Tata Tigor Review & Pictures: Tata's Tiger

[TSIVipul]

“Tata’s Tiger”

​

Tata Tigor Review Synopsis:

• Tata Tigor price starts at Rs.4.76 Lakh. It made official debut in India on March 29, 2017.
• November marks the launch of much awaited automatic variants. Still no Diesel AT though.
• The Tigor is aimed against sub-four meters like Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Xcent, VW Ameo etc.
• The 1.05L 3-Cyl Diesel engine produces 69.04 BHP and 140 Nm torque. ARAI mileage: 27.7 Kpl.
• The 1.2L 3-Cyl Petrol variant produces 83.33 BHP and 114.4 Nm torque. ARAI mileage: 20.3 Kpl.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Introduction

Tata Motors is finally showing some positive signs of a turn around and we love it. Finally the wheels have started rolling for Tata; the impact design philosophy and products based on same are giving quite fruitful results and the sales are already on a positive trend. The bottom line has finally started showing some signs that the future can be optimistic in the balance sheets too.

Circa 1998, Tata Motors introduced the Indica to Indian market. Known to be the most modern passenger car ever developed by any Indian manufacturer back then, the Indica marked the foray of Tata Motors into the passenger car segment and how. Carrying the tagline of “More car per car”, being a spacious and affordable car; the Indica went on to revolutionize the Indian compact car market carrying the USP of “Footprint of Zen and space of Ambassador and all at a cost slightly above that of Maruti 800”. Yup. Indica launched with it all and stood true to its tagline. Was it a success? Well, take it this way, this baby Tata way back in 1998 garnered a booking of whopping 1,15,000 units within a week of unveiling. Then what went wrong? Well, the initial batches had quality, reliability and performance issues, which were quickly addressed in Tata Indica V2.

Indica was soon followed by the Indigo, which is probably the best ever implementation of the boot addition to a hatchback we have ever got to see on Indian soil. But the story doesn't end here, the smart men sitting on the top chairs of Bombay House, then decided to use the tax policies in their favor and Tata cracked opened the segment; potential of which probably they themselves were not aware of. Year 2008 marked the debut of Indigo CS (many will still argue that it is the most well-balanced CS design. I too belonged to same school of thought until the launch of Tigor). Initially Tata enjoyed a free run in the segment until Maruti Suzuki finally decided to cut the DZire short, it wasn't just the DZire that was cut short; but the sales of Tata Indigo CS too. Although Indigo CS also got many significant mechanical updates, but it couldn't hold its candle in front of the modern and more established rivals.

Tata Motors was well-enjoying their position at number 3 by volume in Indian car market until in May 2012 when Mahindra dethroned them from this position too and since then Tata has been only losing on various fronts. More so because Tata seemed to have lost their main USP of ‘spacious diesel cars at low cost’ to the competitors, especially the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift which actually struck right at the points where the Indica and its siblings were weak. Then Karl Slym came to put the Horizonext strategy into play, four foundation pillars for the Horizonext strategy were intense customer focus, world-class manufacturing practices, enrichment of customer purchase experience and a service with consistent quality.

Soon Tata introduced two new products: Zest and the Bolt which, although seemed to be a major deviation from their regular portfolio in terms of quality, fit and finish, practicality, performance etc but still had the resemblance of ol’ Indica line up with a jacked up stance and of course the exterior design. Zest although got a fair to good response from the market but it is the Bolt which got a cold response. Anyhow, these two seemed to be making shift products before the Horizonext strategy has properly come into play and in fact helped Tata test waters and make out what deviations they actually need in their products to set the pulse of buyers racing, and of course to make out what all homework still remains to be done.

Soon, the Tiago followed. The cute little car that has finally become the flag bearer of the Tata Motor's turn around and selling an average of more than 6,000 copies a month. The small city car paved the way for more premium Hexa and then Tigor, Tiago didn't just work as a life saving product, but also as a psychological boost for the brand. It convinced the consumers that Tata Motors has finally started getting things right. Now eleven months after the launch of Tiago, Tata has launched, what is probably the best looking compact sedan ever made in India: The Tigor. Having spent around a week and over 2,000 Kms with this car, we’re up with our impressions. Are we impressed? Read on.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Front Design

It seems the Indica was inspired from an egg! And its every iteration that came out, they ensured it looked like an egg. It's already more than 15 years and the cars we have seen in this time had no edges, it was more like:

• Indica: Old and rotten egg
• Indigo: Two side pointed egg
• Indigo CS: Smaller two side pointed egg
• Vista: Larger and fresher egg
• Bolt: Egg from a better breed of hen
• Zest: Two sided egg from a better breed of hen

