Tata has been the pioneer of Indian pickup trucks. The Tatamobile 206 was introduced a couple of decades ago. India's first pick-up was practical but lacked power steering, had no driver assist, hard seats; no luxury. Then came the Tata 207. The upgrades included better styling and a 2-litre indirect diesel injection engine used by Tata in its Sierra, Estate and its first Sumo. The 207 was popular as a goods transporter. It was succeeded by the 207 DI, with the 3.0-litre direct injection engine of the Tata 407 which had more power than the 2.0-litre engine. This engine was introduced to compete with the quicker Mahindra Bolero Camper pickup. The 207 and the Camper lacked luxury; therefore Mahindra introduced the Mahindra Scorpio Getaway, a pickup based on the Mahindra Scorpio. Tata already had their Tata Xenon XT, which was being exported to Thailand, the world’s second largest pickup market, so all they had to do was make the preparations necessary to launch it here.

The Xenon XT is a lifestyle pick-up designed by Concept, a UK-based company. The twin-cab body is a suitable design for those who commute to their farmhouses, or for off-roaders who camp making easy seating for five. The Xenon XT’s snout is borrowed from its sibling the Sumo Grande and its ladder-frame chassis has been derived from its poor brother the Tata 207. The car has a ground clearance of 200mm, making off-roading easy. The length of the Xenon XT is more than 5 metres, so driving in the city and parking will be an issue. The car looks stunning because of its sharply designed features along with the high quality paintjob and clear coat. The wheel arch and the long wheelbase give it a muscular look. The alloy wheels, the indicators on the side view mirror and the rear brake LED light make the car look charismatic.

Drive this truck as if you own the road, and no one will interrupt you. You can saunter around with it and people will find their own way around you. If you’re in a hurry, this monstrous pick-up will not disappoint as everyone will move out of its way when they see this beast in their mirrors. The Xenon XT’s design turns many heads and will attract enthusiasts to it. We even had a couple of Ducati riders dismount just to take a closer look at this macho machine!

A few personalized kits offered by Tata like the bed liner for the open boot, boot lid covering to avoid the boot from getting wet, roof light, roof carrier, side step and the chrome rear nudge guard will make this pick-up more appealing.

When you get into the Xenon, a Tata car user will feel at home. The Xenon XT’s interiors resemble that of the Sumo Grande, only it’s a grey version. The plastic finish quality of the dash and the steering could have been better. The steering wheel looks a little overdone and the speedometer reminds us of the Safari DiCOR. The gear knob of the Xenon XT has been adopted from the Safari DiCOR. A digital clock would have been nicer than the analog clock - maybe Tata wants to continue with its tradition of using analog clocks in its SUV range and pickups.

The dashboard of the Sumo Grande is modified for the Xenon XT by shifting the audio head unit above the A/C control switches. The hazard light button is also smarty accommodated between the A/C vents. The glovebox is small but is big enough to accommodate important documents and CDs. The side-view mirrors of the Xenon XT are electrically powered. The rear wheel arches intrude into the view in the mirrors, reducing visibility. The power windows switches are placed behind the gear knob to reduce the costs. This takes some getting used to. Placing these switches on the driver’s door could have been better ergonomically.

The front row seats are comfortable with ample space to stretch your legs, whereas the second row seats are a little cramped when it comes to legroom. The wide track of the car can accommodate five people comfortably. The seats have a dual tone color combination. The rear seats can be completely folded and the rear windows can be demisted if they get foggy. The interiors aren’t very well insulated - the propeller shaft can be heard inside. The A/C is powerful and the cabin temperature drops quickly.

Engine

Tata had to make a choice between its 3.0-litre and recently developed 2.2-litre aluminum DiCOR engines. Tata chose the more powerful one, the 2.2-litre aluminum engine, which is a four cylinder unit possessing a double overhead camshaft (DOHC) and 16 valves controlled by a 32-bit microprocessor. This engine is not just light thanks to the aluminum construction and reduced cubic capacity, but also produces 140 horses. The 2.2-litre engine has a shorter stroke length, the engine can rev up to 4500rpm and produce upto 320Nm of torque. The Xenon XT clocks 0-100kmph in 16.6 seconds, which is incredible considering the fact that the Xenon is four-wheel drive and weighs about 2500kgs. The engine is very smooth and responsive.

