Driving the Tata Prima LX 2825.TK BSVI

The Tata Prima LX 2825.TK makes an effective heavy-duty tipper.

The Tata Prima LX 2825.TK makes an effective heavy-duty tipper.

It is a normal working weekday in Pune. The traffic on the by-pass is in full swing. The adjoining service roads are also quite full. There is a curious mix of two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and CVs on the roads. A part of these is a bright yellow Tata Prima LX 2825.TK heavy-duty tipper with a GVW of 28-tonnes. Tracing its origin to the ambitious ‘World Truck Platform’, which involved a large collaborative effort with the participation of Tata Daewoo among others from the Group, it is drawing attention for its size and looks. Marking an arrival of a modern heavy-duty truck range a decade ago roughly, the Prima looked like it was way ahead of its time. What with the market happy lapping up trucks (including Tata’s own legacy range) with a lower initial acquisition cost. Heading into a market seized of the initial purchase price, the Prima found itself in a quagmire almost. What a waste! Correcting itself quickly, the Prima range shed features. It trimmed itself to meet market expectations, the LX suffix bringing it up to speed. Yet it still struggled to find many takers. Those who understood its potential took it. The larger audience however still weighed on the legacy range.

All this changed with regulations and economic changes over the past few years. Operators were compelled to look beyond the initial acquisition cost. Finding its way to a construction site to dispose off its load, the only other CV that could draw attention is a yellow 6x BharatBenz 2825CM. It however quickly changes the route and heads down a different road. If the form of Prima makes it a modern machine, gets heads to turn, there is definitely more to it than