So, it’s basically the fact that every Tata car before the Tiago was in iteration of an old and rotten egg, but in different forms, but eggs have a short life, don't they? Similar is the condition of compact sedans in India, although the new DZire has now started looking a bit more balanced, but still if it's a compact sedan, then you are in for a hatchback with a boot, which is later chopped. This is where the Tigor comes in as a fresh breath of air, it has edges, it looks and feels European, very reasonable, no jacked up stance and tyres do fill the arches well (let's talk about the rear quarter later). Sounds different and gorgeous. Eh? Well, it is. Design looks energizing, more proportionate than the competition and new, nothing like what we had in Zest or Bolt, which had a resemblance or two of the Vista. The Tigor looks like a new product developed grounds up from the scratch and it works. Although the front and front quarter do resemble to Tiago, but the way boot is integrated, doesn’t look like someone took a hatchback and forcefully slapped a boot to it. Tigor has got creases, edges, very European essence and near perfect proportions. Overall design looks very appealing; the smiling Tata grille is present but in what a beautiful way; modern and proportionate; giving the Tigor a much agreeable stance. Well, looks like the IMPACT design language is quite spot on and quite fits to the mantra ‘immediate impact at first sight, lasting impact over time’ (Read more about IMPACT).

On front the first thing you notice is the gloss black grille carrying the 3-dimensional Tata logo in the middle of it. We have an elegant design with hexagonal design language, gloss black finish (which other car in this segment has it?). And yes, this grille is really wide. The grille extends to the headlamps, appreciable is the way the hexagonal rings do get smaller in the size as we approach extreme ends and end up into a solid gloss section before meeting the headlamps. Instead of having multiple chrome slats into the grille like many competitors, Tata has simply went on its own way by providing their signature humanity line which seamlessly integrates into the headlamps and not only this, there is a neat attention to detail. Where the headlamps were given a chrome insert, which used to give the design effect of an extension of the humanity line, the Tigor gets better and meaner looking blacked out headlamps with projectors (they are probably the strongest headlamps in business in the segment), in the Tigor headlamps is a black insert that clearly differentiates the main reflectors and the blinkers, which are now very tastefully integrated in the lower portion of the headlamps (BTW I have came across multiple Tiago owners who wished that their car had the Tigor headlamps).

There is another prominent crease which starts adjacent to the headlamps at their extreme ends and runs parallel to the headlamp outline vertically. After that it starts running parallel to the humanity line ending into the upper half of the sides of the registration plate area. The lower air dam also carries the similar hexagonal grille pattern as on the upper grille but there is no gloss black finish here, anyhow; we still appreciate that Tata paid attention here and not given us 2-3 bland looking horizontal slats. Adjacent to lower air dam sits two round fog lamps enclosed inside a chrome ring which isn’t actually complete; but the section where the chrome ends is the one where only few will anyways notice. The minor crease running on the bumper just below the registration plate seamlessly ends into the wheel arches and will give its actual impression only in shades like Red and Sunburst Orange, others may have it ignored or not having its presence felt. Additionally there is this V-shaped crease on bonnet which virtually ends into the grille (going by their direction of flow from the point they fade at) and flows into A-pillars. An attractive design element is black appliqué on the bonnet which employs windscreen washer nozzles too, it looks even better on the lighter shades. Trust me; it adds quite a bit to the design element. The only concern is about plastics losing their finish with time, especially in the cars which are parked under sun most of the time.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Side & Rear Design

All lines give the Tigor a quite unique design for the segment it competes in where we have designs as exciting as vanilla in form of Swift DZire, Xcent, Aspire, Ameo etc. The build of bumper, fit and finish as well as the bonnet shut line etc all felt quite well with very consistent panel gaps. We tried tapping with thumb on bumper and some sections; the result was satisfying as there was no major depression in bumper and build also felt decent without any tin-can like sound. Coming to side, first thing you notice is that Tigor is different. It’s no more the same age old bulky Tata riding small wheels with a jacked up stance. Also it’s not yet another compact sedan with a boot stuck at the back of a hatchback. The entire side profile looks very proportionate and yes, the tyres now fill the wheel well quite well without that old jacked up stance in the rear quarter.

