[airbender]

This is from TML annual report(Page 23):

The Aria, India's first indigenously developed crossover vehicle, showcased at the last Auto Expo is expected to be launched in the first half of 2010-11.

Link: http://ir.tatamotors.com/performance...eport-2010.pdf[/COLOR]

First half of 2010-11 meaning end of september 2010. So maximum of 50 day wait.

Source: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...rt-2010-a.html

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by kavesh55

Dear fx-45 where do you stay ? I was test driving the Aria yesterday, but not in the dark for sure.
Yes, it looks like a bigger innova but thats only on the outside inside its more for creature comforts, leather interiors Tata, they are leagues ahead in the quality of the material used, its a MUV Jazz for storage bins.
Plus it has got all the bells and whistles like 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, even rainsensing wipers.

You test drove it? Can you post more details?

[ACM]

Airbender, - yes if this is mentioned in the Annual Report then Sep Launch can be expected.

In the comparo snap with Aria and Innova, to me the Aria appeared slightly shorter than the Innova, but wider and definately taller with greater ground clearance.

They seem to have some very unique and attractive colour options like, Maroon, violet and indigo (as in colour).

The large wheels on the Aria improves looks over the Innova significantly.

Can't yet figure out if it is reasonably macho enough compared to the Safari, the Fortuner would definately be more macho looking and is going to be hard for even other SUV's to beat in the external looks dept.

Also wondering if the seating in the Aria is more Safari like (upright) or Innova / Fortuner / Endy like with car like seating. with the legs streched out in the front.

Definately the interiors from the sneek views should exceed not just the Innova, the safari, and the fortner in looks and possibly even quality of material, (fit and finnish will be hard to beat.)

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by kavesh55

I was test driving the Aria yesterday

Your take on the vehicle, please. How does it fare compared to Innova, Safari, Scorpio and errr .... Fortuner? ( pardon me all these are in my radar)

Originally Posted by kavesh55

Yes, it looks like a bigger innova but thats only on the outside inside its more for creature comforts, leather interiors Tata, they are leagues ahead in the quality of the material used, its a MUV Jazz for storage bins.

If I say that interior space wise, Innova is more comfortable than Aria, would it be an accurate statement? And utility wise, Aria scores?

[kavesh55]

Originally Posted by aman9393

So the Aria has got better quality of materials?
How did you find the ride and handling of Aria compared to Innova?

The quality of materials, believe me beats the innova. Its all leather.

The ride and handling of the vehicle is very balanced, it takes bad roads easily so is high speed handling.

It doesnt have the rattling gear lever innova has got on idling. The best part is NVH characteristics,just for info at a signal I did not realise that the engine was off or on.

[shortbread]

I think we are making a grave mistake by comparing the Aria with an innova. If Tata wanted to compete against this they did not have to pack it with things like six airbags, AWD, sat nav etc..etc...

[aniketi]

Considering Tata's previous history, i guess they will price Aria very competitively i.e. around 10-13 Lacs. One of my friends brother works for Tata. He said Aria top end also will not be priced more than 13 -14 lacs. So my guess is they will try to price it around 10 lacs for base model & around 13 for top end. They have to price it comparable to Innova only as its the main competitor.

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by shortbread

I think we are making a grave mistake by comparing the Aria with an innova. If Tata wanted to compete against this they did not have to pack it with things like six airbags, AWD, sat nav etc..etc...

What is wrong with it? Both look somewhat similar, and are people movers.

Innova sells 4K plus units per month. Tata is better off making Aria compete with Innova than the Fortuner. All those features are needed for Tata to come somewhere nearer to Toyota in terms of competition.

[montoo]

Originally Posted by Amartya

Care to explain what you meant by this post?

same here.how why would maruti after all supply the so called ddis puny engine for this behemoth when fiat itself is associated with tata.

[shortbread]

@ Sbraj,

True they are dimensionally very similar, so is a Corolla and a 3 series. Of course no harm in comparing the two cars but expecting it at similar prices just because corollas sell more is absurd. What if local volumes isn't the primary agenda.

Again there is no definitive information from Tata, but why would it require all those features to compete against an Innova. Other than being a high quality, reliable people carrier the Innova does not offer any other benchmark for the competition. All Tata needs to do to compete with the Innova and its customer profile is to build a straightforward 8 seater, that is reliable and perhaps cheaper, a la Xylo.

The effort the company has put into this car both in term of testing it (especially abroad in winter conditions) and the features it is loaded with, None of these are customer requirements for a Asia oriented MUV, the benchmark set is much higher than the humble Innova.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by kavesh55

The quality of materials, believe me beats the innova. Its all leather.

The ride and handling of the vehicle is very balanced, it takes bad roads easily so is high speed handling.

It doesnt have the rattling gear lever innova has got on idling. The best part is NVH characteristics,just for info at a signal I did not realise that the engine was off or on.

