[Reinhard]

And after 4 or so years of following T-BHP more than food, here I am - writing my own experience here to share.

Okay, in a brief, I owned an MS Omni LPG (5 Str) since Jan 2007 and that micro MPV has really been great to me. It was more of a budget constraint that made me go for the Omni then. I've always been a TATA fanatic (in any field, not just automotive). The first thing I ever drove, was a Tata Sumo. And so, the Omni was just a stop gap, while I saved for a real Tata beast. Well, Sumo Grande, Safari (and the newly launched ARIA) were and are always the dream to own, but one knows how the bank account looks like. Okay, so I always wanted the good old hatchback Indica. A couple of relatives already own them (V1 and V2DLX non turbo). I've seen them munch miles and miles with the only expense being diesel fills.

Quick Glance at a Vista Aura ABS QJD Drivetech4 –

You'll go Mad for -

• Price and features – yes this has to be first here.
• Fiat 1.3 Multijet - tuned by Tata to deliver the best in class torque, power, efficiency and performance combinations
• Cabin space - Fly business class now
• New FIAT transmission - it actually feels better than Fiat's own cars! Well done Tata for the nice gearing ratios.
• ABS
• Front & rear Fog lamps
• rear windscreen demister
• 7 speed intermittent wiper with intelligent wash+wipe function
• Intelligent rear wash + wiper - It will work automatically if you put the car in reverse gear and front wipers are on.
• Keyless entry (– someone please advise me the exact benefits of it. Anyway we go to the car. Can as well use the key to open the door can’t we?)
• Tilt steering
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Stunning Looks - Subjective. I like its looks the most in any hatchback, and so i own it. One may say its rear looks boring and similar to old Indica. I feel the old indica wasn't bad at all, and these looks are actually simple, practical and sober. Those tall lights are brilliant at night.
• Suspension
• Hydraulic Power Steering
• Blaupunkt integrated 2 DIN music system with USB and Aux
• Blue 5 - pair up-to 5 phones for all phone functions as well as A2DP bluetooth music streaming. Mind blowing white back-lit phone keypad.
• Huge green house - forget the cramped claustrophobic feel of the Japanese cars.
• My best ever experience at all round visibility.
• large ORVMs with minimal blind spots, anti glare I-RVM.
• Black + beige interiors. - enter into a classy European luxury interior. (something about this in cons too...)
• Classy large key with integrated remote key-less entry lock/unlock buttons. Its the same key as that of the Punto, except that it has the Tata logo.
• Paint job - nice finish. More so since some paint lines are now shared with Fiat.
• 60:40 split and full roll up folding seats.
• Utility tray under front passenger seat
• Parcel tray in rear.
• 12V outlet for front as well as rear seats.

You'll go Sad for -

• Internal door handle plastic quality. Take care or order replacements.
• Centrally mounted console - I find no issues with it, looks good, but one might not like it. its subjective
• Gear shift - its smooth and precise, but those who have driven Swift may still find it a bit stiff.
• black + beige interiors - It looks a stunner no doubt. but then, it is hard to keep it looking that way. The beige is really not a colour for our dear country with its dust and muddy roads. The original colour scheme in the Terra & Aqua trims - dark and faint gray, was really clever and didn't catch dirt. But Tatas failed to make us - the buyers - really understand the benefits of it.
• Stock speakers - the sound quality is okay for some middle aged person who is listening to soothing old music. Forget the thumps and JBL quality with the stock Onkyo speakers. Upgrade highly recommended.
• Wheel profile - the 165/75 R14 Goodyear G3 are pretty decent and do their job without any drawbacks. But then come on, look at the size and capabilities of the beast that sits on them. At least on higher trim levels, Tata should offer a stock R15 up-sized wheel. The wells are compatible with the 15" wheels anyway. As with most Tatas, though optimally balanced, the car looks under-tyred.
• Boot space - you'll be surprised to see a moderate sized boot in such a huge super-mini. The trick - this is how the rear seats get a business class leg room.
• No controls on steering.

My Story –
Now here is the detailed story of me now looking like the bald gentleman in the Drivetech4 TV commercial.

