After the stupendous success of the Tata Indica (touching as much as 8500 units per month), the Indigo was introduced, not surprisingly at a very competitive price. Much more than just an Indica with a boot, Tata aggressively marketed the fact that the Indigo has had a lot more engineering in it.
The car is incredibly spacious and comfortable, a strong virtue of this platform. It is pretty decent in looks and not too many can argue that it is a design much more modern than the now-outdated esteem. Tata does have one of the best paintjobs in the country and this reflects in my best friends blue Indica, which ever after 5 years and 60000 kms looks as fresh as Maruti products of similar vintage. The ride quality is great and the diesel offers almost Indica levels of fuel economy. In fact Autocarindia calls the Indigo "the best value for money midsizer, especially the petrol version which undercuts some hatchbacks". The prices in Mumbai start at 4.16 lacs for the petrol versions and 4.67 lacs for the diesel powered Indigos.
Tata has slowly but steadily sorted out most of its quality problems, and what better proof of this than the Indigo being a favorite among fleet buyers? Tourist taxi operators look at reliability, running costs (including fuel economy) and depreciation as the factors influencing sensible investments. Look around, you will see more black/white Indigo tourist taxis than you expected! Indicas and Indigos are now very reliable products.
Unlike market doubts about a certain Italian and Korean manufacturer, potential buyers can be sure that Tata is going to be around for a long long time to offer service and spares to its customer. In fact, very few manufacturers know the Indian car buyer as well as Tata - Does it reflect in the sales figures? You bet....
The Indigo has already held the award for being the best selling sedan in India!
GTO