[gsurya]

Originally Posted by mrohit17

You are forgetting Linea T-Jet. I just got myself an older model emotion for 8.5L on road!

No I didnt forget it, I wanted a hatchback or compact sedan for 80% city driving, I already have a full sedan, a Chevy Aveo.

[silentscreamers]

Test drove the 1.2 petrol Zest day before yesterday at Infinity Mall in Malad.
Here are my 2 cents about it -

1. Looks quite good in its blue shade IMHO, turned quite a few heads in the mall as well as when I took it on the road. The paint quality seemed quite good too.

2. It's building up quite a decent hype around it, as I had to wait for half an hour for a test drive and heard that earlier in the day it was stretching up to almost an hour too. Also I have to add that I saw quite a few heads nodding in approval after the TD.

3. The engine is smooth and refined and seemed tractable enough for city driving as I had encountered many start stops during the test drive on account of traffic

4. Although there is some lag below 2000 rpm, it gathers pace quickly after that and in gear acceleration is good if not the best.

5. Special mention about the very well tuned suspension, it handled the master craters really well and handling seemed decent too (I had a empty stretch of road after driving a bit to test it on).

6. Steering felt light and direct, very good for city driving. Feedback seemed low for an enthusiast on a spirited highway drive though.

7. The gear shift was smooth and precise with a nice butter smooth short throw, I found it better than the amaze to be frank (Am a big fan of Honda, so this was quite a surprise). Although I still think they could have chosen slightly better ratios after the third gear.

8. The Eco mode seemed to make no difference at all to the engine characteristics, although I did notice the instant consumption improving by about 1-2 notches after switching to it. The sport mode (switching directly from the Eco) seemed to free up the throttle inputs a bit, although there was no big power surge after switching to it, it did make the car a little bit more free revving in the lower gears especially and it felt lighter.

9. The AC was good and it cooled the big cabin down instantaneously. The controls on the touch screen for the AC seemed to work well too.

10. The Harman music system was really something. The sound quality was crisp, with a good base and even the radio with decent static sounded good. Although am not a big fan of the resistive touch screen, the graphics and the UI of the system was good and easy to use. Best in its class IMHO.

11. The dashboard and the instrument cluster looked quite good and could've easily belonged to a class higher. (Although subjective I found it better than the Vento/Rapid's, Etios's dash. Although I do like the look of the dzire and xcent'so dash as well. Top ratings to all 3 in this department.

12. Ergonomics seemed good and the back seat was really quite comfortable. The glove compartment was huge and enough cubby holes to keep your phones and bottles. The boot space however seemed a bit disappointing, also the load lip seemed high, not well thought of.

13. I did notice some rough edges in the plastic around the dash and on the door panels, Tata's almost there with the quality, they can still do a bit better. But surely it wasn't a deal breaker.

14. Last but not the least, the sales team seemed well informed, well behaved and really enthusiastic and were really helpful and prompt with my queries. Tata's really upped their game. I am expecting the same enthusiasm from their Workshop as well in the scheme of things.

Their booking policy of just 21,000 Rs. With a full refund if you decide to cancel it, shows their intent to be amongst the best in the market for sure.

Overall a good family car for the city, and has the potential to be a game changer for Tata IMO.

I would like to add that I drive a 2013 BMW 530D as my daily drive and have a 2012 BMW 320D and a 2011 Toyota Fortuner as well in my garage, and the Zest left a nice favourable view of it in my mind. Really appreciate Tata's efforts here and hoping for their success.

Hope this helps.

[madhu33]

All though Silent screamer have already posted the test drive feedback,
I also TDed the Manual Transmission ZEST REVOTRON XT:
I currently own a Manza Diesel so would like to add a few points in comparison

1)My Td was at 9.15 pm. The Tata staff present was a mix of Tata pune and Concorde Malad.
There official pack up time was 9pm but since i was shopping for the iphone and had earlier expressed them my intention to TD , they waited and no complains.

Silent screamers have already posted and i share more or less the same view
Few additions :

1)Headlight set up :
driving lights lit up the dark pot holed battered back road fantastically well.
High beams too were good and effective.

2)Suspension set up , tuning and mature handling has to be the highlight of the ZEST. Very good for this segment and this class.

3)low end torque from the revotron was super fun , it is going to be a fun car in the city(with the compact size and peppy low end)
Did not get the chance to test the top end grunt of the REVOTRON (couldnt cross 80kmph. the progress till 80kmph was fun)

Steering wheel was a delight to hold and thumb contours were very delicious.

