Indica XETA 1.2 - 20,000 Km ownership review

[neel12345]

Yesterday my xeta completed 20,000 kms and i thought that it's time to put up a new review on Team-BHP

First 1000 Kms

Took delivery and was shocked to see too dimples on the driver side door. I immediately showed it to the people at the showroom and they promptly gave me a slip. They said that if I showed this slip at any Tata authorized body shop , it will be repaired for free.

The car runs smoother than my 1.4 XETA GLE.. Power steering is good but not as good as Santro or i10. The new 1.2 engine is much more refined and smooth and his very eager to rev-up. I personally don't care about engine life so I don't follow the run-in period rules, because I will sell this car as soon as it starts giving problems.

I rev-ed up the engine upto 4500 RPM. The engine has good pickup. The gear-shift pattern is a bit different from the desel or it's 1.4 counter part, so many drivers are unable to achieve good pickup. After 2000 RPM, the car just whoops like a turbo engine ! The accelerator is a bit high for my feet, which results in fatigue legs for long drives. Fuel efficiency is not very good, but consider my harsh driving practices. I used to get 11 Kmpl during run-in period.

After 1st service at 1000 Km :

Pickup was firther improoved and mileage was slightly increased by 0.5. No other noticiable change was seen. And the car ran a bit smoother if I have to add something more.

About the A.C:

The AC is good. But takes time to cool if you don't have sun-films installed on your windows. Without sun-films it takes ~8 mins and with sun-films it takes less than 3 mins.

Interiors and builld quallity :

This is where the car falls behind in competetion. The interior plastics are cheap and the silver colour on the AC console chips of very very easly. The plastics are of very low quallity. Though TATA has imporoved a lot on the instrumental pannel. The clock is very handy, incase I forget to wear a rist-watch.

Exterior and Paint :

Exterior paint quallity is good, even better than many other cars. Mine is Salsa Red. The front grill and headlight and tailight face-lift makes the car look better and sportier. The foglight cover is of cheap plastic that falls of every now and then. The company fitted fog lamps were also not good, 2 of them were gone in 2 months.

Conclusion :

The car is big in space. If you want a car that has good space but cheap build quallity for a low price, go for the XETA.

[greenhorn]

the fog lamps issue is strange. No one else has had any issues with them so far (including me )

about the driving position, try moving the seat a bit far back, and tilting the seat to the rear as well. though your immediate front visiblity is a bit reduced , the seating position becomes more relaxed , and your feet dont hurt as much. thats what I do

Do post pics of your car

[neel12345]

Ya, my seats are also pushed back as much as possible but the height of brake and accelerators are bit high according to me.. The fog lamp issue is also strange to the service advisers at TATA workshop ! I have a steel bumper in the front. According to him, the heavy bumper causes loose contact with the fog lamp and electrical points and when this results frequently, the lamp blows out. I will post some pics, after my exterior mods are all complete.

[D.V.R]

Since you have both 1.4 and 1.2 could you mind to tell the driveability and performance differences between them.As you dont follow the standard runnin procedure what are the problems that do suface and at what mileage.

[greenhorn]

neel, which year is your indica ? is it the 2007 look ( with round foglamps )

[mjothi]

So, its 50:50. I liked your conclusion. Straight to the point.

Without sun-films it takes ~8 mins and with sun-films it takes less than 3 mins.

Interesting point. I never noticed this preciously. All I know is, it cools faster with Sun flim

[neel12345]

In my 1.4 version, of 2006 I had not followed the run-in instructions. The car runs smooth and fine till now and there are no problems at all. So it's upto you to decide if you will follow run-in instructions or not.

Difference between 1.4(2006) xeta and 1.2 (2007) xeta :

1) Ride quality is much more smother in 2007 model .
2) Torque is reduced in 2007 1.2 model.
3) Bonnet is larger in 1.2 by 3.5 inches.
4) Engine is much refined in 1.2 2007 model.

Thats all. There is no major difference and no major problem. My next car will be Indigo CS.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by neel12345

Difference between 1.4(2006) xeta and 1.2 (2007) xeta :

3) Bonnet is larger in 1.2 by 3.5 inches.

Are you sure? As far as I know, it's the bumper that has been changed not the bonnet.

Neat Review!

[neel12345]

[quote] Are you sure? As far as I know, it's the bumper that has been changed not the bonnet.

Neat Review![\quote]

I am 100% sure. At first I saw it with my eye estimation, then confirmed it with measuring tape and double checked it with the manual and their websites !

[hrag]

Originally Posted by neel12345

Power steering is good but not as good as Santro or i10.

The gear-shift pattern is a bit different from the desel or it's 1.4 counter part, so many drivers are unable to achieve good pickup.

My next car will be Indigo CS.

Agree with the power steering bit. What is the different gear shift pattern in the 1.2? I felt the 1.2 was slightly sluggish with the A/C on - what's your take on this?

Indigo CS - that's exactly what I'm eyeing at the moment too. In TDi guise.

[trrk]

Hi Hrishi,

> Indigo CS - that's exactly what I'm eyeing at the moment too. In TDi guise.

Right when I see more and more DICOR CS vehicles on the road!

The TDi is a better choice as the DICOR or any common rail needs a lot of clean things to function.

[neel12345]

I don't think so. Pickup in my car remains almost the same with or without AC. Guys TATA has done a bad job by swapping the 1.4 engine with a 1.2 cause there is absolutely no improvement in the fuel efficiency with 1.2 !

[greenhorn]

the 1.2 engine was intoduced to take advantage of reduced tax rates for sub-1200 CC engines .

[hrag]

Originally Posted by neel12345

I don't think so. Pickup in my car remains almost the same with or without AC.

That is very interesting - I must come to Calcutta and hope you will let me drive your Xeta 1.2

trrk - remember our drive in a Xeta 1.2 in Bangalore with and without the A/C?

[neel12345]

My AC is on almost all the time. And I really don't notice any difference in Pickup and that might be because I rev-up almost all the time, i dont feel the difference. It's just my experience, you guys are much more knowledgeable and sensible to cars so you guys can spot minute differences. Yup, i will let you rive my car when you come here.