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Old 5th December 2015, 01:57   #511
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by heavenlybull View Post
I don't understand this fascination of TATA with that smiling grill. They design an all new car inside out but still leave the darn face 'smiling'. Car looks great from side and rear though. Interiors also look n-i-c-e!
Interesting that you mention the "smiling" grill; I was thinking about the same. Here's a video interview of Pratap Bose (Tata Motor's design lead) talking about these design elements that were developed for the concept cars and are beginning to slowly trickle into the production cars. He specifically mentioned the grill melding into the headlamps, but more importantly, the fact that it is "human"-esque.



If you get the time, check out the design elements he points out. There's a lot of almost-pretentious design speak, but if you look at the essence of what Pratap Bose is getting at, you'll see the design direction that Tata has taken.

I think the Zica looks very nicely proportioned, definitely one of the better designs they have launched (to be honest though, I quite liked the way the Indica looked and I think it's aged well, despite it being heavily inspired by the Fiat 178 family that IDEA designed. I say that knowing fully well that the Indica does carry a brand/image baggage)

Last edited by Amartya : 5th December 2015 at 01:58.
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Old 5th December 2015, 07:49   #512
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by heavenlybull View Post
I don't understand this fascination of TATA with that smiling grill. They design an all new car inside out but still leave the darn face 'smiling'. Car looks great from side and rear though. Interiors also look n-i-c-e!
Because then the car (which you(?) have photoshopped) would look something like this, while looks totally boring compared to the very pleasing front end treatment that Tata has done with the Zica:

The last-gen Brazilian Figo:
The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)-ford_fiesta_rocam_01_960_640.jpg

Overall I love the design of the Zica. At the end of the day, some parts/design cues of a new car is going to look remotely similar to another car, because we have had countless models and designs over these years from all the manufacturers. The finished product, Zica, in this case, looks nice and that's all that matters in my opinion.
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Old 5th December 2015, 10:24   #513
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

This just came in from an enthusiast who prefers to remain anonymous. Design tweaked according to his taste.

The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)-jica-vs-new-jica-1.jpg
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Old 5th December 2015, 11:39   #514
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
This just came in from an enthusiast who prefers to remain anonymous. Design tweaked according to his taste.
Apologies, if I didn't get it right.
So, what this anonymous enthusiast is trying to say is that the only thing he would change is a few inches in the smiling grill and bumper? & smaller headlamps?
Rest, he likes it as it is?
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Old 5th December 2015, 12:50   #515
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

This whole business of Zica resembling another design or retaining impressions of Indica/ vista is gaining
ridiculous proportions now.
In that respect almost every other car resembles any other. Why go far, from the side it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the respective models from the holy trinity from Germany. .

Last edited by rrsteer : 5th December 2015 at 12:52.
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Old 5th December 2015, 13:29   #516
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Originally Posted by RavenAvi View Post
First-look video of the Tata Zica by NDTV Auto's Car & Bike show:
I have been following Siddharth Patankar more closely than other hosts of various auto shows , and one thing where he has always been spot on conveying has been the pricing. Case in point , he was the only one amongst the various hosts during the baleno media drive event who told that pricing would be very aggressive and could be lower than I20 elite also, which happened as it is.

As he claims the pricing for Zica would be very aggressive , I would be very surprised if it would be otherwise .

Last edited by ampere : 6th December 2015 at 21:34. Reason: Removed Video Link from Quoted post
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Old 5th December 2015, 14:09   #517
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

Is there any official date when prices will be announced and cars will be available for a td?
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Old 5th December 2015, 15:27   #518
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by harry10 View Post
Is there any official date when prices will be announced and cars will be available for a td?
No official date yet but I heard it will be launched on January 12.
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Old 5th December 2015, 19:12   #519
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by abhik897 View Post
As he claims the pricing for Zica would be very aggressive , I would be very surprised if it would be otherwise .
Tata needs to price it so aggressively that people are tempted to give Zica a try. They need to produce a 'Renaut Kwid' kind of impact on the market. When the price is right, people are always looking to take a chance.

It still needs to strengthen the customer service experience and after sales support, for sure. Augmenting the service dealer network should be one of the main priorities of Tata Motors at this point of time. Zica could be the game changer for Tata Motors !!!
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Old 5th December 2015, 19:23   #520
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by rdhawan15 View Post
Tata needs to price it so aggressively that people are tempted to give Zica a try. They need to produce a 'Renaut Kwid' kind of impact on the market. When the price is right, people are always looking to take a chance.

It still needs to strengthen the customer service experience and after sales support, for sure. Augmenting the service dealer network should be one of the main priorities of Tata Motors at this point of time. Zica could be the game changer for Tata Motors !!!
Agreed. Tata should do a Ford. Launch it at month watering price. Then when it picks good momentum, slowly and steadily increase the price to their desired profit level. Even if they get half of bookings what kwid got it will be an amazing start.
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Old 5th December 2015, 19:37   #521
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by harry10 View Post
Agreed. Tata should do a Ford. Launch it at month watering price. Then when it picks good momentum, slowly and steadily increase the price to their desired profit level. Even if they get half of bookings what kwid got it will be an amazing start.
Ford was successful with that approach for the Ecosport, but the Aspire and Figo are not doing well. I really don't understand what people see in the Dzire, Swift and Baleno that everything else gets the cold shoulder.

