[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by Viju

Hi Shiwik

Sorry to butt in, I was just looking at the new Aria feature list yesterday. I would buy the Pride 4x4 for the added safety features alone.

I believe, you are doing the right thing, go for Pride variant.
One thing - check with Concorde, Diary Circle for the pricing unless you are 100% convinced with Prerana motors. If you need a reference, PM me your cell number, will call you later in the evening OR tomorrow.

Prem.

[aditya79india]

http://www.financialexpress.com/news...fari/1270353/0

It is speculated that this time it would come with major changes inside-out. The new Harmon infotainment system that has been introduced in Zest and Bolt will make its way in the upcoming Safari Storme facelift. Mechanically, it will be getting Aria’s 2.2L VARICOR engine in a tuned state. Company will also introduce an automatic version of this car with a 6-speed ZF autobox. Tata Safari Storme has bore the brunt of poor marketing which has resulted in steep drop in its popularity. It was launched in 2012 but hasn’t seen remarkable response. Hope this update could resuscitate the sales chart.

Besides this, Cyrus Mistry, the current chairman of Tata Motors is leaving no stone unturned in bringing the best products in the market. He has been deeply involved on design aspects besides keeping an eagle eye on manufacturing quality levels and type of materials used. Looking at the intense competition in the market, it seems Tata Motors is now in serious mood to recover the lost grounds.

[pdiw]

Originally Posted by Shiwik

BTW any particular reason why you are looking at a 4x4? I agree it has a much better safety quotient, but unless your driving involves soft/medium off roads, i am not sure if you would need all that kit. Having said that, the car is sufficiently loaded and for that price point I dont think there is any other option available. All the best.

Thanks Shiwik, I was not impressed with Prerana this time. I gave 16.2 L (15 L DD and 1.2 for my Nano) as payment towards booking 4X4. I booked on 16th June, the Tata Representative in prerana told that we should get the vehicle by June End. That didn't happen.

Then the AGM of PCD promised us the delivery will be on July 10th, even that didn't happen . After loosing these two promised dates we were not in mood to go ahead with the delivery with Prerana. There was no response to emails also. Finally I sent my cancellation email on 11th for which I got response from Tata Service Manager saying that the car will be ready for Billing on 12th (at Pune Plant) and it will be delivered to Bangalore on Priority within 5 days.

Since we already made up our mind and there were no more auspicious days for a month, we went ahead with Cancellation. I not only lost 1 Month Interest on 16.2L but also ended up paying 2.4 K as cancellation Charges.

I had a very good experience with Prerana for my Nano but this time a quite apposite one!

[Shiwik]

Originally Posted by pdiw

Thanks Shiwik, I was not impressed with Prerana this time. I gave 16.2 L (15 L DD and 1.2 for my Nano) as payment towards booking 4X4. I booked on 16th June, the Tata Representative in prerana told that we should get the vehicle by June End. That didn't happen......

This is quite unfortunate and sorry to hear that. Could you PM me whom you were interacting with at Prerana. Iterestingly, my experience exceeded my expectations and i was quite overwhelmed with thier responses. I can assure you that the new Aria is a brilliant vehicle and if you intend to reconsider, i can talk to the same sales folks I interacted with. I thought the deal you were getting was pretty good.

The top model takes anywhere between 2-3 months as they are made to order. Unlike the base model (which is faster selling), this involves lot more kit to be put together which is why it takes longer.

If not Aria, what are your other options?

[Shiwik]

Originally Posted by svdath

Shiwik,

I have struggled with the same problem for 3 years now and everybody whom i approached [from A.S.S to the computerised headlight alignment fellow] have told nothing much can be done about this. Please do let me know if you are able to get this rectified

I got my head lamp (high beam) properly aligned from Prerana motors. It is now just perfect. However the headlamp can be adjusted only upwards or downwards. There is no option to move it sideways. It took just a few minutes to do it. Infact, if you are game to it you could do it yourself. Look for a plastic screw like protrusion on the body of the headlight. That is the one you need to turn around to get your alignment. I am surprised that no one has been able to get this fixed on your car so far (unless the design itself is different). It is quite straightforward. If you need any references at Prerana, PM me and i can point you to the right contacts.