Prelude...
My best friend (Ajit) was looking for a ride and he decided on the Indica V2 DLX Turbo about 2 years back. Thats when the engine bug in me woke up again. We went to Pandit Auto Pune, and were "amazed" to know that that model was now off the production line and if we wanted a turbo, he had to get the new Vista TDi or Quadrajet. Okay I won't write about the dilemma, wrong advices from people and time spent thinking as that would probably make this review as large as all 7 Harry Potter books combined. So, he is now a happy TDi AQUA owner for 2 years.
We are nuts and always looking for reasons to get at the wheel. Every journey we made together made me very uncomfortable as with each mile, I wanted the exact same car for myself. We went to Goa in his Vista in Sept 10 and that was it. No waiting now, I needed this thing.

The "Getting Vista" process...
To put it in a nutshell, it wasn't smooth as butter. Well, it wasn't smooth at all!! It was probably the least enjoyable "shopping" experience I ever had. This is where Maruti Suzuki beats Tatas and others hands down (And sells cars a bit costlier than they should be). It’s only because of my TATA madness and usual Indian "chalta hai" approach that comes with that madness that I continued.

So we went to Pandit again, and admired the Nano, Linea, Punto on display. The FIAT guys and ladies are very well trained and very customer friendly. But I didn't have to weigh options since I never had any options in mind. It was the Vista that I wanted and that’s it. I was trying to be tight on budget and so wanted a TDi AQUA just as Ajit's.
Thanks to the new environment caring (really?) approach of the authorities, BS3 compliant engines are not to be sold in metros and Pune happens to be one of them. The in-stock cars could be still sold, but the in Stock TDi AQUA didn't have the Cavern Grey colour I wanted. And oddly, the TDi is said to be not compliant with BS4 norms thus leaving me with option of Quadrajet only. Now QJD is available with Terra, Aqua and Aura, all trims. Any idea how Tata still sells the TDi engine with different catalytic converter in other cars as BS4? I feel this is a business gimmick to keep the QJD sales up in case of Vista.

There is a heafty difference between the TDi and QJD prices. I like the TDi its a gutsy robust engine. Though not as agile as the QJD, it’s a workhorse. It will probably pull a tank if you make it to. A QJD breaks down, and you need an engineer who is capable of handling a laptop/pc. A TDi goes down and any reasonable roadside mechanic can bring it back alive for you to drive to TASS. Personally somehow I feel the QJD is a bit delicate and needs care as compared to the TDi. Not a HUGE performance difference on day to day drives, since we don't need much of it.

Moral of the story - I had to book a Quadrajet. May be it was the frustration or really the features that I threw caution to the winds and unleashed the budget cap! Now I wanted the AURA ABS, with everything except airbags. Booked it and the stars didn't like that once again. Now the all new DriveTech4 Vista was to be launched and it was "Refreshed" with new black + beige interiors. I had booked the normal BS4 with usual dark-faint Aura ABS. Eventually

I got a call from the CSR saying cavern grey BS4 Aura ABS is not coming out of the production line any more and I either need to book a Refreshed one, or buy a BS3 version, which was still in stock, and allowed to be sold since made 6 months back. Compared to the Refreshed Drivetech4, it would cost about 10k less (5k less than BS4 and 5k less than Refreshed).
I may be wrong, but somehow I felt the reasons for a car made 6 months back to be still in the stock-yard may not be good. I didn't want to end up getting a car someone had returned with complaints and then repaired. Even I feel Tata won't do that, but then its my money I was to spend, so I wanted it my way...

A scheme for exchange bonus of 15k + free insurance was active till 30th October. Now the dealership said "Sir your required configuration is not coming up in our 'system' for us to block it for you. Unless your invoice is made before 30th, you won’t get these offer benefits. We suggest you go for the BS3 we have and you'll get the offer and delivery in 3 days". I kept denying this and demanding the config I ordered for. It was obviously a try at clearing stocks in my opinion. After 5 days of this, I wrote a very little email to TATA Motors' customer care and complaints section. And this is the reason why I love Tata. The next day, I got a call from Pandit Auto - "sir your required car is now appearing in our system and we are blocking it for you". It’s anybody's guess how this happened.

