[rajgoli]

Originally Posted by Pardus

This is Amazing.. I have never seen a Tata TL in so many Avatars, thanks for sharing the pictures.

This is what I have been dreaming my Xenon to be. The flexibility to change its look and structure depending on our needs.

1. A modified Canopy with extra seats for occasions to take more people onboard.
2. A roof top Carrier/box for that extra load.
3. A Thule Kayak/Canoe carrier for the watery adventure.
4. A bike rack in load bed to carry Mountain bikes.
5. A quad bike.
6. A flat tonneau cover for the decent clean look.
7. A bull bar, extra spot lights on top and front bumper for the mean looks.

The flexibility and options to mod are unlimited with a Pickup.

Try and see if you could get some truck roof lamps fitted to your truck, it will change the personality of the machine.
I spoke to the COO of Bakliner, Jesse Del Toro for the same on my truck and he quoted $1200 includes shipping...now I have been wondering is it worth the money..Get a custom built bumper to equip your winch and a pair of shackles.

[motomaverick]

Great review of the Xenon always wanted to see one in Team-bhp. I think we can catch up sometime at work because if I am not wrong you come to Signature in EGL, because there is a black Xenon parked in the basement sometimes.

[Pardus]

Originally Posted by rajgoli

Try and see if you could get some truck roof lamps fitted to your truck, it will change the personality of the machine.
I spoke to the COO of Bakliner, Jesse Del Toro for the same on my truck and he quoted $1200 includes shipping...now I have been wondering is it worth the money..Get a custom built bumper to equip your winch and a pair of shackles.

The price quoted is the same what it cost me, minus the discount they offered me (may be as first customer). However if you ever decide to order one at this cost, please bear in mind you might have to pay customs charges as well to the tune of 10K.

The TML supplied Carryboy made boot lid costs about 46K + installation charges. So not a huge difference in cost. But if you can get someone make these using fiber glass and a good finish I don't think it's a big challenge to make one.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Great review of the Xenon always wanted to see one in Team-bhp. I think we can catch up sometime at work because if I am not wrong you come to Signature in EGL, because there is a black Xenon parked in the basement sometimes.

Yes, you are right, you can ping me on my alias "rajput" and we can connect.

[rajgoli]

Originally Posted by Pardus

The TML supplied Carryboy made boot lid costs about 46K + installation charges.

Thank you Pardus...i guess I will go with bakliner as the one made by Carryboy for TML is specific to fit the Xenon, the bed of the TL is larger by 1x1, this space plays an advantage on the Xenon cabin space.

[kingofmyworld]

Beautiful stuff! You're one person who does justice to why it was built. I've been seeing people buying 4X4 vehicles to drop their kids at school, take wifey for shopping and things like that. Feels sad looking at that. But you've done full justice. Kudos!

One Question though, Last time when I drove an almost brand new XENON, I felt the clutch was too tight. When I asked the service center guys, they said it is that way on all XENONs. Is it true?

[Pardus]

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Beautiful stuff! You're one person who does justice to why it was built. I've been seeing people buying 4X4 vehicles to drop their kids at school, take wifey for shopping and things like that. Feels sad looking at that. But you've done full justice. Kudos!

One Question though, Last time when I drove an almost brand new XENON, I felt the clutch was too tight. When I asked the service center guys, they said it is that way on all XENONs. Is it true?

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, the clutch feels bit hard. I am not sure if it is designed it to be that way. If true, that's bad. But after the first service the clutch was quite smooth and started getting harder.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Pardus

Thanks for your feedback.

Yes, the clutch feels bit hard. I am not sure if it is designed it to be that way. If true, that's bad. But after the first service the clutch was quite smooth and started getting harder.

Sadly, my Tucson's clutch has also become hard. Looks like hydraulic clutches on diesel SUV's exhibit this behavior. I wonder why can't they over-engineer the master and slave cylinders to reduce the driver effort, I am sure it is doable. I am going to change the master and slave cylinder (in spite of the fact that there is no leakage) and see if it helps.


BTW, fantastic review. Xenon is such a desirable vehicle, I just don't have an excuse to buy it (and I surely don't have so much money to buy it without an excuse) .

Cheers!

[Pardus]

ISSUES:
Though I have already provided some brief insight on the issues in my original post I am going to segregate the issues into different category so that it provides better clarity and understanding to all.

BUILD QUALITY:

1.Door rattling: As informed in the earlier post this has been the consistent problem and used to occur every 2000-3000Km depending on the terrain I used. Sometimes the rattling was not so persistent when the window glasses are rolled down. So it appears that there are some parts inside the door which gets loosened after a while and they are not of good build quality. After almost 4-5 attempts the door rattling was reduced for considerable duration. The service personnel had stuffed some packing materials inside the door pads to reduce shaking of parts.
2.Windscreen Wiper: After extensive usage during monsoon the driver side wiper gave away and only the co-driver side wiper was working. When the spare part arrived after 2 weeks there was a difference in size of the spare part. How can there be a difference in size when the spare part number is the same? Does this mean the QA team at TML isn’t doing good job in verifying the quality?
3.Window Glass gets struck when wet: During monsoon the window glass would get stuck and not roll all the way up. This issue seems to be due to the quality of the beadings. I was informed this was a common problem in most vehicles, not sure how true it is.
4.Suspension & Leaf Springs: Squeaking sound from the suspensions both the IFS and leaf springs, this could be more so for the kind of terrain I drive most. Concorde did replace the bushings once under warranty.

