Tata Sumo Grande - Temerarious & Grand(e)

The Sumo Grande weighs almost about two tonnes, mind you, before even initiating the talks of its performance. Tipping the scale at 1940 kg, the Grande has been given the powerhouse of the Safari albeit with lesser horsepower on tap. All of those 120 horses (down from 140bhp of the Safari) lurking under the bonnet are sent to the rear wheels and there is stupendous 250Nm of torque readily available from as low as 1700 revs to 3000rpm. This 2179cc DiCOR engine is equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger that kills turbo lag and makes the motor leap ahead with urgency whenever you stomp on the accelerator.

When rolling around in the city, the drivability of this 2.2-litre unit comes to fore and the availability of that mountain of torque minimizes the gearshift. Even if the needle dips below 1000rpm mark, the engine does not show any sign of dying and just limps ahead seamlessly. On the highway, the engine shines bright with its ability of effortless cruising. When (and if) the mood takes you, the buried accelerator pedal will see you reach sixty clicks from naught in 7.1 seconds while the run to 100kmph is dismissed in 17.6 seconds. But outright acceleration is not what the Grande is about. Her forte lies in her cruising capacity and the roll-on figures, which are rather good. The Sumo Grande can do highway speeds with ease all day long and remains most composed at near about 110kmph. When given the beans to reach a top whack of 148.01kmph, the engine vibrated to the point of insanity. There is a considerable noise from under the hood beyond 2500 revs which makes the going get a little irritating and the notchy gearbox does not help either.

The body on ladder frame chassis is old-school which affects the ride and handling. The independent front suspension is aided by a wishbone with coil springs and parabolic leaf springs at the rear help the Sumo Grande have a well damped low speed ride quality. There is a lot of suspension travel which keeps the occupants happy when the going is slow, terrain notwithstanding. But as the car picks up speed, the passengers at the back will find it extremely difficult to stay put in one place owing to the dire ride quality that is a result of that anachronistic leaf spring. The suspension experiences a lot of bounce if the road surface is a bit irregular. High-speed stability is upto the mark. Even at speeds in excess of 130, the Grande did not budge in discomfort when going in a straight line on a silky piece of tarmac. The imperfect surface however had the car behaving completely different and it wallowed off the line on quite a few occasions. The Grande jolts over bad roads and does not induce confidence and you will have to come off the gas pedal.

The 235 section Safari tyres endow this car with middling levels of grip and it shows in the way this car handles. The Sumo Grande rolls and pitches heavily when pushed a little hard and even at humble speeds the tyres squeal and howl in pain when going around a corner. All this sounds exciting and in pictures looks like good fun too, but truth be told, it makes you have a lump in your neck. The steering though is direct enough and makes you feel confident that the car will turn the way you want it to, but you would not want to go round a bend enthusiastically in this car, would you? And then is the way this machine comes to a halt. The brakes have a good bite but the stability is far from good. The tyres have a tendency to get locked, the tail writhes about shamelessly and your eye balls pop out in fear of crashing. The issue of brake fade does not help either. Instead of stomping on the brake pedal, you are advised to go down the gears in conjunction with actuating the brakes which will result in more effective and more importantly, better controlled braking.

Getting done with the nuisance of the body on ladder type chassis, let us talk about the typical positives of such a frame. Despite of not being equipped with a locking 4-wheel drive mechanism, a limited slip differential or any such stuff that aids off-roading activities, the Sumo Grande does well when shown the rough ground. We were back to being ten year olds and took the Grande out in the open space to have some fun. The ground clearance of 180mm made sure that the underbody did not scrape against rocks while the massive tyres did their best to grip and get the car out of rocks and loose sand that we experienced. Though not a proper off-roader, the Sumo Grande would surely get you out of the odd off-road stuff that you encounter on your commute.

Not to forget, the 2.2-litre engine of the Safari has primarily been detuned to deliver good fuel efficiency numbers, the Sumo Grande does well in this department. The tall gearing helps the Grande achieve an overall figure of 11.5kmpl. In the city a litre of diesel was gulped for every 10 kilometers while on the highway the number was stretched to 13kmpl. This gives the Sumo Grande a range of just a little over 700km on a full tank.

This is a Sumo which is not one. It is more of Grande, this car. The way it looks is astonishing and you will feel more than happy to park it next to say a Barista or Costa Coffee because it will turn a lot of heads. Even a guy filled with naïveté will exude a sense of achievement with this car. What more, you get a good looking interior, great performance, and stunning practicality with this car. Great for munching miles, the Sumo Grande is a set of wheels that does well in most areas and keeps you in supreme comfort. Still, despite of all the sophistication that this car exudes, you feel like having a dirty face when sitting inside to suit this machine’s raw appeal. And it looks best when covered in dust. Really. Bow in respect for the Sumo, for it has come in a new avatar, Sumo Grande.