[Shiwik]

Originally Posted by Shiwik

Could anyone comment if the engine gets smoother after a couple of thousands of KMs driving. Currently, although smooth, i thought the TD vehicle had a much smoother engine and smoother gear levers.


Yes i did and I must say I was quite impressed with Prerana motors....

This weekend i took the car out on the highway. Like i mentioned earlier, the car reaches triple digits in a hurry and one needs to be wary of that as you don't realize the speed at which you are driving till you watch the dials. I kept my eyes on the speedo just so that i don't over-speed during run-in. 80kmph on the 5th is achieved at 1500rpm. 90 is at 1800 rpm. 100 is a shade over 2k rpm. The new version of the Aria is fairly silent in the inside. On a 330km drive (door to door), i managed a 15 kmpl mileage. About 80km of this was in city traffic. So i must say, i am content with these numbers. I have seen the car consistently do about 10.8 in the city. Power, space and suspension are the highlights of this car. Rough roads and flyover-like speed breakers are not a concern anymore

Few things that i accidentally discovered were already present in my car.
1. This car has wiring ready for all the necessary electrical fitments. Wiring was present for the stereo, speakers on the door, tweeters on the A pillar.
2. Got fog lamps fitted (Rs. 2800). Again wiring was already present. The switch is also present and the overall fitment takes only 10 minutes. Cutting the bumper for the fogs to sit in their earmarked places took a little longer. Rear fogs are already present (unfortunately i did not know it)
3. OVRMs are heated and is a blessing in rains. Again, this feature was accidentally discovered
4. There is an antenna already present in the car which i did not know. It is perched neatly just above the inside rear view mirror. Apparently it needs a power supply to work. Got that sorted out from Prerana too.
5. Got HiD on my fog lamps. Although the headlamps are nice and well focused, it seems a tad insufficient. Probably someday i would get Hid on the low beam too.
6. Got indica front mud flaps. The ones provided for the Aria are quite thick and scrapes with the tyres after i upgraded them. Indica's flaps are soft and lot thinner. But they serve the purpose.
7. Got a 14.5 inch overhead monitor installed yesterday. Now it looks quite big but the effect from the rear seats are fantastic. However you end up loosing your rear view mirror feature while the TV is open. I did not worry too much about that as the TV would be used predominantly on the highway and usage of the IVRM would be minimal then.

One thing i need to get used to with this car is its gear ratio. Coming from an Innova background, i am used to very short gearing. Gear changes are very quick. However in the Aria, the gears are pretty tall. For eg., i used to shift to 3rd the moment i crossed 20 in my Innova. While i can do the same in the Aria, the RPM comes to about 1000 when i upshift. At this RPM, there is absolutely no torque and you have an anxious moment before the engine breathes to 1100rpm. I would not call this as a drawback with the vehicle but i would need to adapt to a different driving style.

Few other things that could have been included in this car is

1. Arm support for both the driver and co-passenger. Any thoughts/ideas?
2. Storage space is pretty sparse. With the absence of a glove box, this is further compounded. On the positive side, i carry back a lot of things back home rather than piling it up in the car.
3. Rear wiper was a shocking omission. I see there is a provision for a hose and I also see the pipes going all the way to the back. Surprisingly that has been omitted

Overall I quite like the car and hope to have this going for sometime now. Any references in Prerana motors (both sales and service), you could PM me and i could connect you with the right folks.

[vinay kamath]

Shiwik, which variant of Aria did you choose ?

[amit_mechengg]

Is the new Aria giving more mileage. I came across a fleet owner who bought 2 new Aria Varicor. He mentioned that these new ones are giving him more mileage.

[vikrantj]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Is the new Aria giving more mileage. I came across a fleet owner who bought 2 new Aria Varicor. He mentioned that these new ones are giving him more mileage.

In the opening post of the features of the new Aria , there is a mention of higher average 15kmpl. It think the user experiences corroborate that claim.

[Shiwik]

Originally Posted by vinay kamath

Shiwik, which variant of Aria did you choose ?

I have the Pure LX (Base variant). Absolute value for money.

