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GETTI NC BETTER
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The Tata loadbeta has had TD added to its name and it's been tweaked here and there to improve performance and cab comfort with a four-seater cab. It also has a very reasonable price tag compared with the competition. But does it do enough to persuade operators who have saved quite a lot on the basic price to pay the extra VAT for a crew cab?
In many respects, the thinking behind the crew-cabbed pickup is faultless. A gang of four, complete with kit, can be transported in the same vehicle to the same job. A timeand-motion guru will give the crew-cab an approving nod.
However, from Customs and Excise there will be a sharp intake of breath—and a tax liability. Crew-cabbed vehicles are treated, nationally at any rate, as a car. VAT is not reclaimable, and 17.5% of any cost, let alone that of a new vehicle, is a reckonable amount. So a crew-cabbed pickup may be a splendid idea, but popular? No.
Which is why it seems a peculiar move on the part of MVI, Tata's UK importer, to start marketing one. Some months ago Lada, the other jewel in MVI's crown, faced up to the fact that it was not going to pass new emissions legislation. In the UK, the Lada was no more, and MVI was charged with the task of turning an honest living out of the Tata alone. Lada dealerships also tended to be Tata dealerships and, despite the favourable impression made by the Loadbeta on the UK market since its 1994 launch, things looked a bit bleak.
But MVI has come out of its corner with gloves up and gwnshield in place. 'Me old Loadbeta, which did for comfort what daytime television does for the mind, is a distant memory. Gone is the asthmatic 68hp Peugeot naturally-aspirated engine, replaced by a 90hp charged-cooled version. Gone too is the dreadful bench seat and the unpleasant dashmounted brake lever.
In its place is the Tata Loadbeta TD. Is it up to the mark and, more pertinently, is it worth that extra 17.5%? • PRODUCT PROFILE Launched into the UK in 1994, the original Tata Loadbeta pickup gained a big following. This was hardly surprising; an eyebrow twitching price, coupled to the absence of competition in the one-tonne, two-wheel-drive sector, meant that 25% of the market was a reasonable target. The Loadbeta duly obliged.
The new generation of Loadbeta models is not guaranteed an easy time. The range, consisting of both crew and conventional-cabbed pickups and a van, all fall into the half-to-onetonne sector. Three years ago, this was a market with few players. Today, things are different, and the choice is broader. The Loadbeta Doublecab TD offers a payload of 785kg, and is yours for just £9,715 (ex-VAT). Toyota's Hilux weighs in with 830kg, and a much heftier £15,026.
Vauxhall offers a crew-cabbed Brava with a 960kg payload and a £15,120 price tag, and Mitsubishi will shortly catch up with a double-cabbed version of the esteemed L200. In part, this price difference is due to the four-wheel-drive configuration of the Tata's competitors.
Move up a weight category, and the choice increases. Most 3.5-tonners are available in crew-cabbed chassis-cab form, and there's no shortage of competent bodybuilders standing by to complete the job. You get a bigger vehicle, a bigger dealer network, no 0-licensing complications—and you may even be able to argue a case in front of the VAT man.
. Narrow the crew-cab market down to budget models, however, and the Loadbeta Doublecab TD has the pitch to itself. The traditional budget brigade, Fiat and Skoda, offer pickup trucks only in conventional two-seat form. Put simply, if you want a two-wheeldrive crew-cabbed pickup, and change from £15,000, your choice is between the Loadbeta and the classifieds.
For this price tag, you get a lot of vehicle. Telco, Tata's parent, is India's biggest steel producer and a lot of it goes into the Loadbeta. The chassis is monstrous, and the body pressings would not look out of place with khaki paintwork.
This does little for the kerbweight. Including a 75kg driver, the Loadbeta weighs in at 1,755kg—a couple of hundredweight more than a Ford Scorpio saloon. Add three more 75kg passengers and the payload shrinks to a miserable 560kg.
Charged with the task of pulling this lot about is the Peugeot XD-derived 2.0-litre 90hp (67kW) charge-cooled turbodiesel engine. Built in India, and Tatabadged, this is a beefed-up version of the original 68hp (51kW) unit still fitted to the rest of the range. Turbocharged models also benefit from an uprated The engine is a beefedgearbox; the G76
synchromesh five-speed unit has been designed to cope with the extra torque, and the clutch has also received a boost.
