Tata Tigor Ownership Review

[Akash1886]

Tata Tigor Review



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In a man's life there are a couple of nights which leave a lasting impact on his life. Some of them are life changing ones and life changes forever. To list those important nights, please allow me to state:

1) Night before the College Result.

2) Night before proposing your crush.

3) Night before annual increment.

4) Night before Marriage.

5) Night before man becomes a father.

6) Night before taking the delivery of a new Car.

As expected, I should have begun this first post by saying that Tata Motors launched the Tigor in March 2017 @ Rs. 4.7 Lacs but that would have been too stereotypical. So now back to what I was saying, When a man accommodates a new partner or a new car for the first few days he is too concerned to explore of how it is and what are the strengths and weaknesses. In my case, after me and my girl went our ways, there was a void and to get into another relationship so soon wouldn't and isn't an easy task afterall pehla pyaar tha yaar! So when we parted, one fine day I was going to the airport in my beloved and trusted Esteem and on DND Flyway, with Channa Mereya song playing in the background, I started to recollect the memories I had with my girl and how I used to travel all the way to Airport and my Esteem use to pick and drop me all these years. I was thinking, now if my girl isn't there, then, I guess I should part ways with everything in which I can feel her presence or be reminded of my memories with her. That was the 1st time when I thought of letting go of my Maruti Esteem. This thought came to my mind 2 years back but dad wasn't convinced on the same. Life kept on rolling at it's pace and I took each day as it came. Launches happened, Expo happened and 2016 went away. A New Year (2017) started and I made it a point to be strong enough to move on and concentrate on my passion i.e Cars. If I am destined to have her back in my life, i'll have her else will leave it on god, that was my thinking. So in between all these launches, came the opportunity to cover the WR-V launch and as I reached there, my phone rang, dad was on the line, "Esteem ko kharidne aya hai koi" (Someone has come to buy the Esteem). I was silent, couldn't believe that its all happening suddenly. I told dad to tell the buyer that he can visit in afternoon once I get back home. On 16th of March 2017My Silver Maruti Esteem Vxi 2006, Me & My Esteem saw each other for the one last time. It was difficult for me to sleep that night as me and my Esteem had a lot of memories too. My college life, my work life, my dating life, my happiness and my tears, that car saw it all and all of a sudden all this was about to vanish from my life! After the Esteem went away, I took a break and went on small vacation to my relative's place just to get over the past and while coming back, For the 1st time I got to see the Tata Tigor in flesh. Among its many attributes, first I checked if Tata had provided an under-engine cover to Tigor or not! It was not there. I thought, this is a cost cutting but I was OK with it as many of the brands have now stopped providing it so why to just make an issue out of it. Overall, in the 1st look, the car looked smart and the Copper color looked fine. At the time when I checked out the car for 1st time, the guys there had told some "unique" features of it like Gloss Black Gear Knob which doesn't heat in sunlight, one touch driver's window down feature. Now, both these features aren't really unique but one thing I liked i.e the gear knob indeed remains cool in sunlight whereas this thing I do miss alot in my CITY IVtec. It is difficult to shift gears with a H-O-T boiling gear knob whenever I take the car out in afternoons.

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Review

Every Sunset gives way for a new Sunrise: How it all started!

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I was back after the short vacation at my relative's place and upon reaching home, the next day in afternoon got the invite to be a part of the Tata Tigor launch. Now, having attended number of official launches with TAI, even this one was an important and I was geared up as usual to give you all the best possible coverage. However, another thing that made it way more important for me and for us at TAI was that we had to handover the TAI COTY to TATA. It was an honor bestowed on me by TAI to be a part of the TAI COTY handover ceremony. Over there I saw the Tigor once again and after 2nd time I was convinced that "Ya this can be my upgrade from Esteem". Since my Maruti Esteem was also a Top-spec model (VXI) so I wanted to upgrade to Tigor top end in petrol i.e XZ(O). Soon after the launch, I called the petrol top-end Tigor for Test Drive at my home in 1st week of April 2017. All was fine till the time of taking the quote from the dealer SA but what I wasn't aware of was the forthcoming battle of Mindset Vs Logic, a battle of ideas of a 60+ Father Vs 30 Year Old Son, A battle of choosing the better Veteran among the two! Above all, it was a moment which demanded of me to take a stand on what I felt was right as an enthusiast.

