The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

sachinayak · 7th February 2015, 21:43

Interiors and more details revealed

Quote:

...the new Tata Kite will be powered by a 1.05-litre diesel engine. This is another confirmation that we have received. This is a three-cylinder engine, with one cylinder less than the1.4-litre CR4. The petrol engine might be the 1.2-litre Revotron petrol, but the power will be lesser than the Zest and the Bolt.

Quote:

The three-spoke steering wheel is the same as the Zest. The Kite hatchback and sedan both will get speed-sensing electronic power steering. It audio controls too and even voice command that was developed by Harman. The ORVM adjustment is electric and the Kite will get four speakers and two tweeters. The instrument cluster will be similar to the Zest and the Bolt too. There will not be a touch-screen system, but there will be a Harman system in the Kite as well with Bluetooth, USB and aux connectivity.

Quote:

The Kite will be launched with three variants(XE, XM and XT). The Kite hatchback will be priced at around Rs 4-6.5 lakhs (on-road) and the compact sedan will be about Rs 4.5-7.2 lakhs again approximate on-road pricing.

Source: http://motoroctane.com/news/8798-tat...aled-exclusive

mdsaif92 · 13th February 2015, 22:48

Spotted this test mule two days in a row around electronics city.

The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)-1423847896272.jpg

prashanthyr · 13th February 2015, 22:55

This is in all likelihood a Tata Kite. The number and rear profile are similar. If it is the Kite, better to merge with the Kite thread

mdsaif92 · 14th February 2015, 11:06

The car indeed looks good. The other day it was parked under the shade on the NICE road so couldn't get a picture from the bright sunlight. It had no test equipment on board and the driver seemed to be driving casually. So probably it's nearing the end of its testing stage.

Joe M · 16th February 2015, 13:48

Kites seen flying all around Bangalore! This one was spotted in Bangalore - Salem Road this Friday. Couldn't get good shot of the interiors though as I didn't have the courage to break the 'stare' barrier by the driver and co-driver.

SaNdY_AR · 16th February 2015, 15:26

Looks more like the old gen I20 from the back. Tata is on a major launch spree... Zest, Bolt, Kite. Good going Tata Motors.

rajtheindian · 16th February 2015, 17:48

Does the front seats has fixed head rests like i10 Grand and Xcent?

aditya79india · 16th February 2015, 22:42

Seems to be riding tyres wider than the norm in its class.

balajisv · 16th February 2015, 23:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajtheindian

Does the front seats has fixed head rests like i10 Grand and Xcent?

Yes, it does look like it, as seen on the test mules.

I don't think the Kite is really a replacement for Indica/Indigo e-CS.

Tata Motors will continue to roll out Indica for taxi market.

aniketi · 6th March 2015, 12:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by damager21

IAB has released a render of Tata Kite. Front has a slight resembelance to Maruti Celerio. Nonetheless it is a welcome departure from Indica silhouette.

If this is the way it is going to look, its a smart looking small car for sure. Looks very fresh and stylish. Somehow i have a feeling that, if Tata has to revive their fortunes in India, this has to be the car. India is a market where small cars dominate. This car can give Tata the volume they are looking for and larger footfalls in their showrooms. Tata needs to launch this very carefully, no room for 2.0 version. Car has to be good from day 1 else people gets negative impression about the car, which is next to impossible to change it. Most companies fail to do that. Hope Tata will learn from their own mistakes in the past.

ampere · 6th March 2015, 14:25

It does look like it has a small imprint of Hyundai. Not sure where is Tata going with this line. A premium line? A budget line?

Zappo · 6th March 2015, 16:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

It does look like it has a small imprint of Hyundai. Not sure where is Tata going with this line. A premium line? A budget line?

Bingo!!! Its not Celerio or any other car but it seems to have a lot borrowed from Hyundai and Honda in its design cues. The IAB rendering by Shoaib seems to show a Hyundai inspired front, may be some bit of i10 in it. The side profile right upto the last quarter reminds me so much of Honda Brio!

The camoe'd back as seen in other pics look absolutely Grand i10ish...

RSR · 6th March 2015, 16:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampere

It does look like it has a small imprint of Hyundai. Not sure where is Tata going with this line. A premium line? A budget line?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zappo

Bingo!!! Its not Celerio or any other car but it seems to have a lot borrowed from Hyundai and Honda in its design cues. The IAB rendering by Shoaib seems to show a Hyundai inspired front, may be some bit of i10 in it. The side profile right upto the last quarter reminds me so much of Honda Brio!

The camoe'd back as seen in other pics look absolutely Grand i10ish...

I don't know why, but the Kite's overall stance, proportions, doors and window line remind me of the Micra/Pulse more than any other car. It may be because of all that padding under the camouflage that has managed to hide the long "Fluidic" side creases (that are also present on the Bolt).