The crew-cabbed pickup customer requires a certain amount of refinement, which might prove to be a problem for the Loadbeta TD Doublecab. However, Tata redefined the onetonne pickup market, and is possibly capable of repeating that feat here.
• PRODUCTIVITY The bottom line for pickup operators is payload, and here the Loadbeta TD Doublecab's capacity of 785kg does not shine. Toyota's Hilux carries 830kg, while the Vauxhall Brava impresses with a 960kg payload. This is not a good start.
Durability is less of a problem. The doubleskinned loadbed is built of pressed steel, and fitted with four lashing points around the top of the 400mm-high sidewalls. Unfortunately, these are D-rings rather than conventional rope ties, so dolly-knotting drivers will be frustrated, and the load will be less well secured than it might have been. However, a ladder rack, equipped with stops, is fitted at the bulkhead.
The loadbed itself is 1.20m long and 1.41m wide, except between the wheel boxes, where it narrows to 1.05m. This gives a total loading area of 1.69m2. Infuriatingly, the tailgate will not drop below the horizontal; if you are prepared to run with the tailgate in its dropped position, the load length increases to 1.6m, and the total loading area to 2.3m2. Both the
Toyota and the Vauxhall offer bigger load areas. Rear-wheel drive lends itself to a high loading sill, and the Loadbeta's floor sits 720mm off the ground. This compares favourably with the 4x4 Vauxhall's 770mm, and the Toyota's 760mm, but the fixed tailgate makes loading a trial.
The original naturally aspirated Loadbeta returned a fuel figure of 28.0mpg around our Kent van test route. The turbocharged Doublecab came in with an improved 29.3mpg, in trying conditions. These figures are not bad; the Vauxhall Brava managed 32.7mpg, while the Toyota Hilux returned a figure of 29.6mpg. Given that the XD-derived unit is, at best, proven technology, we reckon that the Tata has little to be ashamed of in the fuel-consumption stakes.
Service intervals are also fairly traditional. With 5,000-mile intervals Tata has slipped behind the rest of the pack and it seems strange that, with the proliferation of improved oils now on the market, this figure cannot be extended.
• ON THE ROAD The original Loadbeta handled in a manner best described as idiosyncratic. Huge 195/80R15 Indian Dunlop tyres (no relation to UK Dunlops) did not help and, while straight-line ride was fair, cornering could be frightening.
Things have improved. The Loadbeta TD Doublecab came shod in Continental 215/70R 15 tyres and, helped by what we assume to be tauter suspension, cornering is no longer the fairground ride that it was. It still isn't very good, and with rain in the equation it gets worse, but at least the trend is upwards.
The power-assisted steering is reasonable, but the brakes on our test model were abysmal: wooden and lifeless. Worse than that, long stopping distances were accompanied by fishtailing from high speeds. This is not good and, added to the fact that rear-wheel drive is now something of a novelty, we recommend the Loadbeta to experienced users only.
Still, the handbrake held firm on a 1-in-3 hill, and the satanic instrument that was the original umbrella brake lever has gone.
Building up speed, as opposed ■ to reducing it, is still a cumbersome process: the gearshift now boasts a conventional rather than a dog-leg first, but it seems to have a rather elongated throw. Up to cruising speeds, the TD Doublecab is still something of a plodder, albeit a slightly more sprightly plodder than before. Once it's at speed it sits reasonably comfortably, but anything more than the most modest hill requires a downchange; the engine will lug up from around 1,500rpm, but below that, forget it.
• CAB COMFORT
Internally, the original Loadbeta was horrible, The bench seat would have made the Marquis de Sade go weak at the knees; that is, if he could still feel them after their inevitable brush with the spiteful handbrake lever.
Things have got better in this department as well. True, the Loadbeta is never going to become the long-distance machine of choice, but the risk of internal injuries has been reduced. Reasonable, individual seats have replaced the bench, and a trip meter is now included in the package.
Storage space is still as bad—ie minimal— and the digital clock proved to be unreadable in direct sunlight. Not that it mattered too much, as it stuck resolutely at 4 o'clock for the duration of the test.
The dash layout is reasonable; most of the instruments are legible through the steering wheel, but the rocker switches are tucked away well behind it. The large wing mirrors offer good rearwards visibility, but we were alarmed to see that the radio has been mounted a good arm's length away, behind the gear lever. On safety grounds alone this is not a good move.
