Excellent family sedan from Tata. Review on Tata Indigo Manza

15000kms update: Car is running fine with no issues at all and very low maintenance costs. Even on the busiest of Bangalore roads it have never returned a mileage of less than 13.1kmpl(with AC). Generally I get around 14.5 and got 15 a couple of times. On highways, it has returned between 16.8 and 18.7 depending upon the speed. I got 18.7 when driving around 100-110 kmph. All mileages are measured tankfull to tankfull and filled up at the same petrol pump with auto-cutoff set at the filling nozzle. Most important thing: This is one car that has proved wrong the notion that Tata cars are full of niggles. I am very happy with the car and have faced just one niggle(power window switch and door lock) in 20 months of ownership.

8200kms update: The car returned 14.8 and 14.9 kmpl for full city driving with 25% AC during the last two tank-fulls. I suspect that the increase is due to change of pertrol pump. Maybe the earlier pumps were cheating a bit on the actual fuel quantity. I am now filling at the pump opposite the Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, Bangalore.

Originial review:

We purchased the Tata Indigo Manza Quadrajet Aura ABS model on the 12th of March 2010 and have completed 7000 odd kms till date.

Exterior

Aerodynamically, the car is very well shaped. It has smooth contours from the front till the end rear windshield. The rear is high and comes down suddenly giving it a very classy feel like Accord/Camry. From a utility perspective, the design is such that the ratio of inside space to outside space is very high. No bulges like the Swift/Dzire/i20 that are about as wide as the Manza on the outside but have much less shoulder width to offer, esp. at the rear seat.

Interior(Features, Space & Comfort)

Features: Simply loaded with all the important features. I won’t repeat the list but just mention that the integrated Bluetooth system is an extremely useful feature.Steering mounted audio controls appear too small to use, but are in fact very comfortable to use and one gets used to them in no time.

Interiors: Beige & gray colours, are a welcome change from the standard black interiors offered in most of the cars. This colour combination makes the car look very bright and airy inside. The overall feel of the car is very upmarket and lavish.

Space & Comfort: Simply amazing. Cars which are much more expensive than the Manza(City, Fiesta, Linea) cannot give such space and comfort. It’s best not to talk about cars like Verna, Accent, Octavia and Dzire that have very cramped rear seats. Also high seats and doors opening widely ensure that ingress/egress is a breeze.

Qualities of plastics used & fit & finish:Fit & Finishcertainly has room for improvement, but not so much that someone will decide against buying a Manza for this reason.I didn’t find anything wrong with quality of plastics. Plastic gaps are non-uniform with maybe 2mm at one end and 2.5 mm at the other, but this could be a botheration only for the clinically perfect.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

Engine Performance: Certainly not a car for the enthusiast but has adequate power for city as well as highway driving. For any change into a higher gear(say 1->2 or 3->4), one should ensure that the rpm stays above 1500 after the gear change. This would result in a spirited drive. Gear shifts below that rpm will lead to low pick up, but interestingly the car doesn’t stall even if you change gears such that the resultant rpm is below the idle rpm(~850rpm). It is uncomfortable but possible to drive the car in city in just the 2nd & 3rd gears alone with a speed range of 0-60kmph. For highway driving, the Manza is very smooth and stable till 140kmph. Beyond that I haven’t tried yet. Vibrations are surprisingly low for a diesel engine, thanks to CRDI technology and are felt only at cold starts and die down as soon as the engine is warmed up.

Fuel Economy: I got 13.3 kmpl in city(Bangalore) with 20% AC before the first servicing with normal diesel and 14kmpl in city with 5% AC after the second service. All measurements are strictly tank-full-to-tank-full and with diesel filled at the same petrol pump and the filling dispenser set to automatically stop when it is tank-full(to get rid of different perceptions of tank-full by the person filling the diesel). These FE figures are for a faster than normal driving style but not a racing style. For highways, fuel efficiency was as low as 16kmpl without AC when I was cruising at 135-140kmph and was as high as 19kmpl without AC when I was driving at around 100kmph. So aerodynamic drag plays a major role.

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