Team-BHP scoops the Tata Sumo Grande Facelift

Tata Motors is on a major drive to refresh its existing line of products. These refreshes form a part of the HORIZONEXT strategy that the automaker is betting big on, in order to turn around its passenger car business. The refreshing of Tata Motors' existing line of products will continue until a new range of cars under the Advanced Modular Platform (AMP) arrive to take over the mantle from existing offerings. 

While the likes of the Nano, Indica, Indigo and Sumo Gold saw the first round of refreshes, the second round is expected to touch MUVs and SUVs such as the Sumo Grande and the Aria. Team-BHP has just scooped the Sumo Grande Facelift, caught testing close to the Tata Motors factory at Pimpri, off Pune. The facelifted model shows new styling details, which suggest that it is a refresh we're looking at. 

The new styling details include a bumper applique on the front, blacked out window-line, blacked out B, C and D pillars (previously, only the B and C pillars were blacked out), new reflectors atop the tail lamps and a black sticker finish that runs across the car body's bottom to give it a more butch look. Details about the interiors and mechanical changes if any, remain unknown at this point in time. 

These changes seem similar to what the facelifted Mahindra Xylo, the Grande's direct competitor, features. In its current guise, the Grande features a 2.2 liter DICOR turbo diesel engine that outputs 120 PS-250 Nm. This engine drives the rear wheels of the Grande by means of a 5 speed manual gearbox. The Grande is available in both BS-III as well as BS-IV guises. 7, 8 and 9 seat options are available on the MUV. 

Once a leader in the MUV segment with the Sumo, Tata Motors has steadily ceded market share to newer entrants such as the ertswhile Toyota Qualis, and the Mahindra Bolero. Currently, the Bolero has trumped the Sumo in the MUV segment while MPVs such as the Toyota Innova and the Mahindra Xylo run rings around the Tata Sumo Grande. With the refreshed model, Tata Motors will take yet another stab at the MPV segment. Only time can tell how effective Tata's latest stab is.