Scroll down to read what went on!

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Review

The Car Booking Battle: Father Vs Son.​

As soon as I wrote about my initial drive experience I was in for a pleasant surprise that most of my buddies appreciated my views and my plan to upgrade to Tigor XZO from the Maruti Esteem. Many of you including our young at heart members Shashank Sir & Vinod Sir supported me. I was expecting a similar support from my family on this car upgrade / purchase but as luck may have it, I was left all alone in the process and most importantly my dad wasn't happy at all of my choice of car. He did not believe that I was actually telling him to buy a TATA car over the "trusted for decades" Maruti Suzuki. His exact words which I also wrote in a word file on my laptop were "Are you serious, who does it? Buying a Tata Car by selling off a Maruti?" Now, his point of view was based on the general perception that most of the buyers have about TATA cars so can't entirely blame him. But, I knew what I was doing! I was convinced that my decision to go for Tata Tigor Petrol is absolutely right.

The 1st Booking Day! 05 April 2017



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On this date, 1st time I booked the top end Petrol Tigor XZO from Sagar Motors, Noida. After a night full of stress, sarcasm, age-gap related lecture and other arguments finally I booked the car. All was going well until the news from dealer came about the non-updated records from our bank. Due to non-updating / delay in update the dealer financing hit a road block. It was a conscious decision to opt for dealer financing instead of bank since I wanted everything to happen at one place only and I should not keep running around all the time but the unexpected delay caused a me a lot of stress. I was trusting our bank to get the records updated at the end of financial year 2016-17 but later on from dealer I got to know, it would happen quarterly. So, I had no choice but to get the mess sorted and re-book the car. In the meanwhile, my uncle who was pushing us for a CIAZ told my dad to have look on it and then decide. So, we did have a look at the CIAZ and I rejected it upfront since I own a Honda CITY Ivtec, one of the gems of an engine. My dad still did not approve of my logic and reason. The day we booked the Tigor 1st time, prior to that too we went to see the CIAZ on my uncle's insistence and it was almost final but I wished to find out a way to stop him from buying it. He told my uncle about the booking but delivery was to be done once the bank work was complete with all records updated. So, while my dad was planning out, I showed him a Scoop that I did about the CIAZ shifting to NEXA. I told him, "I will not stop you from buying CIAZ, go ahead, but a facelift is going to happen in couple of months, and your car will be outdated." He saw those pics and the seed of change was planted in his mind by me!

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

The Cancellation Of 1st Booking, Re-Booking in August 2017 & Delivery Experience.​

So, as the months passed by, I had to cancel my 1st booking and concentrate to get the records updated to ensure the further financing from Dealer's end. In the meanwhile, I realized many of you who were eagerly expecting my car's delivery might be thinking if at all I was serious enough regarding my car purchase or not. A guy who spoke so much about his car purchase ended up cancelling the booking. This actually does lead to many questions and eyebrows do raise. I completely expected it and accept it too. During this time i.e April to August, Whenever anyone of you asked me about my car purchase, I told only the truth. I was really prompt in intimating about the delay in my car purchase too and I knew many of you would feel bad. But, I was absolutely sure about the car purchase and double sure about the car I wanted to purchase. Finally, when all the records were updated and I was on the verge of booking it again, mom's eye operation came in which meant atleast a month's post operation care was required by her so again the purchase took a back seat. Finally, when my mom's recovery was good enough, I decided to go to Mumbai for the weekend and relax as my sister is there too. It was heavily raining the day I left Delhi and on the way to the Airport, I got an SMS from Dealer stating the post-GST benefits of buying a Tigor. As me and my dad were sitting and I was reading the message, he casually asked what it was. I told him its about Tata Tigor. Went on to tell him that the prices have gone down post GST and he can expect a minimum price fall of 10-12 thousand on top end model in Ex-Showroom. His reply came as a shocker, "I guess the price would make sense and the car is compact too". I did not pay much attention then but as I landed in evening at Mumbai and switched on my phone, Ding Dong For the first time in his life, my dad sent me a Whatsapp message and in that it was the Quote of Tata Tigor Petrol XZO from the same dealer. I couldn't believe what I saw. It took some time and a Diet Coke to make me believe.