What, no impressions on the power delivery, engine refinement, gear ratios, ergonomics, third row comfort, and "feel" of the plastics? Is the dashboard leather covered too (Genuine question, because my dad's '86 Cedric had a sort of rubberised foam coating which made the entire dash soft-touch, non-skid and matte)?

What about the interior fit-and-finish? We've seen from the Manza that Tata's really improved overall build quality (external), but still lags a bit in the "finer" details. Not that I mind, if that helps keep the overall cost down

Originally Posted by shortbread

@ Sbraj,
True they are dimensionally very similar, so is a Corolla and a 3 series.

Other than being a high quality, reliable people carrier the Innova does not offer any other benchmark for the competition.

The effort the company has put into this car both in term of testing it and the features it is loaded with, None of these are customer requirements for a Asia oriented MUV, the benchmark set is much higher than the humble Innova.

I completely agree (the first bit had me )

Given that the Safari is getting a bit long in the tooth, maybe the Aria is going to be the new Flagship (so to speak). Engineering wise, if they've managed AWD and all the other bells and whistles while keeping the Aria lighter than the Safari, she surely deserves it.

[ajay0612]

That is what 'Goa on Wheel' Says:
"
Tata Motors have planned a slew of launching in the coming months.First will be the Aria in September which will be followed by Venture, Magic Iris and Ace Zip.
Tata Aria will be priced in the range of 11 lakhs to 14 lakhs and will sport a 2.2 Dicor engine.
The Venture a passenger van version based on the Tata Ace super platform is a 8 seater Van. Tata Ace Zip is the smaller version of Tata Ace and share its platform with Magic Iris."

Source: Tata Motors upcoming models | Goa On Wheels

[sbraj]

Originally Posted by shortbread

True they are dimensionally very similar, so is a Corolla and a 3 series. Of course no harm in comparing the two cars but expecting it at similar prices just because corollas sell more is absurd.

Huh? Did I say that Aria and Innova needs to be priced similar? Please read my post again.

I do get your point on Corolla and 3 series. But I think you misunderstood my comment on "Aria looks similar to Innova". What I meant to say was that Aria is a van, and not a Fortuner-like SUV. Hence the comparison is more with Innova and less with Fortuner.

Innova and Fortuner have set benchmarks in the respective segments, which other wannabes are trying to reach to. Hence, IMO, it is fair to compare every car launched in this segment with these two.

Nevertheless, here is a buyer who considered 320d, only to buy a Corolla Altis later. Here is another who prefered Bolero over Scorpio. Hope you get the drift.

Originally Posted by shortbread

What if local volumes isn't the primary agenda.

My comments are purely from a prospective buyer point of view. I don't hold shares of Tata/Toyota and the successs/failure of either does not impact me. As a prospective buyer of a people mover, I would consider all cars ranging from Bolero to Fortuner.

Originally Posted by shortbread

The effort the company has put into this car both in term of testing it (especially abroad in winter conditions) and the features it is loaded with,

Sure, agreed. Please go through the thread again and see my comments in the same topic. I am not repeating them here.

Originally Posted by shortbread

None of these are customer requirements for a Asia oriented MUV, the benchmark set is much higher than the humble Innova.

Benchmark will be arrived at based on the market response. Innova is the winner so far. Let us not jump the gun. Let us wait for Aria to sweat it out in the market.

[suman]

Originally Posted by sbraj

What I meant to say was that Aria is a van, and not a Fortuner-like SUV. Hence the comparison is more with Innova and less with Fortuner.

I don't think the comparison is with either (I'm talking about the top end Aria here with all the bells & whistles). The Aria is a Crossover vehicle & neither the Innova, nor the Fortuner fall into that category. The Aria falls in-between the two categories (MUV & SUV).

Just curious, how do you rate the Captiva - van-like or Fortuner-like?

[ACM]

Suman, - Exactly my point. The Captiva seems to look like a SUV, but is a pure softroader and is infact in that sense Innovaish.

The Odd thing is that for true SUV's we tend to look at the kind of chassis (Ladder or Mono) and the type of 4WD options provided, Differential locks, 4L mode, hill decent etc.

The Captiva like the CRV, XTrail etc is a mono chassis design (the thoughts of what is better for an SUV are changing) while Innova, Safari, Aria, Fortuner, Endy are all ladder Frame based.

On the Other hand Aria and Fortuner have AWD (not sure of the captiva and CRV) but the rest except for the Innova have 4WD (not permanent AWD). Though we do not know for sure, the Aria is not expected to have the 4L mode, but then anyways it's front entry angle would not have permitted driving around in places requiring 4L.

We at times tend to think of the Captiva as an SUV more refined and comparable to the Fortuner, but Aria is in manyways like the Captiva and in many other ways like the Fortuner, it;s pretty much a triangulation of features and abilities.