[arulpeem]

According to the write up the power is 170 bhp and torque at 400NM. Whereas the earlier posts talk about 150-160bhp and 400NM. Could this be true?

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Some members here are also concerned about the vehicle dimensions. We need to understand that Tata has always been selling full sized SUV not pint sized compromises called as the perfect SUV etc. If one needs to seat 5/7 people in comfort, have a decent sized boot, one needs to make a car which is as big as the Storme or the Aria.

But what's the point of selling full size SUV's when your product neither looks macho enough nor does it have sufficient space inside. Reviews peg the interior legroom in second row less than what some of it's competitors offer and third row legroom is laughable. That is poor engineering and aria is a poorly engineered product which the market found out at first glance but tata engineers couldn't figure it out. I would any day buy a vehicle with either more interior space or butch looks rather than one with neither.

[Equus]

WOW! Brilliant, inside out. The rear is bland but the front is awesome! Is this really a TML car? This is 2nd Tata car which instantly made me smile! The first was Vista, ofcourse.

It doesnt help this being the best Tata ever - the benchmark is Innova and all other comparisons to Aria/Safari/Storme/etc are irrelevant.

And Yes, I will pay a premium for this over the XUV500 based on what we know of it till now.

[tushky]

Read the latest September issue of Autocar India. They have driven the Hexa and there is a detailed report about interiors , exteriors and first impressions.

[mukul32]

It is slightly surprising Tata is viewed as a poor, cheap brand. They only had some products that went very wrong, or some that were stretched for too long. But sadly, it has usually been their mainstream, volume products that went wrong, and not niche ones. And the Hexa, like it's modern siblings, is going to face the effects.

The Vista for once isn't as great as its rivals, the long overdue Safari replacement is still nowhere in sight, and the Indica-Indigo, in the modern hatchback era only really belong to the taxi market.

But they did some really right things too. Almost all of their cars are true to their identity, and not fakes. The sedan (Manza) is a real sedan, the SUV (Safari) a proper SUV, and the crossover (Aria) a real crossover. They don't have hatches and MPV's dressed up as SUV's (well, the Sumo Grande even had the potential) or crossovers, and being touted as 'premium'. Even the Indigo CS, for all its compactness, was a proper decent small sedan when launched, and not an out-of-proportion hatchback hybrid. They also have great diesel motors in their stable like the 2.2 DiCOR and the 1.3 MultiJet.
Another thing they got right is the car branding and variants. Not one Tata car name sounds ridiculous or inappropriate.
For example, Aria sounds far more sophisticated than "XUV five-double-oh". Even names like Nano, Safari, Marina, Zest, Indicruz (Aria concept) are right on the money, and not oddball like "TUV3OO" or inappropriate like "Grand i10" (Okay, 'Movus' for the Sumo Grande wasn't the best idea, but that's an exception). Also their variants are usually right in place, and one doesn't have to juggle between engines, gearboxes and safety features most of the time.

Even their designs (excuse the Storme here) are usually quite good. The Grande was good, Indigo Marina exciting, Nano was brilliant, Sierra a classic, and even the Aria managed to look convincing for an urban crossover. Even the Indigo CS wasn't bad. And this Hexa looks good as well. So that's another part they've got sorted.

The niggles in Tata cars, they are just an excuse. It's more the matter of the entire company being related to them. The XUV sells like hot cakes despite a huge number of niggles throughout the car. Skodas have them, recently even Hondas have some, Heck, even German luxury cars have niggles in some cases. But no one thinks twice before buying them, or many others. The niggles are dismissed as a minor annoyance. But Tatas are judged against the niggles, rather than judging the niggles against the rest of the good car.

And it's the Indica, Safari and Nano, the very cars that really made Tata famous, that have resulted in the fall of the Tata brand. And solid cars like the Bolt and Hexa are going to suffer because of it.

Even now, while we look at this Hexa, one cannot help remembering the Aria or Indica, and not just because of the looks. Whereas, no one would think of a Bolero or Scorpio while looking at an XUV (nor would anyone think of a cheetah; I personally would only think 'disaster'!!) or an Innova while looking at a Fortuner (though once you sit inside one, the only thing you'd remember is an Innova).
That's one thing Tata need to fix with their cars. But they need to be wise with it. Kill only the car, not the brand. The brand built up over a long time can be used for a better product.