So after spending the weekend, when I came back to Delhi, I asked my dad how he went ahead and what all discussions he had with the dealer in my absence. He showed me the quote and I began to go through it. I went to the dealer the next day with dad and mom and signed some documents that were needed for financing by dealer. All set and done, next step the approval and EMI amount from Tata Motor Finance. During the 2nd booking, there were a lot of holidays in between so the GM of the dealership made a request for the XZO Petrol Silver Tigor in advance to cut the waiting period and once we got approval then we negotiated the deal in which I managed to get the insurance quote matched to external quote. My ponytail and handlebar mustache played an equally important role in it. So once the deal was finalized, I paid the booking amount by credit card and took receipt, the SA said to pay it by cheque, I told him, I want no delays now, take this booking payment and bring my car asap! The SA was like. I asked him, "Have you seen a customer so hell bent in getting the car from you again after couple of months with same model & color?" He told its a very rare case and added that it would take 4-5 days. After paying the booking amount another long weekend was there. So, I thought to work out the accessories options for Tigor. I really got some helpful suggestions and in between this, Toilet Ek Prem Katha got released! I really loved that movie and specially Akshay Kumar and Bhumi's acting. Then after watching that, it was 2-3 days left before my car was to land. So, on 13th my dad called the dealer and my SA after checking the list of arrived cars confirmed that my allotted car has arrived. On listening to that I was relieved that finally everything is falling into place. As I was relaxed, watched the India Vs Sri lanka Test Match and felt far more proud of India's clean sweep in Test Series. On Monday, I did the PDI of the Tigor and then paid the balance amount by Cheque and ordered for anti-rust coating by paying additional amount and supervising the same too. However, a slight issue cropped up when even after agreement, the dealer did not have the gear lock to fix in my car. My dad was annoyed and told them point blank that the delivery will be taken only once the Gear Lock is fixed or else the cheque payment will be stopped. After lot of "Senior Level Request by SA and arrangements", it was confirmed that the gear lock will be fixed on delivery day. Then on Tuesday, 15th August, I was feeling bored because I don't like sitting at home and doing nothing. No Cricket, No Diet Coke, No Dealership Open, So in the end had a afternoon nap after lunch.

Then finally came the Delivery Day! 16 August 2017

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Now, firstly let me point out some similarities in between my Esteem and Tigor. I sold Esteem on 16th March 2017 and bought Tigor on the 16th of August 2017. Both of them are Silver and if all goes as planned, their registration number (last 4 digits) might be same too. So, on delivery day, me and dad called a cab as taking Honda there is a pain due to low parking space and dense traffic and reached around 11:30 am. Upon seeing my car I first checked if gear lock was fixed or not. It was finally! Then sent the cab back to pick up my driver and mom as ladies often take time to get ready. Until the delivery happened, I was engrossed in making sure that all the corner and edges were properly cleaned and no shortcuts to be there. I opted for the armrest from dealer end and felt as if I overpaid. That openable armrest costed me 5300/- and plus I paid extra 2000 for body cover and bought it home before the delivery day. The essential kit that was offered, I opted for mud flaps and gear lock only and no perfume, steering cover etc. When I saw that I was overcharged in price for armrest, I immediately tied my ponytail and negotiated to get the floor mats for free! I succeeded!

A word about the dealership experience, I bought the car from Sagar Motors, Noida and overall the experience was good but I wasn't happy with the guys who cleaned my car as there were slight stains on the roof carpet. Transparency in dealing was 100% and no percentage of commission or hidden charges were taken. Sagar Motors happens to be a 3S Facility of Tata Motors i.e Sales , Spares and Service. I am satisfied with the approach of the GM of Dealership through out the purchase exercise.

