Sep 06, 2010 03:15 PM
33742 Views
(Updated Oct 18, 2011 11:45 AM)
I got delivery of my new Tata Indigo elx from Concorde motors Chennai on 19th Aug 2010 and have driven it 1900 Kms so far. Gave it for first servicing today itself and so thought of sharing the experience with you for benefit of all.
Advantages:
Cost: I got the car for 5.7 laks on road which is a bargain considering its diesal and is a sedan (never mind ppl who say its baschandru021y an extended indica as by the assumption SX4 and Dzire are also extensions). If an extension looks good on a car and serves the purpose that's all a buyer should be concerned with.
Fuel efficiency: It has given me a average milage of 17 kms/lts so far on a mix of highway and heavy city traffic which is great for any car of its size (with AC on always)
Space: It has loads of space which u can feel only when u sit inside. I will suggest a simple test for all prospective buyers. Push the drivers seat to max position and sit on rear seat to feel real space. In most cars your legs will touch the driver's seat. Indigo/Indica/manza all come off with flying colors.
Looks: It looks too beautiful specially the royal burgendy color. I went to showroom with sky blue color in mind however changed plans after seeing the burgendy one. Both me and my wife were unanimous in our choice.
Cons:
Interior: This needs a major facelift.. maybe something like vista or manza. Some day I am sure Tata will do it. There is no cup holder inside so if u have a mineral water bottle its a nuiscence where to keep it. Fit and finish of plastic needs to be improved as well.
Gear box: It needs a vista like gearbox. I test drove vista and it has nice short throw like change compared to indigo cs which needs a bit of gettning used to. However its not "Bad" and is pretty smooth, but could be better.
Gear ratio for 5th gear is somewhat too high which hardly leaves any power in that gear. However as u need it only after 65Km/hr in city 3/4th gear do the job nicely.
Engine noise: This could be refined a bit more. I have seen diesel ikon/fiesta/dzire they all make noise but indigo cs ends up on the higher side of them all. However with AC on its not much of a bother.
On an ending note, There are small touches here and there like electrchandru021y adjustible side view mirrors... lights in the boot... insulation inside cabin is nice the rub rails already prevented a major scratch for me etc etc. All in all it comes in with high recommendations form me.
Regards,
Prateek
Mail: prateekbit82@gmail.com
POST SERVICING
Hi Friends,
Adding this small section on performance post servicing and feedback about the service centre.
Performance:
1> There is a marked reduction in engine noise and vibration you feel inside the cabin
2> The overall pulling power seems to be better though this is just marginal
Service centre:
1> The staff was polite and stuck to the promised timelines
2> I checked with them if its possible to give the car at 12:00 noon and get the delivery the same day. The person on phone said its not possible and that u will have to leave car with them overnight. Frankly I didnot like the response, however when I visited the service centre for giving the car I realised why :) There were almost 30-40 cars in line waiting for their service and the staff seemed hard pressed for time and so it was good that they didnot overpromise.
3> The point of contact person inspected the vechile and suggested getting anti-rust coating + some coat treatment done for exterior paint. He was not pushy. I asked if the treatment will take care of couple of dents and scratches which I had managed to get driving around in chennai. He replied in affirmative.
The end result was good and the car was delivered to me on time with all repair work complete. total cost was about 7000 including VAT
Overall the experience was good. However they should add more relationship managers. Additionally, the overall look and feel of the area to seat customtakeouters was shoddy. Accessories etc were not displayed properly and its a nightmare to buy anything off the shelf. I guess I will need to find a good accessories shop to tide over this.
Milage Update(tank full to tank full)
Returned 13.88 kmpl in completely city driving conditions with aircon on always.
Free check from tata motors
An executive from tata motors came over to office address and did a complete checkup of the vechile. It included oil + coolent check and a small test drive. certified the car as "OK" (which I knew anyways). All in all a nice effort to get rid of "bad after sales support" tag attributed to Tata's.
Some long drive results Jan 2011
Recently went for couple of back to back long drives in my e-cs. First one was Chennai - Kodaikanal - Kanyakumari - chennai total distance of about 1800 kms. No hiccups whatsoever brillient performer on the highways with an avg of 18 kmpl with AC on mostly.
Second of them was Chennai - Pune - Chennai a distance of about 2500 kms. It seems the e-cs starts to loose steam(reduced pickup/hard feeling in clutch/difficulty in revving/BAd noise and vibration) after being driven for long time. Mind you that it was made to sweat it out non-stop for over 17 hours and 850 kms. All problems disappeared after allowing it to coll off for 3-4 hours. No idea why this happens but the behaviour repeated itself on return journey. However none of this was showstopper and I did manage to reach my destination :)
30, 000 Kms and counting Oct 2011
Crossed 30k kms and gave the car for a very well deserved first paid servicing. The problems with clutch hardening and reduced pick up on long drives was brought to notice of service personel. As added precaution, have shifted to synthetic engine oil as well.
The problem is resolved now, some clutch cable was replaced as part of warranty. Overall the service was neat and professional. I was thinking that maybe this will be the time when the dreaded and much abused tata service will let me down.. but was proved wrong. All minor issues were sorted out and car was delivered bang on time. They also called me and updated status 1 hour before car was supposed to be delivered. gave a resounding "10/10" in feedback.
Poeple planning to buy from concorde motors chennai can definately be assured of proper after sales service.
Regards,
Prateek Kumar
