Indico DICOR XL driven

[tsk1979]

While my car was being done at the workshop, I decided to test drive the new indigo DICOR LX. So I walk into the showroom and I have two sales guys running towards me asking about tea and coffee.

I politely decline and proceed with the job. After filling up the forms, they take me to a parked LX DICOR and ask me to check out the interiors while the test drive car comes. Good thing, they have a separate test drive car.

So first step is looking at the car. The indigo as not really changed since its inception. Its an indica with a boot, and gets new lights every year, and sometimes sooner. Under the hood though there is a newer engine.
One fresh thing is the new side rear view mirror, which actually has a very nice shape


After some looking out and seeing the panel gaps the test drive car came.
It was an XL, and not a LX. Reason, they didn't have a LX test drive car, only XL.

The guy assured me except for length and few goodies extra there is nothing different. Even the suspension setup is same "Fully independent".

So off we went. Before I talk about the engine etc., let me mention the interiors. They could have been great, but for the gaps and poor quality of work which shows.
Some interiors pics will make it all clear
Do you see this!

This is the roof microphone

Clock is digital again, unlike the SX

Largest legroom, more than the superb(which is better than S Class by a large margin), but plastics are horrible in case of the rear trays


Apart from these quality issues the interiors are extremely comfortable, front as well as rear seats are plush, give great lumbar and back support.

Infact if you ride 1 hour daily to office with a chauffeur, this is the best. Plonk in your favorite DVD, install some blinds and you can actually relax on your daily commute. Too bad no screen like the limos have.

The rear AC is also a great chiller, and the cabin is fairly silent, though not as much as it should have been. In heavy traffic its not noticable, but in quiet places the engine noise is still intrusive, though tata has done an excellent job with sound proofing.


Ride and Handling
Could not test handling much, but I guess nothing would change due to a new engine on the LX, but XL would handle a little bad, due to length.
On the ride front, its simply amazing. Though a tad soft, she soaks up every bump, almost safari like. Rear seat is one large sofa, suitable for many things.

Engine performance and gearbox
Gears are slightly better, and engine pulls from 1600rpm now unlike the 2000rpm earlier.
Thats about it. It will gain you couple of seconds in 0-100, and shave of quite a few seconds if you like to pull to 100 from 50 in fifth gear, and in the process give you better mileage too. But this car screams for atleast 10 horses more. At the current power setting its not worth it.

Verdict
Short review? Well there is nothing much to write about. You pay 50,000 more if you go for LX DICOR for an LX TDI.
IF you buy an LX TDI and put in a K&N conical, you will get better performance than the DICOR, all for 8K. If DICOR was more refined, like the fiesta, or was just 20,000 more, or was more powerful like the verna, then it would have been "Go for it", but in its current setting all you get over the TDI is
1. Slightly less noise
2. Better torque spread
3. More worries, since its a new Tata engine, TDI has been hammered and nothing can go wrong with it now, but the new DICOR engine has not gone through "R&D" here.

So my advice is buy a TDI. If you want DICOR spend extra and go for a Verna. It will cost you 3000/month more in EMI but it will be worth it.
Or go for the fiesta if you don't want to go so high.

But if you are a budget guy, TDI makes the most sense.
1. Its tried and tested
2. Its got great roomy interiors and comfy seats
3. Adequate power for normal driving!

thats all folks

[theMAG]

None of the pics are visible

[rahul_intlad]

The dicor engine a disappointment then,was looking forward to it eagerly.

[normally_crazy]

Where are the pictures , tanveer ? I cant see any !

[tsk1979]

Are the pics visible now?
In my firefox browser they are visible.

[normally_crazy]

Yup visible now ....(i use FF too). I positively hate that Steering wheel man...what is that ? And in a luxurious car this kind of inferior quality on the interiors is not good at all !!

Tanveer , any pics of the legroom ?? And the rear seat and interiors ?

[extreme_torque]

Even i have seen the plastics in the XL, poor quality is another thing, they dont even fit properly and its unforgivable.

[jeetu4444]

But how refined is the engine i mean compared to tdi..coz the verna is soo refined tat i dnt feel its diesel.i mean its light and not heavy feel like the indigo .

[BUSA]

Nice review TSK. The current DICOR engine at Rs. 50K is not worth at all. I think it should have atleast jumped power to 90bhp from TDI to Dicor.

More worries, since its a new Tata engine, TDI has been hammered and nothing can go wrong with it now, but the new DICOR engine has not gone through "R&D" here.

We the people are Tata's R&D

[Zappo]

Hmmm... so not much of a gain as such with the new Dicor, you say? I thought they will at least improve the NVH levels and the FE part. You felt the NVH is not what a common rail should provide? Ok, could you benchmark it? Say, would you say the Dicor is silent when compared to the three pot Accent CRDI?

Also, I am sure you won't know it but I was wondering whether the new Dicor will make the Indigo (not XL probably) catch up on the 15+ FE figures?

[rkg]

As per the test drive reported in today Hindu "The common-rail system developed by Delphi, operates at a pressure of 1,600 bar, and can provide five injections per stroke; but in the Indigo, these are limited to three squirts per stroke. More injections mean a smoother engine. For now, Tata has elected to go with three injections per stroke until the Bharat Stage IV emission norms come in."
here is the link
The Hindu : Metro Plus Bangalore / Wheels : Straight to the heart

[benbsb29]

The steering wheel in the pic looks sad, i should say. Like the big T they used to have on school buses and trucks.

[Equus]

Nice review, TSK. How does the power compare with the 68 horses on the Fiesta TDCI "diet" diesel?!
Why dont tata improve the quality of the plastics or get rid of the niggling issues? If they want to move beyond capturing the Ambassidor market whi h they have already done by now, these are a must (for starters)..

[iraghava]

One thing I could not understand - This is meant to be a chauffeur driven car, right? So what is the point of the Bluetooth handsfree? Would you want your driver to listen to every conversation you have over the phone?

I think it's another instance of having a gagdet/gimmick for the heck of it!

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by iraghava

One thing I could not understand - This is meant to be a chauffeur driven car, right? So what is the point of the Bluetooth handsfree? Would you want your driver to listen to every conversation you have over the phone?

I think it's another instance of having a gagdet/gimmick for the heck of it!

And what about powered seat upfront if its meant to be a chauffer driven car?