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CM roadtested the Bombay-built Tata Loadbeta soon after it arrived here five years ago. Since then more powerful engines have been developed and an allwheel-drive option has been added to the pickup's shopping list. We've tested one of the latest versions to see how much sparkle has been added to the 4x4's performance.
you can't help but admire the way Tata has moved into so many areas and keeps pulling new models out of the hat—and at bargain-basement prices.
The century-old group established the Tata Engineering and Locomotive company (TELCO) in 1945, initially to build steam locos. But nine years on it teamed up with Daimler-Benz to build cars and CVs.
Noi.v, with assets of .C5bn and a When the Bombay-built light commercials appeared at the 1994 Birmingham Motor Show few competitors took Tata seriously. Mistake: in the company's first full year in the 6 UK more than 2,000 4x2 pickups were sold, to take some 20% of the market. Since then sales have tapered off slightly, but more than 300 V. 4x4 pickups have been sold, mainly to small businesses and self-employed tradesmen, boosting Tata's year-to-date sales to 802. There's still no sign of the 7.5-tonner we were promised back in 1994, but with more than 80 would-be dealers queueing up, and 8 several proprietary Euro-2 engines available, '5 its debut must surely be just a matter of time. E • PRODUCT PROFILE The Loadbeta pickup range begins with a basic 4x2 single-cab version powered by a naturally aspirated 67hp (50kW) diesel engine 111. 441 with a price tag of just .£6,495 (ex-VAT)—not bad for a 2.54-tonner with a payload of nigh on a tonne. The line-up now includes double-cab models, an 89hp (66kW) charge-cooled TDi diesel and, since May, an optional all-wheel drive with automatic free-wheeling hubs. Like the Peugeot XD-derived engine, the GBS 76 five-speed synchro gearbox, transfer unit and axles are all built in Bombay. The hypoid-gear-driven front axle has short driveshafts and hubs that lock in automatically, while the rear incorporates a Salisbury singlereduction differential. In India Tatas routinely have to cope with the sort of overloading that would give a British traffic cop instant apoplexy, while being hammered over rough tracks by unskilled drivers. No wonder these pickups are built like brick outhouses, with a strapping ladder frame reinforced with sturdy box and tubular cross-members. The suspension looks equally rugged, with double wishbones and torsion bars up front and beefy seven-leaf semi-elliptics at the rear. At the rear the 1.88m-long body will take a full pallet through the 1.1m wheelbox gap, but our model came with the optional plastic liner and Truckman top to help keep our bottledgrit test load nice and safe. • PRODUCTIVITY Serious 4x4 pickup users demand good carrying capacity, an unstinting off-road ability and reasonable fuel efficiency. The Tata certainly meets those demands. It carries almost a tonne, feels like it could tackle a rockface in 4x4 low ratio and returned better than 24mpg when driven hard around our Kent light vehicle test route with a full load. But Tata's ace in the hole must be its bargain-basement price of .£9,995 (ex-VAT), which is seriously cheap by any standards. A selfemployed tradesman can have one on the road with six month's VED for just under £10,500. That includes a 60,000mile/three-year warranty, six-year no-rust promise and 12 months of Green Flag roadside rescue service. Parts prices seem reasonable but, for now at least, dealer back-up is a bit on the sparse side. • ON/OFF ROAD Our test truck came shod with knobbly Kumho 215/75R15s on 5.5x15 steel rims. With its 4.09:1 final drive the Loadbeta 4x4 will reach 87mph (140km/h). That, at least, is the theory. In fact this Loadbeta 4x2/4 had more in common with the credit sequence of the sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. The Tata's noisy, and in cold weather the screen demisting system simply cannot cope. But its major fault has to be