[avishar]

That was a wonderful and to the point review.Maybe not an s-class review but definately a 3-series one!
Did they give any indications of the launch date?I think its to late in the day to rectify the dead pedal problem.Final design of the car has already signed for production iguess.The survey must be for interior,suspension and engine fine tuning.

Also a non-4wd drive Aria might just fall into the Innova segment,while 4wd version will be competing against the bigger boys.

[FlyingSpur]

Originally Posted by Amartya

Can't thank you enough for sharing your feedback. I hope Tata Motors uses this feedback carefully. The dead pedal omission is a serious blunder, I hope they fix that before the launch.

Thank you amartya. If they omit the deal pedal, I will omit this car from my probables next year. It's THAT annoying. It's not just the absense of the deal pedal, but the footwell is a bit narrow too, which leave nowhere for my foot to be !!

One quick question, was this version the AWD version?

Whoops

Originally Posted by avishar

That was a wonderful and to the point review.Maybe not an s-class review but definately a 3-series one!

LOL...thank you !!

Did they give any indications of the launch date?

Opening Statement :

"Sir, this vehicle is going to be launched in the next 2-3 months, can you give us some feedback about it ??"

I think its to late in the day to rectify the dead pedal problem.

Big mistake IMO.

Also a non-4wd drive Aria might just fall into the Innova segment,while 4wd version will be competing against the bigger boys.

Now that is an interesting way to put it. But why would an MUV require 4x4 ? I don't see the point. You will not want to off-road in this, believe me.

[.anshuman]

Excellent review and very good observations. Great Job.

@Flyingspur: Did it have the lumpiness seen in all our softly sprung desi SUV's? Did you find the Aria worthy of a price tag above Innova VX(forget the equipment)?

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

Thank you amartya. If they omit the deal pedal, I will omit this car from my probables next year. It's THAT annoying. It's not just the absence of the deal pedal, but the footwell is a bit narrow too, which leave nowhere for my foot to be !!
.................................

The narrow footwell is a design issue where the glasshouse of the car is stretched (something like wheels at each corner) till almost the top of the front wheel. I don't think it's going to be easy to incorporate a dead pedal, unless they create a recess in the cental tunnel (not easy to do at all).

I think this requires a rethought from the design team, and it amazes me that this wasn't thought of while designing the driving position. The Aria should be a fantastic mile muncher, and a dead pedal is imperative in such a car.

The AWD system is useful in slushy conditions, not just during full fledged offroading. It also helps while negotiating slopes (say driving to Leh) where there are less than ideal road conditions.

[lamborghini]

Excellent review FS.
I really like the Aria, and think Tata have come a lot way since the indica days (we had a 98/99 red indica petrol once upon a time).
How much worse is the body roll over an Innova? Recently sat in the captain chair of the Innova and I really didn't enjoy the ride, thanks to the body roll. Didn't face the issue in the drive though.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by flyingspur

but that also means very annoying body roll through turns, and the feeling of lurching forward on braking + being pushed back on acceleration. I think it is not bad enough to induce motion sickness, but it's surely a bit of a bother. I'd rate the UVs on this front as Scorpio > Aria > Safari > Innova, implying that the Scorp is worse than then Aria while the Safari is better.

Hey, this was a bit of a let down, as I was thinking that Tata would outdo their Safari here, considering that the Aria seems to have lower seating height as well, in comparison.

Maybe the shocks and springs need some more tuning.

Did you manage to give feedback on this to the Tata guys present ? Hope they seriously work on it

[Sahil]

Mighty impressive review! The dash looks very modern compared to the Innova or even the fortuner. Hope they price it well.

[MutantX]

Good, neat and crisp review flyingspur. Good to see TATA launch Aria with all those features that you had listed. The Aria looks very much like an Innova with TATA designed boot and nose. If it is priced 50k less than Innova then it would easily get into the MUV taxi market. Anything beyond the Innova OTR wouldnt make sense any real dent.

@Flyingspur: You had quoted that you were presented a comparison chart wrt to the competition. Would it be possible to share this with us? Thanks mate.

[Maverick_x1]

Well penned compilation of the first impression FlyingSpur. Covered most of the aspects of a normal test drive. Keep them coming.

Tata's target segment is still a mystery, Would be nice if they Shoe horn the Aria between Safari & the Innova price territory.

Regards,
Mav

[aks_karthik]

Really an impressive review of Aria.
I have a Qst,Did you Td'ed 4x4 or 4x2 version Aria.
if you have third row seat photo,Just post here.

Enjoy and Drive Safe

[Guna]

Was it a top end model with AWD? Did you feel the AWD effect (neutral handling)? Is the drive more 'car-like' or 'SUV/MUVish'?