SERVICE (AFTER SALES): (Specific to Tata & Concorde Motors)

1.Attitude: Though I have seen a lot of difference and improvement with the attitude at TML and CM in the last 6-7 yrs, they have to still improve a lot. The typical “Chalta he” attitude can be seen even at senior level folks who do not know how to respond to a consumers needs and issues. There is no importance given to quality and perfection in their jobs.
2.Washing: Of the many trips that my Xenon has made to Concorde it has comeback without a proper wash most of the time. While Concorde stated they were setting up an automated washing facility to improve service this process took nearly six months and there was no alternate arrangement made during this time. Most of the staff responsible for washing and related cleaning stuff were all young vendor resources who seemed to be in the age group of 16-19yrs. So these kids never showed seriousness to the work they were doing. Often I would see soap and wax residues left as is between panel gaps.
3.Spares: When my Xenon’s wiper has problem it took more than 2 weeks for Concorde to source it from the Pune plant. While this may be one off incidence, such delays should not be caused again in future.

ONE OFF CASE: Paint Issue
There were three places where my Xenon had developed some paint issues. Each issue seemed to have occurred due to different reasons.

1.When I removed the bedliner to fix the BakFlip I noticed the load bed rail had developed some kind of whitish patch (4-5cm length and 0.5-1cm in width) in 1-2 sections. On close observation it appeared this could have caused due to extensive heat passing from the bedliner onto pain surface.


2.Near the wiper nozzle. Not sure what caused these marks.


3.Right wheel arch: This could have been caused probably by dripping of some acidic water/liquid. Initially I thought this could be due to an AC discharge. Not sure where as I searched for potential spot in my office basements and could not find one.


The good part is when I showed these paint issues to the Concorde Service Manager they got these repainted without any cost.

PS: The paint quality of TML is one of the best in the Indian automotive industry and I strongly believe the above issues are one off and not to be considered a standard/regular issue.

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Pardus

ISSUES:
3.Right wheel arch: This could have been caused probably by dripping of some acidic water/liquid. Initially I thought this could be due to an AC discharge. Not sure where as I searched for potential spot in my office basements and could not find one. .[/i]

I think I know where and how this occurred. Even my car has some yellow dripping kind of patches near the left side bumper. This had happened sometime back on the parking space just left of the entrance. There was some dripping from overhead pipes i think.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Pardus

ISSUES:
There were three places where my Xenon had developed some paint issues. Each issue seemed to have occurred due to different reasons.

1.When I removed the bedliner to fix the BakFlip I noticed the load bed rail had developed some kind of whitish patch (4-5cm length and 0.5-1cm in width) in 1-2 sections. On close observation it appeared this could have caused due to extensive heat passing from the bedliner onto pain surface.
[.....

2.Near the wiper nozzle. Not sure what caused these marks.
....



[/i]

In my WagonR i had fitted rubber beading along the door edge,(the thick ugly ones), when i remove them i can see the same thing happen to the place where the beading holds in place.
Also the one near the wiper nozzle, me too had this kinda marks, but went away after a couple of washes.
Also let me congrat for your Xenon, buying it and using it for the way it's meant to be.
- but how i wish Toyota launches the Hilux here, though it's highly unlikely.

[HarneetBarmy]

Amazing Ownership review Pardus, loved the Load Bed cover & Ratcheting Cargo Bars. I myself owned a Gypsy before upgrading to a Forester. Hence it was easier to relate to your comparison between Gypsy & Xenon. I am sure you have changed many people views about the Tata Xenon.

Special Thanks to Rajgoli for sharing so innovative Tata TL Avatars.

[airfoil]

Pardus, excellent review of the Xenon, very informative especially w.r.t. the add-ons.

I'm looking to fit a tonneau cover for my Xenon as well and would like to know what challenges you faced during installation of the custom version of the cover you ordered from BakLiner.

Could you also let us know how you have overcome the challenge of locking the tailgate.

Thanks!

[crazydave]

Dear Pardus, looking forward to the next installments of your Xenon story, especially the reactions of friends and family I just saw a Xenon this evening in Delhi traffic and boy does it have road presence or what. Left a stronger impression than a Land Rover Discovery 4 that went by a couple of minutes later!!

[TurboDiesel]

Originally Posted by rajgoli

Some pics of my pick up...

Interesting pictures Rajgoli,

A question for you:

What type of modification you have done to the both front wheel arches on door side to accommodate those large tires, especially during steering movement, those tires are ought to touch the arches and internal body side if not done with.

I am facing same difficulty in both my Xenon and recently acquired TL 4X4 after fitting them with larger tires alloy wheels.

Thanks in advance.

[TheHkrish]

Originally Posted by Pardus

PS: The paint quality of TML is one of the best in the Indian automotive industry and I strongly believe the above issues are one off and not to be considered a standard/regular issue.

By any chance do you live in Bellandur ?, I had been seeing a well maintained Xenon in an apartment there. Its a sight to behold.
Congrats on the beast ( I know its coming a bit late though).