How VFM is the Tata Indica? Sort of a controversial subject. Two reasons why: 1). You see a million of them on the road probably everyday, so there are a lot of people who swear by it.
2). I usually have an enthusiastic, not so practical approach when it comes to cars.
But I am going to give it a go anyway.
Today, morning my father and I decided to head to the nearest Tata dealer. My father is looking for a car to buy, he also needs a diesel, which needs to be a B-segmenter because he isn't willing to spend too much on a car. Oil burners are non-existant in this particular segment, except for two. The Tata Indica and the Palio 1.9D. My father is not going to put any moolah in the Palio 1.9D, because of the obvious, even though it seems to be a notch above the Indica.
To cut a long story short, I walked away after the test drive, not so happy. My father came away gleaming because it fit his budget and the salesman constantly said," Saab 15-20 kmpl pakka, between 65-85 km/hr in 5th gear"
Lets start with the pros:
The ride quality was good, took potholes with aplomb. Back seat ride was bordering on great, and good leg space too. Maybe that most of us have a stout frame, helps the issue. The seats are comfortable even though I do border on XXL. Good flab support, eh?
The engine sound intrusion was kept fairly low, due to good insulation. I have heard Indicas on the outside, and I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't the same song on the inside.
I am not going to comment on handling because I haven't had an extensive test drive. And frankly anybody looking to buy this would probably never in his faintest nightmares think about what I think about doing with cars.
Now the cons:
The engine. Sure it does 15-20 kmpl between 65-85 in 5th gear. I don't doubt that one bit. But I would have thought it to be torquier. I was under the notion that diesels would produce more torque than their petrol siblings. Not the Indica. The Petrol produces more horsepower (75 vs 53.5) and more torque (110 vs 85 Nm).On a drive on the Western Express Highway, I was under the impression that I wouldn't have to constantly shift gears, instant torque on tap. But I was wrong. I had to downshift everytime I wanted to overtake in any of the gears, and I never got to 5th. Close to 4000 rpm the torque just dies off. And this is very it really pisses you off. The gearshift seems to be made out of rubber (not eraser), and is stuck in a pot of goo. For somebody who enjoys going through the gears, this is your capital punishment. I constantly mis-shifted, not only did I miss overtaking opportunities, it also hurt my ego.
The interiors. My second biggest gripe. This has got to be the worst interior quality in any car ever. I test drove a brand new car, due to be delivered to some poor sod, and it was falling apart. The steering position is all wrong, and so is the pedal position. I don't expect adjustable pedals, but steering to be adjustable for atleast rake, if not reach. Though I don't think any of the B-segmenters offer this, so I'll spare the Indica this time.
The dashboard is just pathetic. It's a dreary grey coloured dashboard, and the quality of plastics is something I can't even start to comment on without breaking the rules of the boards. The knobs never had a reassuring click to them, whenever they hit the slot. The A/C switch almost got stuck in the ON position, my fit of anger got it unstuck though. The little convinience tray, with their coin holder is so flimsy, it puts the chiller trays of 20-yr old refrigerators to shame. I bet it was just waiting to pop off, obviously because it wouldn't stay shut in the first place, maybe because Tata expects you to have enough change left over from daily running to constantly keep filling the coin holder up.
I did manage to get the tray shut eventually, after a few more fits. So I then got on to explore the glovebox, wasn't bad, enough storage, hell I don't have to live in there, but still flimsy. So with a prayer I shut the glovebox, hoping it would stay that way, and...it did. But LO!!!!!!! The tray undid itself. By this time I was probably working my way to a heart attack.
The only part of the interior that I do like, is the dials. Maybe because they were made by VDO. They also make them for Porsche. I couldn't help being biased.
Now interiors don't always need to accentuate their appearance by brushed aluminium, or fake wood on them. The Octavia's interiors do just fine with black plastic and they ooze quality. I like the Palio's interiors too, they do have a sort of solid feel to them, atleast compared to the Indica.
The exteriors too are extrememly tacky. The doors close with a loud thud, well because they are heavy, and probably haven't learnt to cut weight yet. They offer sense of security while opening doors too, but that's just inertia.
Don't get me wrong, i don't doubt Indica's safety features, I've seen people walk out of some ridiculous accidents with minor scrapes. They cheap chrome patti on the hood, the tacky flared fenders, huge panel gaps (well all Indian manufacturers do it, so I'm not going to single out Tata), everything irked me.
My only question, is how far do you really have to go for cutting costs. Now at 4.2 lakhs on-road Mumbai, the Indica V2 DLS is by no means a cheap car.
Now if at that price, Tata would offer us a Common Rail tech engine, I would probably forgive them for all the cheap stuff that they have used, but for an IDI non-turbocharged engine, I have no mercy. I bet Tata Motors is laughing their way to the bank, with the sort of 'More money per car' that they seem to be making. Add to that the fact that there is no competition as of now. I mean, the Indicabs, and the DLEs and the DLSs and the DLXs all have the same quality interiors, and the Indicabs are ridiculously cheap.
Maybe they are just catering to the Indian mindset, they want FE, Tata will give them FE and nothing else, and still charge them the same money.
Problem is, I will probably be stuck with one of those Refreshingly new Indica V2s for the next two years of my life, and probably run high blood pressure for the same duration. I would also feel happy that my father would be making quite a few savings on his trips. Maybe I should try to get my dad to buy the Santro eRLX. If with all the new tech it does 27 kmpl, my savings could effectively be the same. Sorry, this is just rabid ranting. Maybe it's the after-effect of trying to quit smoking.
Disclaimer: This post expresses views of the author only, and not public opinion.
Last edited by ported_head : 9th July 2005 at 23:21.
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