I have updated the review at the bottom after 3000 kms
I bot this car a month back and insisted on bridgestone radials .My requirments were very simple
1)lots of space
2)small car
3)good power
4)decent milage
5)good built
6)good suspension(as we all know conditions of indian roads)
I felt tata indica xeta scores in all catagory except in built quality which I think tata can work on.
I had not even thought of testing xeta as I was thinking that tata is good in only making diesel vehicles .It so happened that once in mumbai the delar came with tow cars for test drives to our office ,one was xeta glg and other was diesel turbo dlx and I test drew both of them and it was clearly evident the differences between the two.When I asked the dealer about why the ride quality of dlx which was bad he said may be they had used it for more test rides than xeta.what I concluded from test drive was that the suspension was good(better and smoother than diesel varients) ,lots of space ,easy to drive and looks(interiors) were better than disel.
Point 1. Cars I compared
Maruti 800
maruti alto
maruti swift
hyundai getz
except for gets all other cars dont even come close in terms of space .Some Cars (alto,swift ) steering wheel and the supporting plastic are always in touch with my knees which I dint like.
point 2.If you compare santro and alto almost all have same external dimensions how ever the wheel base of indica is big(which is good ).
Point 3.Except for gets and swift which have 82 and 85 ps all the other cars have power less than indica xeta and secondly the torque is the highest in indica xeta which is required in city condition to pull away easily from a signal and power is decent even with ac on(i remember when we had gone to hilly area and we had to switch off ac in santro to climb it )
Point 4.Milage of 10-14 is what ppl are getting (whome I spoke to before buying)
which is decent in city conditions and it also depends on how you drive it as it has more power than many other small cars.I am getting around 12.5 with AC in city conditions and normal petrol.
Point 5.Built is decent for the cost we are payin however a message for tata guys is that you plan everything right however when finishing pls keep the tolerances low ,for heven sake you are not assembling an ace.this is where xeta lost when compared to other cars.I WOULD RATHER CALL IT "MORE TRUCK PER TRUCK"
Point 6:Suspension is where xeta beats hands down all the other cars including swift (which I drove I would rather go to the extent of saying on bad roads sitting in rear seat of swift is like sitting in an auto) and gets (which I drove).Suspension is amazing and the ride is very smooth even on bad roads which I often drive on.
hence I bot this car
Bad things abt xeta
Gear changes can be made even more smoother and the gear leaver can be brought closer the driver.
Power steering is something for which I too need to put some power so it too needs to be powered up so that the driving is easier(this is verymuch required for city drivers and not for ppl who test cars and need feedback/feel on steering ).I drive the car to and from my work place and especially when I am returning from work I will be so tired that a smoother steering is a welcome change.
Tyres can be a bit bigger and wider I feel say 14 or 15 inch with 185 might still improve the road handling and comfort.However the 13 inch tyers do what they are expected to do.
Fit and finish of the car can be improved.
Dealers need to be trained well on handling/fittment of optional extras.
I am using this car from past one month and I am happy to say I am enjoyin drivin it.
sandeep pratap
I thought I will add a few more lines and a few photos so that it will help ppl take a decission to buy xeta(or not to buy).
1)Regarding milage : I am getting a milage of 12.5 (with repeated checks) KMPL with AC and using normal petrol(what I mean by normal fuel is I am not using any high octane or premium fuels).
A point worth mentioning here is that car has got very good power (even though you dont hear it),so we need to use it very judicialy that is we should not unnecessary rev up the engine.
2)Regarding spares: the spares are either comparable or cheaper than most other cars.
3)Regarding ride Quality:I feel ride quality is good and it is better than swift ,gets (sitting in rear seat).I would suggest insist in Bridgestone tyres to reduce tyre noise.
4)Noise level:I run my car always with AC on so all noise I hear is of blower.
5)Regarding Space :You have more space for yourself and another four.
6)Driving in city:Driving in city especially in bumper to bumper traffic where you can jut put the vehicle in first or second gear and just play around with clutch for moving the vehicle.
7)AC :It is adiquate for the vehicle.
I hope these points help you guys in deciding.
Hey guys
I tot of updating my review as it was quite some time and it might give a correct picture on how is the car leaving aside initial enthu.
I have done around 3000 kms in my car and these are the points I would like to put forward.
1)Milage is consistant at 12.5 with AC(with HP non premium fuel )I guess what sania mirza says that it gives good milage is true .I have also tried with BP the vehicle runs very smooth but the milage is bad.
2)I had to visit service station often as the vehicle was not starting at one crank and the dealer changed the ECU without any charge and the problem was solved.
3)I had some fuel smell in the car and I had to again take it to station which turned out to be that fuel pump was not tightned tightly enough.
4)My wiper self wash stopped working when I opened the bonnet I found that the plastic tube connecting the pump and the outlet was disconnected so I used qucick fix to fix it.
5)My drive quality has not gone down it is the same as before.
6)noise level remains the same
7)How ever the pickup without AC is amazing as I can zoom out of the red signal with all qualis,taveras,other disel indicas ,800s,altos and most other vehicles I regularly see on road standing still in my rear view mirror.
These are the problems I faced since I wrote my first review .
I guess these might be trival problems if you ignore them but when I am writing a review and comparing with other cars I guess these points become important as my friend who has a santro told me that he never had to go to service station till first servicing and I already know everyone from mamager to worker in service station .
What I would say is that if you are buying XETA you need to give it some time to settle down (now that my car has gone thro all this I am just fueling and driving) so guys who are buying new XETAs should buy from good dealers who have good service network and who are responsive .
secondly as I had mentioned in my initial review itself that TATas quality is still not up to the mark(as I have mentioned I had to change ECU)may be that tata is comparing personal drivers with Taxi drivers who keep visiting service stations every 15 to 30 days ,i guess this thinking with tata should change.
Having said all this I WILL STILL RECOMEND THIS CAR as all the ppl who sat in the car had all praises for it and one person even tot that he was sitting in accent untill he got down.
