Apr 05, 2017 03:28 PM
10846 Views
(Updated Apr 05, 2017 03:41 PM)
I did a test drive of this TATA HEXA top model at necklace road Hyderabad for about an hour.
I did this on near empty road( necklace road) and also through the traffic of Rajbhavan and CM camp office road on Sri rama navami holiday.
The best aspect of this car is that though it looks huge, when you sit you do not feel like you sat on an elephant. You feel quite comfortable which is somewhat unbelievable.
The dash board is wide but slopes downward towards windscreen. You have to make the seat adjusted so as to see the entire bonnet, the left and right angle of the car. I am six feet tall and yet I had to raise the seat which is manual even on the top end model.
Once you sit and start the car, it is surprisingly very easy to drive even with that huge hulk of the body.
It looked like Aria but inside you will notice that its width is certainly less than Aria. The top end model has captain seats for the middle row.
The car picks up speed quite easily and one can drive through narrow gaps without much difficulty.
How I tested?
I drove the car at very low speed even in 5th gear. It did not knock. In the 3rd gear I had slowed down up to 20 kmph and a little bit below that and accelerated without any knocking or any unwanted noise.
According to the salesman, the dynamic mode and Comfort modes( drive modes can be adjusted by a very simple radio knob even while moving) are available even on the base model.
When I put on the Dyanmic mode, in the 3rd gear for example, I could drive much slower and then pick up without changing the gear!
About U-turns, there is no problem because at least two repeated testings I took a U-turn without any planning. In other words, you can take U-turn of this big vehicle much easier than on an Indica, Fiat Punto, Fiat Linea etc.,
About pick up, I just quickly accelerated on third and then on 4th gear, and it just raced ahead. I was aware that on big cars, the speed feels much less than actual speed. But there is a problem with this car. The speedometer is obstructed in its view by the steering wheel. That is the problem. But then you can adjust the steering wheel whether up or down.
The pillar on your right side while driving obstructs the view to certain extent and this is annoying while in the traffic with opposite vehicle taking a U-turn right in front of you.
The horn is very lousy and totally unsuitable.
The sound proofing is very good, so do not hear any thing including a train running just parallel on the necklace road, Hyderabad!
Yes, there is slight wobbling but more or less bearable. For example a Fiat Linea like car is so stable that you can even drink tea while on the move but not on this car Tata Hexa.
The clutch is hard but not very hard, because my daughter could drive this wearing her slippers. You clearly feel half way of the clutch and rest of the half differently. Brakes are spongy not very sharp like that of a Ford ecosport but good enough to stop this big car in haste.
The road grip is amazing and the feel of the road while you drive is what you would like for sure. I drove Honda city for a longer distance and I could not like its road grip and if that were the bench mark this Hexa gave me an immense satisfaction.
I did not really know its mileage figures.
It is definitely a great value for money.
on road figures:= for a base model Rs.15 lakhs 20, 000.
base model will have music system, AC, drive modes like dynamic and comfort and 6 speakers with two air bags.
XM model:= Rs. 17 lakhs, 50, 000/= with reverse camera, climate control etc., with 8 speakers.
base model or XM will not have captain seats.
top model costs:= 21 lakhs.
there is automatic, four wheel drive etc., for Rs.21 lakhs.