The design theme of IMPACT design language seems to come quite alive here as the side profile looks all ‘EXciting’, ‘EXpressive’, and even has a couple of ‘EXtraordinary’ touches too. Look at Tigor’s side and you’ll definitely appreciate the near perfect proportions this baby Tata has got. Front quarter has quite a character with those wrap-around head lamps and a strong crease that begins from edge of headlamp, this crease flows all the way to back making for the window line and then proceeds towards the rear to make for the upper section of the boot line. Additionally the crease under the headlamps and over the fog lamps makes their presence felt quite strongly from the side profile. There’s also a unique design element in front grille that gives it a semi-circular design biased towards the outside as we move on the center. Although other cars too have a similar design pattern but here in case of Tigor, it’s a bit more amplified and the gloss finish just adds more to it.

Well, Tata has added quite a bit of drama to the side profile but in what way! Nothing at all seems to be overcooked and there is exactly the right amount of every ingredient. On the front quarter panel starts this another strong crease which very tastefully runs parallel to the window line and then goes all the way to the rear, where it integrates into the upper section of the tail lamps, passes through them into the boot, still being strong and passes all the way from over the number plate chrome garnish. Interestingly, this line also divides the boot into two distinct sections in terms of design angles. On the same crease are the tastefully designed door handles. Notice the design of door handles, don’t they look like arrowheads? Adding more to drama are the sculpted wheel arches and this lower crease which runs parallel to lower shut line of the doors and slowly fades into the rear door itself. The diesel gets 14” alloy wheels from Tiago (heavy nose of diesel may have forced them to go for 14” favoring the ride quality).

Where the Tigor is different from Tiago and the competition is the integration of boot. While the competition is trying hard to make their compact sedans look as close to the full sized sedans as possible, Tata has taken the brave step to go away from the league. They have adapted something that is between the fastback and sedan and labeled it as “styleback”. The roof-line now integrates into boot at point where the boot is about to end. This has given the Tigor a distinct advantage of better headroom at the back. The wheelbase at 2450 mm is 50 mm more than Tiago and that is quite evident to rear seat passengers too. Till the B-Pillar, it's a Tiago and after that it's an entirely new car and how. The rear doors now get quarter glasses on windows and chrome insert running on the lower window line, which thickens below the rear quarter glass, just do make the things more tasteful. BTW there is an edgy design element on the upper back section of rear door and people need to be a bit careful while opening it else this may easily hit them. The tasteful execution of the boot not only makes for a brilliant design element, but also makes the rear quarter look a bit bulky, where even the beautiful 15” alloys also look quite puny. Another tasteful touch is the integration of the spoiler, what looks quite distinct and tasteful and houses the long high mounted stop lamp.

Tigor looks chic from front and rear is no different. We’ve become habitual of seeing some weird or plain integration of boot then efforts of breaking the bulk in competition, Tigor is an entirely different ball game here. The delicious looking black spoiler will definitely grab your attention. If not, then it’s going to attract your attention at the time of braking for sure, the stretched high mounted stop lamp just looks very delicious and premium at the same time when illuminated. The rear windscreen is like most of our style laden cars – compromised and is tapered quite a lot, if we go by practicality. The tail gate is definitely the most interesting design element in the Tigor along with that set of tail lamps, which not just look unique, but also look beautiful, especially in the night, when illuminated. The creases from the front do meet the boot with upper one forming the top and lower one passing from just above chrome garnish. In the middle is a tapering design, which neatly houses the 'T' logo, car and variant names. Above 'T' logo is a unique touch like a lip spoiler.

What stole me was the integration of the reversing camera. The thick chrome strip is something that I don't have too much liking for, but the way Tata has integrated the reversing camera into the chrome strip is just commendable. Don't get fooled, there are no reversing or fog lamps inside the tail lamp assembly; it’s just a plain section that gels up with the chrome strip on the boot. It’s the huge rear bumper (and high too) that houses parking sensors and the reverse as well as fog lamps. Although the boot space is rated at 419 liters, it’s the high boot lip and really narrow opening, that makes the boot access quite tricky at times, the boot is deep too and if you end up putting a 50 Kg wheat bag (which I did) inside, then accept my best wishes right now. The narrow opening and depth is gonna make your life hell for a few seconds.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Interiors Design

Before moving on to interiors, sharing an excerpt of IMPACT design language from official press release:

The Interior of the vehicle will be defined through ‘INviting’, ‘INtelligent’ and ‘INtouch’ features.

• Inviting interior architecture and proportions including Layered Cockpit Design; Driver Focussed layout; Outstanding Textures, Fabrics and Materials
• Intelligent Cabin Layout with clever storage spaces, surprise & delight features. All displays, commands & controls will be within easy & intuitive reach
• Intouch and connected to the world inside and outside the vehicle

Open front doors and first thing you’ll notice is the heft, the doors definitely have a feeling of being well built. They even do close with a decent thud too, definitely better than what’s on, say new Maruti DZire, Hyundai Xcent or Honda Amaze. It’s comparable to that of Ford Aspire but definitely a notch down the build of VW Ameo. Once you are inside, everything looks nearly same as what we have in the Tiago, except a darker shade of the grey as compared to the Tiago and a small touch screen infotainment system. Are we complaining? Definitely not, Tiago itself feels a segment above in the interiors department and Tigor feels spot on. It's a different thing though, that you’ll definitely miss the finesse or fit and finish, which is present in Xcent or Ameo.