4)That Ac was a chiller . Damn my Manza's AC seems like having some problem ..(after experiencing the ZEST's AC)

5)Interiors looking better than even an I20. see it to believe it .
At least the display cars had very little rough edges. whatever effort i could put i can point out to door pads, hand brake console. No leather seats even in top end. Seat fabric wasn't that premium too(although it was dark colour which is good). Overall everything seemed to be nicely put together in whatever 1-2 minutes i could dedicate.

6)Space management is superb for the compact dimensions.
But Manza back seat superiority cannot be expected here.

7)Gear lever vibrations noticed when trying to moderately lug the engine while upshifting from 2nd to 3rd.

8)Overall a premium looking small sedan.
It can easily be to the compact sedans what i20 is to the Hatchbacks.
As mentioned in above post ZEST indeed created quite a buzz at infiniti Malad. In making the above assumption/ forecast i am ignoring TATA's brand value to an extent. But yes Zest did really feel good.



9)Even the Petrol had nice thick dampening in the Bonnet. No engine flush plate (plastic engine guard) (in both diesel and petrol ) which is there in the MANZA.


10)I assume that the difference in various drive modes can only be felt once you are used to the ZEST and your normal city/ eco mode. For first time TDers like me i could hardly tell any difference.


12)Music system :
My manza has (Pioneer - DVD touch screen + 4 channel amp + Infinity comps + jbl Coax + MTx bass tube set up) . Coming from this background the Harmon Kardon system was hollow and no fun.
Allthough the so called Human machine interface (HMI) was very good.

12)Voice command (after pairing my outgoing S3 ) was a charm. Those switches here and there had distinct upmarket feel to them.

The Tata representative (Mr Ankur Jain)who came with me for the TD was very enthusiastic and enterprising. Though i cant really comment on his technical knowledge of the product as i had little questions for the fella.
Infact after seeing that i was hands on with BT pairing and voice commands, he had a few questions for me (or atleast that look on his face).

I was in hurry to buy the i phone . My model was out of stock at Infiniti . I was in hurry to pick it up from Inorbit . My Manza was parked at Infiniti . But the ZEST just pulled me for the TD . I drove the zest from Infiniti to Inorbit and got off at Inorbit leaving my Manza at Infiniti which was picked up at 12 in the night later when the new i phone was all live.

[GrammarNazi]

I just realised 140NMs of Torque is similar to what Honda's 1.5L i-Vtec puts out! The Torque to Weight figures are going to be yummy!

It'll be interesting to know the ARAI mileage ratings for the ZEST.

Generally companies advertise the mileage figures during the promotional events, but TaMo has only been promoting the "3-In-One" Engine concept. They should've atleast given us an "upto XX.xx Km/L" figure for the Eco mode. (I guess it'll be 3 ratings for 3 different power modes, or will it?)

[Chillout]

Went ahead and made a booking after getting a confirmation from the dealer that the entire amount will be refunded in case of cancellation. Surprised to see that Petrol bookings are more than the Diesel.

I went for the diesel version, for I am interested in the AMT version. Tired of changing gears in Chennai. I hope the setup is as good as my current Fiesta.

If Team Bhp review is not favorable, I can always cancel the booking for the card payment is due only in Sept, but if the review has a lot of positives then I need not wait longer. Eagery looking forward to Team Bhp review

[Steeroid]

"Booked" petrol for parents. First time I'm booking a vehicle online.

[MaxTorque]

Good to see Tata Zest is attracting many educated buyers not even before seeing the vehicle. Hope the Zest will not disappoint those who booked it. In my opinion, Tata is wasting their time by keeping everyone waiting.

[GrammarNazi]

My friend saw a Zest being tested by them at Ooty at Kalhatti Ghat (Seems like this place has become the ideal place to test cars in hilly regions).

The BOSCH guys are still testing some parameters with the REVOTRON (since I guess they've designed the turbocharger). Both the Linea T-Jet and Zest had harnesses inside the car.

[Whiplash7]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

The BOSCH guys are still testing some parameters with the REVOTRON (since I guess they've designed the turbocharger). Both the Linea T-Jet and Zest had harnesses inside the car.

Bosch is providing the engine management control unit along with the software for the revetron engine. The box that you see in the front passenger seat is a breakout box that brings out all the pins in the ECU.

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

My friend saw a Zest being tested by them at Ooty at Kalhatti Ghat

Wonder where the Bosch guys went leaving the windows down. Maybe they were behind the camera

[turbospooler]

Originally Posted by Whiplash7

Wonder where the Bosch guys went leaving the windows down. Maybe they were behind the camera

Baseless comments dude!
Are you a conspiracy theorist suggesting that this is for generating hype?
In case you have missed it, Zest has been covered well post its media showcasing and is also available for display in malls.