The Kite twins are going to be positioned below the Bolt & Zest, no doubt. The platform and engines provide enough indication of this. There are also clues from these pictures - fixed neck restraints at the front & rear, no projector headlamps and no rear wash & wipe feature on any of these test mules (despite some of them sporting alloys), though it's always possible to include these on the top production models.

Let's hope they include 2 airbags & ABS. There are only two or three cars in the Kite's targeted price range that have these safety features.

ampere · 6th March 2015, 17:34

Off Topic: Quite frankly Tata has got bootstrapped itself with the Indica brand and the taxi image. I really dont know what to suggest for them to get out of that. They just dont seem to have any product which will not remind one of Indica. Even the Bolt is not something totally different looking.

May be they should stop on the hatch line for a generation and focus on getting the Nexon and more fresher concepts to the market and then may be turn back to get a radical look at a new hatch design language. Thinking otherwise, seems like Kite is the answer that they are looking at to get away from that stigma.

GTO · 7th March 2015, 10:38

We've received insider information that the Tata Kite will have an e-clutch system! Thank you to the Team-BHP fan who sent this information in (he prefers to remain anonymous).

A small team is currently working on an e-clutch for the Kite. An e-clutch system automates the clutch's operation only; gear shifting remains dependent on the driver. In that sense, it's an 'automatic clutch' and not an automatic gearbox. To know more about the e-clutch, click here.

The main advantage of an e-clutch is that it's significantly cheaper than an AMT, or any other automatic gearbox. This is an important consideration, since the Kite will be Tata's budget hatchback.

13th February 2015, 22:48	#77
mdsaif92 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 27 Thanked: 20 Times	Test mule spotted. ID please? Spotted this test mule two days in a row around electronics city. Last edited by Aditya : 14th February 2015 at 13:13.
	(3) Thanks

13th February 2015, 22:55	#78
prashanthyr BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London Posts: 546 Thanked: 249 Times	Re: Test mule spotted. ID please? This is in all likelihood a Tata Kite. The number and rear profile are similar. If it is the Kite, better to merge with the Kite thread
	() Thanks

14th February 2015, 11:06	#79
mdsaif92 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 27 Thanked: 20 Times	The car indeed looks good. The other day it was parked under the shade on the NICE road so couldn't get a picture from the bright sunlight. It had no test equipment on board and the driver seemed to be driving casually. So probably it's nearing the end of its testing stage.
	() Thanks

16th February 2015, 13:48	#80
Joe M BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Sydney/Cochin Posts: 290 Thanked: 169 Times View My Garage	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) Kites seen flying all around Bangalore! This one was spotted in Bangalore - Salem Road this Friday. Couldn't get good shot of the interiors though as I didn't have the courage to break the 'stare' barrier by the driver and co-driver. Attached Thumbnails
	(5) Thanks

16th February 2015, 15:26	#81
SaNdY_AR BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 75 Thanked: 154 Times	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) Looks more like the old gen I20 from the back. Tata is on a major launch spree... Zest, Bolt, Kite. Good going Tata Motors.
	() Thanks

16th February 2015, 17:48	#82
rajtheindian BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Syracuse, US Posts: 247 Thanked: 7 Times	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) Does the front seats has fixed head rests like i10 Grand and Xcent?
	() Thanks

16th February 2015, 22:42	#83
aditya79india BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: DELHI Posts: 370 Thanked: 515 Times	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) Seems to be riding tyres wider than the norm in its class.
	() Thanks

6th March 2015, 14:25	#86
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,951 Thanked: 12,939 Times View My Garage	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) It does look like it has a small imprint of Hyundai. Not sure where is Tata going with this line. A premium line? A budget line?
	() Thanks

6th March 2015, 17:34	#89
ampere Team-BHP Support Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,951 Thanked: 12,939 Times View My Garage	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) Off Topic: Quite frankly Tata has got bootstrapped itself with the Indica brand and the taxi image. I really dont know what to suggest for them to get out of that. They just dont seem to have any product which will not remind one of Indica. Even the Bolt is not something totally different looking. May be they should stop on the hatch line for a generation and focus on getting the Nexon and more fresher concepts to the market and then may be turn back to get a radical look at a new hatch design language. Thinking otherwise, seems like Kite is the answer that they are looking at to get away from that stigma. Last edited by ampere : 6th March 2015 at 17:35.
	() Thanks

7th March 2015, 10:38	#90
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,534 Thanked: 300,737 Times View My Garage	re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite) We've received insider information that the Tata Kite will have an e-clutch system! Thank you to the Team-BHP fan who sent this information in (he prefers to remain anonymous). A small team is currently working on an e-clutch for the Kite. An e-clutch system automates the clutch's operation only; gear shifting remains dependent on the driver. In that sense, it's an 'automatic clutch' and not an automatic gearbox. To know more about the e-clutch, click here. The main advantage of an e-clutch is that it's significantly cheaper than an AMT, or any other automatic gearbox. This is an important consideration, since the Kite will be Tata's budget hatchback.
	(9) Thanks