[n.devdath]

This, I believe is a first drive of the Aria on TBHP.

A few questions. Was the air conditioning on all rows effective?

Any idea about its GC and overhangs?

[FlyingSpur]

Wow. You guys start really early in the day

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Excellent review and very good observations. Great Job.

@Flyingspur: Did it have the lumpiness seen in all our softly sprung desi SUV's? Did you find the Aria worthy of a price tag above Innova VX(forget the equipment)?

Thanks Anshuman. Yes, it did have that feeling of bobbing about like a boat. And somehow, yes, I would pay a little more than a top-end Innova for this. And I say this, because I am not impressed one bit with the build quality of the old Corolla (which I own) / Innova / Fortuner. THe problem decreases in that order, but I hate the materials they use, the garish and cheapo fake wood, the inconsistent banel gaps etc. The Aria is one step above these in interior quality. Where it loses out to the Innova is in the 3rd row seating.

Originally Posted by Amartya

The AWD system is useful in slushy conditions, not just during full fledged offroading. It also helps while negotiating slopes (say driving to Leh) where there are less than ideal road conditions.

Yup that makes sense to me now. And the narrow footwell thing, that's exactly what I mentioned to them. They have comfortable seating, armrests all around and then omit a dead pedal? As a long distance car, I'd say.... there, but not quite there.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Excellent review FS.
I really like the Aria, and think Tata have come a lot way since the indica days (we had a 98/99 red indica petrol once upon a time).
How much worse is the body roll over an Innova? Recently sat in the captain chair of the Innova and I really didn't enjoy the ride, thanks to the body roll. Didn't face the issue in the drive though.

Thanks Lambo. I had an Indica DLE from the first production batch too. If there's anyone qualified to comment on things moving forward, it's us, Tata's experimental guinea pigs !!

In terms of body roll, both myself and my cousin concurred that this was slightly worse than an Innova, but only just.

Originally Posted by mooza

Did you manage to give feedback on this to the Tata guys present ? Hope they seriously work on it.

I tried to record all the stuff I've typed out here. We can only hope they listen.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Mighty impressive review! The dash looks very modern compared to the Innova or even the fortuner. Hope they price it well.

Thanks Sahil. Yup, I loved the interiors more than the Toyotas. It's all going to boil down to the pricing.

Originally Posted by MutantX

Good, neat and crisp review flyingspur. Good to see TATA launch Aria with all those features that you had listed. The Aria looks very much like an Innova with TATA designed boot and nose. If it is priced 50k less than Innova then it would easily get into the MUV taxi market. Anything beyond the Innova OTR wouldnt make sense any real dent.

@Flyingspur: You had quoted that you were presented a comparison chart wrt to the competition. Would it be possible to share this with us? Thanks mate.

Thank you MutantX. The problem is that they're most definitely gunning for a price bracket above the Innova. And no, I didn't click a picture of the comparison chart. Didn't have a half decent camera with me. Sorry about that.

Originally Posted by Maverick_x1

Well penned compilation of the first impression FlyingSpur. Covered most of the aspects of a normal test drive. Keep them coming.

Thanks Mav.

Originally Posted by Maverick_x1

Tata's target segment is still a mystery, Would be nice if they Shoe horn the Aria between Safari & the Innova price territory.

Highly unlikely. Targeted at a segment above.

Originally Posted by aks_karthik

Really an impressive review of Aria.
I have a Qst,Did you Td'ed 4x4 or 4x2 version Aria.
if you have third row seat photo,Just post here.

Thanks Karthik. As for your first question, I have already answered it as "Whoops "

As for your second question, I realized after we left that I should have clicked a third row seating picture.

Originally Posted by Guna

Was it a top end model with AWD? Did you feel the AWD effect (neutral handling)? Is the drive more 'car-like' or 'SUV/MUVish'?

While the ease of driving can be equated to a sedan, the handling and suspension behaviour is definitely more MUVish.

Originally Posted by n.devdath

A few questions. Was the air conditioning on all rows effective?

Any idea about its GC and overhangs?

AC was quite effective, yes. Partly down to the twin compressors. And it felt like a tall vehicle so I doubt GC will be a problem. The spec sheet did not mention dimensions and / or GC.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Went through the review & asked myself "would i go for this one had i been contemplating for something from this segment"...still no clear answer. Stuck somewhere in between with a lot of Ifs & buts
Great review though! you MUST get more regular with this. I am sure youv realized that by now.

[Akshay1234]

flyingspur - I dont think this or the innova has a separate compressor for the 2nd and 3rd row, because if it did they would have probably offered another thermostat for them. I think it will be another small cooling coil like the innova.