2025 Tata Sierra Review - The Good, The Bad and The New Petrol Engine

After multiple concepts, spy shots and teasers, the iconic Tata Sierra has finally been launched as a new avatar in the Indian market. In the new generation, the new Sierra comes as a direct challenger to the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos in the midsize SUV category. We got the chance to test drive the new Sierra on the streets of Chandigarh to see if it lives up to the hype around its re-birth.

Tata Sierra Exterior Design 

Design is a subjective issue, but in the case of Sierra, everyone likes it. The universal acceptance works in its favour. Wherever we took the new Sierra, people came to check and appreciated its design and looks. The Sierra offers a perfect blend of futuristic looks and original design. The SUV retains design elements of the original model, which was sold between 1991 and 2003. It has an upright, boxy silhouette, squared-off wheel arches and thick B-pillar along with blacked-out rear quarter glass.

The SUV gets modern design elements, including a full LED lighting system. It has LED DRLs, slim LED headlamps and LED fog lamps, and full-width LED-connected tail-lamps. The SUV gets flush-fitting door handles and diamond-cut 19-inch alloy wheels. However, there are sharp edges at the ending of the DRLs at the front. The SUV has roof rails, which come as a part of design. The SUV has faux skid plates and gloss-black body cladding all-around.

The overall design is appealing, but there are inconsistent panel gaps and sharp edges on multiple places. The new Tata Sierra is based on the new ARGOS (All-Terrain Ready, Omni-Energy and Geometry Scalable) architecture, which is claimed to be flexible enough to accommodate different body styles and powertrains. It measures 4.3 meters in length, 1.8 meters in width and 1.7 meters in heights, and rides on the segment-largest wheelbase of 2730mm.

Tata Sierra Interior - Game Changer

This is the best Tata in terms of cabin experience and use of materials. The SUV gets a premium dashboard layout, featuring soft-touch material, gloss-black panels and even the hard plastic used on top of the dashboard feels premium in nature. While the quality of materials used is top-notch, the fit and finish is where the Tata Sierra stays behind rivals. Its direct rivals, the Hyundai Creta and the new Kia Seltos, still offer better quality and fit and finish inside the cabin.

The SUV offers the best-in-class seating experience, offering the widest and broadest seats in both front and second row. In fact, the front seats get extendable thigh support. The rear can easily accommodate 3 adults without any fuss, offering enough legroom, knee room and headroom. The flatter roof and boxy design further contributes to its spacious and airy feel.

Tata Motors has gone all-out with features, and even the base variant gets an electric power tailgate with gesture control, all-4 disc brakes and electronic parking brake with auto-hold. The SUV gets the segment-largest panoramic sunroof. Some of the features include a 360-degree surround view camera, 13-speaker JBL stereo with Dolby Atmos, window sunshades in the second-row, ambient lighting, powered driver’s seat with memory functions.

The SUV has a triple-screen layout, which is also the first in its class. It has a 12.3-inch infotainment unit, a 12.3-inch co-passenger entertainment screen and a 10.25-inch driver’s display. The electronic architecture is all-new and works fine in our unit. However, the AQI filter in our unit was not working. It offers a boot space of 440-litres, and to the top of the roof is 622-litres. 

Tata Sierra Engine Performance - New Turbo Petrol

The Tata Sierra is available with 3 engine options, including a 106hp/145Nm, 1.5L NA petrol engine which runs on an Atkinson cycle, and is paired to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. We drove the other two engines – a new 1.5L direct-injection turbo unit and a familiar 1.5L diesel. While the former offers 158bhp and 255Nm, the diesel unit is good for 116bhp and 280Nm. Both are paired with a 6-speed Aisin torque converter automatic. A six-speed manual gearbox comes as standard.

After driving the new 1.5L Hyperion turbo petrol engine, I can finally say that Tata has a good petrol engine in its portfolio. The engine is refined in both idle and driving condition. Power delivery is linear and there is minimal turbo lag, which makes city driving easy. The engine sounds nice, and offers good performance in sports mode. In City mode, the engine is tuned to deliver linear power and higher efficiency. The gearbox is tuned nicely, and works well with the new turbo petrol engine.

The diesel engine is the familiar unit that powers the Altroz, Nexon and Curvv. Tata claims that it has tuned the engine for the bigger and heavier Sierra, but it feels weak at low RPMs. The engine noise keeps getting inside the cabin. It lacks punch, and is suitable for those who do highway runs regularly. The all-wheel disc brakes work well, and stopping performance is good.

Ride and Handling

This is one aspect where Tata Sierra sits above its rivals. The top-spec units get frequency-dependent dampers, which work well. The SUV offers composed driving on broken and bad roads. However, the Harrier and Safari offer a better ride than the Sierra. 19-inch wheels could be the reason, as 17-18-inch wheels generally work well on the Indian roads.

Fuel Economy

The new Tata Sierra turbo petrol AT gives us a mileage of around 8-10.6kmpl in city traffic, and close to 14-15kmpl on highways. Diesel AT delivers around 12kmpl in the City and 16-17kmpl on motorways.

Verdict

The new Tata Sierra is clearly the finest Tata model when it comes to interior quality and design. There are still some issues with its fit & finish, inconsistent panel gaps and around its electronics. The new turbo petrol engine is a clear winner, but the diesel doesn’t feel refined.