[Roomy]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

My friend saw a Zest being tested by them at Ooty at Kalhatti Ghat (Seems like this place has become the ideal place to test cars in hilly regions).

The BOSCH guys are still testing some parameters with the REVOTRON (since I guess they've designed the turbocharger).

AFAIK Honeywell has designed the turbocharger for the Zest whereas Bosch provides the ECU.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by Whiplash7

Bosch is providing the engine management control unit along with the software for the Revotron engine. The box that you see in the front passenger seat is a breakout box that brings out all the pins in the ECU.

Oops! Thanks :

Wonder where the Bosch guys went leaving the windows down. Maybe they were behind the camera

lol, no. He also said People inside were completely busy with their laptops and harnesses connected to the test mules and he Got an opportunity to speak to the guys who were testing it. They're supposedly from Bosch and not TATA and they are testing the REVOTRON engine...

Originally Posted by Roomy

AFAIK Honeywell has designed the turbocharger for the Zest whereas Bosch provides the ECU.

Yep

Edit : We all know how many of these 'Remapping' companies keep making changes to some code, maybe Bosch is tweaking the maps.

[SneakyFunk]

A bit of a break from all the Zest posts with a Bolt update.

Saw this Bolt parked close to my house outside a building exclusive for TATA employees.

The Bolt looks really nice even though it its very similar looking to the current Vista. The new headlights, grill, tail lights etc. give it very nice look.
The interiors look like a huge step up. They look very classy and premium and the photo does not do justice to it.

[IMeMyself]

I test drove the Zest at Mantri Mall in Bangalore on Sunday/ 20th July. I had already checked it out on Saturday, but became aware of the test drive only after my husband called me from Delhi to tell me about it. My impressions:

Exteriors: The fit and finish looks good. I did not see any panel gaps. The paint job also looked good. The rear defoggers look funny, brownish and squarish!

Interiors & boot: I have an Indica and an Indigo in the family. The interiors are unrecognizable as coming from the same family. If someone had put me in the car blindfolded and told me I was in a Tata, I wouldn't have believed it. Comfortable seats. Lots of space. Quite bright and airy. The music system sounds great. Someone had mentioned earlier that there is no driver's seat height adjust, but it is very much there and I used it. The boot is quite big, don't see any problems there. There's a boot light.

Steering and drive: The steering is small compared to the indigo; good to hold and handle. Very light, but not as much as the Xcent. Should make for good city driving. Cannot comment on feedback at high speeds.

My test drive was maybe a little over 1km long. I did it at 11am on a Sunday, and just about managed to escape the worst of the traffic directed towards the mall. Despite that, I managed to go to third gear only for a few seconds and to the fourth not at all. The engine is silent, never heard it all through the drive! Need to hit the clutch to start the engine. I felt that at start, in first gear and lower rpms, the engine was a little sluggish. But that disappears quickly enough and (I'm not sure about this, was difficult to keep an eye on the dash and the traffic at the same time!) perhaps around 1800 rpm or so, the ride evened out and everything was smooth. Very easy shifts between gears, smooth gearshifts. The second gear seemed quite long, was able to use it from 10 to 45-50 without feeling even the tiniest of strains or shudders. Braking felt adequate.

There were four people in the car - two guys from the Zest marketing, my dad and me. The car pulled away smoothly, I never felt the weight of the 4 people on board. I tried the sports mode, but there was no appreciable change. That could have been because I never really got beyond the second gear for any appreciable amount of time. There is really no City mode button, it is the default; if you switch to any other mode, you switch if off to get back into City mode.

FE on the MID showed an average of 8, but that was with 79 km on the odo and, most probably, with start-and-go traffic. Instantaneous FE went all the way to 30! I think that with the kind of traffic that I encounter on my drive to work, a FE of 12-14 would be possible.

I did not have much time, so did not really play around with the music system, etc. One small complaint is that there could have been a proper camera instead of just sensors for parking assist. Why not make additional use of that screen?!

Overall, impressions are good. Not just good, really good. We've already booked it, and plan to TD it again after it reached the showrooms. But, as of now, it looks like we will go ahead with buying the Zest!

[nkrishnap]

As far that Tjet is concerned, the Bosch team was testing something related to injectors. I had seen this car at Vecto Motors when the car had come there to sort out ignition coil related issue a few months back.

Not sure what they are testing in Tjet and what is common to Tjet and Revotron.