4200 Km in an INDIGO LX - now 30000 km. Review on Tata Indigo - Diesel

This is in continuation to my earlier submission - 2500 km in an Indigo. ( under Petrol vs Diesel) Just before taking a trip from Meerut to Delhi, I was mentally preparing the contents of this text. I was going to write the Indigo is a wonderful car and once the teething troubles are over I pity the people in Ikons, Honda Citys, Accents, Balenos etc. I feel the Indigo has much more inner space, and the best thing is a very comfortable driving position. Higher seat and and higher riding position. Let outsiders admire the low slung cars, they are definitely not comfortable for the passengers. Maybe they look good at car shows. But that was not to be I am back to envying the Balenos and Accents. It was not such a big price difference. It seems anything above 150 kms tests the limits of Tata made cars. On the way to Delhi the knob which controls the airflow direction delinked itself. That was very very minor. On the way back another Tyre punctured ( 3 in less than 4200Km) . Read that again. And imagine your self on a hot July Day replacing a punctured tyre in a car with 3 giggling college girls ( daughter and friends). We are already approaching the number of punctures we had in a Zen in 7 years ( 5 or 6 ). I mentioned in my previous write up that 2 tyres had punctured before we reached the 1500Km mark. For those who have not read my previous text ( under petrol vs diesel )- this is the 3rd puncture in 4000 km in a NEW Indigo.( Delivery 30th May at Meerut). (The car already had the engine replaced at 1566 Km. It was consuming coolant. ) I was bringing my daughter and her friends back for the weekend from Delhi. And one had an Indica in the family , now they have a Baleno, and she said the same thing, very often the Indica they had would have a puncture on a long ( Delhi - Meerut ,70km !) trip. And she said another friend also said the same thing. That is about as much survey a confused individual can do. However I went a step further and asked the man at the shop which repairs punctures. And he said the same thing that indeed the number of punctures in the Indica and Indigo are excessive. Here are the details of the punctures . Two tubes had punctured at what the repair people call the joint ( Joar). No nails were found in them . Maybe they fell out ? The last was the most mysterious puncture. There was a nail . But it was not stuck in the tyre with the head cut off. This was complete with the head inside the tyre. Of course it may have got in there by chance at the factory. However if someone (a competitive vendor perhaps) wants to lower the image of these cars then they have ''hit the nail on the head''. There is no better way. Meanwhile I envy the person who did 100,000Kms in 6 months with an average of 18 kms/ litre. That is the car I would like, maybe Tata only made one special unit. The people at the dealership suggest no better than 14 - 15 Km. To summarise this is a complaint not a Euology of the Indigo. It would have taken very little for it to be a song of Praise. I have verbally expressed my sentiments to people and they say you cannot blame a Car company for tyres. In any car not all parts come from the manufacturer so that would be any easy way out from taking the blame. However quality control is the express domain of the manufacturer. I am not complaining of just one puncture ( that too without a nail ) . I complained when 2 took place in less than 1500 kms. Both without nails that is always an indication of bad quality tubes. And in the 3rd one a nail was found which did not get in from the road. And yes I forgot , after considerable number of trips to the dealer the entire engine was replaced ( at around 1500km, problem identified at around 700km). I have seen more than one review here which indicates a coolant consumption problem. I think Tatas should tackle the Tyre problem on a war footing. It is possible to a take a pretty good informal survey. I just asked Maruti owners and Tata owners about punctures. The ratio is amazing. And the final authority is the puncture shop itself. The difference indicates that something is indeed wrong. But yes this one of the simpler jobs remaining after a pretty good car has been created. By the way these excessive punctures were on the same roads as our previous car was driven. ( 3-5 punctures in 7 years !). That said - the car would not be a problem for people with Chauffers. The trips to the dealer require that . It is definitely out for ladies , since the tyres are quite heavy. The car still has not reached the 5000Km mark. So you can see the usage is not heavy. On one or 2 recent trips the fuel consumption ( without AC ) showed signs of improvement. Cannot be exact but it may have been above 15Km / litre. On the rare occasions when the road is clear I find it a problem to touch or exceed a 100Kph. Sure it is Diesel. One has to use the 4th to reach there and then let the 5th go beyond. And that needs patient souls.. Closing in on 10,000 kms. Almost no problems. Except that the Air direction Knob again detached itself from the mechanism. Minor? Well it still means a trip to the dealer who is a good 15 kms from where I live. All this just detracts from the many positive things I now have to say about the car. I am no racing fiend but do drive as fast as is safe traffic conditions permitting. And I don't feel the lack of Power Diesels are supposed to have. Infact at the highest speed I have reached - 120km the engine behaves as if it is at a fast idle. Even in 5th gear there is enough kick to give a more than perceptible acceleration. At 80 km the Engine is just above 2000 rpm. Its max torque rpm is shown as around 2500 rpm and that is quite evident. A little driving experience is required to be quite comfortable with the car, and often feel that it is at least an equal in power to more powerful engines. The extremely precise steering is really worth admiring and so is the rugged suspension which does not judder the whole body when one pair of wheels goes of the metalled road. I also want to contradict a previous observation. I now have no problem going from a 100km to 120km . It is possible that at the time I tried this, the car was still not properly run-in ( though it had crossed the 2000km mark ) or the fuel may have been of bad quality.

Now 13000km ALLProblems encountered: 1. Engine replaced within first 1000 km. 2. Too many punctures before 2000 km ( 3) Tyres- JK Tornado. 3. Mounting bracket for the black cover on the engine fell off before 2000 km . 4. Air flow direction inoperative twice. 5. Electric window jammed once. 6. One more puncture at 12000 km. There seems to be a serious problem with punctures . I met a taxi Driver of an Indica ( 7500 km ). WHo said the number of punctures when the car was new was surprising. One every 3rd or 4th day. There were 2 on one day itself. Some inspection at Tata end is certainly indicated.

30000km : Just take care that you dont buy a car with JK Tyres fitted and you will be a very happy owner of any Indigo model . I was expecting an increase in Body noise . This has not happened .