Safety in the back is poor. The bench crew seat is small, and leg room far from terrific. Where we lost all sympathy, though, was with the lack of rear head restraints. If, in an accident, your head gets thrown forward and then backwards, it won't meet a comforting padded head rest, but the rear screen.
Safety has come some way in the last few years, and we would urge Tata to think about this omission before someone's lawyers get a chance to test it in court.
However, one area of considerable improvement lies beneath the bonnet. The original Loadbeta boasted a relay box mounted upside down on the front wheelarch. Go over a bump, and out it came.
The new model has a properly sealed relay and fuse box, with a diagram on the lid. We're pleased to see that the useful engine compartment light has been retained.
• SUMMARY
It's hard to argue against a price tag of well under £15,000 for a bomb-proof workhorse with a three-year warranty. Fuel consumption is OK, productivity is reasonable, and comfort is at least improving.
The first time CM tested a Loadbeta we argued that it was a frustrating vehicle; good in some departments, dreadful in others. In many respects, this is still the case. Cost-sensitive accountants will approve of its construction, price and warranty. Downtime-sensitive transport managers will worry about the future of dealer networks and spares wailability. And their drivers may well be tempted to take more days off sick!
The Loadbeta TD Doublecab is better than the original Loadbeta, and that has to be encouraging. But compared with the competition, it still has a lot of ground to make up. Then again, if these gains are made without too much cost, the Loadbeta will still have a comfortable proportion of its market to itself.
by Oliver Dixon
Price: £9,715 (ex-VAT) or £11,415 inc VAT (see text).
Engine: 2.0 litres, 90hp (67kW).
Average GVW: 2,540kg. Payload: 785kg. Speed (laden): 61.3 km/h. Fuel consumption (laden): 37.3mpg (7.571it/100km).
SPECIFICATION
MODEL Iota Loadbeta TO Double Cab.
Design GVW: 2,540kg.
Wheelbase: 2.83m, Manufacturer: Telco, Jamshedpur, India.
Importer: Motor Vehicle Imports, Carnaby Industrial Estate, Bridilngton, East Yorkshire Y015 32X.
EMI Iota charge-cooled, indirect-injection, four-stroke
diesel Cylinders: Four, in line.
Bore/stroke: 83.0x90.0mm.
Capacity: 1,948cc.
Compression ratio: 21 .05.1.
Maximum net power: 90hp (67kW) at 4,300rpm.
Maximum net torque: 1401141(190Nm) at 2,50Orpm TRANSMtSSION. Five-speed manual all-synchromesh Tato G76 gearbox.
Ratios: 287,2.22,1.37,1.00 and 0.82:1; reverse, 4.08:1. Final drive: 4.08:1.
Clutch: Single dry plate.
rriMaTEME Front: Floating-caliper disc brakes with servo cssistunce, rear, drums with servo assistance; handbrake, cable-operated to rear drums.
Power-assisted recirculating ball.
iEMME Steel ladder-type with pressed-steel body. Suspension: Front, independent double wishbones, telescopic campers, coil springs and anti-roll bar; rear, semi-elliptic leaf
springs, telescopic dampers and anti-roll bar. Axle design weights: Front, 960kg: rear, 1,3604 Design OM 4,040k9 (trailer with overrun brakesl. Wheels and tyres: Steel 6Jx1.5in wheels with Continental 215/70R15 tyres.
Fuel tank: 50 '■tres.
ESESCIENICEI Battery; 12V, 70Ah. Alternator: 65A
TERMS OF WARRANTYThree-year, 60,000 mile warranty, sin-year arri-perforotion warranty, one-year free Green Flag Roadside Recovery membership.
DEALERS AND SERVICE POINTS Iota has 66 UK dealers.
OPERATIONAL TRIAL RESULTS Kent test route: 65.5km motorway/75.4km A-road).
Average speed (laden): 38.3mph (61.3km/h).
Average Fuel consumption (laden): 29.3mpg (9.614/100km). IN-CAB NOISE km/h dB(A) 48 70.1 64 73.4 80 74.5 96 79.1 Tickover 56.6 ACCELERATION
km/h sec gear
0-80 17.9 1-3 48-80 10.5 3 HILL PERFORMANCE Hill min sec M20 2 10 A20 0 59 Restart was possible on a 20% (1-in-5) gradient. WEIGHTS Kerbweight (with 75kg driver) 1,755kg Net payload 785 kg Total 2,540 kg