Even with this, I must mention that the sales fellow, Ganesh his name, is genuine and really concerned about the customer. His attention to regular KCI and availability is good. Also liked the way exchange was handled overall. Once I handed over the documents for transfer, I was allowed to keep the car with me and the payment was transferred to my down payment total. Just 20000 were held, till I provided the NOC from financer after loan fore closure. This was very good really. I handed over my exchange car just 2 days prior to delivery. It was accepted with trust, without doing stringent checks at all.
Things went very fast and smooth afterwards. I had the invoice ready on 29th October, and got the delivery on 1st November 2010. It was a rush day and more than 50 cars were to be delivered from that dealership! The PDI and overall process was very fast and well handled. The box of car shaped chocolates that Tata gives is really a nice touch. And so, I became the bald guy (OK I’m not bald in reality at all. Friends call me bear if you want to know) with the real mad expression and wheel in hands...YOU MUST DRIVE IT TO BELIEVE IT!!! So keep in mind about this if you face similar situations. Tata is listening, and it takes fast actions.

Incidentally, mine was just the 2nd Indica Vista Refresh Drivetech4 to hit the Pune roads with new mascots and badges (including "Powered by Drivetech4"), new interiors and so fore.

The Actual Vista Experience...

It’s Fantastic. I've been fortunate enough to have driven quite a lot of different cars and even buses. And yes, this one satisfies all my aspirations.
I'm from a family where everyone wants to break the 6' mark and does it (I'm 6'3" and still not the tallest of the lot). So all round space and comfort was top priority. And this one keeps people wanting to travel more. The seats are positioned perfect for optimal comfort, support, driving position & visibility. This car doesn't make you feel like driving a small car at all. Most sedans in a common man's budget range don't offer this much of pampering to the passengers. I don't see any other hatchback on our roads right now that offers this much of a comfortable interior at any price point.

Visibility from mirrors, windows, and the rear glass is excellent. I don't think there will be any parking sensor sales for this particular kid on the blocks. ORVMs are large. IRVM is anti-glare ready.

The much talked about "fit & Finish" - I don't care what many people may say, it’s exceptionally good. Some of the exterior panel gaps, actually look good in some ways. We shouldn't compare an Indica which costs 3.8 to 5.5L INR with a Skoda Fabia which costs upto 7.5L for similar trim specifications. Yes there are some little plastics that can be made "better looking" but then we don't like an Indica to cost more do we? This is the optimal package that can be made.

I'll include the pics of the niggles I had at delivery. They were fixed well during the first service. The tilt steering block as a whole wasn't perfectly in horizontal position. So the "T" on the steering was tilted to left by 1-2 degrees, when the tires were pointing dead straight. The soft plastic windscreen grab strips on the front outside (Only use being good looks) are a new design compared to the older model. The left one wasn't properly fastened at the top end. Fixed in a jiffy with a replaced clip. The door thuds are so reassuring and firm, my wifey just "does" the doors to enjoy that sound. I'll soon be having an argument about that since I hate this obviously. (Pray for me guys!).

It’s built ROBUST and solid. Want a glimpse? Just open a front door, and feel its weight. Now look at the hinges that are supporting it. I've never seen so strong and solid steel hinges on any Maruti made car till date.

The remote opening levers for fuel and boot lid are very smooth and sturdy. I mention this specifically because in the Marutis I've driven so far, they feel as if they haven't ever seen a lubricant. A brand new Ritz / Swift might need you to use your wheel jack to lift the lever.

Everyone goes with the central roof mounted antenna now a days, as it’s considered a style symbol. So, Vista has that too. I keep my car covered. That antenna is a bit of hindrance since I have to remember to take the cover off front to back, as otherwise the antenna pokes into the cover and may twist itself.

The HPS is nicely tuned. At 0kph, it feels so light that one may misinterprete it to be the cheaper EPS. Contrary to most reviews, I find this one well weighted at speeds and with a good feedback of what the wheels are upto. May be Tata changed something with it in the Drivetech4 version. The touch and plastic quality of the wheel is fair. The embossed "T" logo in the steering is in one word - CHEAP. It looks like a duplicate really! They should quickly get the same steely looking logo from the new Vista Safire90 (As shown in GTO's review) at least.

Curiously, I find the pedal positions in the TDi and QJD a bit different. It’s a bit different (not necessarily uncomfortable) to reach the clutch (which is very soft and kind on your knees) as compared to the TDi's clutch pedal. No major hindrance, but the difference is noticeable. Accelerator pedal is so soft and responsive, that it doesn't need any power to use at all.

