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Regarding Hexa pricing, I believe Tata Motors should continue the strategy that they have adopted Tiago, that is to substantially undercut the rivals & segment leaders in order to increase foot falls in the show rooms across the country.

According to me, the Tata Hexa should be 50K below XUV 500 for each model & 1.25L below the Toyota Crysta for each competing model.

I personally haven't done the math & taken the trouble of making a comparison table based on publicly available pricing data but this is the gut feel I have with regards to predatory pricing policy that Tata Motors needs to adapt.

Yeah right brake energy regeneration.. You might want to read up more on that. Heads up: Its not as fancy as the name suggests.

True, similar to micro hybrid and other fancy things they have, but XUV has the big advantage of being the established player here.

Talking only from the sales perspective, TATA needs to undercut the W8 by a good margin to ensure Hexa gets the start it deserves. They need to completely forget positioning it against the Innova, as they did with Aria. Very few Innova customers would opt for a TATA, no matter how much more you offer in packaging for similar asking price.

By delaying the launch of the Hexo for so long, Tata has really missed a big opportunity here. People were bored with the old Innova and XUV and were eagerly looking for something fresh. Now Toyota Crysta has taken away all those bookings. Hera will have to struggle with much lower pricing to entice customers from Toyota reliability.

+ 1.

Not only freshness, they lost some very key advantages they had over the Innova.

1. 154 bhp, 400 Nm Varicor engine was significantly better than the 101PS, 200Nm engine on the Innova. But Crysta has 2.4L and 2.8L engine options with 153, 343Nm output and 174ps, 360Nm engine options. No 'significant' advantage for Hexa in this department anymore.

2. AT transmission. 6 speed AT available in Crysta.

3. High speed abilities since earlier Innova used to cry above 100 kmph. Sorted now with better engines and revised gear ratios.

4. Fresh looks compared to the decade old Innova. This is subjective, but i feel the advantage is lost. Hexa might still be better than Crysta, but Crysta looks fresh enough for many to ignore that advantage for all things Toyota.

5. Interior design and features. Crysta has raised the bar here as well. Pics below.

Old Innova -


Hexa-


Innova Crysta


Overall, I feel this generation jump in Innova would result in a "too little, too late" attempt for Hexa unless they price it too aggressively. I mean - atleast 1.5L to 2L below Innova, even if they need to sell it at a loss initially, as one good product in this segment can do wonders for the TATA brand.

Agree 100%. This lethargy has become a trademark of Tata and has been costing the brand dearly.

The Hexa has been coming and coming and coming for so long now and it still isn't here. This is when it is at best a thorough facelift of the Aria. Whereas the Crysta is a brand new generation which has nothing in common with the previous car.

Tata HAS TO undercut the Cysta by at least 2L, with higher difference for higher variants, otherwise it does not stand a chance at all. Its advantages have been lost and the Innova nows matches it spec for spec. And there is no comparison in terms of brand value and resale.

Innova is already overpriced by 3L, but in my honest opinion, the negatives end there.

Main positive I see is that they've not just built a legacy on reliability & brilliant after sales service, but also they're delivering to the markets. If not 'on time' atleast eventually.

IIRC We only saw Toyota testing the Innova last year & they've even launched a brilliant product that's probably well engineered.

Tata Motors has been 'testing' the Hexa since almost 2.5years IIRC ! Infact, they showcased it in the 2015 Geneva Motor show. For Tata, that 'eventuality' of delivering is ever-delayed!

Agreed they've launched Zest & Tiago, but even the Nexon is apparently only coming in 2017(!).

This definitely doesn't show sufficient dedication for a rich company that's not doing well in Indian/home market.

Unless they launch Hexa a good 4 lakh below Innova, their success could remain very very limited.

For that Crysta interior you need to pay a whopping 26 Lakhs.
This is what you get after paying 18.5 Lakhs for Innova Crysta mid variants (pic courtesy - honey_starhoney)

Agree with most of your other points.

