Lost in the hype, hoopla and euphoria surrounding the launch of the world's cheapest car the Tata Nano, the Sumo Grande, another offering from the Tata stable quietly debuted at the 9th Auto Expo held in Delhi. The Sumo Grande is the new face of Tata's family car and is a far cry from its predecessor, the Sumo. It is a fine mix of sleek, modern looks with an engine that promises of top-notch performance. With the Sumo Grande, Tata has finally managed to build a car that is attractive to the eye. Now the million Rupee question is will the Grande be as much a performer as it is a looker? By the end of this month I am quite sure we will have our answer.
Design
The first impression is always the last impression they say and in case of the Grande, the first impression is one of amazement! Seldom will one see a flashy car that carries the Tata badge, but with the Grande, Tata Motors have turned the table upside down. What once used to be the proverbial ugly duckling of the Indian motor world has transformed into prince charming and the credit for this ought to go to the UK based Concept Group who is responsible for the Grande's design. It has an angular and full-bodied silhouette with a distinct SUV-ish two-box design. The front of the car is especially eye-catching with the rather hard to miss, in your face 'V'-shaped radiator grille which dominates the front and the flowing bumper which meets the front wheel arches seamlessly, lending the front of the car to look a bit like that of the Mitsubishi Montero. The side profile is neat and clean, flowing and unbroken with the side cladding given a miss. Turning the focus to the rear, what immediately catches ones attention is the absence of a clearly defined bumper. This would have rendered the posterior rather awkward had it not been for the smart and trendy tail lamps which play the saviour. The modern design has made it possible for the Sumo Grande to be smaller in overall length by 150mm and still have more cabin space inside because of a longer 2,550mm wheelbase.

If you remember the interior of the Sumo, you will recall cheap and dull plastic, dingy appearance, boring and dated looks of the facia as well as the crude gear shift and steering wheel. If you think harder you will also remember the dead upright and uncomfortable seats which had a record of taking a severe toll on the passengers' back. Well, the good news is that with the Grande Tata has managed to improve on most of the problems with the interior. The interiors are now in beige giving the inside a cheery and airy disposition. Faux wood wraps the central console and door arm rests. The seat fabric has been upgraded and is now stain resistant. The gear lever and steering wheel have been restyled and are quite eye-catching but not much improved. The steering wheel looks a bit over-styled and the gear is a bit uncomfortable to hold. The dash vents gel well with the basic design theme of the interior, which is still a little boxy in appearance. The roof mounted vents are nicely executed and are quite functional too. The Sumo Grande with a bigger wheelbase now has three rows of seats and is spacious enough to hold up to 7 adults with ease. The front two rows of seats as expected are very comfortable and provide strong under thigh support, but what amazes one is the third row of seats. The third row of seats is also relatively comfortable and is sized to accommodate adults, but the floor is too high for ease. Inside the Grande there are a fair number of convenient stash points to put away belongings.

The Grande's design, inside and outside is a revelation! The Sumo Grande's design is a clear one or maybe even two generations ahead of the old Sumo. Though the Sumo Grande has taken a step in the right direction with the design, a lot still needs to be done in the quality and finish department.
Comfort
Ride quality has always been Tata's strong point and the Grande doesn't disappoint, but there isn't a vast difference between the old Sumo and the new Sumo Grande in this regard. This is because the suspension system remains the same in both the cars, apart from minor modifications. The ride quality is decent but handling is pretty mediocre. The adjustable steering wheel is light weight, responsive and easy to manoeuvre. The Grande has a turning radius of 5.25m which makes it drivable in the city inspite of its sheer size. The 5-speed manual transmission is easy to use as it has been lifted from the Safari. The Grande may not be a top end SUV but it sure does possess certain characteristics of one. The seats are reclining, have a 3 position lumbar support for the front as well as middle rows and are less upright than that of the old Sumo. The 65/35 foldable middle row seats offer easy access to the third row and there are arm rests for the front and middle rows. The Grande also comes with a 12V power outlet as well as power windows, power steering, air-conditioning and rear seat head rests.
Engine, Transmission and Performance
The Sumo Grande is powered by Tata's all new 2.2 DiCOR engine which also does duty on the Safari. Here the engine has been detuned in favour of fuel economy to produce 118bhp in place of 140bhp but still features a variable geometry turbo ensuring that the power flows in a smooth and polished manner. The 2,179cc, DOHC, 16 valve diesel engine makes 25.5kgm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm. This gives the car the ability to respond to accelerator pedal inputs immediately and without much turbo lag. Driving the Sumo Grande in city conditions is certainly an eye opener! Here the Sumo never seems short of power, with enough torque available to keep pace with the rest of traffic without having to continuous up-shift and down-shift gears. However it's the highway or when flat-out acceleration is called for, that the new engine's performance fails to excite. Here the lowered power to weight ratio coupled with the massive bulk of the vehicle, tipping the scales at 2,625kgs begins to show. The Sumo Grande takes almost two-and-a-half seconds more to reach 100kmph than the Safari 2.2 DiCOR but is only marginally slower than the Innova when racing to 120kmph.The final verdict is that the Sumo Grande's engine is a humongous improvement over the old engine with regard to power, torque and refinement. Though the Grande's engine runs out of steam on the highway, it still endows the Grande with the ability to be a very relaxed cruiser within the city and is also surprisingly refined.
Safety
The Sumo Grande is found a bit wanting in terms of safety but that is not surprising as it is not a relatively expensive car. An ABS fitted version is slotted to be launched in the future but till then one has to be content with the current version which only carries the elementary child lock, seat belts and front as well as side impact beams. The Grande is also fitted with an intelligent rotary lock mechanism which prevents the door from locking when the key is in the ignition. I am quite sure that there will be a lot of people out there waiting for the day when airbags and ABS fitted version of the Grande is launched.
The Tata Sumo Grande is available in three versions, the LX, EX and GX. The base model LX is available for Rupees 6,54,677 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi), while the top end GX cost Rupees 7,49,414 lakhs (ex-showroom Delhi). 2008, seems to be Tata's year, they have managed to capture the country as well as the world's attention with the Nano. With the Sumo Grande they have achieved in transforming the archetypal family car into a sleek and modern SUV, all one needs to do now is wait and watch if it finds any takers.