It’s since the Zest and Bolt that Tata has deviated from their older dash themes but it’s the Tiago which came as the biggest surprise of all, Tigor also takes in the cues from same interior theme and design. Of late, like many other manufacturers, Tata also has deviated from beige and what we have is a black + dark grey dashboard. Anyhow, the first points of contact when you enter the car are steering wheel and driver’s seat and while being seated in the driver’s seat the first thing anyone will praise is the seat design and cushioning. I’m a 5’10” medium sized adult and had absolutely nothing to complain with those front seats. They are sized perfect, the cushioning is a bit on the softer side, but still comfortable, and best part; thigh support is adequate (very few cars do master this). The steering wheel is carried from Tiago and scores well in terms of look and functionality, but we wished it offered leather covering on the rim. The diameter is on a smaller size but thick rim with right contouring given at right places.

Although the cockpit design is more or less simple, but what makes it different from the plain designed cockpits of the competitors is the dual color theme as well as the design language itself. The dashboard is well sculpted and there are many minor design elements which the customers will appreciate during the term of their ownership. The upper layer of dash and the door pads is in a well textured material that is going to please the customers for sure. Additionally, piano black finished AC vents (body color in Copper Dazzle and Berry Red cars) just add that last bit to the feel good factor which will anyway help prospective buyers sign on dotted line.

Driver Focused Layout: Steering wheel is small but acceptably well sized, the steering rim seems to have the right thickness, the buttons feel perfectly placed, horn pad is also easily reachable and requires acceptable effort to blowing the horn. But the adjustment range seemed quite less; I wish it was an inch or two more towards the lower side as the steering always felt set a bit high to me. The gloss black finish on the steering wheel does look nice and had a durable touch to it. The instrument cluster has two pods of which it houses a tachometer on the left and speedometer on the right. The gearshift indicator as well as the current gear display is larger in Tigor as compared to the Tiago, rest everything has been shared with younger sibling. The steering wheel feels located a bit too close to the driver at times, we wish it was placed just an inch farther and had a bit more range of adjustment.

Outstanding Textures, Fabrics and Materials: Well, the upper black portion of the dash gives a sense of quality, be it the plastic quality or the texture on it; we couldn’t resist but appreciate it. What disappointed us a bit is the quality of lower grey section of the dash, especially when you have rivals like Xcent in sight. Also we noticed a couple of inconsistent panel gaps, like the glovebox shut line were never perfect in our media cars. You may say that this lower dash in no time will feel cheap, but it won't feel premium either. The fit and finish is on a good side (not close to Hyundai standards) and so is the material quality overall. The piano black finish on the AC vents, inner door handles (front only) as well as around the center console gives a good sense of luxury and so are the tastefully added touches of chrome (I’m happy that Tata has deviated from overdose of chrome in and out) especially the ones those surround the AC vents. The door latch is chrome finished and looks quite well, but have the plasticky feeling while operating. What is a downside is that there is no dedicated central locking button and there are those ugly old school pull type door locks; the quality of them is decent though. The door armrests are already well shaped in Tiago, Tata has just made them look and feel more premium with the addition of fabric, a welcome move IMO.

The seats are made up of a durable fabric and they feel good too. Roof lining feels real nice and will never give you the feeling of a budget car. The buttons have a nice tactile feel to the way they work (some people like a bit of heft in buttons, including me and there these buttons disappoint but they aren’t bad either) and so is the finishing on the ICE and ACC controls, we wish there was a screen for temperature display between ACC knobs though. Just like Tiago, what actually makes for biggest amusement is glovebox opening mechanism; there’s a nicely integrated button on top black section of dashboard.

Additionally the rear seat passengers will be happy to have a decent amount of legroom, thigh support, and nicely contoured seats instead of a flat bench. Although seats are set a bit low but they aren’t devoid of the legroom and thigh support. Headroom can be a bit of concern for anyone over 5’10” as I was also facing the problem of my hair brushing against the roof, but still is better or comparable to other offerings in segment. There’s no piano black here but door trim has good fit and finish. The legroom is acceptable for anyone upto height 5’10” sitting behind an another occupant of same height, six footers may feel a bit claustrophobic on rear seats at least and if co-driver a six-footer too then rear passenger is definitely going to curse them. The armrest is placed at right height and shaped well too.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Storage Spaces

There’s plenty of storage space inside to store all your knick-knacks around and the best part is that those storage spaces are ‘actually’ useful. The front door pockets have two 500 ml bottle holders each, but they will fit only small sized or those tall 500 ml bottles which are small in diameter. The rear door pockets get one bottle holder each and these ones can easily store a 600 ml bottle and a small 200 ml bottle parallel to it.