that worrying lack of pace. Its fully laden journey time round our Kent route was about average, but it needed to be revved above 3,250rpm to get it moving. Whenever we pulled out on dual carriageways to overtake we either held everyone else up while we slowly gathered speed or had to drop a cog and push the revs way above 3,500rpm to get by. Drop below 2,500rpm and you're in trouble—and when the road heads upwards the wisest move is to stay in the inner lane. Acceleration was well down on the normally aspirated 4x2 Loadbeta (CV/20-26 April,1995) and it was slower on the timed hill climbs. Tata has since checked our test truck and found a slack hose on the turbo. With full boost pressure and an adjusted handbrake the Loadbeta is duly pronounced "fit and well". With carefully balanced tyre pressures the ride quality was quite reasonable apart from a little front-end wallow on winding road& Turning circles are pretty big, and straightline steering is somewhat woolly, but we soon got used to its foibles. On-road braking proved more comforting, despite the need for heavy pedal pressure, but the parking brake refused to hold on any sort of sharp incline. It certainly wouldn't do the business on the 25% (1-in-4) test slope, which was also too steep for a restart until we switched to 4x4 low ratio. Over rough ground 4x4 high ratio brings little improvement in traction or driveability, but switch to 4x4 low and the transformation is quite amazing: it fairly leapt up the 33% (1-in-3) test slope in second gear. Even more impressive was the way it tackled the twisting, rocky 1-in-3 "alpine" section of the DERA test track near Bagshot. These tracks, which are primarily used by the military, are designed to be almost impassable in places. But the Loadbeta romped over this assault course, and with plenty of power in hand it ground its way through some very deep muddy wallows in fine style. Predictably enough, water poured into the cab via the loose gear lever boot and between the tunnel and rubber carpet. If you're wading at speed you need to know that the fuse and relay box in the engine compartment is open bottomed, so make sure it's dry. A handy light on the bulkhead will help you do this at night. II. • CAB COMFORT The black and grey plastic trimmed interior looks sombre and cheerless; it would be more at home in a funeral car than a utility pickup. The driver's seat provides little back support and will become uncomfortable on longer journeys. Our driver's door began to stick, highlighting the poorly made door handles; its low frame demands that you duck low as you climb in. Switches and controls are neatly placed, especially the 4WD button, and the instrumentation is simple enough; the handbrake is better placed beside the driver's seat and the steering wheel adjusts for rake. However, the speedo and rev needles are far from easy to read at night. Apart from long, thin door pockets and a glove box there isn't much stowage space, and while visibility isn't too had it could certainly be improved. For example, the bulging sun visor is bang on eye level and the nearside mirror is like the back of a shaving mirror. Worst of all are the night-time reflections of on-coming vehicle headlights that are reflected via the double rear windows into the rearview mirror. This can cause the illusion that other cars are overtaking you at the same time-lose concentration momentarily and it would be all too easy to panic. latest Tata Trakker accessories any wellheeled Sloanie could turn it into cut-price Kings Road poser. But this machine is first and foremost a workhorse which will be in its elements on boggy Welsh moorlands or in the forests of East Anglia. It may be cheerless and slow, but its ability to haul huge loads across rough pastures, its good fuel economy and, above all, its price are what set it apart from the opposition. The Loadbeta's place in the bargain basement along with FSO's Caro, Fiat's Fiorino and the Skoda Felicia looks secure. If you value productivity and off-road