Tata has always been good value for money except for the Aria. So their challenge is much wider than just getting the price right. Some perceived concerns are around reliability, brand value, quality etc..Problem is, even if progress is made on these factors, the acceptability is actually poor.
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Old 5th December 2015, 20:09   #522
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

I have been seeing quite a few posts on Zica which almost condemned it as failure even before the launch. Though looks are subjective, Zica isnt odd ball design to evoke disdain.

How can one comment on quality of yet to be launched product?

If the Zica's suspension uses similar set up as the Zest, the ride and handling would be very good. So does the steering setup.

Tata's service is an alleged nightmare. I never faced any problem with TASS with my Indica but I didnt go to them once the free services are over. It ran well for 2.8 lakh kilometres with only scheduled maintenance and normal wear and tear.

I found TASS competent and attentive now, when I took my Zest for service. However, the place was woefully inadequate as there were very large number of Indicas and Vistas for service. They requested me not to come on Saturdays as it was preferred day for cabs. However, there is very much room for improvement.

Even the showroom staff were not that much knowledgeable about Zest when I went to buy the vehicle. One sales person started showing me features on his tab even as the car was right beside us. One sales person was eager and attentive but he didnt know much. One acquaintance, who was a senior sales person, ignored me till I took delivery. At another Tata showroom, an enthusiastic sales man was very excited to find even the base XE had alloy wheels while I was comparing features across variants. This type of response doesnt inspire confidence in a prospective customer, specially so when Tata brand took a beating.

It is important to know that this sort attitude is common across the car makers - atleast at Maruti and Hyundai. A person at Hyundai laughed derisively and said disdainfully that Zest is a Tata!! when I went to check out the Xcent. But at Tata it is more widespread and deep rooted.

Customers need a honest, straight forward, prompt and knowledgeable sales men. So does the car makers.

My Zest did 26,000 km till date. No quality issues till date. My usage includes expressways and rural roads. Didnt scrape underbelly till date.

Also, I use a Dzire and Swift along side Zest. Suffice it to say the difference is quite obvious.

Last edited by simplyself : 5th December 2015 at 20:20.
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Old 5th December 2015, 20:33   #523
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

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Originally Posted by kiku007 View Post
I really don't understand what people see in the Dzire, Swift and Baleno that everything else gets the cold shoulder.
For starters, the perception honed over decades of market domination that Maruti cars are cheap to buy, maintain and see.

1. They have excellent "resale" value.
For most of us Indians a car is the next highest investment after a house, we want paisa vasool, and the resale value of most Maruti's are pretty high and ergo, we equate Maruti = value.

2. Availability
Maruti has around 1200 dealers and more than 3000 service centers across India, the next contender has hardly 30% of those numbers.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...facturers.html

3. Running cost
No matter how much we harp about being enthusiasts et all, the only number the average driver cares about is the FE, and the perception and the reality to a great extent is that Maruti knows how to eke the last out of every litre of fuel.

4. Of the 1,21,000 cars sold by Maruti in October 2015, the A and B1 segment make up more than 51000, that is a more than 42 % of the sales of October for Maruti. For these people(mostly first time owners), buying, running and resale value are what they look for. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-analysis.html

5. Availability of spare parts
MGP parts are freely available and the customer knows that he can service his car in any corner of the country.

Maruti at times seems to be a self fulfilling prophesy, the perception it has created and the goodwill enjoyed by the brand itself has held the company in good steed and looking at the way things are developing, is in no mood to relinquish its grip on the India market. This perception of the value provided by Maruti formed by the first time car buyer sticks with him and when he wants to upgrade, guess where he will look for his next car?

Last edited by batterylow : 5th December 2015 at 20:37. Reason: Additional data
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Old 5th December 2015, 20:55   #524
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

The ACI review is up!

Spoiler alert:

Quote:
Tata has clearly put its heart and soul into the Zica and the result is very impressive. The Zica looks attractive, comes with plenty of equipment and has a cabin that could very well belong to a more expensive car. The Zica is also designed to tackle our imperfect roads with ease and is an easy car to handle. Unfortunately, the lackluster engines take much away from what is otherwise a well-rounded package. However, Indian buyers might be willing to make a compromise on the driving experience in return for good fuel efficiency. The petrol Zica (in eco mode) gives an impressive 23.5kpl in Eco mode and the diesel is even more fuel-efficient. What these figures translate to in the real world remains to be seen.
Review here

Video review


Last edited by 400notout : 5th December 2015 at 20:57. Reason: added quote
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Old 5th December 2015, 21:41   #525
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Re: The Tata Zica Hatchback (aka Kite)

Looks like Tata has got everything right except the engines. From what I read in the review, the engines seem like they could have gone through another year of development and have been rushed to be pushed out with this car. That will be a turn off for most enthusiasts. A 75 BHP Quadrajet option in the top variant would have been good, especially since the car is said to handle good and has good high speed stability. That would have made it a complete, VFM package. Nevertheless, for the fuel efficiency crowd, this will be a great option among the cheap looking and cheap feeling competition as long as the pricing is good.

Last edited by theredliner : 5th December 2015 at 21:47.
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