In terms of in-dash storage, there’s a dedicated flat section smack in the middle where one can put idols, car freshener etc. There is a small storage cubbyhole for storing medium sized mobile phone etc on the right of steering wheel, a large storage space just under the ACC controls (can hold even a large 6” screen phone) on the center console, three glass holders (which can veer hold three glasses together of the sizes they are cut in) in the middle, a small cubby behind them with an arrangement for an another 12V socket and behind all, just in between the front seats backrest is the biggest cubby hole which can serve as the only 1-liter water bottle holder for the entire cabin. Being in the center, the rear middle passenger; who actually will be cursing for being there due to high floor hump for most of the time will find this cubbyhole practical.

On the right hand side of front passenger footwell is this smart luggage hook which can be flip opened whenever you have anything light to carry, this hook can carry up to two kg of loads and that means no more pulses, milk, curd etc being placed on seats and hence no more the risk of having spilled eatables in the car. The rear right hand side roof handle gets a coat hook too. The cooled glovebox is acceptable in terms of size and is just good enough to carry documents, some CDs etc and perhaps small tidbits; but wait; there is something more here, a practical shelf to easily store your tablet, small books etc.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Engine Performance

1.2L Revotron Petrol and 1.05L Revotorq turbo diesel are two engine options which the Tigor comes with, the drivetrains are shared with smaller sibling Tiago, and it's only the petrol motor which has got slight tweaking in form of a balancer shaft, for cutting down the vibrations and a smoother power delivery; the diesel remains same. The petrol is an in-line three cylinder 1199 cc unit equipped with DOHC and 4 valves per cylinder (that’s one for better efficiency) under square engine with bore * stroke tipping the scales at 77mm * 85.8 mm. The power output stands at 83.88 BHP @ 6000 RPM and a rated peak torque of 114.4 Nm @ 3500 +/-70 RPM. Unlike the previous Revotron engines, this one didn’t get a turbocharger and has one cylinder less too. This is anyhow an all new unit grounds up and has an all aluminum construction. The diesel engine is an in-line three cylinder 1047 cc unit equipped with DOHC and 4-valves per cylinder, under square with bore * stroke tipping scales at 75m * 79 mm, this common rail turbocharged unit develops a peak power of 69.04 BHP @ 4000 +/-50 RPM with a rated peak torque of 140 Nm @ 1800-3000 RPM. Both of these engines have got hydraulic lash adjusters for valve train adjustments.

If you have driven a Tiago 1.2 Revotron, then you may be in for a surprise. Right from the cranking, this engine is much much smoother and vibe free. Although the 3-cylinder thrum can still be felt and you can still feel the gear lever shaking while pressing or letting off the accelerator, but still the NVH is definitely a notch or two above the Tiago. At the same time, it is nowhere close to what is offered by the DZire or Xcent or Amaze, but is well comparable to that of Ameo. Where Ameo offers more vibe free experience with higher cabin noise, this engine vibes more but has lesser cabin noise. As the engine revs, one can feel the vibes smoothening out but the engine note isn’t very inspiring at least till 3000 RPM mark, after which one would love to listen to the exhaust note which even crackles very slightly at times once you release the throttle with rev needle hovering near its top end.

Just like the Tiago, this also isn't a rev hungry engine, but is still more entertaining to drive. Where the Tiago motor has all the fun till 5000 RPM itself, this motor feels good even up to 6000 RPM and is fairly rev happy too, can be well compared to the Ford 1.2 Ti-VCT or Volkswagen 1.2 MPi in rev building, but is definitely behind the Suzuki, Hyundai or Honda 1.2. This isn’t a rev hungry engine and the power build up also has no sense of urgency but where this 3-cylinder engine excels is the drivability. You can potter around the town in a gear higher than what you will select in most of the competitors and this engine will keep pulling the car without any drama or without asking you to put your left foot on the clutch pedal. The engine can revv all the way to 6500 RPM where the rev limiter comes into play and tell you that it’s the time to upshift, what we liked is that the rev limiter is not an over enthusiastic unit and will tell you in a calm manner where to stop. 100 Kph comes around 2750 RPM in fifth gear.

