The Hindu Business Line : Tata Sumo Grande — Wrestling its way into the premium segment

Good looking and designed for comfort travel, the new Sumo Grande is a classic Tata vehicle in terms of its value-for-money proposition. The Grande has the potential to rattle existing favourites in the segment.

— S. Muralidhar

Enhanced appeal, both inside and outside.

The Tata Sumo’s image has been that of a hulking people’s carrier. It has never really been looked upon as a handsome ‘hunk’. Tata Motors tried a few design alterations and image change options, including showcasing women as potential users of the Sumo. But all those efforts could not quite help it to shake off the overly institutional buyer-oriented market focus that the Sumo seemed to be associated with.

Another potential market segment where the Sumo couldn’t make substantial headway was in the slightly high-end ITES/BPO employee transportation category. Here the Sumo suffered due to its relative lack of refinement and its image of being just a no-frills people’s mover.

So, till earlier this year, Tata Motors was as yet lacking a vehicle that could fill this gap, a vehicle that could be an upmarket institutional transportation solution and also be an attractive option to the individual sports utility vehicle buyer. Institutional buyers liked the Sumo Victa’s boxy, heavy body-panelled look, but individual buyers who would have preferred a more modern SUV design and build possibly thought it was a lumbering giant.

Work cut out

Tata Motors’ designers and engineers had their work cut out — to come up with a fresh, new perspective and exterior design so that the Sumo acquired a sophisticated, family car/ SUV appeal. With clean, smooth flowing exterior lines for this new vehicle, the interior also needed to be spruced up to match its young, upmarket outer.

The Sumo Grande is the result. It is unclear as to why the Sumo umbrella brand name was carried forward for this new, smart sports utility. It just could have been called Grande.

After all, there are only a few Sumo family traits that have been carried forward into the new Grande.

Contemporary looks

Though it continues to be a 7-8 seater, visually, the Sumo Grande is about as contemporary as some of the more refined crossover vehicles that are already here. But, from the front, the new Sumo Grande continues to have the trademark butch stance and high ground clearance as that of the previous Sumo variants.

In fact, like in the Safari, the Sumo Grande passengers too have to actually step-up on to the sideboards and climb into the vehicle. Similarly, the seating position for the driver is so high set and commanding that he would be excused for wondering if he is driving an LCV.

Large, clear-lens headlamps dominate the front of the Grande. The bulging bonnet slab and an oversized grille with three horizontal slats and the chrome Tata logo add more meat to the beefy character of the Sumo Grande. A large air dam and circular fog lamps on either side have been incorporated into the front bumper of the Grande.

Muscular flanks, oversized wheel arches and grab-type door handles are the side profile features that catch the eye. Window glasses for all three rows of seats continue to tend to be square. Two other Sumo trademarks remain — a flat roof and a not-so-steeply-raked windscreen. The raised, oversized wheel arch area still has a lot of room after accommodating 16-inch wheels.

Nice rear

The rear of the Sumo Grande has the most character and is better looking than the front end. Funnily, the rear door is the typical straight flat unit with a hint of curvature and marginally tapering towards the top. However, the door is nicely rounded on the edges and features a pair of elegantly designed tail lamps. The large door is also hinged on the side and opens like a regular door with hidden hydraulic supports.

Cutting deep into the rear bumper, the rear door also allows for easy access into the relatively small boot area, though with the third row of seats folded and removed, the luggage space is enormous.

A thick chrome garnish above the number plate slot breaks the monotony of the large door and additional stop lamps have been incorporated on either side of the over-sized rear bumper. The rear glass is set high, thanks to the tall stance of the vehicle and with passengers in the third row, visibility is affected a bit. The thick C-pillar doesn’t help either. Grande users will be better off installing sensors at the rear for safely reversing the vehicle.

Another feature that improves the Sumo Grande’s appeal for the individual owner will be fact that the spare wheel is now positioned in the under-body, just below the third row. The rear door is relatively lighter, as a result, accommodating for that extra length while reversing wont be required and the looks of the Grande has been enhanced.

Overall, the Grande’s exterior design is very refined. Panels are very car-like in terms of precise gaps, body panel matching, finish quality is superior and the paint job is excellent.

Still a biggie

But, the Sumo Grande continues to be a sumo in its bulk, weighing in at 1,940 kg (nearly two tonnes-unladen). Though the 2.2-litre Dicor engine borrowed from bigger brother Safari does a decent job, this heaviness of the Grande shows up at times.

The dimensions of the Sumo Grande have also been increased in keeping with its image. To maximise interior space and comfort, the wheelbase has been increased and the vehicle features very short overhangs, a feature that has contributed to improving legroom even in the rear-most, third row of seats. That is also why, despite the use of leaf-spring suspension at the rear, the ride is not harsh.

The ground clearance of the Sumo Grande is also higher by about 20mm, enabling Tata Motors’ engineers to play with the independent, double wishbone suspension and coil springs at the front to set up a soft ride quality. This is comfortable for the most part for a vehicle of this profile. Though at high speeds and quick turns this suspension set-up and its handling may not inspire confidence.

The 2.2-litre Dicor (direct injection common rail) engine that has been brought forward from the Safari is also paired with a variable geometry turbocharger. The engine puts out a peak power of 120 PS at 4,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 250Nm at a 1,500-3,000 rpm range. With this unit, the Sumo Grande feels adequately powered, though there does seem to be a hint of turbo lag. Our only reservation was with the relatively lower refinement levels of the G76, synchromesh 5-speed gearbox that had a sticky, notchy shift feel.

Improved Interiors

The interiors of the Sumo Grande is a clear step up for the buyer in this segment and is now pretty close to what the Safari offers.

Though the quality of plastic used in places feels tacky and finish quality is not up to the levels offered by premium sedans, the buyers in the SUV segment will still find the Sumo Grande right up there in terms of appeal and value.

The Grande also comes with loads of storage options targeted at the individual buyer’s tastes.

A music system with six speakers is offered as part of standard fitment in the top-end variant, as does fake wood panelling for the centre console.

The seats are comfortable enough, though more generous base squabs would have been welcome. The beige tone interior theme also adds to the overall light, airy feel of the interiors.

Other individual buyer focused features are power windows, arm-rests, electrically adjustable outside rear view mirrors, keyless entry, rear wash and wiper, puddle lamps on front doors, follow-me-home lights and theatre style interior lights.

Dual air-conditioners, chunky switches and gear, neatly moulded roof lining and the overall ergonomics of the interiors caught our attention. The moulded steering wheel has a nice, chunky hold and features a stitched leather cover for the top-end variant. Turning radius is 5.25 metres and the light power steering makes manoeuvrability relatively easy. Tilt steering is standard.

The Sumo Grande looks great on the outside, is extremely well designed to ensure comfortable travel inside and is a classic Tata vehicle in terms of its value-for-money proposition. The Grande has the potential to hit existing favourites in the premium people’s mover segment just based on the value that it packs and despite the relatively lower refinement levels in its interiors.

The Sumo Grande is being offered with three variants — LX, EX and GX. Prices range from Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

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