ability above speed and comfort, this pickup deserves a second look. 0 by Bryan Jarvis • SUMMARY Well, the Loadbeta 4x4 certainly looks the part, and with the SPECIFICATION IMEM Tata Loadbeta Pickup 4x4 2.0 Tdi. Design GVW: 2.78 tonnes. Importer: Tato Motor Vehicle Imports, PO Box 1, Cornaby Industrial Estate, Bridlington, Foss Yorkshire Y015 30X. Manufacturer: Iota Engineering & Locomotive Company, Wor Bombay 400018, India. =El Tata 483 DLTC Turbo 49 liquid-cooled, charge' coaled ID) turbo-diesel. Cylinders: Four; in-line, Bore/stroke: 83x90rnm. Capacity: 1 95 litres. Compression ratio: 22.5:1. Max net power: 88.5hp (661,W) at 4,50Orpm. Max net torque: 1401bfil190Nm) ot 2,50Orpm. TRANSMISSION Tato CBS 76 all synchromesh gearbox. Ratios: 3.87, 2.22, 1.37, 1.00 and 0.82:1; reverse, 3.13:1. Front axle: Iota hypoid gears with drive shafts, automatic hub locks; ratio, 4.1:1. Rear axle: Salisbury single-reduction hypoid gears; ratio, 4.08:1. Transfer box ratios: High, I :1 ; low, 2 48.1. Clutch: Single dry plate, 228mm diameter. Dual-circuit hydraulic system with vacuum servo assistance and load-sensing pressure regulator. Broke dimensions: Front, 262mm-diameter discs; rear, 282rnmdiameter drums, BRAKING SYSTEMS. MEM Recirculating boll with integral power assistance. MIME Ladder-type frame with boa-sectionglon itudinals, welded cross-members and pressed-steel pickup body. Plastic body liner and !Rickman top fitted as optional extras. Suspension: Front, independent, double wishbones with torsion bars; rear, semi-elliptic leaf springs Telescopic dampers and anti-roll bars on both axles. Axle design weights: Front, 1,205kg; rear, 1,600kg. Maximum towing weight (braked): 2,925kg. Maximum trailer weight (unbraked): 750kg Wheels and tyres: 215/75R 15in Kumho Powerguord radials on 5.5x I Sin steel rims. Fuel tank: 50 litres (11gall. ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS. 12V/50Ah battery, negative earth Generator: 65A alternator Three-year/60,000-mile guarantee plus six-yeor anti-perforation warranty and one year's free membership of Green Flog roadside recovery service. TERMS OF WARRANTY DEALERS AND SERVICE POINTS Iota has 73 UK dealers. OPERATIONAL TRIAL RESULTS Kent test route: 140.6km (65km motorway/75.1km A-roads). Average speed (laden}: 39.9mph (63.9km/h). Average Fuel consumption (laden): 24.3mpg (11.63 lit/100km). IN-CAB NOISE Km/h dB(A) Tickover 63 48 74 64 75 80 82 96 80 112 85 WEIGHTS Ker6weight 1,780kg Net payload 1,000kg Total 2,7801% HILL PERFORMANCE Hill min sec M20 4 22 A20 1 38 Restart possible on 20% (1-in-5). ACCELERATION km/h sec gear 0-80 45,3 48-80 28.8 3/4 64-96 51.9 4/5 BRAKE PER Braking tests could not be carried out due to rain and mud on the test tracks. TURNING CIRCLE Kerb to kerb 12.2m How it measures up Tata Tdi 4x4 Single cah 2.78 tonnes design GVW, 2.82m-wheelbase pickup, 2.0 litres, 88hp 166kW). OA 10-16 December 1998. FUEL CONSUMPTION mpg (IiI/100km) 24.3 (11.6) AVERAGE SPEED km/h 63.9 PAYLOAD kg 925 LOAD AREA m2 2.60 SERVICING DOWNTIME hours 10.6 Based on manufacturer's recommended standard servicing for 50,000km annual mixed UK usage. PARTS PRICES .0 509 Based on total of manufackirer's retail prices for brake shoes (vehicle set), headlamp unit, driver's door mirror, wiper blades (cob sell, engine 61 air filter, clutch assembly LIST PRICE 1,, 9,995** ' Figures for single cab, Prices exclude VAT. "Price with VAT, ex-works, six months' VED and ready for the road is £12,244.13. '"Price for 4x4 King cab pickup, ex-VAT. Nissan Pickup 4x9 Double cab 2.74 tonnes design OW/, 2.95m-wheelbase pickup, 2.511), 102hp 176kW). CM 12-18 November 1998. 27.5 (10.3) 63.9 865 1.95 5.2 486 14,250*** Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Single cab 2.83 tonnes design GVW, 2 96m-wheelbase pickup, 2.5 likes, 97hp (72kW). CM 9-15 January 1997. 24.5 (11.5) 67.7 1,125* 580 13,762* Toyota Hilux 4x4 Double cab 2.51 tonnes design GVW, 2.85m-wheelbase pickup, 2,4 litres, 78hp (58kW). CM 7-13 December 1995. 29.6 (9.6) 65.4 780 2.17 4.6 455 14,245*