The breaks - Vista with its almost 1500 kgs of weight, really deserved an EBS+EBD. And yup, it gives you excellent confidence. The ABS does its job very well and I've experienced it myself on more than few occasions. The ubiquitous Disc-drum combination has a very good and predictable bite. Pedal feedback is good too. The booster assist to the pedal is also well calibrated.
Tilt Steering & height adjustable driver's seat make finding the right position a simple task. With so much travel available for all parameters, the drives will be comfortable and safe no matter what size you are.

NVH - what is that? I accidentally cranked the engine already running by mistake on day 1. Since then, everyone that I let touch her, reached for the key with engine on. Fortunately, since I did it, I keep full attention to the tester friends' right hand reaching to the key. That sums it all I guess. The sound I like (and feel should come more in the cabin) is the pleasing Turbo humm. I sometimes feel I wasted money on the music system! The turbo is so nice to listen to after all...The cabin is so insulated, that many times you won't hear your own horn in the cabin - honest.

Intentionally keeping the Engine and transmission lower in the list, since we all know it as much as Tata-Fiat by now. Yes, Tata has given a neat touch for the Indian needs of a young family. It has a turbo, it has a good fuel efficiency, it has an optimal flat power/torque delivery across a wide band. Its revv happy, its tractable. The turbo starts spooling up after 1750 rpm unlike the unit on Fiat or Maruti Suzuki cars. That makes it more drivable, without having to be over-aggressive to reach the 2000rpm magic number as is the case with the DDiS / Fiat badged Multijet. The "Eurotech" gearbox is sourced from Fiat and is "Drive by Wire" so you won't get the annoying feedback and vibrations from the engine / chassis into the gear stick. Neat and sweet. Though, you'll take time to "find" the 5th gear with ease for the first couple of days. I sometimes feel the stick is actually a bit faster on the 10 year old Santro ZipPlus that my father-in-law has.

If you are very gentle on the pedal, you won't get the DDiS turbo kick at 2000rpm. But if you want it, be a bit heavy with your right leg, and the Quadrajet doesn't disappoint you. You'll be sucked into the seats as good, if you time your rpm climb well upto 1800 rpm. Above that, the adrenaline flows fast regardless of how you work the gas pedal.
Its worth mentioning that the gear ratios like the engine are customized by Tata with Indian conditions in mind, and you'll be happier in a Vista in city traffic than in the Maruti Suzuki / Fiat hatchbacks. With 4th and 5th gears long and with overdrive, its agile & efficient on the highway too. And a lot sturdy thanks to its heavy metal kerb weight and good wheelbase.

A good practical engine-gear setup. Not for those who want to run in Formula 1, but definitely pleasing for those who know about the engineering and want to ride long distances with ease. It’s a workhorse, not a race-horse, for those who decide more with practical brains than passionate heart...
Engine bay is well laid out. If you open the hood, I bet you'll just stand their admiring it for some minutes. The engine with its air filter on top (same as the MJD on Fiat cars with different logo) looks damn smart and good if compared to the boring looking DDiS - No offense meant, DDiS is an excellent setup engine too, with just different top looks.

The independent front & semi-independent rear suspension setups will let you enjoy a soda without dripping out a drop. I took her to Konkan as well, and this was the first drive out there that I didn't regret being on those parts of road (just road surface. Everything else there is always heaven).

The glove compartment is HUGE to say the least and really holds a laptop as Tata claims. There is a little square piece plugged at its top surface (on the inside). That is where sits a nice light if this dashboard was in the Indigo Manza. Door pockets are handy and useful if not as commendable as the Polo. Cup holders are okay. Driver’s sun visor has a ticket holder.
Apart from that, you'll feel the cubby holes are really rare considering the size of the dashboard. There was plenty opportunity for storage spaces, but Tatas have missed it while trying to keep the dashboard standard for LHD and RHD variants. Come on! Forget this way of cost saving guys. Put the Manza's (Or a trimmed down) dash in, and you'll see enough jump in Vista sales to compensate for the difference. Many are turned down due to the central console which is actually very informative and easy to read.

Ritz is a car I like for cubby holes. Intelligently positioned and styled little storage spaces everywhere on the dash board. Even the latest model Omni has intelligently laid up storage spaces on its little dashboard.
The top surface of the Vista dash is very curvy and slanted. Never flat. So you can't keep anything on it. Even keeping your perfume bottle in place will take efforts. Okay the Vista has a huge glove box. But does it mean we shouldn't get other little places for our little items?

