The Hindu : Business : Watch out Qualis, Safari, Scorpio and Sumo

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 07, 2004

Business

Business

Watch out Qualis, Safari, Scorpio and Sumo

OPEL INDIA's launch last month of the Chevrolet Tavera should have Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Motors (Telco) and Toyota Kirloskar quaking in their boots while working overtime on improving their multi-utility vehicle line up. If it hasn't, they can only be compared to ostriches with heads stuck in the sand.

The Tavera is an `indigenised' Isuzu Panther — already a worthy competitor to the redoubtable Toyota Qualis in much of south-east Asia, not withstanding the fact that Qualises sold there are more modern than the ones on our roads. Both are designed in Japan to be economical and reliable people carriers — as suitable for the rough and ready taxi trade as they are comfortable and roomy family transport and as easy to drive in the urban jungle as on the open road.

Leaving hyperbole behind, the new for India MUV is 4435 mm long and 1680 mm wide, just 20 mm longer and 10 mm wider than the Qualis, but its 115 mm lower height is primarily responsible for a much more attractive stance. Internal room, on the other hand, is far superior because the wheelbase is a full 185 mm longer (nine-and-a-half inches for those still stuck in our colonial past) and the `track' is also about three inches wider. This translates to much more leg and shoulder room, front and rear.

In comparison, the Sumo has a 2400 mm long wheelbase (as short as the Indica's!), 100 mm shorter than the Qualis and 285 less than the Tavera.

Both Japanese MUVs have double wishbone and torsion bar suspensions in front, while rear ends are sprung on rugged and reliable semi-elliptical leaf springs, but a longer wheel base matched to a wider track make the Tavera handle much better. Rear passenger ride is also better especially when lightly loaded.

The Qualis uses rack and pinion steering while the Tavera has a ball and nut system. The former is notionally more precise while the latter is probably more rugged, with Mercedes persisting with the system until very recently even on top of the line models.

The Tavera uses a lightly turbo charged, 2.5 litre, direct injection diesel engine which puts out about 80 hp at 3900 rpm and 186 Newton metres of torque at a very low 1800 rpm. M&M's Scorpio is similar in this respect while Telco and Toyota persist with older indirectly injected engines. Toyota's IDI engine is quieter, but is less powerful and consumes more fuel.

The Telco engines are coarse by any standard, but reliability and durability have shown some improvement in recent years. The large and heavy Safari is reasonably comfortable to ride in, but for that very reason its driveability is very poor even with a turbocharged engine.

GM India has positioned the six Tavera models to be Rs. 20 to 25,000 more expensive than `equivalent' Qualis variants, probably making all of them more attractive than the latter. The cheapest Taveras will give Sumos a run for their money; while the others will meet Qualis, Safari and Scorpio competition head on.

Time will tell if Taveras prove to be as bullet proof as the Qualis, but GMI's 5-year engine warranty and two years for the rest of the vehicle are ample indication of confidence in their new baby. The only cloud on the horizon might be the `taxi crowd' who will not quite fit in with the upmarket image of their Opel dealerships. An answer is to open Tavera service outlets on the outskirts of major cities.

Summing up, the Tavera is what the Qualis should have been in the first place and what it will probably soon become — a good-looking utility vehicle that is economical to run and comfortable to ride in. Those who regularly use a Qualis will say that that is the ultimate compliment.

C. Manmohan Reddy

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Watch out Qualis, Safari, Scorpio and Sumo