Now, as the car was ready and mom had arrived too so without any further delay, the dealer executive explained the documents to my dad and then we had a small ceremony at dealership and I came back by cab and gave my mom dad the pleasure and honor of traveling back home in their new car, THE ALL NEW TATA TIGOR!

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

On way Home Post Delivery & Initial Car Experience



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After the ceremony, the dealer gave 5 Ltr of fuel which was filled in front of me and the car was taken out but before arriving home, my driver and paa took it to petrol pump to get it filled and possibly there the fuel attendant banged the fuel flap because of which I could not open and click it for the photo-shoot. After arriving, I took it for the customary blessings of god in the evening and drove it back home myself with mom.

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After that, till now I have driven the car for 75 kms (100 Kms odo based on 25 kms from Dealership at PDI) till now and of these 75 kms, roughly 30-35 kms was done on the ECO mode. I actually wanted to experience the real driving characteristics of the 1.2 Revotron in Eco mode. Rest 40 kms have been done on the default mode i.e CITY mode. I have actually not driven it much because I am awaiting it's registration number and then go for PUC. Once all documents will be there I'll drive it then.

Since this car is my alternate vehicle and mainly going to be driven inside the city only so in the long run, I don't think it would be having a very high ODO reading. My CITY Ivtec in approx 6 years has done 68K Kms so I shall be using both of them alternatively as per the need. Performance experience will be written about in a separate post but I do have some issues with regards to the overall interior's finishing. Externally, it does look a lot more contemporary to it's competitors. Apart from that, this car comes with a couple of 1st(s) for me i.e It's my 1st Tata Car, It's my first Compact Car, 1st 3 Cylinder Car. Having owned cars like Esteem, Chevrolet Optra, SX4 and Honda CITY, owning a brand new TATA and exploring it in due course will be a nice and interesting experience I am sure.

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

The Tata Tigor Design: Interesting Impact!

The Impact of the Design on me was quite huge. Here is the official design.

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Now, Frankly I have never owned a compact sedan in my life. So, at the time of buying a new car, I wanted to go in for compact sedan and feel it. Moreover, in today's traffic and parking shortage, I thought it would be wise to own a compact car which can be easily driven in Traffic and Parking is not an issue either. I have had many stressful moments in traffic with my big sedans so this Tigor qualified in that respect very well. At the launch in Delhi, I carefully observed the dimensions and design of it and frankly, the Impact design language had a deep impact on me right there. Comparing this design to the other old Tata Designs, it was a very big leap I must admit and the execution of the design in Tigor has been very neat and classy.

The Front Profile

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From front the design is quite similar to the Tiago but the difference is made by the smoked projector headlamps. In Silver color along with the smoked headlamps, the design becomes quite impressive with clean lines and well balanced curves.

The Honeycomb grill and airdam

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The honeycomb design with Gloss Black finish and a thin elegant chrome stripe make the front grill look very neat & smart and often referred as the smiling grill. There are no unwanted edges and curves in it and just simply runs below the hood lip giving the overall front profile a dignified character. The same honeycomb design is further extended to the air-dam sections in front. The Tigor gets a single slate air-dam which thankfully doesn't have any blingy chrome stripe added to it. The air-dam design well complements the car's design language. Another very pleasing front design aspect of Tigor is that the front grill and the hood curve seamlessly join the headlamps thereby giving it a sort of wrap around look and making the front profile look very beautiful.

Side Profile of the Tata Tigor

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When a compact sedan is designed with the base design being taken from a hatchback, it is really important to get the job done right. Compact Sedans often are criticized for their looks and many of them do have a rather familiar looking side profile just like their hatchback model. For example, look at the AMEO. Now, having seen the options of Compact sedans on offer in our market, I would say this side profile does stand out from the rest and the next closest one would be the Ford Aspire followed by Maruti Dzire. It is nowhere similar to the hatchback and a completely new design. It does seem to me that Tata Designers have done a great job in the designing and have superbly executed the same in the final product. The elevated quarter glass and the sleek chrome garnish running all the way to the front door gives the Tigor a sleek profile and specially in Silver color the chrome does not look out of place either. The extended rear quarter panel gives it a longish look but I would say, it looks more of a coupe like design with that slanting roof line in the rear. Overall, I am very impressed with the clean and simple but graceful looking side profile.

