Tata Sumo Grande MK-II Ownership Review


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December 2008:

Driving along in my 2006 Indigo on a single lane highway, I look at my dad and say "Our next car should be a SUMO Grande".
TATA had launched Sumo Grande earlier that year. And for those who dont know Sumo Grande yet, heres some GYAN.
TATA launched the orignal Sumo in 1994. I was in class 4 then. We owned the aam admi car (800). I remember telling my dad, we should buy a Sumo. Sumo had its initial gremlins. The rear suspension mounts would break, the oil leak from the sump etc etc. TATA rectified most of the problems and in 1996 (guess) launched the Sumo Dx, the ones with Ac, power steering, power windows. And my dad decided to buy a 1996 model SUMO in 1998 (had done 75000 kms). AND we used it for 2 years and covered a crazy 85000+kms. And after numerous face lifts and nip and tuck TATA finally decided to freshen up things. Launched the TATA Sumo Grande in 2008. Some people hate it. But this is a design that grows on you. Its so proportional, a strong case in the design of the SUMO in general. AND thats the best you can get out of an evolutionary philosophy, well you dont agree, then look at the proposed design of the LR Defender and MB G class. Sumo Grande dint fly off the shelf like the Sumo did. And in 2010 TATA launched Sumo Grande Mk2 with more robust anti roll bars, bigger disc brakes, captian seats in the middle and beige/black combo interior.​

December, 2010: After almost a lakh kms in our Indigos odo, father said "Lets buy a new car". AND my first choice Sumo Grande. Then added the SAFARI to the list.

Went to the showroom ' Hanuman Motors'. Was welcomed by a lady ( as usual), asked me to make myself comfortable on a couch and told me the sales adviser for UV will be here in a minute. AND me being me made myself soooeee comfortable, that the SA had to wake me up. Then I had a look at the car, had usual talk about price discounts etc etc etc. Told I'll come later.

March, 2011: Finally the 'later' dawned. I went to the showroom again and booked for the test drive, Both Safari and Sumo Grande. Two weeks later, the SA arrived at my place with a Sumo grande. As usual my father accompanied by me, went on a 6 km long drive. SA was going on about the features, this and that. He even told us that Sumo Grande has LSD (ignorant fool). The following week, SA showed us the Safari. After some brain storming, the decision was made, SUMO Grande it was.

May, 2011: D Day, After all the usual formalities we took the delivery of the car. TATA Sumo Grande Mk2, Gx Bs4. And did I forget any thing. Yes Dicor. Freebies recieved - some s#$% mats, an air freshener and box of sweets. Oh yes, did the underbody antirust coating and a Teflon coat FOC.

Ownership experience so far:
-The following day, I opened the bonnet. I was shocked to see a few more freebies. A spare radiator cap (metal) and a waste wipe on the chassis cross member next to the timing belt.
-At 1000 kms first service (run in period), No issues.
-At 5000 kms, 2nd free service, Vibrating front passenger seat. Issue not solved.
-At 15000 kms, 3rd free service, Rattling noise from the driver side a pillar. Issue solved. The following day, found engine oil leaking. On checking, found out that during the removal of oil filter the SEs, have spilled the oil on to the frame below and dint wipe it out.
-At 30000kms, No issues.
-At 45000kms, No issues. The following day, found the transmission oil and radiator fuild leaks. Transmission oil leak was due to the loose drain nut. And the Radiator oil leak was due to excess fluid in the system.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

That was a nice, crisp and short..in fact very short ownership review.
Awaiting more details and of course PICS too.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

Come on buddy
Post the pictures..
Crisp review.Satisfaction level out of 10??
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

A few episode with the car:
1. Was driving home for a launch. Was at about 60, a 100 mtrs or so in front of me was a scooter. I had positioned myself to overtake him, the nutcrack decided to take a U turn. The next moment I know, I had the brakes applied, gears lowered, car off the road. But still he managed to hit the rear edge of my car and tumbled over. Well I was relieved that I dint run over him. BUT that was short lived. I see that I am heading straight to a mile stone. Another evasive maneuver later, I come to stand still in the middle of the road. All this with a power slide. The road was barely wide to fit two busses side by side. It happened so fast 3-5 secs. BUT this was the longest 5 secs in my life so far.
Damages to car - none. AND the person who was responsible for all this, escaped with a sore knee. I feel both of us, me and him were lucky to get away. That road connects the fisheries harbor to the highway and usually, there are fisheries trucks speeding through. At that moment road was empty.

2. My father had an incident. When returning from Manglore. He got rammed by a truck (not head on, but a glance). Our car was squeezed between the road divider and an on coming truck.
Damage to the car - The right side body had to be re done. Wing mirrors, door handles, driver door glass, both the left side wheels, right side mud flaps. Total cost: 35ks. No damage to any individuals involved.

Journeys completed:

-to Mumbai and back: 3 times.
-to Bangalore and back: 6 times.

