Tata Hexa @ Auto Expo 2016

[drmohitg]

Without sounding rude to anyone, I am amazed how savagely everyone wants Innova Crysta to be beaten by another car. It was the same with the older Innova and continues with the current one. Sometimes it is the engine, sometimes features and now the price. But truth is cars like these come and go without denting the sales of the Innova. People buy the Innova for its reliability and comfort ( I have said this many times before too). The Hexa will not come even close to Innova on those parameters.

I mean wake up people. An extremely capable car, a T-BHP COTY, the Zest failed. It failed against cars that were not miles ahead of it, infact some were and continue to be outright beaten by the Zest in terms of looks, features, interior space, price. And yet Tata could not beat its image to the extent it would wanted and the Zest, as a result, continues to struggle.

And here you are expecting a Tata product to take on a Toyota product? And that too not just any Toyota product, but the one which established the brand in India and one which has only got more tough to beat with the recent addition of features, engine options and AT transmission in its arsenal.

Honestly I feel this is unfair on Tata to be subjected to so much pressure. Regardless of the price they launch, they will not be competing with the segment leader Innova. There are lots of other vehicles in that segment starting from Ertiga and Lodgy at one end and Creta and XUV500 on the other hand that the Hexa can compete against. So please stop killing a product even before its launch by the excessive wait of your expectations.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Without sounding rude to anyone, I am amazed how savagely everyone wants Innova Crysta to be beaten by another car. It was the same with the older Innova and continues with the current one. Sometimes it is the engine, sometimes features and now the price. But truth is cars like these come and go without denting the sales of the Innova. People buy the Innova for its reliability and comfort ( I have said this many times before too). The Hexa will not come even close to Innova on those parameters.

I mean wake up people. An extremely capable car, a T-BHP COTY, the Zest failed. It failed against cars that were not miles ahead of it, infact some were and continue to be outright beaten by the Zest in terms of looks, features, interior space, price. And yet Tata could not beat its image to the extent it would wanted and the Zest, as a result, continues to struggle.

And here you are expecting a Tata product to take on a Toyota product? And that too not just any Toyota product, but the one which established the brand in India and one which has only got more tough to beat with the recent addition of features, engine options and AT transmission in its arsenal.

Honestly I feel this is unfair on Tata to be subjected to so much pressure. Regardless of the price they launch, they will not be competing with the segment leader Innova. There are lots of other vehicles in that segment starting from Ertiga and Lodgy at one end and Creta and XUV500 on the other hand that the Hexa can compete against. So please stop killing a product even before its launch by the excessive wait of your expectations.

Simple reason, toyota extreme arrogance is what chuffed of most people. And besides it's fun to watch Goliaths ass kicked by little David. It's just a forum, a giant company like Tata wouldn't be pressurised by our real or unreal expectations. I agree with you there is enough room in the suv pie for a new product or two, the only reason Hexa is compared with the Innova is because of the muv looks. The Xuv looks more suv than MPV. For Hexa to not compete with the Innova it needs to look far more butch, the aria van underpinnings is what is causing distress here.

[RavenAvi]

From what I am hearing, a 11.99L - 17.99L pricing range is being targetted.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Simple reason, toyota extreme arrogance is what chuffed of most people.

What arrogance and who got chuffed? Sorry I do not follow. From what I know for a fact, people are queuing up for the Innova with as much eagerness as before. So exactly who are the disgruntled lot? Second where is arrogance in this? They are making cars to earn a profit and they have priced their cars brilliantly till now. Not a single one is losing out to sales for want of a lesser price tag. Or is it? Please correct me if I am wrong.

[rajess_in]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

From what I am hearing, a 11.99L - 17.99L pricing range is being targetted.

Ahhh... I would say looks a bit over ambitious again. If they want to grab a nice demand, they should target <10L to 15L to start off. e.g. if M&M introducing the XUV500 at 10.8L at the start. We all know the success it made even after jacking the prices at the end of the offer period.

Yes by pricing it low they will lose money, but once set a good initial demand the ROI will be much faster.

[sachinayak]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

From what I am hearing, a 11.99L - 17.99L pricing range is being targetted.

Was thinking it would be a 1 L premium over the current Aria pricing, and this is precisely there.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What arrogance and who got chuffed? Sorry I do not follow. From what I know for a fact, people are queuing up for the Innova with as much eagerness as before.

The previous gen Innova (touching almost 20L for it's top-end version in Bangalore) was definitely a case of over-pricing for what it offered. Nothing incorrect (and definitely a sensible business decision). With the Innova Crysta, they have taken the product to the next level, so can still understand the premium they are now charging.

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What arrogance and who got chuffed? ... They are making cars to earn a profit and they have priced their cars brilliantly till now. Not a single one is losing out to sales for want of a lesser price tag. Or is it? Please correct me if I am wrong.

They're making cars for a profit, & we're simply comparing other economical products to see if they fit our requirements. Where's the savagery in that ?

Some will say it's almost offending to term our research as savagery.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

From what I am hearing, a 11.99L - 17.99L pricing range is being targetted.

I guess that's barely ~50k under the new XUV5OO. Was expecting great pricing.

Well it depends on features & how the variants are spaced out.

