Tata Sierra

The Tata Sierra, was a three-door sport utility vehicle produced by indian carmaker Tata Motors It was based on the Tata Telcoline. It was the first SUV to be designed and produced in India.

In export market the Sierra was sold as Tata Sport, Tata Telcosport and Tata Grand Telcosport.

History
The Tata Sierra was introduced in 1991 and is the first off-road Sport Utility vehicle produced by the Indian company; in reality the Sierra is the "closed" version of the Tata Telcoline pick-up originally launched in 1988 from which it takes all the mechanical parts, the front and the internal dashboard. The differences are in the shortened wheelbase at 2.40 meters (compared to the single-cab Telcoline). The Sierra was also one of the first cars for private transport in India and, being built on the Tata platform X2 with side members and crossbars, could be used on every road surface, especially the uneven ones being proposed both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive with reduced marches. Compared to the Telcoline, soundproofing has been improved, making the interior more comfortable.

The body of the Sierra is three-door, similar to that of many Japanese competitors (such as Nissan Terrano, Mitsubishi Pajero and Toyota Land Cruiser Prado), the total length of the body is 4.41 meters, rear-wheel drive or 4WD full-time part-time with grafting system electrically controlled up to 60 km/h, equipped with gearbox on all ratios, self-locking rear differential and front hubs with manual locking/unlocking; the suspensions are the same as those of the Telcoline with an oscillating double trapezoidal front axle and a rear axle with a rigid bridge layout with five pulling arms and coil springs.

The engine was the same as the Telcoline: the 2.0-liter (1,948 cc) four-cylinder diesel Peugeot XD88 naturally aspirated manufactured under license by Tata Motors in India with two valves per cylinder and indirect injection with pre-chamber and 63 horsepower. The gearbox is a G76 5-speed manual.

The cockpit was available only for four seats. The Sierra will also be the first car produced in India with electric windows, air conditioning, adjustable steering wheel and tachometer.

Evolution
In April 1998 Tata introduce the new turbocharged version of the Peugeot XD88 2,0 litre diesel engine; the new engine is omologated Euro 2 and have a max output of 87 horsepower.

The Sierra, however, unlike the Telcoline is not a great success, neither in India nor in foreign markets, and in 2000 it comes out of production replaced by Tata Safari, larger and more modern and proposed with five doors.

The Sierra in Europe
In Europe (especially in Spain, France, Germany and Italy), the Sierra was imported from 1994 under the name Tata Sport or Tata Telcosport) in a single version with the 2.0L diesel engine Euro 2 in the rear wheel drive variant, while the 4x4 will be added in April 1998 proposed with the 2.0L turbodiesel. With the introduction of turbodiesel engine the name was changed in Tata Grand Telcosport in more market like Spain. In Italy the Sierra was sold as a Tata Sport in two versions: base and Orciari, the latter exclusive for Italy was made by the Italian designer Orciari and featured an enriched endowment, two-tone bodywork, roof bars and specific interior finishes.

Tata Sierra EV Concept (2020)
At the 2020 Auto Expo, Tata Motors showcased an EV concept with the same name. However, the company didn't share further details on the production plans of the Sierra EV concept, though it is likely not to be based on technology from Chinese carmaker Chery, like the proposed Tata Blackbird.