Take a look at most modern 4x4s and you will find that they seem more comfortable on the High Street than on the brown stuff. This is the result of the phenomenon known as the SUV ‘crossover’, which has given us cars that look a lot like big and tough off-roaders but don’t actually behave like them. The marketing logic is impeccable, as the manufacturers realised that their 4x4s hardly go off-road at all. Therefore all those special (and expensive) features, such as beefed-up suspension and low-gear ratios, were really just a waste of time. Strip all of this unwanted stuff out and you could offer the public an SUV-type car at a fraction of the cost. Manufacturers, though, rarely like making anything at a fraction of the cost of the original, so they made up the price by sticking on a lot of added extras and creature comforts. This resulted in all those SUV-like crossover cars you see on the road today.
Now there is nothing particularly wrong with this, but it does leave a gap for the commercial operator who just wants a basic, no-nonsense 4×4 to carry things, and perhaps a crew, around in. So is there anything on the market that would suit such a buyer with a tight budget? There just might be, in the shape of the Tata TL 2.5 4×4 double cab.
This 4×4 does not have any of the fancy bells and whistles usually included, but it does have a bargain price tag to attract the budget-conscious. The Tata unashamedly rejects all of the fripperies of the modern SUV and instead goes for decent off-road performance, good load-lugging capacity and a big double cab to ferry the crew around in. You can get both single- and double-cab versions, and all have the same two-litre diesel engine, with turbo and intercooler, offering 89bhp and 140lb-ft of torque at a low-down 2,500rpm.
The Tata TL 2.5 4×4 double cab is styled to be chunky and aggressive and has big plastic panels to protect the body work. It also has underside protection to shield the expensive 4×4 components from damage when going off-road on rough ground. Inside, it is not the most high-quality cabin, but that is not what we are looking for here. The driver’s seat is comfortable and has good lumbar support, but taller drivers may find that the seat doesn’t go back enough to offer enough legroom. In the back, there is a decent one-tonne payload capacity, a tubular frame to protect the cab, plenty of load-lashing eyes and a huge tailgate. The load space is 1,500mm long and 1,410mm wide.
The Tata TL 2.5 4×4 double cab has a very basic engine, and speed is not something you should look at too closely. The gear change is also a bit agricultural, but if you are looking for a budget 4×4, then the Tata TL 2.5 4×4 double cab may just fit the bill.
The post And Now for Something Completely Different: The Tata TL 2.5 4×4 Double Cab Review appeared first on Van Locator.
