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@Ashley

Why this obsession with colour coding everything??

Can anybody come up with any sort of logic with this colour business down south?? And I am even open to any crazy logic too, as I doubt there is a sane logic behind it.

Apparently, Overdrive has driven the Tata Prima recently, probably we will see an article in the next issue. They have some cool pics put up in a gallery here.

Attaching a pair of pics from the gallery here.

Looks like the gear shift cover is lifted straight from the Indica? When will Tata get rid of that ugliness!?

Why is it that in heavy CVS the steering column always seperates the clutch from the rest of the panels? It seems like a common engineering feature in all heavy CVS, in normal automobiles the column is much further ahead from the area of the pedals . Perhaps a column further out would hinder packaging designs in the cowl.

Does the Prima have an interior engine bay cover to access the engine from inside the cabin like the regular HCVs do?

@D33

That gear-lever cover is not shared with the Indica, and it looks a bit better in reality. It is actually has a soft feel to it.

As for your second question, here is a pic that should answer your question.



The amount of tilt seems pretty scary, especially on a cab this big, but it allows unfettered access to all components. And as tilt mechanism is powered, all you got to do is flick a lever.

Also the steered axles are actually behind the steering wheel in fully forward CVs. Thus you dont want a very high angle of the steering column, forcing you to put it between the clutch and brake levers.

Also I might mention, these trucks are not exactly brand new. They are permanently at the Pune plant, and are lent out to people who want to take a look at the truck, be it the media, or potential customers.

Check the various stages of 2516 in body building.
A total of 20 vehicles(chassis fotos I have shared earlier) were taken and the body was built in house by the transport firm.

Great to see those pics Ashley. And no doubt Hippos started the revolution of heavy haulage in india. One thing is that, the second truck in the pic is not a Hippo, Its a Beaver.
Beaver also features the same 680AL engine but transmission i suppose is a 6 speed one and not a 9 speed one with crawler gear.

Yes, You could be right on this part.

Just took a look at the Leyland sales report for the month of April. Was completely shocked to say the least.

Total sales of 5543, compared to 6500 last April. That is a 14%drop in sales. A sky high growth rate was not to be expected considering last year's sales numbers were very high. But a 14% sales drop is a complete shock.

Also, it seems like it was a shock for the company as well. As the production numbers were 8021 units this April compared 7010 for last April. They had just sold more than 11000 units last month.

What could have precipitated such a massive fall in numbers??? It is definitely not something across the market as Tata have been able to register a decent (very low compared 6% growth in M&HCV segment. Though even Tata have taken a fall from the extreme high of March when everybody was buying before the rise in prices from April.

Some very interesting news indeed. Could the availability of finance have anything to do with it?

Any specific reason that Tata is not offering (offered) tiltable cabs in multi axle tippers (leaving Novus)

I am not sure whether it isnt on offer at all in India or is it just that nobody's buying them. I say this because they are on offer in foreign markets.

Also Novus is no longer on sale in India.

I am little puzzled here!
As with the current product availability LPT 1613 is available with only TC and SK 1613 is available with only Tata 697 engine. Is this because of torque difference or what?


As told by transsenger, LPS 3518 is still available in the current product matrix (replacement of LPS 3516).

There is no SK 1613 any more at all, its only SK1616.Though there is a LPT1613TC.

As for the LPS3518, its only different naming, product is exactly the same as the LPS 4018, which is why the previous confusion.

1.Regarding the SK 1613, are you confirming from your sources at plant?
2.If there is no difference between LPS 3518 and LPS 4018, why is the price difference of around 60K?
LPS 3518 -Rs.1,662,624.
LPS 4018 - Rs.1,724,942.
I have compared the price of BS III Sleeper cab tractors at RSO Dharwad (Vat 14% extra).

The SK1613 is no longer made for sure. I think its been removed from the Tata Construck website too.

The difference in price between 3518 and 4018 is due to differences in taxes, due to lower GVW.