The clutch action, like any Tata isn’t progressive and it is more like an ON-OFF switch, it either is fully depressed or isn’t, don’t get me wrong; the clutch is on a lighter side and there is nothing weird about the way it engages or disengages but that feel factor is missing where one easily discovers the biting point in no time and clutch feels very progressive. The gearshifts are light but there is some notchiness associated to this gearbox, the throws are medium and acceptably precise too.

If there is a weakness in the entire package, then it has to be the diesel engine. Where the petrol motor still manages to be potent enough for the job, it is the diesel with the figures of 69.04 BHP @ 4000 +/-50 RPM with a rated peak torque of 140 Nm @ 1800-3000 is nowhere close to any of the compact sedans on offer in the market. Where this engine is better than its petrol counterpart is the NVH and comparatively vibe free nature, but bring in the new 1.2 3-Cyl of Hyundai or 1.3l Multijet in picture and this engine is just bowled out of the water, bring in the Ford or VW 1.5 in equation and this Tata engine is nowhere to be seen. This engine already feels just adequately powerful in the Tiago; it is the Tigor which makes it feel underpowered at times, mainly because of further added weight.

Being a low displacement engine, the low-end is where you would seldom want to keep this engine at, just press the throttle and it’s around 1500 RPM that the power build up starts and it’s at around 1800 RPM that the engine actually wakes up and starts pulling with the pull getting stronger and stronger all the way to 3500 RPM after which the progress is again slow. Redline comes at 4000 RPM and the engine revs all the way to 4500 but it’s no use pushing the engine to those limits. Work the gearbox well and you won’t be concerned about the turbo lag, it’s just that when you up shift quickly then the turbo lag raises its ugly head and can get even annoying as there seems to be absolutely zero performance if there is even slight incline and 4 people on board. This is more pronounced between the second and third gear as the third gear is on a taller side while the second gear is a bit short. In fact if you end up shifting at even 30 Kph into third then you are again back from meat of powerband at around 2250 RPM to a lazy 1300-1350 RPM point and that’s definitely going to be very annoying. Fifth gear seems to have the right ratio and 100 kph comes at a shade above 2500 RPM. Amazingly, Tigor uses exactly same engines and gearbox combo as of Tiago and the engine-gear-speed chart for the Tigor is exactly same as that of Tiago, as shared here.

​

Kitna Deti Hai?
The favorite question of Indians and we have got the answer for it after having tested both the cars for proper long drives and taking tankful to tankful figures:

1.2 Revotron Petrol:

• City (Moderate Traffic): 12.83 Kpl
• Highway:19.22 kpl
• City with heavy foot: 9.40 kpl
• Highway with heavy foot: 14.68 kpl

1.05 Revotorq Diesel:

• City (moderate traffic): 17.33 kpl
• Highway: 24.17 kpl
• City with heavy foot: 12.61 kpl
• Highway with heavy foot: 17.03 kpl
• Hilly drive (uphill and downhill combined): 18.40 kpl

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Safety, Braking, Ride & Handling

I’d often get confused whenever I used to turn steering wheel of the Tiago Petrol; it feels so light at parking speeds that I get a feeling of it being disconnected. When it comes to ride, handling and steering, Tigor is indeed the car that manages to impress us. Steering wheel is just as nice to operate as it’s to hold. This short diameter unit is light at city speeds and weighs up really well as the speeds build up. It’s absolute breeze at the city speeds and quite confident at the three digit speeds. The communication from wheel is very positive and it can be well placed at par with the competition in terms of operation and feel. The one of the petrol felt even smoother at low city speeds; maybe because of a lighter nose.

I hope that readers will agree with me when I say that Tata Motors is a suspension specialist, no matter what segment they offer a car into, their cars just come in and set a gold standard in terms of ride quality; Tigor is no different. The areas where I won't even dare to venture in a DZire or Ameo, Tigor was just thrown into those grounds and did it impress us. You bet? The same stretch where I used to even drives the compact SUVs at a slow pace, Tigor just kept me more comfortable even while doing double the speeds, the arrogance with which this baby Tata dismisses the small to medium sized potholes is something unseen in any car under 10 Lakh at least (barring a few, but they are all Tata cars only). Like the Tiago, Tata has used the dual path struts up front with 2-cup system which no other competitor incorporates in the segment or even above and they prove their worth quite well in Tigor. A video of Tigor passing over rough surface has been attached in the video section; I let that speak for me now. Brakes are definitely the best in class by all the measures. What disappointed us is that complete safety kit is offered only on the top end variants, we hope Tata makes the safety kit like ABS, airbags and CSC a standard fitment in future.