The Rear Profile

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In a compact sedan, as much as the side profile needs to be well designed same way the rear profile has be equally well designed. The rear profile is the distinguishing factor between a compact sedan and a hatchback. So far, in our market, we have got some good designs in regards to the rear profile of compact sedans like Ford Aspire. When I first saw the rear profile of Tigor, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a beautiful execution. The rear profile of Tigor gets the new TATA emblem along with new LED tail lights extending upto the boot and the boot gets a big fat chrome mustache which extends upto the tail light extensions on each side. Some of you might even mistake the chrome extensions as the reverse lights too. The boot gets a integrated spoiler like design which accentuates the beauty of the car. Complementing the design further, the Tigor gets a two-tone rear bumper with the horizontal Black color rubber protector provided to it in the lower half which often is the point of contact for 2 wheeler wheels, other car bumpers in traffic. This is a good move by Tata I must add since not only does it protect the bumper from unwanted scratches rather it also gives a sporty diffuser like look to the rear. If I have to sum up the external design of Tigor, I would say, its undoubtedly, one of the best looking compact sedan in the market at present with top notch finesse in execution.

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Important External Aspects Of Tata Tigor

Swept back front headlamps with Chrome inserts.





The smiling front grill with Honeycomb design and new Tata logo in center



Mud Flaps added as an accessory



The protrusion provided in the rear wheel-arc acts as a splash guard.



Front & Rear Shock Absorber(s)





Under-body of Tata Tigor



Good amount of wheel arc cladding provided in front and partially at the rear.



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[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Simple and Elegant sloping roofline with rubber stripes provided on both sides





Precise Panel Gaps





No Smart Key sensors provided on door handles in Top Variant.





Integrated boot spoiler



Boot provided with a thick chrome garnish extending till the tail light extensions





Chrome Stripe running from rear till the front window looks quite elegant

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[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Front and Rear Door(s) Opening Width





Ample Ground Clearance. I am relieved that it wont scrape like my CITY IVtec. With 15 inch rims, the Tigor gets a GC of 170mm but with 13 inch rims, GC reduces to 165mm.



Aero Fins provided below front bumper



Roof Mounted Spoiler in Gloss Black finish comes equipped with a brake light. That brake light is one of the hottest looking one in the segment. The roof mounted antenna too is placed quite close to the spoiler



The Rear Defogger equipped windshield in top variant



Tigor's Design boasts of some really sharp character lines which enhances it's overall looks. Right from the front fender till the rear fender the lines very neatly are integrated in doors and windows. In comparison to the Tiago, these sharp lines provide a slight distinction to Tigor in terms of overall design and make it look sporty as well at the same time.



The dual tone rear bumper comes with a Black rubber protector in the lower half and also houses rear reflectors, single reverse lamp and a "fog lamp" without bulb in it. The Black Protector also houses the reverse parking sensors.

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[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Internal and External Lights of Tigor

Swept back front smoked headlamp with Projector and normal parking bulb setup.



Front Fog Lamp with Chrome Surround



Body Colored ORVM(s) in top variant have integrated side markers.



Tail light Cluster. The indicator glass in the tail light has a fine honeycomb pattern etched in it and looks beautiful when illuminated.



Rear Reflectors, Reverse Lamp and Fog Lamp but without a bulb.





Under the rear chrome mustache on the boot, the number plate lamps and rear camera are placed.



Boot Lamp

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[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Illuminated Internal & External Lights of Tigor

Front Headlamp with projector illuminated during day time & evening time





Fog Lamp with illumination and its operating button comes with a green indicator





Illuminated ORVM Indicator and Headlamp integrated indicator





In-Cabin roof lamp with White illumination.