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

Is the new Aria giving more mileage. I came across a fleet owner who bought 2 new Aria Varicor. He mentioned that these new ones are giving him more mileage.

Originally Posted by vikrantj

In the opening post of the features of the new Aria , there is a mention of higher average 15kmpl. It think the user experiences corroborate that claim.

I am not sure what was the mileage of the earlier generation Aria. However with AC on most of the time, i see my milage hover around 10.8 to 11.7 in the city. Highway (a short trip at that) reandered 15. The milage counter in the car is quite accurate. I am doing Hyderabad later this month and I would be finished my runin by then. That should give a more realistic number.

[kaviprem]

Had a test drive of the new ARIA Pride. All good and no complaints.

On the engine sound. Post the 2000 RPM [across all gears], I could hear the engine sound [not roaring, but at good decibel] inside the cabin, at the driver seat. It really comes in from the dash area, its so evident. Till 2000 RPM, its all quiet. This is with all the windows rolled up and no wind cutting noise [tested till about 90KMPH]. I am pretty sure, wind cutting wont happen till about 100-110KMPH with the quietness I experienced. Also, no music played the entire test drive and entire Studio apartment [thats how, I refer ARIA] was calm and peace though my family occupied almost all the seats.

Vehicle is brand new [around 750KM] and I hope, the ODO was connected before any test drive happened on it.

Can any current owner confirm this noise ? Not that, this is the decision factor for me. Its just an observation

Prem.

[Shiwik]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

Had a test drive of the new ARIA Pride. All good and no complaints.

On the engine sound. Post the 2000 RPM [across all gears], I could hear the engine sound [not roaring, but at good decibel] inside the cabin, at the driver seat. It really comes in from the dash area, its so evident. Till 2000 RPM, its all quiet. This is with all the windows rolled up and no wind cutting noise [tested till about 90KMPH]. I am pretty sure, wind cutting wont happen till about 100-110KMPH with the quietness I experienced. Also, no music played the entire test drive and entire Studio apartment [thats how, I refer ARIA] was calm and peace though my family occupied almost all the seats.

Vehicle is brand new [around 750KM] and I hope, the ODO was connected before any test drive happened on it.

Can any current owner confirm this noise ? Not that, this is the decision factor for me. Its just an observation

Prem.

I haven't revved my engine beyond 2000rpm yet so cant really comment. However i do remember i drove the test drive vehicle till 130 and dont recollect anything unusual. Also i come from an Innova background and comparatively, this is lot more silent. One thing i noticed (which the service folks claim as turbo kicking in), when i accelerate beyond a certain point on all gears, there is something that vibrates momentarily (most likely inside the engine bay). Not sure what that noise is. Also on standstill, i have tried revving the engine and this noise does not come. Not sure what to interpret this as.

There is wind noise at about 100kmph. I am yet to ascertain if it is really the design or the internsity of the wind. It was extremely windy on the day i noticed it.

[kaviprem]

Probably, I was focusing on it. But, thanks for confirming.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by Shiwik

This weekend i took the car out on the highway. Like i mentioned earlier, the car reaches triple digits in a hurry and one needs to be wary of that as you don't realize the speed at which you are driving till you watch the dials. I kept my eyes on the speedo just so that i don't over-speed during run-in.

I guess the process of running in includes driving the car with a varied load and even at varied RPM's, but still, why take chances atleast upto the first few '000 kms. Maybe then on you can introduce the car to higher load (& high RPM's too).

...80kmph on the 5th is achieved at 1500rpm. 90 is at 1800 rpm. 100 is a shade over 2k rpm. The new version of the Aria is fairly silent in the inside. On a 330km drive (door to door), i managed a 15 kmpl mileage. About 80km of this was in city traffic. So i must say, i am content with these numbers. I have seen the car consistently do about 10.8 in the city.

The turbo spools post 1500RPM right, so I guess ~2000RPM could ideally be the 'optimum' RPM to upshift. 15kmpl is great IMO!

Power, space and suspension are the highlights of this car. Rough roads and flyover-like speed breakers are not a concern anymore.

200mm GC would definitely help, but is the body roll well controlled?

