My Requirement:
SUV or sedan car 5 seater or(7 seater optional), more towards diesel, last option petrol.
My budget was 12L and stretch max upto 14 L.
Decision factor:
Hyundei & Ford I eliminated as per my previous bad experiences. I didnt like maruti vitara breeza, ertiga, ciaz personally. I restricted my budget to 14 L. Toyotta Innova is way ahead from my budget.
so left with honda city, honda BRV . mahindra XUV500 and Tata Hexa as options in my budget range.
So XUV 500 was 1L more of my budget, and I might have stretched my budget, but I did not like XUV 500 as per my expectations . First and second gear were lagging much, but 3rd and further gears are powerful. The major drawback I have felt in XUV is -head room is very less and third row seats are not usable for adults & side views were poor & engine is not punchier in lower gears.
Duster: 110ps -drive was excellent though lagging was felt in lower gears, and interior quality is too old and nothing is impressive. 85ps vechile is not much impressive, very normal drive, no punch . 110ps disel is costing nearly 14.5 L I felt its over priced for the car, at this time I had only city in my mind.
Honda city: very good car, but major drawback is hitting on bumps & I have very bad experience with my old sedan car hitting bumps & speed breaks every time. In city only petrol version is good, diesel version seems to have issues as per other user reviews I have read, though I did not get a chance to TD city diesel.
I looked at Honda BRV as well, it was impressive while looking, but while doing TD felt there's no punch in the engine only with 3 people in the car.(Honda city was better punchier than BRV). Was more inclined to City at this point.
Finally looked at Tata hexa -Since its tata-I even rejected to see the car initially . After a while I just wanted to take a look at the vehicle, And when I see the vehicle I could see the mass improvements done by Tata. I have taken TD of vechile - and driving also is very impressive, very punchier. And I compared the pros/cons of city & Hexa, and decided Hexa to be more value for money product provides more features for the price, and Its a SUV 7 seater. So went ahead with Hexa. Now done about 800 km in the car.
Good ones:
Drive & riding comfort is excellent
Good outlooks
Interior quality is top notch- felt like sitting inside the European cars . When I bought the new vehicle there's no plastic odor which usually come in any new car that's where you can feel the plastic quality.
Driver Instrument display is very good( with color LCD display)
Build quality of vehicle is great
AC is super chiller . Provide good vents for all seats.
Tyres are broad & big(16") .road grip is very good., Tata provide bridgestone tyres with hexa.
From driver seat drive view is excellent from front /side . Though rear view was sufficient. I upgraded my rear view mirror for broad rear view. Hexa is even heighten than Innova crysta - that's where it gives good view.
Wind and outside noice is very well controlled inside cabin. When all doors are shut, Cabin is super silent - felt even better than honda city.
Music system is very good even in hexa xe(base version)- which I wasn't expected.(better than city)
All speakers provied with separate tweeter & mid bass speaker.( with high end model you get 10 speakers+ woofer)
When connected with blue tooth - even when you switch off and switch on engine, it stays connected .which is good option. As per I have seen in other cars, you will get disconnected. Good thought by tata.
You will be treated as Tata elite customer if you own hexa.
Airbags for driver, co passenger in XE variant, You have the option to switch off co passenger air bag if driving alone. Good thought by Tata.
Getting 10 -11 KM mileage in the city.
With XM, XT model you get super driving modes, hill descent controls etc.
Drawbacks:
There's a engine noice felt in 1st, 2nd gear in higher RPM, that's where it reminds me every time its a Tata car. Noice is like roaring or grunting more. May be engine needs more refinement though its controlled at some extent.
The sound insulation is done very good for wind, road noice .but sound insulation still need more improvement from engine bonet. Though with music system on, engine noice is not audible much.
Vehicle is heavier . Though it did not affect performance, its affecting the quick speed. From lower gear you need to little work out more to reach desired speed. I think its more heavier than innova. Weight could have been reduced.
Steering is little heavy, though it feels good for such a big car.
Turning radius is not short - you may need to work out more for shorter u turn.
Vibrations felt while touching the gear, I personally felt good about this as I can feel the power of engine.
There was minor rattling issue I observed in the bonet - which was fixed by tata anyways . But it should have been checked thoroughly by Quality department or during delivery.
No smart key option, cruise control in all variants.
Current Tata KHT motor service station in bangalore is not the clean place to visit, Service station looks like old goods down, place is not tidy & clean though their service seems to be good. They told its a temporary location soon they will
be moving to bigger space with full facilities.
overall I am seeing improvement from Tata perspective l, still expecting it to be more perfect.
So far felt its a good purchase, real value for money car .
