[niranjan]

I am looking for buying a new car and I felt buying expensive cars above 6-7 lakh Rupees is not worth the money. I felt the above 6 or 7L cars do not offer anything that is not offered by their cheaper counterparts. Obviously tha means I was justifying my budget. And I estimated my monthly usage to be about 1300-1500 Kms. A petrol car would easily make me poorer by about 6-7K Rs every month. So, the alternative is a diesel car. The only options I have are Indica, Swift-D and Indigo.
Though Swift-D was the initially choise, the absence of a boot and the waiting period made me say no to it. Then thought of taking a look at Indica, though reluctantly, we (me and my wife) went to the Tata show room and took a look at Indica, I liked the car and took out for a test drive. During the test drive I felt the clutch and accelerator were hard compared petrol cars (I am used to driving my father's Maruti-800 and an Alto, which is at my disposal for a short period now) and the sales guy said, this is quite common with diesel cars. Though I was leaning towards Indica, just from the fuel economy perspective, my wife was against it because of the Taxi appeal that Indica has. I tried to convince her saying, "do not think of Indica as Indica, just look at it like another car", but in vein. She said, Indica is Indica, how can I consider it as not an Indica.

Ok, now the next option, Indigo. I went to Concorde on Hosur road. The sales person, though reluctantly, started explaining me about Indigo and its variants. He did not seem to be too enthusiastic in taking me around, until my wife joined me in a few minutes. I had read reviews that the Dicor is not worth the additional 50K or so, in terms of the performance or FE. So, I decided to go for the Turbo version. After taking a look at the LS and LX versions, the sales guy tried to convince me saying Fog lamps and Defogger are not required in Bangalore and Power windows can be fitted onto the LS version for about 13K, and why to spend 50K more on the LX version. And I seem to have convinced by his words.
Since it was late and there was too much of traffic on Hosur road by then, we decided to take a Test Drive another day. Two days later I called the guy and arranged a TD. He brought the car to my office on outer ring road and he also picked up my wife on the way. They were two guys and a friend of mine joined me from office. We were 5 in the car and I took the car to Sarjapur road, thinking that, I can get good as well as bad stretch of the road to test the car. But to my disappointment, the Sarjapur road has been completely laid, at least on one side.
As I had read in other reviews, the AC is good and the seating comfort is also good in all the seats. I felt the accelerator is little too hard (as compared to the petrol cars that I have driven) and I did not have any problem with the clutch as I did in the Indica. The engine noise was pretty well insulated inside the car. I had read people complaining about the horn and the look of the steering but I was comfortable with both. The tachometer and odometer dials do not have the chrome ring surrounding them in LS as compared to LX, but I thought that is not a big issue.
Since we did not find a bad stretch on Sarjapur road, I took a smaller road that joins Sarjapur and that gave me a feel of off-roading (though not really). Indigo went pretty smooth on this bad stretch of the road too. I was comfortable inside and felt the suspension is good enough. The sales person said, "sir, it is an Indian car made for Indian conditions and it ought to be good on Indian roads" and I felt he was right again. But on our return back to join the Sarjapur road, there is an inclination of about may be 40-50% (because of the height of the newly laid road) and I had problem taking this car through this inclination. The car turned off thrice. The sales person asked me turn off the AC. and Finally I could get the car back on to the main road with struggle. I don't know if it was because of turning the AC off. I asked the sales guy, if my driving was bad or it was the car which did not respond. He said, it is a new car and also that I had to rev it more. I suppose I was revving at 2.5 to 3K. At the same he also says that revving the car with clutch pressed would spoil the clutch plate, then what is the best way to drive a diesel car ?? Another observation was in traffic, at lower gears the response of the car is not too good unless it is revved hard.
I could not understand if my driving abilities of a diesel car is to be improved or the car itself. The friend who accompanied me drove just about a Km and said, he cannot drive this car and is very uncomfortable (he has been driving a petrol car for about 5-6 year).

Over all, I felt its slower response at lower gears and its inability to climb the inclination are the draw-backs of the car. A friend of mine who has been driving an Indigo for more than 4 years and has clocked in about 35K in the odometer, says he had no problem with his car so far and he had spend about 25K on clutch plate, tyres, battery etc, only recently.
One thing I am worried about is the response of this car after clocking in 20-30K, like the noise inside the car, or any other cranky noises. Some one who owns an Indigo can please comment on this.
Considering that I can travel to my native by spending Rs 1000/- to and fro, which is almost the same as I spend on the bus travel, compared to about Rs 2500/- in a petrol car, I feel I can ignore the negatives I have pointed out above. Especially when I am getting a car with a boot and good amount space to sit comfortable at about 5.4L on road (Yes, there is a 24K discount on Indigo now)
I need your help with your opinions on Indigo before I commit on this car. You comments are welcome. I have read some very negatives reviews of the car already. BHPians who already own an Indigo and who have test driven this car, please help me make the right decision on buying my first car.

[DCEite]

Have you test driven MR Logan(Diesel) ? I am sure you will find it to be more responsive and easier to drive than the Indigo.

[tifosikrishna]

agree with dceite in the logan part, but i guess that your lack of experience in driving a disel car made your TD an unpleasant one. i am sure that indigo would have climbed that incline with ease had you been in the right gear and rpm.

you need to reconcile to the fact that diesel cars will not be as smooth or refined as their petrol counterparts, so jeep that in mind while weighing the options.

Non dicor version is said to be less noisy than the dicor indigo, with the discounts thrown in, it will be a lakh cheaper than the logan and it can cover your fuel cost for next two years.

[Zappo]

A bit OT maybe, but I talked to a senior Tata Quality Manager yesterday. He suggested that the Indigo Dicor production was halted in-between (didn't know that!) and is now being relaunched. apparently they have carried out some technical modifications in the car. Don't know what it is but the guy said it will be an even better car now.