Are we impressed? Well, there I go down the memory lane. When we drove the Tiago, we were out of ideas and even words at times. Tigor, though looks good, but is still not at the point where it may have created that level of excitement. Going by the price for which Tigor offers everything, taking EMI into equation and lack of safety kit on lower trims; the likes of Figo Aspire definitely make more sense, even if they are priced 50K to 1 Lakh higher; in terms of EMI, it can be manageable. Overall, I personally will rate it as a decent car, but we wish it had better set of engines. Still, this is the car for you if you want absolute comfort and brilliant fuel economy. It’ll do what the competitors do, but where the Tigor excels, the competition is nowhere to be even seen.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: You'll Love, You'll Loathe & Star Ratings

​

You’ll Love:

• Beautiful and balanced exterior looks.
• A well-priced offering. Definitely value for money.
• Awesome ride quality. Suspension is simply the best in class.
• Good all-around visibility, proportions and steering make it a competitive city car.
• No apparent cost-cutting. Good build quality and satisfactory interior fit and finish.

You’ll Loathe:

• Lack of safety kit on lower trims.
• Both 3-cylinder engines are mediocre in performance.
• Noise, vibration and harshness levels could have been better.
• Although interior fit and finish is satisfactory, it’s far from the finesse of Hyundai or Volkswagen.
• Tata’s after sales is still a risky proposition. Being newly developed engines, their long term reliability is yet to be seen.

Tata Tigor Star Ratings:

• Design and Quality.................:
  
• Comfort and Features............:
  
• Engine and Performance.........:
  
• Handling and Ride Quality.......:
  
• Safety and Security Levels.....:
  
• Overall Fuel Consumption.......:
  
• Sales and Service Network.....:
  
• Value For Money Factor.........:
  

Here's how to interpret above ratings: The Automotive India Reviews Star Ratings Explained.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Price, Specifications, Comparison & Brochure

Tata Tigor Price (Ex.Showroom, Delhi):

Petrol

• XE: Rs.4,64,778
• XM: Rs.4,99,000
• XT: Rs.5,34,088
• XZ: Rs.5,81,948
• XZ(O): Rs.5,99,645
• XTA: Rs.5,75,000
• XZA: Rs.6,22,000

Diesel

• XE: Rs.5,49,784
• XM: Rs.5,81,295
• XT: Rs.6,19,431
• XZ: Rs.6,67,417
• XZ(O): Rs.6,95,739

Tata Tigor Specifications:

Petrol

• Engine: 1199 CC
• Power: 84 BHP
• Torque: 114 Nm
• Transmission: 5 Manual
• Fuel Efficiency: 20.3 Kmpl

Diesel

• Engine: 1047 CC
• Power: 69 BHP
• Torque: 140 Nm
• Transmission: 5 Manual
• Fuel Efficiency: 24.7 Kmpl

General Specifications

• Front Brakes: Disc
• Rear Brakes: Drum
• Front Suspension: McPherson Strut with Coil Spring
• Rear Suspension: Semi-Independent; Twist Beam with Dual Path Strut
• Fuel Tank: 35 Liters
• Boot Space: 419 Liters
• Length: 3992 mm
• Width: 1677 mm
• Height: 1537 mm
• Wheelbase: 2450 mm
• Tyre Size: 155/80 R13 | 175/65 R14 (XT / XZ / XZ(O): Diesel | 175/60 R15 (XZ /XZA / XZ(O): Petrol
• Turning Radius: 5.1 m
• Ground Clearance: 170 mm

Tata Tigor Exterior Colors:

• Berry Red*
• Striker Blue
• Copper Dazzle*
• Platinum Silver*
• Espresso Brown
• Pearlscent White

Note: Asterisk (*) denotes our preferred choice of colors.

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Videos Review

High ground clearance, long travel suspension and short wheelbase make Tigor quite capable in dealing with certain broken patches.​

Suspension is indeed the best thing about Tigor. Definitely better than even the cars three segments above.​

Addition of balancing shaft has made this motor smoother in both NVH and power delivery, as compared to the Tiago.​

Don't be fooled, the camera is placed too close to the bonnet, else NVH is quite decent. Also this is with AC running and relaxed driving.​

Three on board, AC on and one bad shift gave me 15.4 seconds of 0-100 kph timing for Tigor petrol. ​

Single person with AC off and perfect shifts can expect under 14 seconds of time and that is quite decent, still behind Swift, Xcent and amaze though.​

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Pictorial Review

Tigor definitely looks better in darker shades. Best part is, this compact sedan can take you places where rivals probably won’t.

