Hi Guys,
This is my first ever review, I hope I do Ok.
I have had the turbulent experience of being a proud TATA Pick-up owner for the last 3 years ( almost! ) now.
She is a white 207 Crew Cab with the 407 engine, 2010 model.
When I was first looking for a truck, I needed to consider 4 things.
Price ( of course) I had just come back from being a student and didn't have too much money.
Durability ; This would be the only vehicle I would be able to afford for the next few years so I had to make sure that it lasted.
Utility. My work takes me to some far flung places, bad roads and I usually have to travel with a fair load of equipment with me. Being a "new age" tradesman in India, I carry my tools and stuff with me, and don't have "labour" to do the job for me.
Comfort. As this car would be both my work horse and my personal run-around, I had to make sure it would serve both purposes of comfort and uitlity. I also have to make some crazy long journeys ( i.e. Pune- Chandigarh, Pune - Indore, Indore- guwhati, Pune - Chennai etc) on a regular basis and some creature comforts are definitely a must.
I test drove and checked out a few vehicles. Before arriving at the 207, one was the Mahindra Pick-Up, The Force Toofan and ofcourse, my 207.
I found the Trax too basic, with no embellishments whatsoever, it didn't even have a dashboard. Also, the absence of a tray was a bit of a downside. The vehicle in itself was cumbersome and uncomfortable to drive and was all over the place on the unwieghted test drive I took over a couple of bad roads. On the other hand, as soon as the showroom guys figured out that they weren't dealing with a "People Transporter" they magically went from dismissive and rude to polite and helpful, even offering to throw in power steering and air-conditioning for me. Then they became pushy and I got totally turned off. Add to this the 6 lakh price tag and it was a No No.
The Mahindra was OK, but again, I did not find it comfortable at all, it was too compact for my liking and while it suited the purpose, driver comfort was minimal and I was not too sure how I would feel about it on the long term.
I looked at the Xenon, but she seemed underpowered, and more of yuppy city-biy statement maker kind of thing.
Finally, after negotiations we settled on the 207 DI priced at 5.2 lakhs with a 50k down payment and 15, 000 Rs. monthly instalments.
The test drive was nice, the driver comfort I would say is the best in it's class. Unwieghted she was bumpy, but evened out as soon as we threw in 500 kgs of weight.
Sept 2010: Delivery Day, the car that rolled up in my front yard had a right front indicator falling off, rust in and under the tray, a crooked driver's seat, scratches on the dash, indicators that had to be manually switched off and wipers that did not work. I was, naturally furious.
We called TATA back ( Chakan Showroom, Pune) and they apologised profusely, saying they would take the car back and send in a new one the next day.
It took them 10 days to send in the new truck, during which time I made sure I abused the one I currently had as much as possible ( out of spite) . Made 3 trips to Mumbai and back, thrashed it on some dirt roads in Mulshi and basically enjoyed my 10 day long test drive to the max.
The new truck was much better, no glitches, everything worked and I was happy with it.
Thus started my journey with Rrrramona, my trusty Truck.
Appearance: The cab, is, in my opinion the best looking in the Light Commercial segment, the tray, seems to be an after-market chop-shop job and has alot to be desired. I would have much prefered a TL looking sleeker finish. The pressed metal tray seems to be a bit of an after thought, which ruins the overall look of the car.
Road presence is great, I am able to even gently persuade the safari driving netas in Indore to give me room. Sometimes, in the city, I feel like Moses parting the red sea. Definitely a plus point.
Driver Comfort: The seats in front are a 1 1 simple design and though basic are actually quite comfortable with more than adequate legroom. The absence of a head rest surprisingly, I haven't missed much.
Shifting gears is comfortable and smooth, though the knob vibrates ALOT when in the neutral position. Unlike alot of other commercial vehicles, the gear stick is actually placed in a reasonably comfortable place.
There is a lack of head-room as the top is fairly low. Anyone over 6.1 ft would have trouble.
The rear bench seat, is not much to talk about. Grossly uncomfortable to say the least. No leg room, narrow bench and almost upright backrest. But this does not bother me much as I rarely have passengers sitting in the back. And when I do, I generally don't enjoy their company much.
The back seat has ALOT of bounce in it too, many times my staff have hit their heads on the top as a result of a bump taken too fast.