Few things that i accidentally discovered were already present in my car.
1. This car has wiring ready for all the necessary electrical fitments. Wiring was present for the stereo, speakers on the door, tweeters on the A pillar.
2. Got fog lamps fitted (Rs. 2800). Again wiring was already present. The switch is also present and the overall fitment takes only 10 minutes. Cutting the bumper for the fogs to sit in their earmarked places took a little longer. Rear fogs are already present (unfortunately i did not know it)
3. OVRMs are heated and is a blessing in rains. Again, this feature was accidentally discovered
4. There is an antenna already present in the car which i did not know. It is perched neatly just above the inside rear view mirror. Apparently it needs a power supply to work. Got that sorted out from Prerana too.
5. Got HiD on my fog lamps. Although the headlamps are nice and well focused, it seems a tad insufficient. Probably someday i would get Hid on the low beam too.
6. Got indica front mud flaps. The ones provided for the Aria are quite thick and scrapes with the tyres after i upgraded them. Indica's flaps are soft and lot thinner. But they serve the purpose.

Do keep the comparo coming, would beneficial for many Innova owners who're planning to upgrade or for people choosing between Aria & Innova.

Also, Please do post pics of the interiors if possible.

...7. Got a 14.5 inch overhead monitor installed yesterday. Now it looks quite big but the effect from the rear seats are fantastic. However you end up loosing your rear view mirror feature while the TV is open. I did not worry too much about that as the TV would be used predominantly on the highway and usage of the IVRM would be minimal then.

If you could explore the possibility of connecting the rear camera to a screen in the front dashboard area (where the Navigation screen was supposed to be), then you could have a good view of the rear.

IMO rear view is crucial, but I guess driving patterns may differ so you may not feel it to be as extremely necessary as I do.

One thing i need to get used to with this car is its gear ratio. Coming from an Innova background, i am used to very short gearing. Gear changes are very quick. However in the Aria, the gears are pretty tall. For eg., i used to shift to 3rd the moment i crossed 20 in my Innova. While i can do the same in the Aria, the RPM comes to about 1000 when i upshift. At this RPM, there is absolutely no torque and you have an anxious moment before the engine breathes to 1100rpm. I would not call this as a drawback with the vehicle but i would need to adapt to a different driving style.

I guess this is due to the additional power & torque the 2.2VariCOR generates. Maybe a 6th Gear would've been wonderful for spreading gear ratio's (and maybe even further improving mileage).

Few other things that could have been included in this car is

1. Arm support for both the driver and co-passenger. Any thoughts/ideas

There are many after-market Arm-Rest options available for as low as ~1000, do check Ebay if you plan a DIY (DIY-Arm-Rest Illustration)

2. Storage space is pretty sparse. With the absence of a glove box, this is further compounded. On the positive side, i carry back a lot of things back home rather than piling it up in the car.

3. Rear wiper was a shocking omission. I see there is a provision for a hose and I also see the pipes going all the way to the back. Surprisingly that has been omitted...

Maybe you can find out if the overhead storage bins (like how the high variants may be having) can be retrofitted to the car at ASC. Same with the Rear-wiper.

...Overall I quite like the car and hope to have this going for sometime now...

All the best with the car, heres to wishing it gives you a million happy miles.

[Shiwik]

Finished 1500kms yesterday and went through my first service. Overall experience has been very good and we all seem to like the car very much. Would be driving to Dandeli this friday - technically it would be my first long drive. No niggles or issues so far.

Would it be safe to say the car has gone through run-in or would i need to wait until 2000 kms?

Three Arians(svdath, rkg and I) met this sunday in Bangalore. Two of them (me included) with the 2014 Aria and the third person with a 3 year old Aria. I must admit the 3 year old Aria had no issues when i drove it and still drove extremely well. It was a fantastic meeting and i am glad i made it. We spoke about various things about the car and its competition and I was quite impressed with the knowledge that rkg and svdath had about these cars. We intend to catch up periodically. In the future, it would be great for us to form a Bangalore chapter for Aria owners and plan out something. I can create a whatsapp group if everyone is ok with this idea. If yes please PM me your numbers.

I am attaching a few snaps of my car. Excuse the lower quality images as it was clicked after dark in my basement using my cellphone.