For instance, an all-new solid and modern SUV (not this Hexa, a proper SUV like the Safari) in place of the Safari, branded a Safari would go a long way in reestablishing Tata.
The Safari brand, according to me, actually has enough appeal for even a solid 18-20 lakh SUV, if it's really well equipped, reliable, and (more than) worth the money, and maybe has a couple of LR bits as well! 'Safari Sport', anyone??

On another note though, I hope the Hexa (essentially an MPV-like crossover, now made into an SUV, talks of 'premium' positioning going around) isn't the start of a line of dressed-up cars being overambitiously branded or priced. That's the last thing Tata needs at this point.

[karthick_b]

Well said, mukul. Tata has made a lot of effort to up their ante and they deserve to be at par with Mahindra in terms of success, rather than Honda and Hyundai moving the goal post far away from Tata. They have made huge leaps and bounds in quality and their latest offerings - the Zest and Bolt are stunning examples. The Zest puzzled many car critics with its quality and dynamics, both parameters which used to be a scope of huge improvement for Tata. Now Hexa, a very beautiful looking SUV might fall behind and that is my biggest fear.

Their recent cars have a very mature and international styling that Mahindra simply lacks. I am really puzzled why Tata is struggling. But anyways, I hope the TUV300 faces stiff competition from Tata in the form of its upcoming Nexon compact SUV. All the best Tata and M&M.

Some of the photoshop works done by fellow members on the A and D pillar of the TUV300 do lend some beauty points to the TUV300. I am sure a TUV with side body kits, nice grill bumpers and beefed up wheels will make this a looker.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by karthick_b

Well said, mukul. Tata has made a lot of effort to up their ante and they deserve to be at par with Mahindra in terms of success, rather than Honda and Hyundai moving the goal post far away from Tata.

Well, thanks a lot, Karthik, but I'm sort of stumped!! It's actually an accident!! This post wasn't intended for the TUV thread (where it originally got posted) at all!! I had wanted to post it in the Tata Hexa thread!! (Mods, please take note) Maybe that's the downside of typing too much on a 4" smartphone screen!

EDIT: Thanking moralfibre for taking immediate action and moving the post to the right place. Now that it's at the right place, it obviously makes a lot more sense here than it did there.

[Dhruv Shetty]

Have seen the Tata Hexa doing rounds in the company premises .One day while coming back from the ERC scrapyard and saw a guy testing a 3.0 L engine on a Aria , asked that guy about the engine he said it makes 230 hp and 600NM of Torque I was shocked. Coming back to the topic , they have top if line equipments ,machines ,etc , and still don't know why the cars don't sell. They have the potential.

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

Have seen the Tata Hexa doing rounds in the company premises .One day while coming back from the ERC scrapyard and saw a guy testing a 3.0 L engine on a Aria , asked that guy about the engine he said it makes 230 hp and 600NM of Torque I was shocked. Coming back to the topic , they have top if line equipments ,machines ,etc , and still don't know why the cars don't sell. They have the potential.

230 bhp and 600NM torque!! Did he mention whether it was a 4 or 6 cylinder engine? BMW 3l 6 cylinder diesel produces similar figures.

[Dhruv Shetty]

It was a 4 cylinder engine ,

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

It was a 4 cylinder engine ,

Must be producing peak bhp and torque at very high rpms then, else may have a big turbo attached. Either case the engine sounds interesting, however applying it in a SUV like Aria is pointless, considering that they need peak torque quite low in the rpm range to give that lugging ability.

[da_lowrider]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

Have seen the Tata Hexa doing rounds in the company premises .One day while coming back from the ERC scrapyard and saw a guy testing a 3.0 L engine on a Aria , asked that guy about the engine he said it makes 230 hp and 600NM of Torque I was shocked. Coming back to the topic , they have top if line equipments ,machines ,etc , and still don't know why the cars don't sell. They have the potential.

Could be part of the new family of engines that are supposed to be lighter, that were unveiled at Auto Expo 2012? There was a thread on the same as well, if I'm not mistaken the engine family also contains a 5.0L 4cylinder engine.


I have to admit though, I was under the impression that these were for CV applications.

[Dhruv Shetty]

The company is testing the 3.0L and 5.0L engines.

[da_lowrider]

Originally Posted by Dhruv Shetty

The company is testing the 3.0L and 5.0L engines.

So this is a completely different 3.0L engine then? I'm wondering now, can a twin turbo version of the 3.0L cr4 generate those numbers? I ask cause there had been speculations of a twin-turbo version of the Hexa - that was for the 2.2L though. Still you never know...

[Dhruv Shetty]

That engine in the Aria was a NA engine.