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Vehicle giant Tata -- which owns Jaguar and Land Rover -- has rolled out the Xenon ute with pricing of $22,990 driveway as the starting point for its six models. The line-up covers cab chassis, single and dual cabs in 4x2 or 4x4, all of which share the same 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine.
Mated to a six-speed manual transmission, it delivers 110kW of power at 4000rpm and 320Nm of torque from 1500-3000rpm, with 230Nm on tap at 1000rpm. Tata claims 7.4L/100km fuel economy and a tow rating of 2500kg braked, with payloads ranging from 880kg to 1080kg.
The entry-level price gets you into the 4x2 cab chassis, the single cab adding $2000 and the dual cab another $2000, while the 4WD versions add $3000 to each body style -- with the range topping out at the $29,990 dual-cab 4x4.
The price point comes in up to $4000 more than the utes from Mahindra -- also from India -- and Chinese-built Great Wall. Like those brands, the Tata offers a three year/100,000km warranty, adding 24-hour roadside assistance.
The standard equipment list includes leather-trimmed steering wheel, armrests, airconditioning, Bluetooth phone connection, USB jack, fog lamps, immobiliser and 16-inch alloy wheels. Safety is looked after with ant-skid brakes and twin front airbags, but the rear passengers miss out on airbags altogether and the centre passengers gets a lap-only seatbelt. Tata says electronic stability control will arrive early next year.
On the options list is a reversing camera, parking sensors and a touchscreen satnav, which can all be optioned separately or as combined packages. Tata is being handled here by Fusion Automotive, a stablemate of HSV under performance parent Walkinshaw.
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