Buying and Ownership report of Indigo CS GLS

ambujlal · 30th April 2009, 01:00

I have been reading a lot on Tata Cars on this forum and mostly what I found was reports and user experience of Tata Diesel cars. Last year I got myself a Tata Indigo CS GLS. Yes petrol engine that is. I have been searching a lot on user experience of Indigo petrol owners on this and other forums but I guess it is not much documented. So I thought to pen down my ownership experience. Although I must say that I am not big on knowledge but just learning...

When did I buy and why thought of owning a car?

I got my car in June, 2008. The reason for me buying a car was more of "time demands"; With lots of relatives planning to come down to my place. It is not so comfortable taking them around in Autos and bus. So the need to buy a car. Otherwise I am pretty happy thumping around on my bullet. More of a biker than a car person.

What I was looking for in a car?

As said above my needs were more of taking people from point A to point B without fuss. Low maintenance, lots of space, easy availability of spares and in case of breakdown, a local mechanic can fix it. And yes, a decent FE would not hurt! Also a boot was very much necessary because of long drives we do. Hatchback was never really an option until it made a kiiling deal.

Why petrol from TM when everyone buys a diesel?

Let me go back a few years in time. My elder brother had a Indica Petrol, the very few ones which had a 75BHP engine with raw power and loads of torque at low end. We used to go on long drives and it was a pleasure to drive. So much of power to unleash and a chilling AC. Fuel efficieny was not something we bothered much about. So I liked the Indica petrol! Also, since I planned to do occasional long drives, but mostly it wud be used in city driving, diesel did not make much sense. Also I prefer smoothness and silence of petrol engines vs a diesel engine (my preferences as a novice user).

My Budget
It was comfortable 5Lacs, stretchable up to 6 if I could have got real value for money.

Options that I had?

Since I had driven an Indica, I though of trying something different. So I Started with Swift Dzire. The engine as I heard from people was decent and a general low maintenance car. The dealer told me that the waiting period is about 6-7 months which could stretch upto 9 months! Well, waiting for that long was not really my idea. On the other hand the dealer tried to hard sell me a Wagon R; I still wonder that even after I told him my requirements of loads of space and a boot, he thought Wagon R would fit!

Next option was a Logan petrol. My other brother has a logan diesel and I have driven it quiet often. Once to Ooty from Bangalore. I must say its a fabulous car, specially when the turbo kicks in after 1500rpm. Its pick up and stability is way ahead of any tata diesel car. But then I do think its an over priced proposition. An almost 7L on road in Bangalore. Anywayz back to petrol version; I test drove it and was impressed with the engine performance. The pickup was decent, given the weight of the car. Space wise, I don't think any car beats logan in this segment. I had decided on it almost but then the attitude of the two Mahindra dealers really put me off. I was scared if they have a "take it or leave it attitude" before selling what will they do with after sales service! Also in the mean time I heard from one of my friends who bought a logan petrol, that it gives a FE of around 10, that kind of stopped me.

That left me with Indigo CS. It had all things I was looking for like space, comfort, service backup in terms of low cost of spares and good service network, and value for money. The test drive was good, although nothing new for me as I had driven Indica a lot. But yes there was a marked difference in handling in terms of gear box which was better than the old Indica V2 Lsi. Clutch was also light. Felt a bit more zippy to drive. But I preferred the old Indica steering, it felt solid. I don't like the new steering that much but I can live with it. So I decided on CS GLS as my car. Afterall it made a killing deal of 4.5L on road in Bangalore. I also liked the lighter shade of interiors in the petrol version of CS as compared to dark grey which comes in the diesel version. Was bored at looking at grey color in my brother's car.

Dealer and buying experience

I went to Concorde motors near dairy circle in Bangalore. There is always a good rush there, because of the number of models they offer. Tata will always have something which would interst you. I had to wait for 15-20 minutes before I was attended do. I asked them for test drive but a vehicle was not available that day for test drive. There was one parked inside the showroom but that was not a test drive vehicle. I enquired about finance option and rest of the things. There was no discounts available as it was a hot selling thing at that time. Anyway I was promised a test drive the next day.

