THE KING AND THE COURT

Tata Sumo Turbo - Rs 5.9 lakh	Toyota Qualis - Rs 5.9 lakh, Rs 6.6 lakh, Rs 7.4, Rs 8.1 & Rs 8.7 lakh.	Tata Safari - Rs 7.7 lakh, Rs 8.8 lakh
THE annual one lakh plus utility vehicle market is now witnessing some healthy competition. Not only is each new entrant looking at eating up some of the competition’s market share but is also looking at making converts from the mid-sized car segment. The Mahindra Scorpio has a number of things going for it. First and foremost, there is the Mahindra brand equity, which stands for a rugged vehicle, which is easy and cost-effective to run. But the Scorpio, despite its attractive pricing does not exactly target that segment where the Mahindra name has the highest brand equity. Then come the looks. The Tata Safari has been around for quite some time, and despite its then attractive packaging, its looks pale in front of the fresher Scorpio. And then there is the powerplant, easily the most powerful amongst the lot - max power of 109bhp compared to the 89bhp of both the Tata Sumo Turbo and the Tata Safari and the 72bhp of the Qualis. For its weight the Tata Sumo turbo does not feel under-powered but it comes nowhere close to the Scorpio in terms of class. Having been around for over eight years, the Sumo retains its original looks, something that is going to count heavily against it in its battle for the throne. It is time that Tata Engineering realises that each product has a life-cycle. The only thing in its favour is that it has ‘tried and tested’ stamped all over it as the turbocharged Scorpio has a showroom tag which is about Rs 40,000 less than the Sumo Turbo. Looks were never a strong point with the Qualis so there is no point in saying that the Scorpio looks much better. In fact, any and everything look much better than the Qualis but the Qualis still sells. Going by initial impressions, the Scorpio might give the Qualis a run for its money in refinement stakes as well as the interiors and equipment. But the Qualis sorted its suspension problems quite early in its life and is way ahead of the rest in this regard. The Scorpio nearly concedes the game to the Qualis when it comes to this. The Qualis, despite its looks is the one UV that comes the closest to a car in terms of ease of driving, something that the Scorpio will be hard pressed to match. But where the Scorpio does come out trumps is in terms of price - one could buy the top-of-the-line Scorpio 2.6 and a Maruti 800 for the price of the top end Qualis. If M&M has raised the ante in this regard, expect Toyota to respond in style though! The problem with the Tata Safari remains its powerplant. Expect the Safari to meet up to the Scorpio on virtually any challenge, but the Scorpio will leave the Safari gasping in its wake. And instead of a big engine, what the Safari has is a big price tag! The one thing that is very clear is that the Mahindra Scorpio has raised the stakes substantially especially in certain crucial areas. There is a murmur in the court, has the king arrived? A claim has definitely been made on the throne, will somebody rise up and challenge remains to be seen!