A new lower spec variant of the Tata Sumo Grande, dubbed the CX, has been spotted testing along with the two next-generation Indica Vista hatchbacks. The trio were spotted doing rounds in and around Pune City as well as on the hills near its outskirts.
The Sumo Grande CX has plastic grey colour bumpers, non-body coloured body door handles, steel wheels, basic headlights as well a grey colour front grille. We expect the interiors to be quite Spartan too and will most likely only be offered only with an AC for the front seats, front power windows and manually adjustable rear-view mirrors.
Currently, Tata Motors has three variants for the Sumo Grande variants with BS IV engines– low end being the LX, EX and the top-end GX variant. It also has a BS3 compliant engine variant which is priced at Rs 7.46 lakh (ex-showroom Pune). The Sumo Gold gets both the engines in the CX variant, so there is a possibility the Grande’s CX might get both the engines as well. The new CX variant will become the lowest Grande variant and is expected to be priced Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 lesser than the LX variant across both BS3 and BS4 engines.
The next generation Indica Vista has already been scooped up on multiple occasions. It is expected to get features like projector headlights and a new grille as well as a new design for the tail lamps. However, the biggest change is expected to be to the wheelbase of the car which will be increased in a bid to make it even more spacious.
The interiors on the other hand will also get major revisions including the use of new materials and different stalks and buttons. Reports initially suggested that Indica Vista would be replaced by Tata’s Falcon project (new hatchback) but now it is likely that both cars will exist in different price ranges.
We can expect that one of the two vehicles will be unveiled at the upcoming Auto Expo and will be put into production a few months later. Our money lies on the CX variant Sumo Grande as it is driving around sans camouflage. It is expected to be popular with the fleet market segment due to its seemingly premium looks and ability to seat eight people.