Boot is nothing to boast about. It’s same as that of Swift. Good enough for a usual 4 day outing for 4. It’s flexible with split seats, but one may get a bit anxious on those airport trips with 5 people when the baggage is huge...

Looks are amazing. Headlights are excellent looking. Yet I find the stock 55W bulbs a bit underpowered espacially in rains. They'll blind you via mirrors if a Vista comes from rear, but the Vista driver may not be really having a good visibility in fact. Strange. May be being used to the higher positioned Omni headlamps I’m yet to align well with the Vista’s. Thinking about replacing them with 80W or Xenon lamps.
I think replacing the bulbs on my own will be pretty tedious considering how the large headlamp housings are fastened into the engine bay. Might leave it to the TASS mechanics so that I can point a finger if someone breaks.

The headlamp assembly styling is really nice and forms a major portion in the car's overall character. Their outer lines actually define many aspects of the front and side profiles. Fog lamps are decent and smart. In Pune I don't really need them. So I think they'll live longer than I do.

Handling and cornering is decent for a car with these specifications. A wheel upgrade to R15s or at least a tire upgrade should improve it. This is not a "cat" that likes being cornered a lot if compared with the Swift. The suspension is setup for a comfortable 5 people ride. Not for a rally with Sebastien Loeb or Jari Mati Latvala. So, have finesse in the mountains more than aggression and she'll look after you. Its still fun to corner at speeds mind you. It will not topple. But the soft suspension does let room for body roll and that makes the driver relatively anxious on turns. Swift is sportier and better handler (but bumpier) I'd say.

Goodyear GT3 Triniums are nice. Though they look very undersized for the car that sits on them, the job is done well. These are stock tires and not very performance oriented. Just good for BAU drives. Some cars that were being unloaded into the stock had Bridgstone radials on. Didn't get a chance to check which number it was. Not sure if Tata have moved from GT3 to Bridgstones. Thinking of upgrading tires or the whole wheels some day...Deficient in Vit-M right now. Pretty decent wheel caps, and don't look odd with the car. a spare costs only 300 odd bucks at the most. So pretty cheap if something goes wrong with them.

One thing I must mention here is, Tatas used to give a lot more than their counterparts for the cost they charged. The wheels for example, till very recent times, Indicas came with silverish looking galvanised & silver coloured steel wheels. Marutis and others had long back started saving money with cheap looking black painted wheels. I feel the black paint is not so well hugging the wheel steel and chips away easily exposing the steel to rust. Seems Tatas have now learnt that we - the consumers dont really care about the good little things much. And with that, the Vistas now have the black painted wheels. I'm unhappy about that really. Similarly, older Vistas used to get a good large box with 4 spare lamps. Now we get just 2 of them. Cost cutting is definitely taking its toll on the Vista package. Just compare the new Vista's Terra & Aqua trim features, with the ones 2-3 months back. Now the Indian public may notice how much load of features (demister, tacho, fog lamps, power windows) were packed in there. They'll all be soarly missed. But it’s okay. We - the consumers didn't really do justice to what Tata was offering. Why should they continue to waste their profits then?

Blue 5 enabled Blaupunkt audio system is neat and integrates well with the waterfall dash board. Its an eyecatcher in the night espacially. Won't write much about the looks. The pics will do the talking later. With the factory preset settings, the audio quality was aweful and I started kicking myself for getting an AuraABS. But, its not all that bad. You'll have to dig deep into the user interface and there are very detailed settings available. Bass, XBass, Mid, Trebel. And, unlike most systems, this one also lets you select the specific frequency ranges, gain, quality for each of them. I've spent some time tuning it and now the system is actually worth listening to, even with the stock Onkyo speakers. The twitters are realy good and HF output is crystal clear. Nice surround sound - which I lacked in my earlier Pioneer-Sony Xplode combination. Thinknig of replacing the rear door stocks with better ovals. Happy as of now. Display is better compared to the multi-segment type LCDs. But it is horribly small. Should have been at least an inch larger in diagonal. Menus are well compiled and UI is easy.

