[JayPrashanth]

From the looks of it, lots of fellow BHPians don't seem to be very happy about this facelift from Tata Motors but the trouble is there's only this much the engineers at Tata Motors can do in the limited time they have, to come up with something to satisfy the senior management.

As it's evident, this is more of a job to please the senior management than the buyer. So, it might not deliver higher sales. What it will do is, it will give the engineers at TML enough breathing space to come up with something new once more investment for a new platform comes through.

One Tata source of Team-BHP puts it this way, "more than doing something, we have to be seen to be doing something". Vendors and dealers of TML are already complaining and the pressure is what is resulting in these makeovers. Also, I'd like to point out that salesmen at dealership need something to talk about to the prospective buyer, and this facelift gives them that much needed leeway.

Cheers,

Jay

Full disclosure: I do not represent Tata Motors/Dealers/Vendors in any way.

[baludharmarajan]

While seeing the test mule I feel like it will draw more attention rather than hiding it. If they have driven the test mule with normal white paint and a yellow board nobody would not even have noticed it. Facelift should be done to address the majority of concerns and not just to change the model of the car. Tata needs to introduce new cars which doesn't look like indica. Its big time they have to start learning from Samsung's and Hyundai's evolutions, product placement and pricing strategy.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Fs only this much the engineers at Tata Motors can do in the limited time they have, to come up with something to satisfy the senior management.

As it's evident, this is more of a job to please the senior management than the buyer.

This is what means 'digging your own grave'.

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

What it will do is, it will give the engineers at TML enough breathing space to come up with something new once more investment for a new platform comes through.

Breathing space? How much space they need to breathe? The car is almost the same/ minor changes since its launch in 1998. Are the seniors really pleased to know how many cars they are selling each month?

True - It's very difficult to kill a man who is hell bent on committing a suicide. Other automakers need not do literally anything to fight Tata's competition (in case they see them as one).

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

One Tata source of Team-BHP puts it this way, "more than doing something, we have to be seen to be doing something".

The source should be fired by Tata. This is exactly the attitude that has resulted in the new platform being a ridiculous caricature of the original Indica, which looks older than the eV2. The eV2 still looks attractive at least when new.

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Vendors and dealers of TML are already complaining and the pressure is what is resulting in these makeovers.

These vendors should have been replaced a while ago. My sister's Indica plastics turned grey within a couple of months of purchase. Granted it was in Agra where the summer temperature touches 48 degrees, but there were decade old 800s then that still had black plastic handles and mirrors.

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Also, I'd like to point out that salesmen at dealership need something to talk about to the prospective buyer, and this facelift gives them that much needed leeway.

The salesmen at dealerships don't need a breather, they need something to interest customers. These changes will not attract anyone, unless there is more underneath the skin. Completely revamped interiors? The original Indica had the same door panel and handles, in the same hard plastic. I think a couple of decades is enough to come out with a new one. And a new dashboard.

[misquitas]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

We've managed to gathered a bunch of details about the various changes on the facelifted model of the car.

• The car will get the new Urban Brown paint job, the same colour seen on the Indigo eCS facelift.
• The front bumper to see a redesign and will look similar to what the facelifted Indigo eCS offers.
• Chrome surrounds for the fog lamps
• Grille gets a dollop of chrome (current eV2 grille has a grey finish)
• Hatch lid will get a chrome strip somewhat similar to the chrome detailing on the Indigo Marina, but wider
• New alloy wheel design for the top end variant
• Beige colour scheme on the dashboard
• Silver accents will replace wood finish on the center console
• 1.4 Liter CR4 turbo diesel engine might get a slight tweak (Not confirmed)

The Indica eV2 will continue to play the role of a diesel price warrior and will continue with the 1.4 liter CR4 turbo diesel engine as its mainstay. The engine, good for 70 Bhp-140 Nm, is mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The Indica eV2 comes with a high ARAI fuel efficiency rating of 25 Kmpl and this mileage figure will continue to be the major selling point of the car. An end-June launch is what we anticipate for the Indica eV2 facelift.