Neat side profile makes Tigor simply stand out of the compact sedans.

Rear, though neatly integrated, still looks bulky.

Well, when I say that ground clearance does help, I mean it.

We wish the air dam was also made of same material as the grille is. The diesel car has its intercooler right behind the air dam.

Only headlamps work as a distinguishing element between Tiago and Tigor. Smoked projectors look mean.

Many creases and minor details. Personally, I love the way the grille extrudes out.

Foglamps exactly same as those of Tiago.

The one on left is reverse lamp while there's nothing on right. Tata shouldn't have cut the cost of a bulb here, it should have been the rear fog lamp.

Unlike Tiago which has extruding bumper, Tigor gets bumper inserts as splash guards at rear.

ORVMs borrowed from Tiago offer decent coverage and are biker friendly too.

Headlamps provide a fantastic illumination during night.

But it's LED taillamps which actually stand out. They look deliciously beautiful and just killer with brake lamp also illuminated.

This is how the taillamps look during daytime.

The long brake light, inspired from premium cars, stands out.

Same goes for the door handles in and out.

The rear quarter glass is a neat addition.

Just like the competition, near useless rear bumper.

​

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Pictorial Review

Petrol model receives stunning 15” alloys…

…On the other hand, Diesel is equipped with relatively simple 14” alloys straight from Tiago.

Tyre pressure placard is placed on the B-Pillar.

Just to give you an idea of how much the suspension travel is.

Thankfully, the antenna is rear mounted, unlike the Tiago.

Multi-link attachment for bootlid. It's needed for the complexity of the design.

The rear seatback pocket for warning triangle is a nice and thoughtful touch.

At 419 liters, the boot is accommodating but the opening is narrow as well as high.

​

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Pictorial Review

The doors have a sharp design. They're well-built and open wide enough.

Most of the interiors design is carried forward from Tiago. The grey shade is darker though.

Instrument cluster looks fine and it's too a direct lift from the Tiago.

Finally we have a touch screen, but screen size and responsiveness could have been a bit better. This is a sweet sounding ICE (Definitely the segment best) and offers many more options like the Connect-Next app, turn by turn navigation, reversing camera display etc.

Auto climate-controls enhances the ambience of center console. Do note that there's blank space, not a screen in between.

Good location to have the ORVM adjusters. Having it on doorpad makes it even more convenient.

Fit and finish is still bad at places.

Only copper dazzle and berry red colored cars get body color AC vents. They stand out specifically in copper dazzle shade.

The glovebox is cooled and gets a dedicated section for storing documents etc.

Doorpads are clad in fabric.

Roof liner is high quality and rear grab handles get coat hooks too.

White backlit illumination simply looks awesome in the night.

Power window buttons are all illuminated.

Flimsy sunvisors, driver also gets a vanity mirror.

IRVM is indeed functional, but the rear windshield itself limits the visibility.

Dome mounted roof lamp is functional but illumination is not very good for night time usage.

Bluetooth mic is well-integrated on the roof. That thing in the middle of dashboard is climate control sensor.

​

 

[TSIVipul]

Tata Tigor: Pictorial Review

Steering wheel is similar to Tiago. It's small in diameter and gets black inserts instead of silver.

Chunky stalks, as found on even the premium offerings from Tata, are nice to operate and feel long lasting too.

Front seats are indeed very supportive but at times do feel overtly cushioned.

Driver seat offers a healthy range of adjustment in fore, back as well as height adjustment.

Headroom is enough for a 5'10" guy, even at the highest seating position.

Neatly integrated reversing camera has a display in the ICE screen.

Yup, that's a dead pedal only. The pedals in Tigor are tightly placed as in Tiago.

Rear seat is supportive and very comfortable place to be in, arguably the best in class.

It offers decent support, is angled a bit more on relaxed side but everything is well placed, with decent leg as well as headroom.

Minimum and maximum legroom in rear seat, the 50 mm extra wheelbase as compared to Tiago shows its true effect here.

Rear armrest is wide, accommodating and placed at near perfect height and angle.

Tata Green battery does duty on either trims.

Spare is a 14 incher, even on the petrol which gets 15 inch rims.

Even the petrol car also gets proper insulation on firewall unlike some competitors, but there's no underbody protection.

Tigor has truly managed to impress us, though there's a decent scope of improvement, still it presents itself as a brilliant and value for money package.

As of now, the sales aren't at on optimistic side, but we hope that the launch of new automatic trims will help Tigor gain some much needed momentum.

© TheAutomotiveIndia.com. Republishing the text or pictures anyway without prior consent of our authorities is strictly forbidden.​