Tata Sumo Gold GX - An Ownership Review

[TwinStar]

Over this weekend, I did a 1300 km trip from Pune to Amravati. The truck is now at 4100 kms on the odometer. Here are my observations

Route - Pune - Ahmednagar - Aurangabad - Jalna - SindkhedRaja, Mehekar - Malegaon - Badnera - Amravati. The road from Pune to Aurangabad is excellent. The road from Aurangabad to Jalna is good. The road from Jalna - Amravati is below average. Between Jalna and Sindkhedraja, there are many potholes.

Time Taken - I started on Friday morning 5:30 AM, reached Amravati at 6 PM. On my way back on Sunday, started from Amravati at 6 AM and reached Pune at 8 PM. I took the above route - both ways. It is possible to do this trip in 10 hours with shorter breaks.

AC Cooling - This was the first time, I had both the front and rear AC ON all the time. The AC is very effective and can sustain long travel hours of operations. There was no lag in pickup or speeds - including on ghats.

Brakes - The brakes are average - and I'd really appreciate some feedback on how to improve them. Any help from forum members is appreciated.

Overtaking - I did not have an opportunity to drive beyond 100 Kms/hr - and the truck does not have a problem at this speed. My average speed was 60 kms/hr between Jalna and Amravati. At speeds of 80 kms, overtaking needs some planning.

Ride Quality - I had 2 other drivers with me - and was able to sit in the front & rear seats as a passenger - for the first time. As a passenger, the ride is really smooth - on highway AND bad roads. The driver experiences the pot holes more directly than the passengers. My co-drivers & passengers commented on the smooth suspension and the excellent ride quality on really bad roads for example near Jalna and SindkhedRaja.

Fuel Efficiency - About 16-17 kms/litre

Niggles noticed - the driver seat belt gets stuck and the buttons for rear wiper wash also get stuck. Need to get both these issues resolved in my next TASS visit.

Overall, the truck did it's job well and I look forward to my next trip to Dandeli later in the week.

 

[dr_desai]

My impression is that brakes are very good in Gold. I am sure that it will be properly tuned when you give it for free service.please let us know when you have resolved the issue.

 

[TwinStar]

I look forward to my next trip to Dandeli later in the week.

I just completed a Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Khanapur-Chorla-Dandeli road trip of about 1000 kms. I strongly recommend Wildernest Swapnagandha (@ Chorla ghat) and Bison River Resort (@ GaneshGudi). The Wildernest property is smack in the middle of a dense jungle with great valley views. There were 2 waterfalls gusing out in a valley opposite the resort. The Bison River property @ Ganeshgudi is along side Kali river and I recommend rafting here. Keep in mind, that the Supa Reservoir dam releases water twice almost every day and rafting is dependent on this water release.

The Sumo is proving to be a reliable workhorse with no fuss on highways and in the hills. On the Pune-Belgaum NH4 stretch, it gave a slightly higher mileage (approximately) of 18.3 Km/litre - the highest so far. Brakes were well behaved and I did not notice any issues like on my earlier trip to Amravati last weekend.

I noticed that the fuel reserve is probably at 10 litres - although the owner's manual does not indicate it.

Given the dusty roads I have been traveling on, I will probably change Engine Oil & Oil Filter & clean the Air Filter element at 7500 Kms.

 

[sunildutta]

I just completed a Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Khanapur-Chorla-Dandeli road trip of about 1000 kms.

Congrats !

it gave a slightly higher mileage (approximately) of 18.3 Km/litre - the highest so far.

For me its not so good thanks to Bangalore traffic.

Brakes were well behaved and I did not notice any issues like on my earlier trip to Amravati last weekend.

Yesterday I did a small trip. I also notice that, but now I feel more confident.

 

[sunildutta]

Some more pictures in detail...















I found OVRM is too small for a size of this car.





Door handle could have been better..

 

[TwinStar]

@sunildutta - Awesome interior photos. Thanks for taking time to take & posting them. Do I notice you a GPS system in the last photo ? The only missing photo I think is of the middle & last row :-)

 

[TwinStar]

For me its not so good thanks to Bangalore traffic.

@sunildutta - What mileage is the truck giving you in the city ? For me it is about 12 Kms/litre. It must be slightly more - but nothing below it.

At what rpm do you drive it ? 1500 rpm is a very sweet spot for the truck.

 

[sunildutta]

Thanks . Surely I'll post more soon.

I didn't count it mathematically but look like it gallop too much.

Today I did a 100 km in highway. NVH level is very good and it perform very swiftly.

 

[sunildutta]

Yesterday I installed a rear view monitor and seat cover.

 

[konkantrip]

The seat covers are looking good. Can you tell the costing of the covers and the rear view monitor kit

 

[sunildutta]

@konkantrip; Seatcover - Rs. 7,300/- & rear view camera - 4,200/-. Total - 11,500/-.

@ Twinstar, need to ask you a question. Today morning I notice some water like substance on floor under my engine part. When I called to sales executive he says its from AC. Do you have any similar issues.

 

[sunildutta]

Steering cover. Done it for free

 

[navnit013]

@sunil,

If its water, then has to be AC. Not to worry. If the liquid is colored, say green, translucent pink/black/green, then you'll have to worry.

 

[visran]

TS wonderful ownership report, i just loved the all new Sumo

Can you remove the third row bench seats?

 

[tornado78]

congratulations
its a wonderful product

1.) The only way to improve your braking power, than shift to better quality tyres. which will provide you extra grip and smooth ride and low NVH.

All the best and do run in your vehicle properly.
Its a good idea to change the oil at 7.5K