Tata's New Hatchback Zica Now Renamed Tiago

[ice_wise]

Until I drive the car I will reserve my comments over the engine and gearbox. I personally never go by a single or just two reviews (c'mon man, who is perfect? Certain things are missed by all the reviewers) and hence I read at least 5-6 reviews from reputed reviewers/mags/forums and then mark out the similarities (note: only similarities, be it pros or cons).

Anything which every reviewer is marking definitely needs a second look. Now engines is something that isn't much praised anywhere and I can well make that out. Is there anything special in any of the drivetrains on offer?

Revotron may come out as a surprise having a better low end and mid range than competition; if yes than the engine will be best in real world driveability because our cas spend most of their life in low end and mid range. But the diesel one I am really sceptical about, I just don't trust these low displacent kids, neither they perform like a proper high displacement engine, nor they deliver FE like an engine of their size does; especially when pushed.

Ehh, for now I have my own set of doubts on both the engines and will be looking forward for a good long TD before I conclude my part.

@Manish:
I agree that they made bad reviews about Safari Varicor and Zest engines but can you tell me what wrong they wrote? In fact what's right then? What exactly you think is special in the Varicor (320 Nm one) and revotron/quadrajet in Zest?

I have driven the Varicor 400 and was impressed with the refinement (more to do with cabin insulation) and strong pull in the turbo zone. I read the ACI review and the car is much much better than they have described. Even below 2k RPM the car isn't sluggish to drive or not manageable. There is sufficient pull for B2B traffic even with no accelerator input. They have also written about the NVH and insulation, but I found it to be far better than Mahindra (old MHawk Scorpio) and was decent till 3-3.2k RPM, after which it sounded coarse.

So I will not agree that Tata doesn't have good engines, though vehicle dynamics, gearbox and suspension leave a lot to be desired.

And 320Nm one is non-Varicor, which I know will be strictly average to drive. In the 400Nm one, I doubt if anyone would find any complaints with the engine. It more than does the job, and it is exciting to see the heavy car accelerate in the turbo zone everytime!

 

[manish12345]

I have driven the Varicor 400 and was impressed with the refinement (more to do with cabin insulation) and strong pull in the turbo zone. I read the ACI review and the car is much much better than they have described. Even below 2k RPM the car isn't sluggish to drive or not manageable. There is sufficient pull for B2B traffic even with no accelerator input. They have also written about the NVH and insulation, but I found it to be far better than Mahindra (old MHawk Scorpio) and was decent till 3-3.2k RPM, after which it sounded coarse.

So I will not agree that Tata doesn't have good engines, though vehicle dynamics, gearbox and suspension leave a lot to be desired.

And 320Nm one is non-Varicor, which I know will be strictly average to drive. In the 400Nm one, I doubt if anyone would find any complaints with the engine. It more than does the job, and it is exciting to see the heavy car accelerate in the turbo zone everytime!

It's 6-speed also slick & refined. Yes NVH was better than scorpio & even xuv500.
320NM was is non-varicor.
I guess vipul didn't driven upgraded storme!!

 

[Akash1886]

Our Reporter saab also made a review of new safari storme!! Now please compare both reviews. Compare with ACI Review. You'll find it!! So do you think Dzire or amaze is better than Zest?

I have driven the Varicor 400 and was impressed with the refinement (more to do with cabin insulation) and strong pull in the turbo zone. I read the ACI review and the car is much much better than they have described.

Dekho Manish & Lakshit, it is simple! While driving any brand's car the sole aim of any reviewer i.e me or anyone has to be that a balanced picture should be projected. If its positive are immensely detailed then it's negatives also should be equally highlighted. No forum/magazine should ever give a one sided review or point of view for any car/bike. Secondly, the end consumer and the readers are free to decide which car/bike should they buy. Reviews are just point of views but at the same time point of view has to be balanced. Whether it's ACI or Tbhp or anyone, they are not ultimate deciding factors and the end decision of purchase is of the customer only. And no reviewer can ever have that sort of experience which an owner of the car will have. Apart from this, I don't think, having a biased outlook towards any car is a great practice. I believe, in true spirit and as a part of TAI family, we only provide a balanced point of view covering the positive and negative factors with same enthusiasm and have no personal gain or loss involved.

