Since 1997, The Tata Sumo was the undisputed leader in the Indian MUV segment until a certain Toyota Qualis came along. Ever since, Tata Motors’ multiple attempts to fight back and regain lost ground with Sumo variants like the Victa and the Victa DI has only become an uphill task with a multitude of capable MUVs like the Mahindra Bolero and Chevrolet Tavera nibbling away at market share.
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| Tata Sumo Grande MPV |
In the meanwhile, Toyota withdrew the QualisMUV at the peak of its demand, much to the surprise of most, and replaced the ultra successful Qualis with the Innova MUV, which soon became a best seller too. Mahindta responded in a while with the Xylo MPV, which also is a brisk seller. Tata however was quite late to come up with an Innova challenger and when it did, the Sumo Grande was born.
But the sales for the Grande however have bee less than encouraging with the MPV remaining a distant third, behind the Innova and the Xylo. In yet another attempt by Tata to win back some market share and keep the Sumo Grande relevant in the MPV market, a facelift is being planned for the month of November, according to our sources. The Sumo Grande in itself is a very capable MPV that has plenty of potential.
For the uninitiated, the Tata Sumo Grande come with a 2.2 Liter DICOR diesel engine producing 120 Bhp. This engine mated to a 5 speed transmission endows the Sumo Grande with sprightly performance. The Sumo Grande also handles much better than the boat like Mahindra Xylo which pitches and rolls like a drunken elephant making for a very hairy high speed driving experience.
The price of the Sumo Grande too is lower than both the Xylo and the Innova. So, the Sumo Grande does have some inherent strengths that Tata could really use to give the Sumo Grande a proper makeover by ironing out the rougher edges like the flimsy plastics, the notchy gearbox and the bumpy ride due to the leaf springs suspension layout at the rear.
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