Vista Quadrajet Aura v/s Swift VDI with ABS. Review on Tata Indica Vista Quadrajet

Initial response to the new indica vista is very good and looks like it is all set to challange or topple the leader in the upper diesel segment for small cars. So as the initial euphoria of the new vista wears down lets do the obvious, checking how it fares up with the segment leader in various departements.

(comparision is between the top end model of both cars fitted with multijet/quadrajet engine)

For obviously resons I would like to ignore fusion, fabia and other cars which are priced more than 6 lacs and  definitely not considering the elite segment among small cars where we have fiat’s 500 and bravia, the bug(beetle) and the MINI.

Exteriors

Swift definitely wins in this area, the door shutlines(panel gaps) are better than new indica, but swift still has some distance to travel to be called as best in the segment. I would say it is a compromise between sophistication and money. who knows indica may become the new bench mark for this feature(as better build quality of getz was rejected for swift’s better value for money)

But I find it difficult to understand why tata has struck to modify its old design even while everything else in this car is changed completly.

Verdict: Swift is definitely a winner.

Interiors

This is subjected to personal choice, the plastics in vista have dual tone interiors which I feel should have been better quality, afterall you are paying more than 5 lacs for this peice of .

The plastic quality in swift is definitely better than vista, but it comes with only black interiors again some area for improvement.

Verdict: Both are equal as far as interiors are conserned

Ride and Handling

The new vista’s has a bigger wheel base and hence the ride quality is very good infact I call it as best in the segment, it is very composed over rough roads at high speeds. But the handling is something of a consern at high speeds, Steering is very precise and response is excellent, but shifting gears in a hurry is something still not upto the mark, But I always had a fear in mind if the vechile may oversteer if stretched at tight corners. If Tata’s release this vechile ABS then this vechile will be the best in the segment in terms of ride and handling, untill then lets keep our fingers crossed, Looks like the extra weight compared to swift is playing the role here. Also suspension of vista is tunned for the best results in the segment. I should also say that the sound and vibration inside the cabin are very well managed(no complaints here).

Ride quality in swift is good though, not upto vista’s level. it does handle very well at high speeds but on rough road tend to loose its character. The big plus with regard to swift is, it comes fitted with ABS and you need not worry much during tight turning. At time swift does tend to have a little understeer(this is very negligible, if you compare with getz understeer this is hardly noticable).

Verdict: both have their plus and minus, but vista can win if it is made available with ABS.

Comforts:

New indica have features not seen in other cars like Driver seat height adjustment, very good lumbar support, Rear wiper automatically turning on when the car put in reverse gear and the front wiper is ON.

Indica is also very spacious inside with 5 people easily fitting in,

It also has good boot space for your lugage.

Verdict: Vista beats swift hands down in comforts.

Engine Performance and Mileage:

Even though both are fitted with the same engine there is difference in acceleration and tuning levels

Indica has a very linear power delivery although it does tend to take off above 1500-1750rpm, you will not feel anything like waiting for the power till you reach 2krpm(as seen in swift). Although the power delivered is more than adequate to keep you happy it is still not a rocket as you feel in swift.

Swift does keep you  strugling(waiting) till you reach 1750rpm but after that the only thing you’ll be strugling for, is it to keep it calm.

The new Indica is reported to get hungry @ 14-15kmpl city and 18-20 for highways, where as Swift returns a 15kmpl easily in city and 20+ for highways.

Verdict: Swift is better here but the performance and mileage figures may be attributed to the weight difference between the 2 vechiles which reflects in better ride quality.

Sometimes I do feel the new indica quadrajet challenging swift ddis is similar to SX4 challenging honda city, where after some initial challange city came back to the top. Here SX4 had better ride than city but consumed more fuel to do the task given.

OR this may be even turn up like a swift v/s getz challenge where customers VFM(value for money) over build quality.

The other thing that I would like to mention is swift has a waiting period of 3 months v/s wait period of 3 weeks for vista. This has pissed off may customers earlier and has the potential to get more customers towards Vista. Hope swift will not be able to command the wait period from now on.

Anyway whatever be the final outcome one thing is for sure, maruti will have started to feeling the heat as customers becomes the king again in this segment.

Feel free to comment and rate my review;)