Regards

Akash

 

[kasscon]

I don't know about all the reviews however the reviews about Zica/Tiago was bit confusing and sounds biased coz when everyone comparing it with segment high.

Tata plonked 3 cylinder engine in Tiago and thus the performance is typical 3 pot engine, specially the kind of good built quality is on offer than a tin can which is another reason less zipping performance.

We know it's a segment where mileage is more important than outright performance. And the kind of price everyone is looking from Tata motors we can't expect mjd of maybe a 4 cylinder mill.

I would say, let's wait for the price and then take a TD to decide whether it's worth or not.

People are okay with polo, celerio and i10 grand's 3 pot engine but not Tata's. Irony

 

[kasscon]

Seems like word war is on (lighter note)

We never said that TAI review is biased however I can tell that the Tiago's review went wrong generally coz of segment comparison due to lack of price announcement. I remember same happened with XUV 500 and the moment MnM announced the price people/reviewers went GaGaa.

So, I would say let's wait for the price n then a proper TD of production vehicle. We might see a change in words after that.

One thing I would like to say that Tiago got the right engines (assumption) in the segment they gonna play in.

We can't compare Polo's engine with Tiago as the price difference is huge and Celerio is just not comparable despite the price. Hyundai's engine is where the comparison can be done but only after price launch and real world comparison is required with spare part pricing too.

Coming to zest and dezire : Take them to any village road (rough roads) for a spin and you would get to know about breaking, suspension and build quality in one go along with the rear passengers knee pain(light note) of Dezire's passenger. This is where Zest over shine dezire and if you think there is not much of a difference (only few notches up) then check the lower price in this competitive market. Oh I forgot Harman system despite the lowest price and projector headlamps, after all there is cost attached to every small thing.

 

[Nanofreak]

Aree Yaar, humne yeh thread late main khola, dekha toh yahan haatha payee (fist fights) jaari hai.

Like many suggested, children get back to your seats and lets focus on TIAGO (MM missed the naming boat, would have named any of their psudo SUV this)

Peace to all.

Vinod

 

[Akash1886]

C'mon man, everyone tries their best to be right; only selection of words and presentation may be different.

Exactly, language control is a major requirement of an effective review. There are many ways in which you may effectively call a spade as a spade.

Additionally it is important not to rely on a single review always and better to compare many and focus on the common points. Pinch of salt is also needed while reading reviews though.

True and as I said, what an owner can write a reviewer might now be able to no matter how detailed or descriptive he is. All of us who review cars, we drive the cars when they are launched or prior to launch hence our varied extent of TD helps us in giving our point of view i.e A media car can be kept by a magazine or forum for months or driven across for 100's of kms and then if they write a review it will definitely highlight finer points. But at times, when media cars are not available then we drive the showroom TD cars which have fixed TD routes and fixed number of Kms. In that we try our best to capture the behavior of the car as a whole. Though in some cases, we do get lucky and have a long TD but often this does not happen.

TBHP Zica/Tiago review is one such review IMO; worth a read. They have praised everything, it's only on the engine department that things do change.

I am actually looking forward to the Official TAI review. I'll be happy to know the finer points of Tiago from our team.

Regards

Akash

 

[ksdr]

Aree Yaar, humne yeh thread late main khola, dekha toh yahan haatha payee (fist fights) jaari hai.

Like many suggested, children get back to your seats and lets focus on TIAGO (MM missed the naming boat, would have named any of their psudo SUV this)

Peace to all.

