[Stratos]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (speedsatya @ Oct. 03 2004,00:02)]then its the indica diesel .only for its FE.

FE and comfort and space which a lightly clutched maruti or hyundai cant match!

[hianooo]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (speedsatya @ Oct. 01 2004,22:25)]
when on long drive with 4 people on board ,the travelling costs per person converts is similar to *a bike.

yep...tats true....very economical....:-)

cheers
aNu

Hey Stratos,
I am buying my new Indica DLS very soon and reading the pro's & con's before buying it was really good.
I am more confident of going for it now
Thanks for a great report....

[GTO]

Had borrowed my brothers Indica for an entire day. His Indica is a 1999 model and has covered 60000+ kms. It was recalled by Tata in the year 2000 for upgradation to "V2" components such as suspension parts, fan belt pulleys etc.

From the exterior point of view, the car looks superb for a 5 year old machine. The paint finish (dark metallic blue) is still good, but this is not surprising since Tata and Mercedes India use the same paint booth. Another worthy mention is that the car has not a single spot of rust - despite the fact that we live right on the beach!

It has always started on the first shelf and the engine still feels like it has a load of life left in it. At 60000 kms, a half crank was enough to bring her to life. The interiors have aged very well, the only disappointing factor was the quality of the rubber beading which Tata has used. The Indicas driving position is spot on, and the rest of the interiors are class leading in space levels.

The engine is truly tractable in city driving conditions, and the mid-range is surprising good for a 1.4L indirect injection diesel. The brakes are also up to task with pretty decent stopping power. The Indica's gear shift is probably the only factor that takes some getting used to. I am a big fan of diesel engines due to their driveability and utilitarian nature...and thoroughly enjoyed gunning this car around town.

But what really sets the Indica apart is the ride quality, safety and interior space. This car is H-U-G-E and has as much interior room as my Honda City Vtec. The ride quality is just superb with the heavy duty suspension absorbing most of the torrid Mumbai terrain. Forget other hatches, even sedans like the Esteem cannot compare to the Indica in this department. I have mentioned this before...but I always smile when someone tells me they have bought an Indica for the economy. Economical it sure is with a consistent 14kpl in the city with the air-conditioner on. But the reason for my approval is that the Indica buyer has also bought a hatchback that is way way superior in ride quality, comfort and safety that any Maruti (excepting the Baleno...and thats saying a lot) can offer.

Now, reliability is not an issue at all with the Indica. One reason is its simplistic design. The second is that Tata have learnt a tremendous lot after building close to 10,000 cars a month (including the Indigo). At under 4 lacs for the air-conditioner Indica...its a solid purchase! No other car in this price band gives you so much. Tata has really lived up to its promise of "More car per car".

Its companies like Tata and Mahindra that will truly make India an economic giant. Incumbents such as Maruti, who after 20 years cant even design a gearbox, will not get us anywhere. Indian companies that are treading the difficult path....are the real heroes.

GTO

[Stratos]

Hey.. nice to hear it GTO...!!
Talking about the brakes of the Indica... in my Indica i have had so many instances in which the car in front stopped in panic....but i never had a problem stopping the Indica..behind it!
Just to tell u about the legroom..

Front Legroom of Indica is 129 cms
Rear Legroom of the Indica is 87 cms

In the front legroom the Indica even beats Esteem, Zen, Palio, Petra.
In the rear legroom the Indica is same as Accent, beats WagonR, Zen, Alto, Palio and Petra!

Reliability?? Well u still see so many old Indicas on the road with that fan belt noise. I agree on that .. many Indicas have that problem...but Cmon its an Indian company.. it needs time to improve.!!
Problem is solved in most of the V2s and ofcourse the Indigo!

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Andy @ Oct. 05 2004,01:56)]I am buying my new Indica DLS ..

Hey... nice to know u r buying an Indica.. and yes DLS is the best version!
Have a gr8 time with u r Indica!

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ] Cmon its an Indian company.. it needs time to improve.!!

i dont agree with this !! come being an indian company doesnt mean that we should overlook all the shortcomings. this attitude sucks !!!!

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (normally_crazy @ Oct. 09 2004,13:30)]i dont agree with this !! *come being an indian company doesnt mean that we should overlook all the shortcomings. this attitude sucks !!!!

I think it's more or less inevitable. It did take it's time.
Compare the first lot of Indicas with current V2.

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (normally_crazy @ Oct. 09 2004,13:30)]i dont agree with this !! *come being an indian company doesnt mean that we should overlook all the shortcomings. this attitude sucks !!!!

