New Indica Turbo - 2007, driven.

[Zappo]

Ok, so I drove the new Indica Turbo DLG 2007 model. In fact it is not just test drive but a regular drive since the last two days. My friend took delivery of the 1st delivered model of this car here in hyderabad a couple of days back.

First the grouse... Being the first car here and delivered to him fresh off the delivery truck the PDI done was absolute zero I guess. The wiper blades were all stuck and convoluted the moment I tried the wash and wipe. They got stuck in each other and started arching out much like a bow. The steering assembly is a bit off the center. But the most hilarious and abysmal case of QC failure was elsewhere I guess. When we took it to the bunk for a tankful I was shocked to see that inside the fuel lid there was a prominent yellow sticker that said "Unleaded Petrol Only". I had a hard time convincing the attendant that it is a diesel car and I take the onus if anything goes wrong. Otherwise the fella simply put the dispenser back and said he won't fill as he does not want the guilt of a dead engine on his moral!

Ok that aside, lets get one thing straight. In terms of engine, performance etc there are no changes. It is still the same Turbo diesel under the hood. However, the cosmetic changes are more than just what the manufacturers normally do. Which means it is not just a sticker here, a badge there, a new paint shade etc. The cosmetic changes are pretty extensive. And I dare say they have really managed to make this car look even better now.

For those who felt it is the new Indigo design carried over to the Indica range let me assure them it is NOT. In fact Indigo did not have any major changes in its looks. Indica has undergone a bigger change and has a completely different look from the new Indigo... and looks much much better.

The headlight is now three chambered... The outer one is the blinker/indicator assembly. That naturally flows into the headlamp. The headlights have four levels of adjustments. Very handy indeed. And the final, inner most chamber, closest to the grill, is the focused parking light. It has a stunning jewel effect. The grill itself has changed. The smiley grill is gone guys... yes, its gone. In its place there are two thick, raised horizontal chrome strips which are pointed at the center of the grill. Coupled with the new headlamps this gives the car a very sharp look.

The front bumper has also been changed. Now the airdam with vertical slats is gone. In its place there is a netted (jaalidar) airdam. The oblong fog lamps have been replaced with round recessed fog lamps.

The ORVMs are now again pointed in shape and smaller than the previous ones. This pointed look of things is the new theme, presumably (remember the two horizontal chrome strips at the center of the grill). I had a feeling that the grill strips and the ORVMs are much like those seen in new Honda Cities!

At the rear the christmas lights have undergone another change in looks. The previous smallish side indicators surrounded by the tail lights are replaced by a big side indicator on the tail light assembly. However those red, horizontal lines running on the side indicator assemblies is a bit befuddling!

In the interior, those drab gray plastic scheme everywhere has been chucked out. Everything is dark black. The dashborad, the steering assembly, the door pads with fabric inserts... everything gets a much better looking dark gray plastic. The central console is in two tone color. It sports the silver/aluminium look. And it is absolutely cool. Even the HAVAC controls are different and more upmarket than the previous design. The gear shifter now wears a hard pseudo leather with edges having a raised seam. Very chik indeed! The speedo and the tacho now are smaller and have a gray theme with much simpler lines.

I had a feeling that the seats though have become somewhat flimsier than the previous ones. They are somewhat narrower and also thinner in width. Everytime someone knocks the seat with his/her knees from the back I could feel it in the front. This was not so with the previous seat design.

There are many other smaller changes like a better cabin-light assembly, better and smoother belts. Oh yes, and the clutch has caught the european air... probably the result of dabbling with Fiat. The clutch I felt is much heavier than any previous Tata cars. It is somewhat like the Fiats and Fiestas...

All in all the car looks much better and sharper now. And the black color (my friend's car) is an absolute delight to look at.

[rr_zen]

Nice review dude ! After having described every bit of the car to its minute detail, it is disappointing to find no pictures. Please do post them.

[V-16]

Dude, post the pics yaar. U know what they say, a pic speaks louder than a 1000 words....or whatever...

[Zappo]

Sure ppl. You got it. I will take a few snaps and post them ASAP... Lets see when I can find some time to do that. I will have to pay a photo-session visit to my friend's house now.

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Sure ppl. You got it. I will take a few snaps and post them ASAP... Lets see when I can find some time to do that. I will have to pay a photo-session visit to my friend's house now.

Pleeeease post them quickly as soon as possible. The wait to look at the new Indica is becoming excessively impatient now.........

[GTO]

Thats a splendid first! And a highly detailed review at that. After only hearing of upgrades, none of us were too sure what to expect.

Tata just wont stop adding value. Thanks for sharing, Zappo. The pics are awaited.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Zappo

When we took it to the bunk for a tankful I was shocked to see that inside the fuel lid there was a prominent yellow sticker that said "Unleaded Petrol Only".

And they gave my friend a Xeta with diesal only sticker...

[extreme_torque]

I know you are already inundated with requests for pics but still plz plz post them ASAP.

[Zappo]

Ok guys here are the pics...




This is how the car looks from the front. Tatas finally decided that they have had enough with the smiley grill. The rounded edges are replaced by sharper contours. The headlight is a-la the Toyotas and Hondas of the world with multiple chambers. The parking light gets its own dedicated reflector and much sharper to look at.




The new grill. Reminds me of the Honda City's grill. Notice the sharper contours.



The new tail lamp assembly. They decided to do away with the smallish indicators flanked by the red tail lights of the previous design. The indicator and the reverse are arranged one after the other. Those horizontal red lines beat me... Are they only for looks? Not sure.



Front bumper is different now. Notice the netted air dams. The horizontal slats are gone. Also the fog lamps are smaller, rounder and recessed.



Tatas have heard enough about the boring gray plastics they used and decided to give that a heave-ho. The new interior has matt black plastic which looks good. The console is dual tone, with aluminium finish for the Center console. Flanked by the black plastic claddings it looks good IMO. The HAVAC controls look better than what was used in the previous design. The smallish round buttons for the AC and the Recycle mode look much better finished and sturdy.



The gear lever with its hard pseudo leather with raised seams feel not only looks good but also feels good on grip. I had a feeling that the gates feel much more convincing now. Though the difference may not be much from the immediate predecessor but when compared to even the 2003 model I felt the improvements are very palpable.

The changes are incremental as one of my friends working with the Tatas said... They basically decided to address the things that people said they would like to have. The matt black plastic, dual tone console, the new grill are all a result of such requests.

[Zappo]

I uploaded picture postcard sized images so that they load quickly but ImageShack reduced them further still!

So here is the frontal view in a bigger size...

[rr_zen]

Hey Zappo ! Cool pictures mate and I should really appreciate you for the commendable write-up. It would have been nice if you had posted a shot of how the steering and the instrument cluster look.

[v1kram]

Good review and very nice pictures zappo, tail light looks awesome!!!, surely the finish looks better now.

[Stratos]

Small small changes over the years has improved the Indica so much, from what it originally was. Great review Zappo. The new wheel caps that were added to the Turbo Indica look decent too!

[Mendi]

Thanks Zappo for such and excellent detailed for the new Indica. One of my relatives was suppossed to get the 2006 turbo, But today only i asked him to wait for some more days for this model to be available. I liked to see the Dark black based interiors theme though to be most compelling..

[bullboy]

does xeta is also available with same changes ? or is it the old one ?