Indica Petrol LGi. Review on Tata Indica - Petrol

I own an Indica LGi (the front runner of Xeta GLG). I went in for a petrol Indica inspite of the popular opinion. I would like to make following observations:

Against:

There is a very strong resentment against Tata cars especially the petrol cars. They have a reputation of being unrefined, coarse and unreliable. This opinion is largely untrue has a direct effect on the second hand market of the petrol Indica. The vast majority of diesel Indica owners are cabbies who are not severly effected by this as they recover they investments on the car within few years. But the petrol Indica owners find it difficult to do the same.

Since only very few petrol Indicas are sold, most of the workshops are not very familiar with petrol engine. When you go to the petrol sation, the attendant, sends you to the diesel area. Tthe pick up at low speeds is not likeFord Ikon or Honda City and quality of dashboard plastic is poor (its same in Xeta). The features available in the Tata Indicab and Indica LXi or GLX are almost the same. The 1400cc engine is largest in the class. However this does not deliver as much as power as the Swift with a smaller engine. (In Xeta they have further reduced the power to 70bhp). The quality of seats could have been further improved. Driving for long distance gives you a pain in the neck and seats while adjusting are not as smooth in Zen. The rear seats which has very well thought of foldable arrangment. While folding and unfolding these seats they do not feel smooth. The bootspace which surprisingle for such a large car is not very large. The major grudge against Indica is its mileage. On long distance you can get a mileage of 15kmpl and in start-stop traffic the mileage is 10-11 kmpl (some claim only 8-9kmpl). This is very difficult to compare with Santro & Zen as most of the Owners either delibrately or unknowingly exagrate their car mileage. A recent ad by Maruti shows that Tata Indica petrol has a better mileage than Santro.

Advantages:

This is the best looking car in its class. This car is most spacious only Palio can compare with it on space and comfort. The suspension is good. Even though the dashboard looks flimsy, its quite large (like a dining table). The features provided in the car are more than Santro or Zen. People who are short and especially the women find it difficult to handle as the peculiar design of the car limits the view of the car's end. Many people report that the petrol Indica some times jerks while accelerating, (some claim that it is peculiar to lots of MPFI engines).

During last 9 months, I have not face any problems (I must be disappointing the anti Indica club here). The response of dealers is also helpful. They try to help you whenever they can. On good roads I have reached top speed of 120 kmph and the car was still going smooth without complaining, I think I could have gone further. People who dont like traveling in cramped cars and those who like stretching their legs should go for an Indica. If you can afford a Corolla or an Octavia then you need not buy an Indica. I also feel Palio and Getz has an edge over Indica, however they cost almost a lakh more.