Well thats the attitude u have to keep if u want to own an Indian car. Be there 100s of shortcomings but the company is making every effort to overcome them...thats the main point!
Being an Indian everyone should be proud of it!! that is wat I think.

[.anshuman]

i agree with gto ,but the latest indica is even more refined in lower reaches of powerband than the palio d dont beleive it go and test drive one i am telling u this bcoz i have 2 indicas and ill be posting full long term report soon,

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

i agree with gto ,but the latest indica is even more refined in lower reaches of powerband than the palio d dont beleive it go and test drive one i am telling u this bcoz i have 2 indicas and ill be posting full long term report soon,

Quite possible...the reason being that Tata Motors is continuously improving its products. Just a small and negligible observation..but all new Indigos mostly have some lines on he base of the reflector unit in the headlamp cluster which old Indigos dont have. After asking about this at the service station...I was told that it was to make the reflector a little more powerful if being exposed to very hot illumination cauzed by the powerful halogen bulbs.!!

[drifter]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

i agree with gto ,but the latest indica is even more refined in lower reaches of powerband than the palio d dont beleive it go and test drive one i am telling u this bcoz i have 2 indicas and ill be posting full long term report soon,

as well with this. Power Freak's indica is very quiet. The cabin is so silent while crusing that as a passenger you cant tell that theres a diesel under the hood. And his car is close to 2 years old with almost 30000kms on the odo. Its only because PF really mantains that car very well that it still runs like new.

Drifter

[oversteer]

Hey folks,
I have a 2004 Indica DLS (4000kms, not even first service yet) and have no regrets about buying her at all. Been driving a 2003 Zen MPFI for a year before the Indica came along.
Now, about what Stratos said in the original post, IMHO there's very little understeer even at high speeds, and the car is incredibly stable... there's a turn on my way to work that I could never take at more than 60 in the Zen without drifting, but in the Indi I've taken it at 100+!!! The car holds the road like nothing I've driven before! Definitely more stable than an Esteem. Consequently braking is also very reassuring and the car always comes to a stop without falling out of line.
Suspension is excellent, to the extent that it fooled my mom sleeping in the backseat into thinking the Blr-Mysore highway had been relaid
Rear 60:40 split seats are an excellent addition. Front seat backrests can be adjusted to be almost perpendicular to the ground, very good for people who need good back support.
NVH has been taken care of very well, with the windows rolled up passengers really can't tell if she's a diesel or not. Starts in half a crank even in miserably cold Ooty during the November rain.
As compared to the Zen, there's hardly any power drop with the A/C switched on. And I'm getting 11-13 in the city, 20+ on highway, with A/C always on.
My experince is, and all Tata car owners I've talked to agree that their customer service is far, far better than Maruti. They're extremely polite, concerned and know how to get a problem solved with minimum fuss. Very comforting.
Problems I've had: 4 punctures in 4k km of tarmac driving... Goodyear GPS2 165/65 R13... finally switched over to Apollo tubes.
DLS doesn't have a heater... for that you gotta shell out about 40k extra for the DLX... not nice. And SpeedSatya is right, the clutch does have a funny feel to it
Finally, "Cool Factors" (what the Marutiz don't have): 2 cup holders on the glove compartment cover. "Loading light" in the boot so you can see what's in there. Leg space. A tray in the dash specially designed to hold coins so that they don't rattle (WOW!). Tray under the steering column for papers etc. Compartments on the front doors that can hold *novels*, leave alone magazines. Mobile charger socket (no ciggie lighter) relocated to centre console so wires don't get entangled in the gearshift. All this attention to detail is wonderful. Highly recommended.
PS: I believe they've come out with a turbocharged Indica this month (FINALLY!), Indica DLG or something...

Cheers!
oversteer

[Stratos]

Originally Posted by oversteer

7
PS: I believe they've come out with a turbocharged Indica this month (FINALLY!), Indica DLG or something...

OH!!! No No!! Its not a turbocharged version of the Indica !!LOL. Its a version between the DLX and the DLS...it comes with front power windows and everything else thats there in the DLX version if I am not wrong!! Thats to offer the customers a little more flexibility in buying an appropriate version!!!

[GTO]

No surprise that Tata has managed to squeeze even more refinement out of Indica engines. Reason? The Sierra and Safari. They may be underpowered to handle all that bulk, but boy...are they refined. You cant feel a single vibration from the engine. And its so silent on the insides!

GTO