Vinod

With due respect we were having a healthy discussion. Once in a while these type of arguments/discussion help in spreading awareness of the finer aspects of our cars. Anyway isn't this how an auto enthusiast will behave since we are passionate about our wheels. No ill will or hard feelings directed towards anyone.

 

[ram123]

If the product is good market will appreciate it and market alone is the decider of which vehicle is a hit or flop. Ugly and beauty is perception of people mind, if dzire is ugly why is it selling like hot cakes. If Zest is beautiful why it is not selling. Tiago if it checks all the boxes as claimed will be appreciated.

 

[incarnation]

@ ram 123 I differ with you on this Sir, peoples vote normally suggests which product they like but not which product is the best.

quantity of sales doesn't determine the quality of the product.


however success of a product brings success to the company.

but not every sucessfull product is the best product.

 

[vikyjoshi]

Well one of the major role that plays in the success of the product is brand and perception. See the case when mobilio was launched it sold close to 6000 -7000 unit where the brand was very strong but product was bad. it is now selling close to 400 units. same brand same product but sales went down. it did sell initially because of strong brand.

Zest sold around 3000 units at time of launch (weak brand) but still sustaining the 2000 mark (good product / weak brand)

elite i20 good product good brand start selling at 6000 units now crossed the 10k mark.

 

[Vishwas]

Humble Request:

Please stick to the topic and kindly post your views and comments in the respective threads.

Read the Tiago Review on ACI and felt there was a lot of scope to explain about the performance, because 83hp for a petrol isn't bad to perform well. The review seems to be of Novice nature.

The most liked thing in the TIAGO is the premium look and feel of the interiors where Tata has gone ages ahead and bringing it right.

Hope their A.S.S gets better with days to come-in.

 

[acechip]

13 years of owning Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Fiat, Nissan and now Renault, all in a major city like Pune. I have come to the conclusion that most car products are generally quite good, and quality of After Sales services is entirely non-uniform. Even if the service is average, as long as the car itself doesnt age rapidly, one can safely buy a Tata. Many people who I know, use an Indigo/CS because they travel to destinations with next-to-non existent roads. The car ensures a comfortable ride.

 

[m_sherbet]

A little more than 2 years ago, I had visited a Tata Showroom to test drive the Vista D90 and also compare it with the latest iteration of Indigo eCS, as a potential replacement for our Indica Turbo. First I chose to test drive the CR4 powered Indigo eCS. My first impressions were: smooth power delivery, ready torque even at lower RPM, excellent ride over broken surfaces. Overall I was highly impressed with all the improvements Tata Motors had done with the Indica/Indigo platform & the CR4 engine. Then I got into the Vista D90. As expected, the interiors here were much more modern & better looking, which gave a much better feel to the occupants. But out on the same route, I felt the Vista D90's suspension to be much more firmer than the Indigo and hence the ride was not-that-smooth on broken surfaces. Power delivery was good, but neither was it as linear as the CR4, nor was abundant torque available at as low RPM as in the CR4. The torque pull was very strong, but at slightly higher RPM.

Frankly my opinion back then was, Tata Motors should use the Indica/Indigo platform with brand new look & brand new interiors, which will make for an excellent product(s). The Tiago and the Kite5 are two such products, which use the further improved Indica/Indigo platform, but with completely new look & new interiors, hopefully even better built & quality. The only small disappointment for me is that the same CR4 engine was not carried forward, but one cylinder was dropped. The company has still managed to match the Power & Torque figures of the CR4 even with 25% less Cubic Capacity, but only a test drive will confirm if the 'feel' is same or not.

I am keeping my fingers crossed till I get to test drive the new Tiago!!

 

[BoltFromTheBlue]

As the budget 2016 is out now, and the car prices are increased, will now Tata make some good decision on the pricing of Tiago.

Will it adjust the price to reflect the hike? I mean it must adjust itself so that the final number ends up as it thought earlier before budget?

BTW, are the prices of Tata Tiago out? And any specific launch date?