[1100D]

Indigo TDi engine can rev upto 5500 rpm which is really quite different from most modern diesels dying at 4000 rpm-ish

[ad75]

@niranjan, LS would be a better option, you can fit power windows @3.5k per window, fog lamps should cost you around 4k.

indigo clutch/accelarator would be harder in comparison to a petrol.but its a matter of time you will get used to this.

its a comfortable & spacious car.

[phamilyman]

I drove a friend's indigo Wednesday (LX TDI, 41.3k km in 2 years, clutch plates twice replaced under warranty) - quintessential mumbai traffic, the kind where driving means letting go of clutch, whimpering 2m, and pressing clutch back to stop. The sheer joy of doing 1km in 45 mins - I believe Bangalore is not alien to these joys either!

Observations:
a. Last 250m was lunar surface with undulating surface. The car took it quite decently, for that age (most of its time on highways).
b. Clutch/steering are *a bit* heavy, compared to the Indica Xeta. Definitely more, compared to the Swift VXi. That being said, its plainly a matter of getting used to it. Accelerator I used only once so can't comment
c. Once turbo kicks in, the car feels quite lighter than at lower RPMs. The turbo kicks in at similar RPMs for almost all diesel cars (so that's something you must live with).

All said and done, Indigo's proved reliable, economical, extremely spacious and rugged for my friend. Today's Tata vehicles do seem to have better quality than those from 2004 vintage.

Lastly, what does your heart say?

[BunnyPunia]

5.4L is a great price. The logan diesel on the othert hand seems more than a lac more! The DLE diesel sells for 6.57 OTR Bangalore, right?

[skandyhere]

surely the experience was none too delightful because it takes a few 'proper' kilometres (you know what i mean by proper) to get used to a diesel car. its different from a petrol, but will prove to be completely satisfying as long as you don't demand too much power from it.

the indigo is worth buying.

[snaronikar]

Well my friend, you have experienced what the other first timers experience of diesel cars. I have TD'ed Indigo DICOR (LS) about a week back and the response was OK. But had experienced some problems in clutch (hard), gear shifting (not notching to proper ratios), performance (it really sucks) etc. I feel, you also need to TD the Logan (DLE) and compare your experience with Indigo. You will find the difference.

If possible go through the below thread which might be helpful to you to decide......[SIZE=3]Which CRDi Flavour ? DDiS versus DICOR by ajkail in what car section.[/SIZE]

As far as the price is concerned, I donot know what are teh freebies they have offered you currently. But you can negotiate hard with Tata sales guys for more some freebies and I hope they will not say no as you can always tell them that you will go with another dealer if they give you a better offer. Plan your purchase during the month end/festival season as they will be under trememdous pressure to achieve their sales figures......

[wanderernomad]

Hi Even I am planning to buy a Marina LX Dicor. Could you please tell me if I am making a good choice. Other option is a Mahindra Bolero. Please help.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Indigo TDi engine can rev upto 5500 rpm which is really quite different from most modern diesels dying at 4000 rpm-ish

Max RPM an engine can reach is immaterial what is important is how much torque and how much power can an engine deliver. If the engine can delvier more torque and more power with less RPM the better it is.

[wanderernomad]

But a higher rpm translates into higher max speed, isn't it?

[nitrous]

The TDI engine is good.
Don't get the Dicor!

[HSV]

Following is a short review of my Indigo LX that I had posted elsewhere. I have copy/pasted it for you below. Also my recommendation is to pay the extra 50K and go for the LX mainly for two reasons:

1) you get the little extra nick-nacks over and above the main things like 4 door power windows, fog lamps and defogger etc, like leather gearknob and leather steering; body coloured ORVMS and door handles etc.

2) Most importantly the power windows are factory fitted. Which I think is recommended.

Following is the short review:

My ownership experience has been great with the car. I wouldnt call it a very refined drive, but it in fact you get what you pay for - VFM (value for money).

I have clocked over 39000 kms, and have been always getting an average of 13-14 kmpl with non-stop AC even in the stop-go traffic of Delhi (taking into consideration that I dont switch off the AC even when I have to park the car for 30-40 mins alongside a shop and me wife and kid are in the car - I just let the engine idle and leave the AC on). Have been on the highways quite a few times, and have got 18 kmpl (again with AC always on).

Just make sure you service it regularly - I dont even wait for it to complete 5000kms. I just take it 500-800 kms before that mark. The service centres no matter which automobile they cater to - WILL always fleece you - atleast being a TATA product the cost of spares would be comparatively low. My average service bill works out approx Rs 3000 everytime I take it for regular service (this also includes regular oil change).

From the points above you can figure out that I drive around approx 1200 kms every month (i.e., 39000 kms in approx 2 years and 9 months). I did my maths, and I end up saving approx Rs 20-25K an year - which IMHO is not too bad at all!

Other than a few minor niggling issues (like broken A/C vents handles - due to cheap plastics etc) I have not faced any major problems till date and my total ownership experience has been excellent considering the segment this car belongs to. I have not had to spend anything except what I normally do during regular services.

The space is expansive, even for the rear seat passengers. The boot is pretty huge and meets my needs quite well. The seats are very comfortable and one doesnt feel tired during long drives. The rear seat feels like a sofa for the passengers at the back.

I guess the only drawbacks this car has is the lack of quality interiors, i.e., slightly cheap plastic used for dash and doors. Though I like the colour of the seat fabric, the quality feels pretty basic. However the leather used for the gear knob and steering is quite plush and feels good when you hold it.

Overall a great value for money car, couldnt find anything better for 5.20 Lacs at the time got it!

Oh last but not the least its been 2 years and 9 months now and I cant hear any rattles as such (as yet... touchwood)!