The integrated blue5 is a boon. I've already forgotten where my portable handsfree kit is. Excellent voice output and mic. Songs pause when phone rings and resume after hangup. All buttons on the console are large, excellent materials and pleasure to use. You can pair upto 5 phones, with 1 being a master with high priority. Phonebooks can be downloaded. Contacts from phone can be dialled. Received/missed/dialled number lists are also mentained. Direct numbers can be dialled using the phone dialpad on the console.

Have already been in situations where the Vista's unique features have made me happy. Heaviest rains I've ever experienced, at night on the Pune-Mumbai e-way. The rear wiper and de-mister is god's gift. No car at par with Maruti's "L" or "V" trims was riding as easy and confident as me that night. Integrated Blue5 - well mentioned that I dont know where my handsfree kit is already.

Not a single trouble / scratch in almost a month of ownership. Its been a pleasure really. Sent her for service at 1420kms. Will write the report for that in due course. It was done well and carefully. Now the odo reads 1700+ 1 week later.
The all important FE! I won't mention it here in this post. The mods will probably ban me for writing incorrect information in my 3rd ever post and 1st review . I'll explain about them in the service update. I'm a very sedate driver and never go beyond 2100-2200 rpm. 80% of my drives are actually just around 1700 rpm where the turbo isn't even properly spooling! I shift to neutral on highway slopes if there is no traffic and all this is bound to return dream FE...I've done 2 tank full to tank full readings, and the numbers are mind blowing. Keep watching for them!

Mods, viewers, really very sorry for such a huge post. But I didn't want to leave anything unwritten. Still I must have missed a lot of points. Will add them in little notes later on...hehehe
Thanks guys!

Photos, FE and service experience very soon!

P.S. - Special thanks to all those who posted their reviews of Vista in past. Definitely boosted my decision to join them in the Vista club.
Cheers!

[speedmiester]

Congrats on your new purchase. A absolute VFM car for the features and space it offers in the hatchback segment.
I think your post qualifies as the longest post in Team-Bhp.
Post a few pictures of your new drive.

[sajo]

That was a very good review Reinhard! Waiting for your pics and your service experience with Pandit.

Black + beige interiors. - enter into a classy European luxury interior. (something about this in cons too...)

Completely agree!

I recently had a chance to spend some time with a week old Vista QJD Aura ABS, and I was impressed with its refinement , driveability , space and especially the beige and black interiors. Quite an underrated car , this.

[auto-one]

Congrats Reinhard, on you purchase. A very detailed write up indeed !!
Iam also an admirer of the Vista's design. The huge head lamps, the flat side indicators , the christmas- tree tail lamps and not to mention the chunky side profile, they all add to the Vista's elegance. However, I am surprised with the absence of some features like steering mounted audio controls and power mirrors even on the drivetech 4 versions. Do you miss these features?
Secondly, could you please compare the Vista with all other cars that you have driven ?

Waiting for the pictures. Enjoy your drive .

[raghav.carfreak]

Amazing review to say the least, It could give GTO's review a run for its money, Shows how the decesion has been taken with the heart and even the smaller things have been accounted for in your review
Congratulations on your purchase, and like they say that any review is incomplete with pictures, because i can't say a picture speaks a 1000words, you've done that already!
Eagerly awaiting your beauty's pics!

[honeybee]

If you don't rev past 2200 rpms, you must be crawling on the roads. No offense meant, but driving too slow may also not be good for you or your car.

I would also advise against driving in neutral on downward slopes, as you will lose any engine braking in case you need to reduce speeds. You will also be riding on your brakes, i.e. keeping the brake pedal pressed/light jabs every now and then, which will increase the brake wear.

But other than that it's a good review, quite detailed. I wish you and your Vista long miles in your journey together!

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

One thing I must mention here is, Tatas used to give a lot more than their counterparts for the cost they charged. The wheels for example, till very recent times, Indicas came with silverish looking galvanised & silver coloured steel wheels. Marutis and others had long back started saving money with cheap looking black painted wheels. I feel the black paint is not so well hugging the wheel steel and chips away easily exposing the steel to rust. Seems Tatas have now learnt that we - the consumers dont really care about the good little things much. And with that, the Vistas now have the black painted wheels. I'm unhappy about that really.

The reality is this. Base models get silver unpainted steel wheel rims because no full wheel covers/caps are provided, while the others get the black painted ones cos the OE wheel covers would look good on the black rims. Get that?