Hexa Top end variant would touch OTR price of 22 Lakh in Bangalore (including registration, insurance, AMC, extended warranty, basic accessories etc). (Hope Tata is giving a good long term warranty.)

If the top end isn't an AT, they've lost out on a small market to XUV5OO AWD AT.

Toyota knows what it needs to do to protect the product that could be it's cash cow for the next decade. Slash 15% & competition will be nipped in the bud.

Let's see.

[MinivanDriver]

Innova has no real alternative in terms of interior space and boot space now. I think XUV500 would have been able to make more of a dent to Innova sales if it had more boot space. Is Mahindra planning a Xylo upgrade based on the XUV platform? I guess that could have the potential to be a real Innova alternate if they style it well, give it practical boot size ( a bit more than Innova would be welcome). Equally important are upmarket interiors, driving dynamics and refinement. As to whether Hexa can be a viable Innova competitor, again practical boot space, third row space, refinement etc are the parameters that I would look for. If it scores on these parameters and Tata backs up its product by giving a 5 year 1.5L KM warranty as standard, they have a chance.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What arrogance and who got chuffed? Sorry I do not follow. From what I know for a fact, people are queuing up for the Innova with as much eagerness as before. So exactly who are the disgruntled lot? Second where is arrogance in this? They are making cars to earn a profit and they have priced their cars brilliantly till now. Not a single one is losing out to sales for want of a lesser price tag. Or is it? Please correct me if I am wrong.

I understand that it is silly expecting the Hexa to dent the innovas success. However one can still hope. Who got chuffed you ask? All the people who aren't lined up to buy their cars. The fortuner and innova are grossly overpriced. I understand that they are still able to sell them and that is good for business but that doesn't mean that the cars are worth every penny asked for in everyone's minds. I for one feel that Toyota had the potential to make D-segment sedans popular in India with the Corolla but failed to do so. The car is overpriced and until next year, under equipped as well in terms of safety. Had they equipped well and priced it better considering they have the advantage of local production, they could have brought a good response to that segment which is popular world over and we would see more manufacturers locally making and testing D-Segment sedans here for the benefit of us car enthusiasts.

Please understand that I am not blaming Toyota here but just saying that more could be achieved and some of us feel that the brand has a very indifferent attitude to the consumers in our country. You can say it is a matter of opinion and leave it at that

Anyway this is going a bit off topic. I feel Hexa ought to ideally compete with the XUV500 hopefully Tata have utilized their time well to launch a product with zero niggles this time around. Maybe they can pull of what Ford has with the Endeavour denting the Fotuners sales streak, and come out with a product that endangers the Innovas success. Is it not good to wish for competition? After all it is the mother of innovation.

[manishk123]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

From what I am hearing, a 11.99L - 17.99L pricing range is being targetted.

If they are going with this optimistic pricing then what Tata needs to do is give customers a 4 yr unlimited warranty and execute it with a no questions asked policy. Give the customer a worry free experience after buying a Tata product and that will go miles in improving the brand's value over the years and instilling trust in the customers. Only then will many Toyota loyalists like me start considering a Tata product.

[ptushar]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

Was thinking it would be a 1 L premium over the current Aria pricing, and this is precisely there.

Attachment 1550301

Does this mean that the Hexa won't be available in AWD+AT Top end variant? Was quite looking forward to this combo. Is this confirmed or just speculation at this stage?

[nd4$pd]

I feel the way for Tata to win over customers again is through a combination of pricing and warranty. When the Koreans came to the US market, they understood that the perception of their reliability was their Achilles heel. So they started offering the best warranty terms in the business. The Hexa should be offered with standard 5, or better yet 7 year warranty. This will go a long way in shoring up customer confidence. On an aside, I really like the way the Hexa looks. Reminds me a little of the older generation Dodge Durango.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by manishk123

If they are going with this optimistic pricing then what Tata needs to do is give customers a 4 yr unlimited warranty and execute it with a no questions asked policy...

Originally Posted by nd4$pd

...The Hexa should be offered with standard 5, or better yet 7 year warranty...

From what I noticed during the initial days of Aria, the warranty offers were clean. The problem was with the A$$ not being able to resolve issues and TATA being lazy attending to such owners.

On the other hand, M&M pulled up their socks (for XUV) and made up for the niggles by actually being responsive

So, giving warranty is one thing, showing empathy & skills to resolve any early issues is another thing. Honestly, I hope TATA is geared up for this.

[drsingh]

Just the fact that people are comparing the hexa as a credible alternative to the Innova should be good news for the Tata marketing people.

Some people seem to be too worried about the sales and service aspect. That's not that important. Product quality has to be spot on. They have to overdeliver on their promise.

Hyundai beat Honda in the USA by putting out excellent products.

And they signalled it by a 10 year warranty!

I think that is the only option for Tata to sway prospective buyers.Making a superior product for the money and then signalling it by exceptional warranties.If the product is that good, they will not add to costs.But if they mess up on the product quality, they will be dead on arrival.

[rrsteer]

Spotted Hexa undergoing ad filming on the Manali Ladakh highway near Suraj Tal. Launch this Diwali - confirmed by the folks present there.

It has very good road presence - almost at par with new Endeavor in my eyes. The XUV 5OO looks meek and Innova a van in comparison. The question is does it have substance to support the looks?

The camel color one was a 5 speed AT and the metallic blue one was a 4x4.