Why I chose Indigo CS: A long story. Review on Tata Indigo CS

[A small note: Though my review is not hitting the point quickly I hope you will find even those – not interested lines very informative as I explained how did I select this Indigo CS after analysing all the facts of other vehicles in the same competitive range. So please go through patiently or skip if you still feel bored. I am really sorry.]

Hi All.  I had bought Maruti 800 (5 speed) in 2004 -second hand car.  I was fully satisfied because the price at which I bought, the fuel efficiency, spare parts cost and periodical service charges were well within my budget as always and I never cursed myself for this choice. In fact I thought I was blessed with this car because during my possession, even at once, I did not encounter any problem like battery down or starting trouble.  After 5 years of utilization, I slowly thought of buying a new car as my children grow big and u know we, as a family used to go out once in every fortnight and the major reason was, I had my right hand shoulder got fractured and you'll be surprised to know, even that time, almost more than a couple month I used to drive my Maruti to drop my children at school and still I could manage to maneuver my car in Nelson Manickam Road which is very famous for too congestion with my left hand to reach to my office.  During those period I seriously started thinking of the best advantage of having power steering.  So I decided to buy a new car with basic feature Pwr steering, A/c, Stereo and decent enough leg space (I’m 6 ft 1 inch tall). Though my previous Maruti had A/c, it will not be in a position to chill the entire car even after 2 hour drive.

I visited several showrooms and checked all the brands of vehicles which will come under my budget (4 to 5 lacs). I saw all the aspects of all the vehicles including the technology they use to keep engine better performance and capacity. Hyundai will say it’s cuppa, for Tata - Turbo & DiCor, Maruti says DDiS. All are same but a small variation in noise control.  The weightage should be given to the size of the vehicle & the engine capacity e.g Swift DeZire is having the same engine of what Swift has. So the Dezire performance will definitely be very bad compared to the Swift. I will give you even better example, the Fiat Linea (emotion)is having the same engine of Palio. So you can guess which one will be under powered vehicle.

After a week, I penned down all the pros and cons of the vehicles I checked and did prepared a new list with a few cars. After that I started to narrow down further to get the right car at the same time with decent features. Needless to say, the price is the primary parameter in choosing the brands. Under which the close competition was between TATA Indigo CS and Maruti Swift. We will look at the following criteria to arrive at the right choice. The parameters I used are:

1.  Look & Style: Ofcourse the Swift is nice looking car. There is no doubt about it but being a hatch back user already, the CS attracted me more than Swift. CS looks as great as Swift. It gives me a feeling that I am an owner of mid-size car. The size of the Swift looks tiny in front of CS. I don’t think you will deny. Do you?

2. Fuel Efficiency: Maruti claims that it will give 15kmpl and the same mileage is assured by TATA also and I cross checked with both of the customers and found the promise is mostly true and correct. Here both are standing in the same point. My CS is giving 20 kmpl on NH under my driving style. It will varry 1or2 according to your driving style. It depends.

3. Space: leg room space is fantastic compared to Swift. Because Im 6 ft and 1 inch tall. I felt very comfortable when sat in CS. Needless to say the boot space you have got in CS. Enormous!!  As a frequent  tourister with family, I can accommodate my children's bedding apart from our travel heavy bags. In this point, Swift cannot even come closer to compete.

4. Ground Clearance: Our Indian roads are very bad. I am not talking about NHs, they are now well improved and we can fly like jet but in rural and sub-urban roads are so bad that will tear your car bed off. But you can ply CS even on those roads without hearing any crack sound which comes under your car.

5. Operations: Clutch is hard in CS as compared to Swift. The door noice is really an irritating part in TATA (They have eliminated this in Manza). I have put extra seat cushion to make sure that I will not get any back-ache during long drive.

6.  Change your your oil, diesel & air filter and coolant oil and engine oil every 5000 km. That will keep your vehicle very healthy and smoth. When I sold out my Maruti in 2009 (2001 model), it was