Next day the sales person brought a GLS to my office. Test drove it and approved the booking. I settled for a sparkling gold color. Fortunately it was available and was promised the vehicle delivery in 4-5 days. I test drove it on a Monday and I had the vehicle with me on Thursday. That included loan sanctioning of abt 2 Lacs from Reliance Finance. After some hard bargaining I got 3M sun films and remote locking free from the dealer. So here I was with an Indigo CS GLS parked in my basement in a 4 day buying period. Concorde Motors really took care of everything and I was impressed with their salesmanship. They kept me informed daily about the status. They also ensured that all the loan processing formalities were done at my office, so no running around. All in all a good buying experience.

What all I fitted later?
Not much, A kenwood system with JBL 4 speaker system. PU leather seat covers, beige in color. That makes my car look really spacious.

Driving experience so far!
It has been a pleasure driving CS. It is exactly according to my expectations. Very low NVH levels, good AC, responsive power steering, good suspension and ample comfort. It is a highway car. Went to coorg with 5 adults and boot filled with baggage. Touched a top speed of 135, but genreally drove around 90. During that trip it returned me a FE of 15 with AC on 75% of time. In city driving, I get a FE of around 13 with AC always on. The second service is due in about a months time. I hope it would become sweeter after that. I love the smoothness of the engine, there is hardly any vibration and noise when running. There has absolutely been no issues with the car. I am very happy Tata petrol car owner

To maintain the interior plastic, I polish it once in two weeks. The external part of the car gets polished by me every week, so it still shining as new although it has donw thousands of kilometers. Polish also helps maintain the paint and saves you from small scratches. Also I do upholstrey cleaning myself. Basically I like spending time with my car on weekends and like to keep it sparkling clean.

hrag · 30th April 2009, 01:27

What's the odo reading today? I have one of those 'few' 75 BHP petrols in my parking lot.

Danindica · 30th April 2009, 02:00

The CS too is a great buy. It has the XETA(Xtra Efficient Torque Advantage) engine and work out to be really good propositon. The smoothness of petrol and the sturdiness of a diesel is what makes the Indica fabulous. Contrary to what most people think, the Indicas are not high maintenance vehicles. If anything they can be called "frequent maintenance' vehicles. So get its wheels abalanced and aligned every 5k. Use the fuel additive IFTEXg that they prescribe and get the engine mounts and chassis bolts tightened every 5k. You will love your car and will smile at Altos and the Zens and the Wagon Rs and the Swift petrols that were paid at least an lakh extra for by someone thinking they were a more superior product.

ambujlal · 30th April 2009, 07:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

What's the odo reading today? I have one of those 'few' 75 BHP petrols in my parking lot.

The odo reading is close to 73K right now, without any major issues and still going strong...

hrag · 30th April 2009, 08:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by ambujlal

The odo reading is close to 73K right now, without any major issues and still going strong...

Wow, that is some driving - 73000 km in 1 year

How is the silencer holding up? The only major issue I've had is the silencer apart from the famous Behr A/C.

ambujlal · 30th April 2009, 08:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danindica

Use the fuel additive IFTEXg that they prescribe

Where can I get the fuel additive from? I checked at few petrol bunks but they did not have anything!

ambujlal · 30th April 2009, 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrag

Wow, that is some driving - 73000 km in 1 year

Sorry hrag, I thought you were asking about the old Indica.
Mine CS has done some 9K in 10 months time. The second service is due at 10K. I wish I could do 73K in a year, then I would be on road most of the times

ambujlal · 30th April 2009, 18:25

Forgot to add that I also got a reverse parking sensor installed for 4K. It has four sensors on the rear bumper. Its a basic one which turns the rear view mirror into a LCD display as soon as I engage my reverse gear. It is pretty useful parking in tight spots and in pitch darkness. The sensor has survived heavy rains and a big bump from a Indica (I braked suddenly to avoid a M800 cutting sharply into my lane from left, the Indica behind could not respond in time and banged in my CS. Thankfully no damage done to my car, but Indica had some oil leaking from its engine)

Danindica · 4th May 2009, 02:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by ambujlal

Where can I get the fuel additive from? I checked at few petrol bunks but they did not have anything!