Drivetrain

The Tata Xenon XT has a gearbox similar to that of the Tata Safari DiCOR. The Xenon XT sports the Safari DiCOR gear knob, though the lever in the Xenon XT is longer compared to the Safari. A shorter gear lever would have reduced the throws and felt better.

The torque bandwidth is higher in lower gears making it easy to overtake. The gears are designed for highway running and it might take the person some time to get used to the shifting. Care should be taken to shift up only after 2000rpm else the engine starts vibrating alarmingly, and it also might stall. The propeller shaft of the Xenon XT is long and hence is noisy and at times the sound of the shaft above 2000rpm becomes uncomfortable. The Limited Slip Differential (LSD) is a boon while off-roading.

Fuel Efficiency

With the gross weight of the Xenon XT being 2.5 tonnes, we cannot expect fireworks in terms of fuel efficiency. The car returns between 9-10kpl under normal driving conditions. The Xenon gave us an overall efficiency of 7.96kpl which includes the worst of around 6kpl we achieved during testing. The Xenon XT we tested was a 4WD and hence the car was heavier than the 2WD, as it is equipped with an extra differential at the front.

Tata continues with its tradition of providing the car with decent handling precision at high speeds. The ride is smooth and the car can easily absorb all shocks without affecting the ride. However, going over speedbreakers at high speed won’t keep the occupants comfortable due to the kingsize wheelbase, but if you have ever driven a pick-up truck, adjusting the speed to keep the ride calm won’t be difficult. The view of Xenon cornering looks frightening from outside, but the car corners well and the torsion beam suspension works perfectly without causing much body-roll. Oversteer can be felt sometimes in two-wheel drive mode.

Tata goes the old-school way for the Xenon XT by using parabolic leaf spring suspension for its rear live solid beam axle. That’s fine as the pick-up is built to lift half a tonne in its load bay and saunter around which will be difficult if it had coil springs. The car has a minimum turning radius of 6m, which is equal to that of the Safari, even though it has a wheelbase that is about 500mm more than the Tata Safari, This is due to the fact that the vehicle is built on some American design priniciples - a long wheelbase and a large hood, making it possible to increase the steering angle and reducing the turning radius.

The Xenon XT grips well on rough and uneven road surfaces due its long wheelbase. Being a pick up, one needs to keep in mind the pressure on the rear tyres, the car will experience pitching at high speeds. The steering wheel is heavy and responsive both at the straight-ahead and around corners.

Braking

The Xenon’s brake pedal needs a hefty shove to retard the car’s progress. In our 80-0kph test, the 2.5 tonne machine halted in just 4.1 seconds covering 47.6 metres. The pick-up doesn’t come loaded with an anti-lock braking system, yet the vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes are good enough with the front wheels possessing ventilated disc brakes with twin-pot calipers while the rears make do with drum brakes.

Tyres

The Xenon XT is outfitted with 215/75 R16 tubeless tyres. The tyres seem narrow since the car is bulky and large – you might want to upgrade to taller, wider tyres if you do buy the Xenon. The Xenon XT also comes equipped with five-spoke alloy wheels.

Safety

The Xenon doesn’t sport any kind of active safety features like ABS or airbags. In terms of passive safety, the car has hree-point seatbelts for everyone except the middle rear passenger and a crumple zone in the front.

The Tata Xenon XT’s price tag is higher than expected. Rs 7.8 lakh for the 4x2 and Rs 8.8 lakh for the 4x4 model (ex-showroom Mumbai) won’t be the ideal price to buy the Xenon. The price won’t convince a buyer unless the person is a pick-up enthusiast.