At present:

Car has done 46000kms as of today. Tyres ( 235/60 R16 Apolo Hawkz) are almost bald now. Planning to go for an upsize, 255/55 R16 Yokohama.
The power window had stopped working. Thez a control unit near the steering column. It controls the power windows, interior lighting, music system, Hvac and some other interior electrical stuff. Only the PW stopped working. The part was not available. So decided to bypass the system for PW operation. Works perfectly fine now. BUT waiting for the part.
Roof beeding came off. Waiting for the part to arrive.
The passenger seat vibration, I dont think they can fix it. Planning to get a new seat cover. So will try to fix it then.

NOTE: no pics available. Will post when I get some.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

@ jagrover and Vipul,

Sorry about the pics. I'll try to get some this sunday.

@ Raja,

Thnx for the promt. I wouldnt have written even this much.

m planning a trip to LEH, this summer (MAY end/JUNE). SO may be I can come up with more pics of my car then.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

Hey navnit thanx buddy for putting up the review man . Which colour is your grande ?
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - m I the only one here..

AND my first choice Sumo Grande. Then added the SAFARI to the list.
After some brain storming, the decision was made, SUMO Grande it was.

And did I forget any thing. , .
First of all , I do not know wheather you are lone Grande owner or not .But you are not going to be lone Grande fan here on this forum.

My father is now taking his own time to deside Sumogold vs bolero , He is also intrested in Grande, hence asked me to do research on it too.So many people /net reviews told me , not to go for Grande .When I asked why ? Answer was ' it is flop ',' Nobody buyes it .' Etc.
But , no one said that wheather it's bad or good.
So I am intrested in learning about it.

Whenever I look at White sumo with body coloured mirrors , bumpers , grills , it compels me to distract me from Dicor Safari, scorpio, Innova , duster et al..
Please mention in details about brain storming decision making process when it was battle between siblings grande vs safari , come on fast.

Yes , you have forgotten about pics, ride quality , comfort level on all seats , etc. So please oblige.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - Am I the only one here ?

Nice review, good to know that the Grande is serving you well.Sumo is a well rounded car and priced well too despite all this advantages it's sales numbers are miserable[cry]
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - Am I the only one here ?

Walnut gold is one more color from grande stable which tells that they began from a scratch for this car .Yes If you ask me which UV feels like a car , my answer is only Sumo Grande.
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - Am I the only one here ?

@ Tornado.
Brain storming, Its the usual heart vs mind, financial considerations etc. When we did the test drive, my father found that SAFARI is too cumbersome compared to the Sumo. AND the usual suspect, the turning radius which was equal to an ocean liner. I dint mind it, but my father thought, inside the city we are more likely to get stuck. Then comes the finances. When father told Safari, I told EX 4X4. And father was not keen on spending 1lakh extra on 4X4 which we would rarely use. SO I thought GX Sumo would be better as we'll have central locking, power windows and music system in it. We dont have to fiddle with the wiring to get these.

Comfort levels- Good. Not in the league of Safari, but definitely better than Scorpio, Bolero, Sumo Gold. I think Xylo seats are more comfortable. The last row seats are the most spacious as well. And seats are good for a long distance ride.

Ride quality - Again, not a Safari. BUT I can bet that you wont find more comfortable MUV in the price range. In terms of ride quality, though it has leaf springs at the back, it simply crushes the Scorpio and Xylo, lets forget the Tavera, Sumo Gold and the Bolero. Innova is better and more car like BUT its pricey as well. AND high speed stability is superb. You will only notice the presence of the leaf springs in bumpy roads or say the joints of the fly overs. AND when loaded with seven people, It rides even better.

+ves,
-Big car but feels compact from inside.
-Ride quality
-turning radius, maneuverability.
-nice engine. 120 bhp dicor. and nice flat torque.
-solid mechanicals. 46k kms in good, boad, no roads, moon and mars as well. BUT zero mechanical rattles.
-ves:
-plastic quality. After a 15-20000 kms squeaks and rattles creep in. Feels good, but finish and fit is poor.
-steering feels dead at the center, but actually it is reactive at that position. Since its a box type setup ( not rack and pinion), some vibrations are felt during cornering in rough roads.
-No luggage space with all seats up.
 

Noisy

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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - Am I the only one here ?

@Navnit: You have some nice writing skills, buddy.
The Sumo Grande was once my favourite (even my Mom's favourite) when it was launched but again it was caught by Taxi drivers. (No offence)
And, I think it is the first Sumo Grande report here, right?

At last, Congrats for the car and nice to hear you are enjoying..
BTW Photo kahaan hai? (Where are the pics?) I am dying to see the Walnut Gold color. Is it the Orange (Shahi paneer) colour? :biggrin:
 
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Re: TATA SUMO GRANDE Mk2 - Am I the only one here ?

Nice to see a sumo grande owner here.
Pls post some stills of your ride.
 

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