Experience of Tata 4x4

[Andyni]

The better half has taken a notion for changing her VW Sharan for a 4x4. She initially fancied a Land Rover Freelander but I put an end to that one but now she has seen a Tata that has taken her fancy!

Confession time.... I know nothing about these motors.

Does anyone have any advice/experience of these?

 

[Mozzer]

Friend of mine was part of the team that designed the body, what do you need to know, I can ask him ?

 

[Doodle]

Well, it's cheap and tough, and that's about it. And by christ it needs to be cheap, because the depreciation is epic...you'll have to give it away to get rid of it

Woefully slow, poor ride, and don't even dream of having an accident in one. On a list of 4x4's this is right at the bottom, unless you're after a cheap farm hack, which it's not too bad at.

Frankly, I'd rather walk.

 

[Mozzer]

Well, it's cheap and tough, and that's about it. And by christ it needs to be cheap, because the depreciation is epic...you'll have to give it away to get rid of it

Woefully slow, poor ride, uncomfortable, and don't even dream of having an accident in one. On a list of 4x4's this is right at the bottom, unless you're after a cheap farm hack, which it's not too bad at.

Frankly, I'd rather walk.

Harsh but fair.

This is their first real foray into the consumer market I think and is a bit of an experiment. Before this they have been quite good at providing cheap Yutes (as they call them in OZ).

 

[scotth_uk]

Yutes (as they call them in OZ).

Ahem.

"Utes" is the right term. ;-)

 

[KillerHERTZ]

They designed the 'City' Rover... nuff said

 

[BenzComander]

Ahem.

"Utes" is the right term. ;-)

 

[BenzComander]

OMG!!!

Taty 4x4

 

[pammy]

The safety factor for this thing would make me run a mile. Let alone it's butt ugly looks

What's the appeal for your OH? She maybe needs to hear the negatives for it. I guess if she's changing a Sharalaxy then she carries kids around. This would put the Tata right out for my liking.

Tell her it's not called a Tata for nothing - everyone says Tata as they pass you - including the old biddy on her Zimmer, and you say Tata to your money as the depreciation hits. Your street cred is a bit more than Tata

 

[Andyni]

Many thanks for all the comments, we can rule this out then. Back to the drawing board.

Andrew

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Well, it's cheap and tough, and that's about it. And by christ it needs to be cheap, because the depreciation is epic...you'll have to give it away to get rid of it

He's not joking either. Going back a few years, my father-in-law had one - they bought it with the intention of it being a workhorse - but they had more problems than they were expecting given the simplicity of the engineering behind it. They did literally give it away in the end.

To be fair Tata are getting better at building cars - and it's not as if they're a small company, so they will improve quickly - but they're still way of the pace of European rivals at the moment. But has been pointed out, they're cheap, so their low cost will allow them to flourish in emerging markets, and give them the justification for greater investment in quality and design for future models.

 

[BTB 500]

The better half has taken a notion for changing her VW Sharan for a 4x4.

Erm .. how about a Sharan 4Motion (my everyday car)?!

 

[shadowninja]

The safety factor for this thing would make me run a mile. Let alone it's butt ugly looks

What's the appeal for your OH? She maybe needs to hear the negatives for it. I guess if she's changing a Sharalaxy then she carries kids around. This would put the Tata right out for my liking.

Tell her it's not called a Tata for nothing - everyone says Tata as they pass you - including the old biddy on her Zimmer, and you say Tata to your money as the depreciation hits. Your street cred is a bit more than Tata

 

[shadowninja]

I wouldn't go from a VW to a Tata. The drop in quality will be very noticeable.

Anyway, if you want a family carrier, there are a lot of decent estates (E55 AMG, anyone? certainly my weapon of choice if I need to lug around a whole family) that drive much better than any high CofG vehicle...

lessee...
C32 AMG
E55 AMG
Impreza Turbo "hatchback"
Nissan Stagea (Skyline estate)
Audi RS4 or S4 (any era, depending on your budget)
BMW 3 series

Frankly, 4x4s and MPVs have made estates look cool - they're a bit like them but lower and sleeker!!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

My father in law is sat next to me:

BD: Why did you buy that TATA?
FIL: A good friend ran a dealership and was really, really struggling and so it was a nice thing to do.
BD: How long did you have it?
FIL: 4 years
BD: Why did you get rid of it?
FIL: It was rubbish. Either broken or scared it would break.

This was a few years ago to be fair to TATA though.

 

[Satch]

For a minute there I thought you were after a Tatra 4x4, which are great. But Tata. Oh dear me.

 

[Satch]

Forgot the pic!

 

[Vlad]

Tata 4x4 's are seriously one of the worst cars I have ever driven and I'm normally sympathetic to anything mechanical.

They have hideous reliability issues and the engine is so slow there will be another ice age before it hits 60mph.

In my honest opinion, avoid it like the plague....seriously nasty cars that also start rusting as soon as they see the UK climate.

 

[Carrotchomper]

Crap 4x4s continued...

I had to go away for work, and they got me a hire car. Normally would be a Vectra, but for some reason I ended up driving a Kia Sorrento there... On the motorway it was ok, and it's nice to be high up, but driving back along wet A roads was a completely different matter, I've never been so scared in my life. I'm an advanced driver, but I was horrified how near it constantly seemed to rolling over on corners.

Horrible horrible horrible. Don't bother.

 

[grober]

Forester

How about a clean early Subaru Forester Turbo reasonably cheap and its a Impreza turbo underneath without the "chav" factor. Only thing against them is they are a bit gutsy with fuel. The later ones don't look so neat with bulkier bodywork IMHO.