, 08:49   #101
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by koushik View Post
This is a surprise ! Look the difference between the two powerplants. .
@Koushik, Mahindras typically are lighter than Tata's., Compare the Safari with the Scorp, Bolero with the Sumo & you will see. Also, top speeds are often limited as standard practice.
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Old 4th January 2012, 18:12   #102
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

I did a TD of the Sumo Gold Today.

Mr Vijay from Tejaswi Motors, Madhapur was accompanying me. He was not only very courteous but immensely helpful. I would give him a 5* for his patience and knowledge. And a big thumbs up to his employers for hiring him.

About the SUMO.
I LOVED IT.

I don't know why but this vehicle felt so perfect and its pricing spot on.
I TD'ed the Gx variant. Its the top end. The OTR is about 8.0X lakhs. There is a 40k exchange bonus. Plus a couple of other discounts.
There is no extended warranty. The standard is 3 years or 100k kms.

The vehicle has excellent NVH levels. A lil body roll is perceptible at all speeds.

The top speed as per the SA was 180. I took her to 100 for a braking test.
This was done on a under construction road with no traffic.

Took a couple of high speed turns as well. Its does rock a bit but coming from a Wagon R back ground it was no issue for me.

The braking test was done at 60. Stop no drama.
At 80, stop no drama.
At 100, a little drama that needed some steering control manipulation to remain in line.

The AC is a chiller. But a lil noisy at fan speeds of 2 and up.

The suspension is good. The acceleration is decent. Infact very decent.
The turning radius is the icing on the cake.

If my wife lets me.....this is on TOP of my list.
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Old 4th January 2012, 18:45   #103
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

Thanks, BB !
The sore point I had with the Victa GX looks to have been resolved - power ! The A/c has been a chiller even on the Victa.

Wont be able to make out any changes in teh NVH levels until I check it myself.

The top speed of 180 may be the theoritical max for the engine & the body. The actual speed will be limited to about 140, me thinks. Remember - the WB is not big enough to rake up high speeds and yet retain stability.
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Old 4th January 2012, 19:39   #104
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

I forgot to mention the dodgy gear stick. It moves all over the place. But once I got the hang of things it felt adequate. But its a free spirit and like to run around a bit.

Condor, as a owner of an existing Sumo...its your duty to check out the new Gold and give us your feedback asap.
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Old 4th January 2012, 19:49   #105
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Re: Tata Sumo Gold - Refreshed Sumo!

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Originally Posted by bblost View Post
Condor, as a owner of an existing Sumo...its your duty to check out the new Gold and give us your feedback asap.
only if you are ready to sponsor me a new Sumo Gold !!

Ok - let me explain. The TCIC Victa is under-powered for my liking. If I switch on the a/c, the effect is immediately noticed. I am afraid that if I take a TD of the Gold, or the Safari, I may start complaining about my major dis-like of the Victa, and eventually end up thinking of a new Sumo/Safari - all when I have NO need to give up my truck.

Hope the gear lever behaviour was one-off. My GB-76-5/3.87 is a beauty. Shift it with a finger or two !
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