Reverse light illuminated



Tail lights and brake light illumination & Number plate lights with White Illumination











Videos of Operating Follow Me Home Lamps Feature.​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLSzscp7S9E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frjt-6yJlts

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Wipers in Tata Tigor







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The wipers in Tigor are quite good in terms of performance. Since it has been raining here for the past few days, I did get ample time to observe their swipe area as well as the speed of wiping the windscreen. The swipe area is very good and you may adjust the wiper's speed depending your requirement/intensity of rain. Aesthetically, in Tigor, the Wipers do not obstruct the view of driver and are slightly lower in position. Moving further, there are dual washers provided for front windscreen and both of them are visible on the wiper console itself. Would have loved to see them tucked in nicely under the wiper console. Another point here is that, the quality of plastic and the honey-comb like design provided to the console are very good and the quality feels quite durable too. Coming to the wiper blade quality, I felt in comparison to others, the wiper blades seem to be of good quality too and may last reasonably longer than others. Talking of the plastic used on the wiper lever inside the cabin, I must say, it does not look flimsy at all instead Tata has provided good quality plastic to it and this actually shows the amount of concern and effort they have put in to make the best possible equipment at the price point.

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

The Boot Space in Tata Tigor

The capacity of Boot in Tata Tigor is 419 Ltr. The boot has been well carpeted and rivets are placed at needful locations in it.

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The Boot can be operated in 3 ways, i.e by inserting the key, by the electric button provided in the switch console below the ICE unit or by the Remote. I have operated it by the electric button in the switch console. It works only if the car's ignition is switched ON. Secondly, to open it by the remote, you'll have to press the Follow me Home Lamp button on the remote for 2-3 seconds and once the tiny blinker blinks and the lock inside makes a "click" sound you may lift the boot lid. When the boot is unlocked, the indicators shall also blink. A video to show the same is attached here.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4T2Ky0mn-E

 

[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Important Aspects of the Boot Space in Tata Tigor.

The Warning Triangle has been neatly placed inside a pocket on the rear seat's backrest.



Normal Steel Rim Spare Wheel placed in the wheel well inside the boot and covered with a flap. The size of the spare wheel is 175/60/R15.





Rubber Molding provided on the edges of the boot. A very thoughtful move I must say. Small things do matter a lot.



Loading lip provided with a proper plastic cladding. However I felt, the loading lip is slightly high to my liking.



Wiring properly covered by small flaps in the boot



Hydraulic Boot Struts provided in the Tigor. The operation becomes quite smooth and easy with them. I also must add, the built quality of boot is quite heavy in comparison to the segment offerings.



The metal joints in the body frame are finished fine yet the workmanship could have still been better.



Tail light console plastic inside the boot is neatly fixed and comes with a Tata logo on it.

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[Akash1886]

Re: TAIger's Tata Tigor Petrol XZO Review

Tata Tigor's In-Car Entertainment Unit.​

Tigor's top end model is equipped with a Harman Infotainment Touchscreen unit with SD Card slot, USB and Aux but do note, there is no remote control provided with it. The touchscreen to me felt a bit slow. In the top end model the car gets 4 speakers and 4 tweeters setup. The sound quality of the unit is superb. With the Tigor's cabin size, I would say, the output of the unit is exceptionally great. The speaker sound quality is excellent. However, when it comes to Radio Reception, I am not happy at all. The signal often go off and the system becomes dead and it happens in my locality but while driving on the roads, there is no issue at all. In the car, the front tweeters are placed on the A-Pillar and the rear tweeters are placed on the door pads. The ICE unit turns into reverse camera screen upon engaging the reverse gear and the quality of display is good with guidelines. One things here I wanted to point out which I told even earlier is that, the quality of display in sunlight is not very good. The volume of ICE can also be controlled through the steering mounted controls in top spec variant. Also, there is a option of voice command as well for the media and phone.

The Harman ICE Unit Sound Quality Video​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3QtsJSwhJw