Agreed, Toyota had already provided 4 speakers, they could've put in at least an el-cheapo 2din system worth 7-8k in bulk.

Rest said, that 'bland' one is a 170bhp 6-speed automatic with 3 airbags, at 18.5L OTR in Bangalore. Let's see how Tata prices Hexa's rumored 150bhp 6-speed auto with 3 airbags.

I completely respect your opinion, but I guess I'm more into the mechanicals than stuff like a few wood inserts.

I think if Hexa stays true to model that has been displayed in the various shows in terms of look and feel, and sticks to the same prices at which Aria was offered (which I strongly suspect would be the case) it should do well for itself.

But yes, Tata is hurting itself for taking so long to launch models already shown to public. I don't know what causes them to do this. Meanwhile, with Innova Crysta vacating the 12l - 16l space, I will keep a look out for monthly sales figures of Lodgy and Xylo. How very sad - when you know a product like Aria also exists.

Even if TATA prices it 5 or 6 lakhs lower than Innova Crysta, it wont still sell even 20% of what Innova will do, so what is the point of the discussion? Only Sales? Hexa and the current XUV would certainly cater to the non Toyota Brand followers by suiting their budget, mechanical requirements and a vehicle which is different from loads of taxis running around all over the place.

By the way 2.2 litre engine on TATA still produces more power than the 2.4 and more torque than the 2.8 engine on the Innova Crysta. From what I have heard about the Hexa auto-box (rumored to be a ZF box). So I tend to believe it to be a little better than the conventional or the regular ones if you may call that. Hope Tata has Chosen the gear ratios right and the AWD will be a plus compared to an Innova which doesn't even get an option.

Its only speculation until TATA finally launches it :Frustrati

PS: I guess even TATA would be really happy if it manages to sell 500 units a months consistently.

True, each brand has its own space.

Our concern (IMO) should be more about post sale service. Hexa is understandably a facelift, & would probably be in the market for the next 5 years, max 6-7.

Whereas, Crysta is a fresh product & would quite surely be in the market for the next 10 years. So, 5 years down the line, anyone with a Crysta would probably expect good service support for next 10 years.

IMO Presently Tata A.S.S. is OK, but post Hexa's discontinuation, I don't think Tata would provide as good backup as Toyota does today even for Qualis.

That's Good on Toyota right, more displacement = less engine stress.
And moreover Toyota has extracted good FE numbers (similar to 150bhp Aria - 15kmpl).

I just hope Tata offers an automatic transmission (& airbags) in the low variants like Toyota has.

They've to do much better than that so that the service support stays viable for dealers (employing expert mechanics, part availability etc). Low selling cars always get a bad impact on the serviceability front.

Let's see. I think they're competent to push the Hexa to success & make a large part of the market accept it. Whether they do it through crazy prices or exceptional warranty, or both(!), is to be seen.

Amongst the minority here, but think it is a good move by Tata Motors to delay (intentionally or not) the Hexa and waiting for the Innova Crysta launch. Car launches are all about the impact they create at launch time and had the Hexa been launched earlier, prospective buyers would still not sign the dotted line, waiting for the Innova Crysta to be launched.

Now that the Crysta is launched, price band is available and after the initial hoopla around it has died down, Tata would do well to launch the Hexa with a much sensible pricing and create that initial impact that they were able to do with the Tiago. BTW, the shade of disappointment that you can see on the Crysta thread, is the opportunity that Tata Motors need to tap in favor of the Hexa.

Just a different point of view.

+1
My thinking as well.

Tata Motors will now look forward and target actual and interested buyers post Hexa launch. There wouldn't be many fence sitters.

This would also give an opportunity to price Hexa favouring both the customer and themselves.

Considering how the XUV impacted ARIAs prospects, TATA may have wanted to wait for the CRYSTA to get their positioning spot-on.
TATA however ought to differentiate ownership experience and A.S.S. for products like HEXA and make sure a TIAGO or a HEXA doesn't get stuck between multiple cabs waiting at the service centre