Aug 30, 2008 12:57 PM
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I have driven the new Indica Vista Quadrajet (Demo Car) at Garyson Motors Ludhiana, its really a great improvement over the previous cars (produced by Tata), in terms of quality. The built quality & finishing also shows improvement. Panel gaps are also evenly placed.
Looks of the car: the car looks really beautiful from all the quarters except from the back which looks too plane having the least noticeable changes. The new head lamps and the overall bold stance of the car makes it look outstanding amoung other hatchbacks.
Interior of the car: Interior is best among the cars in the category and the best ever produced by Tata, the beige two tone dash board looks really good, the centre speedo console fits nicely in the centre, the soft feel dash board material is really a class-above for this car.
Other nick nacks like joints and cuts have been finished carefully in the car. The integrated car stereo complements very well in the centre. The over all layout is very good, better than the black interiors of the Maruti Swift.
Space Inside: This car is the most spacious from inside, Vista is wider & with longer wheel base than the previous Indica, there's plenty of legroom at the rear also. Rear seats are the most comfortable ones, better then many bigger sedans. The best part is the driver's seat height adjustment and the lumbar support given in the front seats. These features are usually given in high end cars only. The boot space is marginally bigger than the previous Indica, the shock absorbers protrude into the boot area reducing the width area for luggage space.
Drive & Handling: The drive of the quadrajet is really amazing, the engine is very smooth with smoother gear shift, noise inside the cabin is very low . This is a huge improvement in terms of driveability in Tata cars. First time its a combination of good engine & a smooth gearbox, thanks to Fiat technology. While the drive is exceptionally smooth, the pick up is fast (with four adults in the car) reaching three digits speeds with 4 adults is a breeze.
There is lower turbo lag in this car, there is no sudden rush of power at 2000 rpm (as seen in Verna & Swift Diesel) power delivery is linear, ideal for city driving in third gear. Minimum gear changes in city driving means better fuel efficiency & lesser driving effort. The peak torque is available at very low rpm at 1750 which makes it easy to drive at lower speed with ease, best configuration of the multijet engine, even better than Maruti Swift.(diesel).
The suspension set-up of the car is better than the all independent one being used in previous Indica. Tata's have modified the rear suspension to the proven semi-independent twist beam type, which is more reliable in terms of vibrations and the wheel alignment.
Fuel Efficiency: we can expect good fuel efficiency from this car, as multijet engines in Swift and Palio are giving good milage. Company claims approx. milage of 15 kmpl and 19 kmpl for city & highway resp.
Price & variants:The price of the top-end variant is Rs. 4.90 lacs is a great value proposition, its almost Rs. 30, 000/- cheaper than Swift VDi. The price to equipment ratio is better in Vista than Swift VDi. Vista is the best value for money car. The omission of Air bags & ABS is surprising, may be Tata will roll out another variants in near future with options of the same.
The lower variants of Vista with TDI engine are also on the offer with price tag as low as 3.88 lac to 4.0 lac.
Who will buy the car?:Tata cars are made for the masses not for the class. We can say its more value for the money we are paying to buy the car. It is for sure, very soon the lower variant of the car will be seen in numbers in the Taxi Segment, hence the Image Concious class may not readily go for this hatch, they will go for the Maruti Swift or other cars.
Dealership Experience: The dealers in Ludhiana have started showing their instincts of poor mentality, poor customer care. Garyson Motors of Ludhiana is asking for compulsary fitting of accessories of Rs. 30, 000/- with every car. Also they are charging Rs.1000/- per car for handling charges. Tata Motors should really improve upon the Dealership Points for Customer Care.
Finally, I can say the top-end Quadrajet Indica Vista is good car to buy.