Dear Ambuj, All TATA motors showrooms have it. IFTEXd for Diesel and IFTEXg for Petrol. 1 ml per liter is all you need. Keeps the injectors clean and the hesitation, rough idling etc are gone after you have used like half of the bottle. Rs.250/bottle. The additive has cleared several GM and Volkswagon tests. I hope youuse premium fuel. The XETA engine works best on fuels withocatne levels of 97(Speed) and above.

ambujlal · 4th May 2009, 08:48

Thanks Dan! Would get that soon...car's second service is due in about a months time! Would post the results after that...

ambujlal · 8th May 2009, 09:32

Gurus,

Is it advisable to go for anti rust coating for Indigo under belly? How much would it cost and for how long would it last?

indivic · 8th May 2009, 12:14

Why would you need an under belly protection, I live in Chennai and I make an inspection of the underbody once every 3 months, no sign of rust and my Indica is from 2004.

At Concorde Chennai they used to offer it for Rs.2500/- if I remember correctly, the company is Wurth or something.

ambujlal · 8th May 2009, 12:25

Well during monsoon's my locality often gets water locked and I have to drive through it. Was wondering if it would damage the underbelly!

indivic · 8th May 2009, 13:42

I have driven through a lot of water logged places in the last few years (there seems to be some kind of annual flood in Chennai every year), so far no worries , unless you are going to scrape the belly on some rocks, I mean like the ones you see on off roading tracks, I dont think you need to worry about rusting, personally I think Tata got the chassis/monocoque spot on with the Indica platform with respect to QC/QA and till date I cannot find any kind of QC issue with that area of the car, having said that what has your experience been with your Indica - any rusting ?

The only thing I heard about the underbody coating is that it is not permanent, so if you do scrape the underbelly after you have the coating done, you need to check and reapply the coating.

hrag · 8th May 2009, 14:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danindica

Dear Ambuj, All TATA motors showrooms have it. IFTEXd for Diesel and IFTEXg for Petrol. 1 ml per liter is all you need. Keeps the injectors clean and the hesitation, rough idling etc are gone after you have used like half of the bottle. Rs.250/bottle. The additive has cleared several GM and Volkswagon tests. I hope youuse premium fuel. The XETA engine works best on fuels withocatne levels of 97(Speed) and above.

Sorry but no way. Anything above normal fuel (91 RON?) is a waste of money for the Indica petrols. That engine will run on anything that smells like or resembles petrol. I did use System G for about 10K km - found no difference in anything.

Plus, the ECU is non-adaptive - you might want to remember that

. The circus of premium fuel, disconnecting the battery to reset ECU etc. is exactly that - a circus.

30th April 2009, 01:00	#1
ambujlal BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 313 Thanked: 326 Times View My Garage	Buying and Ownership report of Indigo CS GLS I have been reading a lot on Tata Cars on this forum and mostly what I found was reports and user experience of Tata Diesel cars. Last year I got myself a Tata Indigo CS GLS. Yes petrol engine that is. I have been searching a lot on user experience of Indigo petrol owners on this and other forums but I guess it is not much documented. So I thought to pen down my ownership experience. Although I must say that I am not big on knowledge but just learning... When did I buy and why thought of owning a car? I got my car in June, 2008. The reason for me buying a car was more of "time demands"; With lots of relatives planning to come down to my place. It is not so comfortable taking them around in Autos and bus. So the need to buy a car. Otherwise I am pretty happy thumping around on my bullet. More of a biker than a car person. What I was looking for in a car? As said above my needs were more of taking people from point A to point B without fuss. Low maintenance, lots of space, easy availability of spares and in case of breakdown, a local mechanic can fix it. And yes, a decent FE would not hurt! Also a boot was very much necessary because of long drives we do. Hatchback was never really an option until it made a kiiling deal. Why petrol from TM when everyone buys a diesel? Let me go back a few years in time. My elder brother had a Indica Petrol, the very few ones which had a 75BHP engine with raw power and loads of torque at low end. We used to go on long drives and it was a pleasure to drive. So much of power to unleash and a chilling AC. Fuel efficieny was not something we bothered much about. So I liked the Indica petrol! Also, since I planned to do occasional long drives, but mostly it wud be used in city driving, diesel did not make much sense. Also I prefer smoothness and silence of petrol engines vs a diesel engine (my preferences as a novice user). My Budget It was comfortable 5Lacs, stretchable up to 6 if I could have got real value for money. Options that I had? Since I had driven an Indica, I though of trying something different. So I Started with Swift Dzire. The engine as I heard from people was decent and a general low maintenance car. The dealer told me that the waiting period is about 6-7 months which could stretch upto 9 months! Well, waiting for that long was not really my idea. On the other hand the dealer tried to hard sell me a Wagon R; I still wonder that even after I told him my requirements of loads of space and a boot, he thought Wagon R would fit! Next option was a Logan petrol. My other brother has a logan diesel and I have driven it quiet often. Once to Ooty from Bangalore. I must say its a fabulous car, specially when the turbo kicks in after 1500rpm. Its pick up and stability is way ahead of any tata diesel car. But then I do think its an over priced proposition. An almost 7L on road in Bangalore. Anywayz back to petrol version; I test drove it and was impressed with the engine performance. The pickup was decent, given the weight of the car. Space wise, I don't think any car beats logan in this segment. I had decided on it almost but then the attitude of the two Mahindra dealers really put me off. I was scared if they have a "take it or leave it attitude" before selling what will they do with after sales service! Also in the mean time I heard from one of my friends who bought a logan petrol, that it gives a FE of around 10, that kind of stopped me. That left me with Indigo CS. It had all things I was looking for like space, comfort, service backup in terms of low cost of spares and good service network, and value for money. The test drive was good, although nothing new for me as I had driven Indica a lot. But yes there was a marked difference in handling in terms of gear box which was better than the old Indica V2 Lsi. Clutch was also light. Felt a bit more zippy to drive. But I preferred the old Indica steering, it felt solid. I don't like the new steering that much but I can live with it. So I decided on CS GLS as my car. Afterall it made a killing deal of 4.5L on road in Bangalore. I also liked the lighter shade of interiors in the petrol version of CS as compared to dark grey which comes in the diesel version. Was bored at looking at grey color in my brother's car. Dealer and buying experience I went to Concorde motors near dairy circle in Bangalore. There is always a good rush there, because of the number of models they offer. Tata will always have something which would interst you. I had to wait for 15-20 minutes before I was attended do. I asked them for test drive but a vehicle was not available that day for test drive. There was one parked inside the showroom but that was not a test drive vehicle. I enquired about finance option and rest of the things. There was no discounts available as it was a hot selling thing at that time. Anyway I was promised a test drive the next day. Next day the sales person brought a GLS to my office. Test drove it and approved the booking. I settled for a sparkling gold color. Fortunately it was available and was promised the vehicle delivery in 4-5 days. I test drove it on a Monday and I had the vehicle with me on Thursday. That included loan sanctioning of abt 2 Lacs from Reliance Finance. After some hard bargaining I got 3M sun films and remote locking free from the dealer. So here I was with an Indigo CS GLS parked in my basement in a 4 day buying period. Concorde Motors really took care of everything and I was impressed with their salesmanship. They kept me informed daily about the status. They also ensured that all the loan processing formalities were done at my office, so no running around. All in all a good buying experience. What all I fitted later? Not much, A kenwood system with JBL 4 speaker system. PU leather seat covers, beige in color. That makes my car look really spacious. Driving experience so far! It has been a pleasure driving CS. It is exactly according to my expectations. Very low NVH levels, good AC, responsive power steering, good suspension and ample comfort. It is a highway car. Went to coorg with 5 adults and boot filled with baggage. Touched a top speed of 135, but genreally drove around 90. During that trip it returned me a FE of 15 with AC on 75% of time. In city driving, I get a FE of around 13 with AC always on. The second service is due in about a months time. I hope it would become sweeter after that. I love the smoothness of the engine, there is hardly any vibration and noise when running. There has absolutely been no issues with the car. I am very happy Tata petrol car owner To maintain the interior plastic, I polish it once in two weeks. The external part of the car gets polished by me every week, so it still shining as new although it has donw thousands of kilometers. Polish also helps maintain the paint and saves you from small scratches. Also I do upholstrey cleaning myself. Basically I like spending time with my car on weekends and like to keep it sparkling clean.
	() Thanks

30th April 2009, 01:27	#2
hrag BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore / Madras Posts: 1,982 Thanked: 31 Times	What's the odo reading today? I have one of those 'few' 75 BHP petrols in my parking lot.
	() Thanks

30th April 2009, 02:00	#3
Danindica BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 39 Thanked: 2 Times	The indica/indigo peace The CS too is a great buy. It has the XETA(Xtra Efficient Torque Advantage) engine and work out to be really good propositon. The smoothness of petrol and the sturdiness of a diesel is what makes the Indica fabulous. Contrary to what most people think, the Indicas are not high maintenance vehicles. If anything they can be called "frequent maintenance' vehicles. So get its wheels abalanced and aligned every 5k. Use the fuel additive IFTEXg that they prescribe and get the engine mounts and chassis bolts tightened every 5k. You will love your car and will smile at Altos and the Zens and the Wagon Rs and the Swift petrols that were paid at least an lakh extra for by someone thinking they were a more superior product.
	() Thanks

30th April 2009, 18:25	#8
ambujlal BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 313 Thanked: 326 Times View My Garage	Forgot to add that I also got a reverse parking sensor installed for 4K. It has four sensors on the rear bumper. Its a basic one which turns the rear view mirror into a LCD display as soon as I engage my reverse gear. It is pretty useful parking in tight spots and in pitch darkness. The sensor has survived heavy rains and a big bump from a Indica (I braked suddenly to avoid a M800 cutting sharply into my lane from left, the Indica behind could not respond in time and banged in my CS. Thankfully no damage done to my car, but Indica had some oil leaking from its engine)
	() Thanks

4th May 2009, 08:48	#10
ambujlal BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 313 Thanked: 326 Times View My Garage	Thanks Dan! Would get that soon...car's second service is due in about a months time! Would post the results after that...
	() Thanks

8th May 2009, 09:32	#11
ambujlal BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 313 Thanked: 326 Times View My Garage	Anti rust coating? Gurus, Is it advisable to go for anti rust coating for Indigo under belly? How much would it cost and for how long would it last?
	() Thanks

8th May 2009, 12:14	#12
indivic BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 837 Thanked: 195 Times	Why would you need an under belly protection, I live in Chennai and I make an inspection of the underbody once every 3 months, no sign of rust and my Indica is from 2004. At Concorde Chennai they used to offer it for Rs.2500/- if I remember correctly, the company is Wurth or something.
	() Thanks

8th May 2009, 12:25	#13
ambujlal BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 313 Thanked: 326 Times View My Garage	Well during monsoon's my locality often gets water locked and I have to drive through it. Was wondering if it would damage the underbelly!
	() Thanks

8th May 2009, 13:42	#14
indivic BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 837 Thanked: 195 Times	I have driven through a lot of water logged places in the last few years (there seems to be some kind of annual flood in Chennai every year), so far no worries , unless you are going to scrape the belly on some rocks, I mean like the ones you see on off roading tracks, I dont think you need to worry about rusting, personally I think Tata got the chassis/monocoque spot on with the Indica platform with respect to QC/QA and till date I cannot find any kind of QC issue with that area of the car, having said that what has your experience been with your Indica - any rusting ? The only thing I heard about the underbody coating is that it is not permanent, so if you do scrape the underbelly after you have the coating done, you need to check and reapply the coating.
	() Thanks