The end of an era. The original Indian rugged SUV, Tata Sumo has been discontinued in India after making its appearance, first in 1994.
Wildlife safaris to transporting 12-15 people inside it, all was done effortlessly by this car. Back when in 1994, Tata was still in its infancy when it launched the Tata Sumo SUV, which has sadly been discontinued in India.
Auto enthusiasts born in the 20th century and the early 21st century would have a special place for Sumo in their minds. Yes, it did not look attractive at all and at that time, Tata cars were bound to get maintenance in just a year of buying. Then why do people still love the SUV?
That’s because it looked rugged and how a proper SUV should look like. FYI, it is actually an MPV but the design is inspired by an SUV. It was one of the earliest cars that were made in India that could seat up to 7-8 passengers.
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Reports suggest that there is no official confirmation from Tata Motors regarding this, but there is no Sumo available in dealerships. This has led us to believe the fact that Tata Sumo has been discontinued.
The last one that was sold in India was the Sumo Gold, which came with a BS-4 3-litre diesel engine, producing 85 BHP and 250 Nm of torque. If you put the first Sumo and the current one, there are just styling differences. It largely looks like the earlier one.
However, the latest one could not be updated to the safety norms. Its body is not applicable to meet the BNVSAP norms and also its diesel engine would not be upgraded to BS-6 norms.
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The Sumo was priced starting from Rs 7.39 Lakhs up to Rs 8.77 Lakhs (ex-showroom), which put it on par with all the modern MPVs like Maruti Ertiga and Renault Lodgy. Over the year, it was just preferred by enthusiasts and cab drivers in the rural areas.