Variety was the spice of life on the Tata stand with offerings ranging from mildly-facelifted station wagons to crossover concepts and a new SUV.
By Gareth Dean
Variety was the spice of life on the Tata stand with offerings ranging from mildly-facelifted station wagons to crossover concepts and a new SUV.
By Gareth Dean
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Concepts were relatively thin on the ground at Auto Africa, so it was a pleasant surprise to be confronted by an attention-grabbing offering at the Tata stand.
The new Crossover Concept saw Tata blurring the lines between its more practically defined products and having a go at styling beyond the utilitarian. Italy’s IDEA Institute reportedly had some say in the concept’s appearance; a design that manages to incorporate flexible seating for up to seven occupants as well as nods towards claimed off-road capability such as a toughened underbody.
Five engines, both diesel and petrol, ranging from 110 kW to 180 kW (a 2.2 turbodiesel and petrol V6 were mentioned) and a choice of 4/5 speed auto and 5/6 speed manual gearboxes have been proposed for production models of the Crossover.
The show car played host to a number of interior features such as seat mounted PCs and “personal climate zones”, which were achieved by placing air conditioning controls in the passenger door panels that will hopefully not be red-penned from production models. The production version of the Crossover will hit the roads around 2008 or 2009. Europe has been primarily targeted for the Crossover but, given the recent succeses of the Tata brand here in South Africa, there is a chance it will find its way here in the future.
Furthermore, the facelifted Indigo Station Wagon, due in South Africa between the end of 2006 and early 2007, also featured on the stand. New teardrop-shaped headlamps, colour-coded wraparound bumpers and mirrors are among the styling changes to the Station Wagon. The 1,4-litre petrol and diesel engines have been retained from the previous models, while specification and pricing will also remain the same.
February will also see Tata introduce its first SUV offering into the South African market. The Safari looks like Tata’s attempt to cut into the SUV market with a vehicle that offers a great deal of metal for minimal outlay. Given its 102 kW and 320 N.m output, the 2,2-litre turbodiesel has the less-than-enviable task of propelling the sizeable Safari. However, the Safari is well equipped with such features as driver and passenger airbags, ABS with EBD, electric windows, air conditioning, alloys and leather upholstery. Pricing will, no doubt, be very competitive and will be announced closer to the vehicle’s launch.