Dash/Accessories/Dials etc : One Sentence : "Made In China"
The over-use of crappy cheap plastic is one thing that annoys me about this car. Badly designed, and badly put together in general. Bits and pieces like the a/c panels, window rollers etc simply fell off after a couple of months.
Plastic door panels etc also come loose after a few months and just decide to randomly detach themselves and fall.
The Speedo stopped working at 15, 000 kms, got it fixed, only for it to break again 7 kms down the road, refixed, broke once more after 30 kms.
Gave Up.
Same with the wipers, they have seen 3 monsoons now and have never worked. I get them fixed, they break 2-3 days later. Has something to do with the wiper arm, the long one that connects to two, as well as the short one going from the wiper motor to the long arm. One of these either breaks and gets dislodged. Finding the part in itself is a chore as they stopped making it only months after my particular model was upgraded to the next one.
Have spoken with many other drivers, they too have had similar experiences with speedo and wipers.
Driver Experience : This is what I love about this car. She is not fast, but she is strong. I've clocked up over ( what I assume) is around 150, 000 km in about 2.5 years and shes going strong. Handling/Steering is comfortable and she is very manoeuvrable, even in a city ( inner city) setting. The power steering is a godsend. She jumps about and swings a bit around a bit when unladen, but evens out and handles much nicer when there is a 1/2 tonne load in the back.
Loaded, she sticks to the highway and can touch up to 100 kmph easy, at 105 she starts straining.
Unloaded she can do 120kmph, but I wouldn't bother trying. Breaking or even shifting lanes at that speed would probably put her into a tail-spin due to the total concentration of weight on the front-end.
Turning radius is about 7 meters, and you need 2.5 lanes to do a U-turn.
The 407 engine means that there is a lot, ALOT of power in there to move her 1.9 tonne unladen body, this has lent help plenty of times when I've found myself in mud or such sticky situations.
Driving is comfortable, and I have done trips upwards of 1800 km with little fatigue or discomfort. Cabin vibration does sometimes tend to tire, but this I feel, cannot be helped.
Another thing, she is LOUD. Inside, outside, everywhere. But I sort of like that.
The cab has no insulation, which means she gets HOT HOT HOT. Like a furnace. I kick myself for not fitting an A/c but I could not afford it at the time. Its windows down for me.
Engine: I don't know much about Engines, but I shall give this a shot anyway. She runs the 407 engine, which is sturdy and meant to last pretty much forever. I stick to a 15, 000 km oil change and service schedule. However, The radiator did start leaking about 450 kms into my first long trip from Indore to Mysore.
She also blew her main gasket about 3 months into purchase.
Overheating IS a problem, if anyone has suggestions for this, it would be welcome. On long trips I have to sometimes stop and wait, like people used to with the old ambys.
Fuel Efficiency: She gives me 13-14 on the highways, and about 10 in the city. Loaded.
Payload: TATA recommends no more than 800 kg, but I assume that is to make someone at the RTO happy. The Tata reps said she can take upward of 1.5 tonnes, even with the smaller tray in the crew cab version. I have tested this, and she has run well, even with up to 2 tonnes in the back, although she did a couple of semi-wheelies over speed bumps.
Luggage room: TONNES. Literally.
Safety: ofcourse, being a primitive Indian commercial gaadi, there are no airbags, no ABS or anything else for that matter. Seat Belts and a prayer are about all you've got. However, I did once hit a call-centre indicab and sent him flying across the road, while I only dented the bumper, lightly.
So Im not too concerned about dying in my truck just yet.
TATA aftersales service is pathetic, especially in the commercial segment. I guess they are too used to dealing with transporters and the like. Many a time I have had to return the car to get something that THEY screwed up refixed. But on the other hand, she is cheap to service, cheap to get fixed and cheap to run in general.
Whats more is, she can be fixed ANYWHERE. I remember a village mechanic putting a spoon-ful of haldi ( much to my own horror) into the radiator to fix a leak, and it hasnt leaked since. That was a year ago.
Apart from stuff randomly falling off, crappy service and low interior quality. I am quite happy with her. Despite being thoroughly abused for the last 3 odd years, she is still going strong. Her engine runs fine ( minus the occassional heating up) and as far as functionality goes, she is in top nick.
I would have loved it if TATA had put some love into building this truck because as far as Utility goes, I give it
Overall rating:
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Comfort:
Handling:
Top Speed:
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Utility:
Safety:
Cost Effectiveness:
Availability of Parts:
After Sales Service:
