I bought my Indica Turbo v2 DLX in January 2006. I bought this car after doing much comparison with other two cars, the Swift and the Getz.
Please note that my comparison was purely based on my personal requirement. I dont intend to say that other cars are worst and indica is the best.
DLX is the top end model in the Indica Turbo series. I had a Zen before buying this new car.
My constraint if I buy a new car was that the car should give me pretty good leg room at both front and rear, satisfactory interior, satisfactory comfort, fuel efficient, powerful AC, and within Rs.5 lakhs budget.
My comparison brought me to either Swift or Getz. In the comparison I did between Swift and Getz, I was very much interested in buying the Getz. There are many reasons according to me why I wanted Getz and not Swift. If you are keen to know about, please read my review on Swift.
But then I dropped Getz only because I personally asked 5 owners about the car and all of them stated the same sentence ''If you are not bothered about fuel efficiency, Getz is the car for you''. From these owners, what I understood was that the average mileage the Getz gives is about 8-10 in city and 13-14 on highways. That was a bit too expensive for me.
Then I decided to go for a second hand safari. Reason? I might get a reasonably good vehicle for about 4-4.5 lakhs. I thought I'll enquire with the authorized service center about the maintenance cost of a second-hand safari. When I asked their opinion, they straight away told me if you are going for Dicor - go for it. If its the old safari - do not go for it. But they suggested me to buy a new Indigo. I said it is expensive for me. Then they told me that Indica is coming with the same engine of Indigo and why not you go for it. They said the performance is too good and Idigo's engine is a proven engine. I thought ''not a bad idea, why not I test drive the car''. I drove the car for about 30 kms, through the city and through the NH. The car performed extremly well. The power was really sufficient for me. I never felt it under-powered. Myself and my wife had total peace in going for the car.
I booked the Turbo Indica DLX and got the car in January 2006. I bought the Cherry Red color.
Accessories that I fitted for my car are
--> Put imported alloy wheels and 185/R14 GoodYear F1 tyres.
--> Since the Dashboard looks plain and empty, I put the wooden finish sticker in the AC control panel area. The looks of the dashboard has changed drastically after doing this.
Till today, I'm totally satisfied with the car.
The only few drawbacks that I can point out on the Turbo Indica are
--> In first gear, till the turbo gets charged, you might feel it is under-powered. In other words, till the turbo gets on, it is the same old Indica. When the car reaches about 25 kms speed in first gear, the turbo gets on. The lagging is only till then. Normally this delay we will not notice so easily. In all the other gears, the car really zooms. There is no much of difference in engine power while running in AC or without.
--> The cassette player that the company provides for the DLX model is a waste. According to me its a museum piece. In todays scenario they should have given an MP3 player.
--> The company could have provided beige interiors for the Turbo Indicas, thus making the turbo category standout of the crowd.
--> Mileage in city is about 12km/ltr with AC. Long distance I'm getting about 18km/ltr. This might improve after 3 services and another reason of reduced mileage could be due to the broad tyres that I've put.
--> In cold start the belt gives a slipping sound for about 5 to -10 seconds, then it stops. Its better you leave it as it is.
Maintenance I've done till today
--> The car had a small bad scratch on the roof. I think it happened while shifting from the truck. But the PDA failed to identify it and do the necessary paint job before delivery. When I washed my car for the first time, I noticed this scratch and took it to the service center and got the paint touched up. Since the clear coat job was still pending and when they did it, the touched up paint got nicely merged with the original paint.
--> I was told by the service center that they have received an email from Tata Motors that the retro unit of power sterring has to be replaced for a whole bunch of cars, at free of cost, which includes mine as well. After replacing the tetro unit, I drove about 65 kms and the unit they replaced broke while I was driving the car. I got it replaced and till now, by the Grace of God, there are no issues with the vehicle.
--> I did the first service in 2500 kms. The second service in 5000 kms. Its for my mental satisfaction I've done. I have a feeling that it is good for the engine and I did so. I'll do the third service in 10,000 kms and there after every service in every 5000 kims.
Few things we need to care according to me
--> Never take the car to garrage for every small thing. It will only damage your car more than perfecting the car.
--> According to me its always better to do the first service in 2500 kms, the second service in 5000 kms and then the third in 10,000 kms. If you ask me why, I dont have anything to support it other than ''it is good for the vehicle''.
--> This is also according to me ok. Understand that the built quality of this car is not so great. So handle the car with care, much care than what you give for other cars. Advertisements will show many fundoos, If we try to attempt those, your car will only have time to be in garrage. Also, Indica is a car that has to be maintained well so that it lasts long. Even if you rip the vehicle, give the throttle gently. Also, since the built quality is not so good, its not advisable to rip the car to 120km/hr etc. The speed could bring you soon a major repair, if your time is bad.
--> Do the alignment every 5000kms, check the alignment every 2500kms and if there is any major change, correct it. Rotate the tyres every 5000kms, the mileage of your tyre will be close to about 60,000kms.
--> Do not drive it rashly.
--> Its always better not to wash the car from any service center, even while doing the regular service. The cleaner that they use will not be washed/wiped thoroughly because there are so many cars for them to attend. This in due course of time will remove the coating above the paint and once the coating is gone, the paint will start absorbing all stains. The paint will even start fading. You may wash the underneath of the car once in every 5 months or so. But do not spray any oil as a layer of anti-rust. Instead, you put paint the bottom with anti-rust coating while taking a new car. Anything done temporary is only temporary and will not do good for the car. Its always advisable that you wash the car by yourself at home and not in any service centers.
Its also better to wash the car every week once. You can use the amway car wash which will never damage the paint and the polish, but cleans the car nicely. You might find at a glance that Amway car wash is expensive, but it is not.
I will keep this review updated as I drive my car and experience something new.
Hope this review has served you and was worth reading.
