Highlighting a distinct shift to an application-based approach, the Tata Ultra 2821.T (Container) is about value.

Story by Bhushan Mhapralkar

The road is bad, and the ride is unforgiving. An old two-lane cement road leading the traffic out of Ambernath and past Taloja MIDC in Navi Mumbai is not in the best of its shape. Better yet, it has not been cared for; the vagaries of nature having taken a toll over the years and perhaps decades. As a road without toll tax, the resulting ride in the new Tata Ultra 2821.T (Container) is turning out be bumpier than expected. It gets a little better on a newly built stretch some two-kms down south and closer to the Taloja MIDC area. Carrying itself admirably over the well-paved stretch as well as the most ravaged one, the Ultra 2821.T is turning out to be an interesting truck to drive and know.
It is quite modern for certain. The Taloja MIDC entrance provides a unique insight about the truck’s length. The civil works going on have narrowed the road, and it takes and amount of manoeuvring to proceed. Capable of acommodating a 32 ft. container at the back, the Ultra 2821.T has a 6750 mm wheelbase. A slightly shorter variant with an ability to accommodate a 24 ft. container has a 5505 mm wheelbase. The better condition of the MIDC road further accentuates the truck’s ability to provide a comfortable driving position. The suspended driver’s seat and the lack of cabin vibration indicate time and again that this truck is not just noticeably different from the BSIV Ultra, it is increasingly refined and comfortable to pilot. Over the BSIV Ultra, the refinement of this BSVI truck shines through. If one were to chose an air-conditioner, the ride would be even quieter. In a non-air-conditioned truck, with the windows rolled down, an amount of road noise is had for certain. The roar of the pasing trucks and the hum of other vehicles, big and small. But, then that is small price to play for what is a comfortable sleeper cabin with twin passenger seats. The safety cabin also has a berth for a two-driver setup, and is of the walk-through variety. As part of the highly versatile and modular Ultra platform, the 2821.T is also hinting at a significant shift taking place in the CV industry, that of the rising demand for application-based CVs over tonnage-based ones.

With a certain influence on moving certain tonnes of cargo, the shift to application-based CVs is driving a noticeable change in strategy at the CV makers, and at the wheel of the Ultra 2821.T this seems to play out well. Aimed at parcel, express and e-commerce ‘line-haul’ applications, this truck is as modern as any mass-volume truck could be. It is quite capable of defining the term, ‘Value Trucks’, highlighting in the process, an express business purpose of better productivity and earnings. A 6×2 truck with a 28-tonne GVW, the Ultra 2821.T is powered by a 200 hp, five-litre four-cylinder common-rail diesel engine of the Tata Motors’ Turbotronn family. It is energetic in its ability to support the truck’s performance and seeming to be quite fuel efficient too. Propelling the truck to good speeds and presenting it with good drive-ability, the engine, situated below the seats in a ‘mid-ship’ position under the titlable cab, is contributing to the good refinement levels. With good driveability to boast of, the Ultra 2821.T is equipped with the GF750 six-speed manual transmission. The unit’s gear shifting quality is good and adds to the comfort of driving the truck. In an ergonomically well-design cockpit, the gear shifter is located bang inside the centre console. If such an arrangement were to highlight modern engineering, the Ultra 2821.T is quite a modern machine no doubt. It is in-line with the changing times, regulations and shifting customer requirements.

Making a positive first impression, the Ultra 2821.T does feel a tad long when viewed in the large ORVMs as a rolling chassis. The container superstructure is yet to be built! While the sleeper cabin of the 6×2 truck is easy to climb and exit, the doors open wide. Their trim, which includes an armrest built-in, is modern. It is two-tone in colour and provides a vital link to the modern architecture of this vehicle. Launched in 2018 as one of the most modern, modular and versatile CV platforms to come out of Tata Motors and after the Prima, the Ultra 2821.T is one the many ultra modular variants had on the respective platform. Springing many variants from an LCV to a MCV, the Ultra 2821.T as a part of the platform, is interesting. This truck is about long-haul assignment. The 700-litre twin tanks announce the same in no uncertain terms. About driving from Delhi to Chennai non-stop with two drivers on board to ensure timely delivery of cargo, the Ultra 2821.T is about safety, comfort, reliability, productivity and faster turnaround.

With comfort and drive-ability higher up in the list of deliverables, the modern sleeper cabin of the container truck is welcoming. Its exterior, replete with large two-tiered head lamps, a psuedo grille and easily repairable three-piece bumper, is indicative of a good ability to cheat the wind. The use of plastic points at weight saving. Spacious enough for two drivers to call it their home as they pilot it from Delhi to Chennai or vice versa, the Ultra 2821.T is well-engineered. Providing good visibility – a central mirror on the top ensures that the blind spot right in front of the truck’s nose is taken care of, the truck has a large windscreen at the front. The tapering windowline aids good visibility as well. Proving to ergonomically well-engineered, the Ultra 2821.T is comfortable to drive as well as be in. The suspended driver’s seat has ample adjustment. The steering is also adjustable to an extent. The two form part of a modern outfit that includes a modern dashboard with a music system at the top centre, and two USB chargers as well. Above it is a 12V socket too. If the gear shifter, jutting out of the centre console, draws attention, it is the comprehensive digital instrument console that impreses. It is indicating a fuel efficiency of 5.1 kmpl. Chances are that it will fall to between 3.5 and 4 kmpl when
the container is loaded. However, that still makes it an efficient truck.

There’s a real-time gear advisor on board and as part of the comprehensive digital instrument cluster. It coaches the driver on shift up or down as per the need (road and load conditions). Not far from the gear shifter are the 3-drive modes. They are switches that are used to extract better fuel economy (the rising diesel prices no solace) by weighing in on the load and road condition. What the 3-drive modes essential do is to alter the ECM map thereby altering the delivery of fuel among other attributes as part of a closed loop finely-balanced fuel injection system. With SCR thrown in for good measure, the working of the diesel IC engine has got even more complex. The Ultra 2821.T has a 60 –litre DEF tank. It could be better seen in context of the truck’s application area and a 700-litre twin fuel tank set up. Presenting plenty storage space in the form of door pockets, overhead bins and two gloveboxes among others, the modern sleeper cabin of the truck is well-thought out; as a long-haul machine that could be operating on a stricter time schedule. Riding on 20-inch dia. low rolling resistance radial tube-type tyres, the Ultra 2821.T, defining good value, is clearly an application-based offering. It is a ‘value’ proposition that is at home in an increasingly competitive and challenging business environment.

Claimed to be priced in the region of Rs.30 lakhs, the Ultra 2821.T is a modern truck that will fit into the scheme of things at a fleet operator or a logistics company looking to accomplish their express, parcel and e-commerce assignments. While reaching out to most pin codes in the country a challenge as well as a way to succes, the support of line-haul trucks is made crucial. It is at this very juncture that trucks like the Ultra 2821.T come into the spotlight. Fitted with rear parking sensors, the truck, said to be also aimed at POL tanker application, as well and albeit in a different vein, makes a versatile machine. It is capable and modern. Most of all, it is application-basd. In the face of the competition (there is a similar offering on the Signa platform as well), the Ultra 2821.T makes a strong case for itself. It does so by presenting itself as a good value equation equation, supported by a combination of refinement, comfort, ergonomics, performance and efficiency.