The "New" Indica may promise a zillion "new" features and may also promise in excess of 25kmpl ARAI, but as long as two crucial features are missing, the Indica will still INDICA-te a lost cause. The two crucial features, QUALITY and RELIABILITY, are, in my opinion, severely lacking in the Indica eV2.

I have read numerous posts by aggrieved customers complaining about lack of quality and reliability of their Tata cars on this forum. I have also seen so many Indicas making all the wrong/worrying sounds (squeeks, vibrations, etc.), that I would want to stay away from a Tata EV2, even if I were to be offered one for free. Heck, the pain/cost of sending the car to the garage for frequent repairs could far outweigh the joys of owning one of these 'white elephants' on wheels.

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

I find it funny that they need to camouflage this car for testing! It is been around for so long that I dont think people would give it a second look.
What are they testing for?

Forget about the mechanical tests, Tata could well be conducting a "psychological" test on the EV2!

For all you know, they could be conducting a test to evaluate if...

* People are actually looking/drawn towards a Tata test car because/in spite of its stickers with lines scribbled all over them?
* If so, how many of them, in what age/sex/economic group, and why?

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

From the looks of it, lots of fellow BHPians don't seem to be very happy about this facelift from Tata Motors but the trouble is there's only this much the engineers at Tata Motors can do in the limited time they have, to come up with something to satisfy the senior management.

The fact that this "face-lift" does not appeal to fellow BHPians, but was (or should have been) approved by Tata Chairman Cyrus Mistry is, indeed, well...ummm a 'mystery' to me. Just what did he see in the product that looks nothing new from the earlier edition, that he or his juniors even endorced/sanctioned the "test" car/s in the first place?

Originally Posted by VeluM

The source should be fired by Tata.

These vendors should have been replaced a while ago.

On the contrary, the source is only reflecting the attitude of the company right from the very top. How is it that a "refurbished" car is being allowed to be marketed and sold in a country which is marked by cut-throat competition? Damn, by now, even cabbies will have aspirations and they may not want to be seen in an EV2 in the near future!

In my opinion, it is the company that should clearly specify what type of parts they want and how (good) they want them, before scouting out for vendors. If Tata doesnt mind bumpers that lose their shine within a few months as long as they can save costs, they will find vendors headquartered in scrap yards. But, if Tata is willing to spend on quality parts, they will surely find vendors who will not compromise on quality.

In my opinion, Tata should first give itself a "facelift" to rebuild the (T)rust of its (A)udience by changing its (T)hought and (A)ttidude.

1. Given the many complaints (quality and reliability) surrounding most of its vehicles, Tata is rapidly losing the TRUST of its customers. How many people today can confidently walk into a Tata showroom and state that they fully TRUST Tata cars?

2. Tata also needs to re-evaluate its target AUDIENCE to find out WHO exactly wants to buy a Tata car? And more importantly, WHY do they want to buy them, especially when there are so many other options available to them.

For the above two to happen, Tata needs to seriously revamp its THOUGHT process and ATTITUDE towards the sale of its cars. People now have the means to buy more/better cars than before (more people bought a DZire than an Alto last month) and if Tata continues with its "cut-corners-to-cut-losses" thought process, what will be the attitude of the company and dealers towards the customers?

My wife and I have had a dismal experience whenever we have visited a Tata showroom here in Goa and I am not one bit surprised to see a number of dusty Nano cars lined up outside the Tata showroom at Verna before June. And with the monsoons having set in, I will not be surprised if corrosion also sets in on these seemingly forlorn Nano cars that almost appear to be pleading "please-take-me".

But these are my observations and satisfied Tata customers will surely think otherwise.

[greenhorn]

damn, I had to squint to notice the changes.. is this the new one?
http://cars.tatamotors.com/IndicaeV2/eV2.html
there is a crease in the front bumper, some chrome strips in the grille. everything else is just parts bin mix and match

[moralfibre]

The Indica eV2 facelift is now launched. Please continue discussion on: This thread: