Deciding on Indica DLS Turbo
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I decided to buy the Indica DLS in Oct 06. The reason of choosing Indica was, operational cost. I had read many reviews and finally decided that Indica Diesel would fit the bill and is not as bad as the "typical diesel" that i usually associated diesels with.
Also, the car would be in name of company, so wanted to have a car with decent resale value also. I had to buy it before december and hence could not even think of Swift diesel. Till now, i dont regret this
.
The other options were DLG, and the non-turbo. I figured that non-turbo was definitely not for me, since I am moving from a Santro, and expected some decent power. Diesels are a little sluggish and i felt the turbo would help a lot in this case.
I did not get the DLG because i planned to fit aftermarket power windows anyways.
Buying experience
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Decided on Manipal motors, SAnkey road as they gave a good quote, 10K corp discount and the basic accessories + remote lock free. They dont seem to be aware of the processes for company owned cars and i had to intervene many times to get the right documents between my company and the dealer. Booked a cherry red Indica. They made me wait for almost a month and there was a fire at the tata motors factory also. The net result was Cherry red is out of production (Or thats what the dealer told me). Wifey and me had 3 color options and the only other that matched between us is the smoked metal (dark grey in normal language).
Got the car in Nov. Everything was good including a Priest who was ready to do pooja right at the delivery time. There was a pathetic scent bottle which really was normal scent diluted a few times - hardly any effect. I dont understand why they cut the costs in these small things.
Running the first 5k kms
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This is the first diesel that i own and it is fun. The sound was not really bothering me as i was prepared for it. But what i was surprised was how smooth the engine was once warmed up. The turbo is fun: at first i could not really make out the turbo swithing on. But later i could feel it at aroung 1800 - 2000rpm. The 1st 2k kms ran on regular diesel from IOC bunk in St marks rd. SWitched over to Shell later. Mileage between 14 to 16.
The 5k service is actually a cleaning service
. Nothing much done except verification that all are ok. Got the left RVM fixed for Rs 900. The service was done at Prerana on Old Mds. Rd, after feedback from Tsk and others.
Running till 10k
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I knew my car much better now. May be that also helped in increasing the mileage to about 16 on an avg. Made a few long trips. Usually i got around 20 with AC usage about 20%. Got power windows and an new set of front speakers (Blaupunkt).
On one occation noticed a crack on one of the tyres. This was visible only when the cracked part of the tyre was at the bottom - so the weight of the engine was on it. In the 10K service, got this to the spare tyre and i am planning to claim a replacement from Bridgstone. The crack does not seem to be because of any external impact - but lets see what Bridgestone says.
Also got Wheel alignment and balancing done at 10k. Bardhal engine oil additive also was used when the engine oil was changed at 10k. Engine definitely seems smoother than before, but i cant say if it is because of this additive.
Wifey is taking some time to "learn" driving this. She was comfy with Santro, but she says this is a little bulkier and needs changing gears at the "right" time, else it just does not move.
WHat I liked:
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I liked some features in this car that is not there in many higher-priced cars. I liked the adjustment of the console light brightness. I liked the fact that wiring was already done to the speaker points - easy installation of sterio. Really good Seats - back support and thigh support(I had some back pain issues in my 2000 Santro, and i was actually keeping a small pillow at my lower back). Great back seats, although i dont use it that much. Paint finish is great.
What I would like Tata to improve
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The plastic wheel arches seem very cosmetic. Looks ok, but delicate. Incidentally, it helps keep the lower part of the car cleaner in Rainy season. Large panel gaps.
The engine definitely has room to improve - considering the refinement of Swift diesel. But need to wait and see how Indica Dicor will be.
The plastics are just about ok, and definitely has room to improve. The inbuilt radio antenna can be better and somehow i feel an external antenna was better. The steering position could have been a little lower. The hub caps provided was very very bad. One by one, they dropped off the car. They are really bad for a company fitted accessory.
All in all, happy with the car right now.