TATA Motors South Africa is known for marketing and selling reasonably-priced entry-level cars that include the new Indica Vista hatch and the Xenon range of bakkies (pickups). Now a new Xenon is out on the Mzansi market and it’s more powerful and fuel efficient than its predecessor. Quality is also alleviated to acceptable standards, although our unit exhibited a couple of issues such as a rear window that sometimes wouldn’t open or close when prompted and a handbrake rubber cover that rubbed too much against its casing, thus causing bits of rubber to fall off.
I got to drive the Xenon 2.2 L DLE at Bass Lake, about 40km outside of the Johannesburg city centre. The lake itself is one big hole created by spring-fed water. Thousands of litres of water are pumped out of the lake on a minute-by-minute basis. Have a look at the pictures above and tell me these obstacles were tackled by a Tata. One of the steeps is so entrenched it’s said even Land Rover vehicles struggle to clear it. But this Indian-made bakkie went over it like it wasn’t even there.
Powered by a new 2.2-litre intercooled turbo diesel motor, the vehicle makes 104kW at 4000rpm and 320Nm between 1700rpm and 2700rpm. Typical figures for the engine really but an improvement from the brand which used to get similar power from a bigger motor. A 5-speed manual gearbox sends power to either two wheels or all four depending on the specification chosen. For our purposes the 4x4 was the one to take on the rugged stuff.
The front suspension is independent and made of a double-wishbone with torsion bar while the rear has parabolic leaf springs. Tata decided to fit a limited slip differential (LSD) instead of a diff-lock system. It improves performance vastly while keeping the car light and agile. The 5.5 J X 16" steel rims run on 215R 16C 106 S tubeless radials. Executives were adamant that the 1.8 ton bakkie will carry a 1.2 ton load with no problems at all. In fact a few examples lay loaded within sight, filled with different goods for demo purposes. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to put these through any sort of paces. It has a towing capacity of 750kg with a braked trailer and 2000kg with an unbraked one. Very capable then. The rear load area is 40cm deep allowing for the carriage of most items with relative ease.
Tata likes speccing their standard vehicles up and the Xenon is no exception. It has power steering, front electric windows, adjustable steering wheel, a radio/ CD system, ABS and front fog lamps. Double cabs – called comfort cabs – also feature air conditioning and all-round power windows.
The new Tata Xenon 2.2 L DLE is sold with a 3 year/100 000km warranty, a 3 year/ 75 000km service plan and 2 year/ Unlimited km roadside assistance.
The market is crying for a strong, robust but affordable workhorse in these times of recession and constant price hikes. If you can get past the badge (that now owns Jaguar and Land Rover by the way) then you’ll see a vehicle of this sort, at a price you didn’t expect.
Tata Xenon 2.2 L DLE Pricing
Xenon Single Cab 4x4 a/c 2.2 (R206 495)
Xenon Double Cab 4x2 a/c 2.2 (R209 995)
Xenon Double Cab 4x4 a/c 2.2 (R229 995)
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