[Schoudhury]

Congrats Sir.
That's a real nice write up and very detailed also.
I had also shortlisted Vista when i was in the market for my car,but because of some reasons got Ritz.
Anyways drive safe and keep us posted .
And yes, pictures will make the post complete.
Also let us know about the on road price. discounts, freebies etc
Cheers

[VictorSinha]

Hey man congrats. Indeed "Vista Quadrajet Aura ABS Refresh" is by far the best VFM diesel available in the country today. Hey please share some pics. Which color you selected ? I took a test drive last weekend and it was simple mind blowing - Best ride quality and one of the best gearshift in diesels definitely. Also with ABS breaking now is at a different level for this "big" hatch. I am myself planning for one soon. So lets keep the fingers crossed. Discounts in Bangalore are around ~ 26,000 (Insurance Free + 6500 corporate discount). Plus if someone discounts the AMC ( ~ 7,500) also discounts come to approx 32,000. And the onroad price(6, 39, xxx) after all the deductions comes to approx ~ 6,08,000

[Reinhard]

Hi Fellows!
Collectively to all of you, many thanks for your greetings, wishes and tips.
One of the few thoughts I missed to mention above. The older Indica had power window switches near the gear shift stick. Nobody liked it. Being a nut, I somehow did like that place. It gave window control to the co-driver (say your girlfriend or wife) too, while you were busy battling with the traffic. Now I'm the king in Vista. hehe. If I open the window a little and its raining, now the rain does fall directly on these switches. Won't it have an impact on the longer run?

@auto-one:
I don't miss the steering mounted counted controls much, but yeah the should be on the Aura variants. All other features are at par or higher with the Maruti Z*i variant, and those have steering controls. Why not for us?
And yep, electrically folding and operating mirrors would be expected from Aura. Folding especially. With its wide cabin and large mirror, its impossible to fold the left one in tight spots, if there is no co-driver.
Okay, the mirrors fold bothways - so street-hawk bikers are less likely to take the mirror along when they hit it with their bike's mirrors/handles.
As for comparison - of course I feel Vista is the perfect balance of everything. And it is THE winner in VFM. I didn't really have a specific budget constraint. I even contemplated a Punto E+. But then, having surplus money doesn't mean we shouldn't still look for VFM. The Vista is really a good car on all fronts. And thanks to TBHP, its getting better reviews. I really hate the paid mag.s for printing that Polo/Fabia/Swift are the best hatches by far in the market for their "class" "appeal" "fun" factors. Nothing else counts? Our country has a handful people who can afford costly cars. Thankfully we have TBHP for everyone.

@honeybee:
Of course you didn't mean offense! No need to mention that mate. As for the rpm, I'd say you should drive it to believe it The Vista's low rpm range torque is so good, you really don't need to revv to be fast. I'm generally pretty fast on the roads and give most people a hard time. I cross 100kmph, in 5th gear, before touching 2000rpm easily. Very honestly. Thanks for the breaking advise! I've been driving for about 8-9 years now, so have got a fair idea of timing my neutral shift to max safety min hazard and break use.

@Driv3r:
In case of the Vista, all models always get full wheel caps as standard. So no such distinction involved. Even if it was, don't you think its odd that for higher trims, only because you get full wheel caps, you will get relatively lower quality paint on wheels? Well its my opinion, can be totally wrong! I'm interested to confirm which wheel paint finish is the better one.

[Reinhard]

And now Picture Time! The first batch of pictures. Shot these during my visit to Konkan. So couldn't really pay much attention to good photography and surroundings. These are after a spirited 1 stop drive of 300kms in the red-soil konkans. Main aim was to have a set ready for fellow bhpians soon! Will follow up with better finished ones soon as well.

Smile! (Okay I was in hurry guys, so didn't care about lighting, shadows and dust on the car.)


Yep, Aura ABS!


DriveTech4!


Rear 3 Quarters-


Quadrajet


Thankfully, this held on till 1420kms, and is now fixed.
(You can see the bear's -thats me- hand here )


I intend to give her a wash today. Better shot pics, interior, detailed shots can be expected by Tuesday .

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Congrats Sir.
That's a real nice write up and very detailed also.
I had also shortlisted Vista when i was in the market for my car,but because of some reasons got Ritz.
Anyways drive safe and keep us posted .
And yes, pictures will make the post complete.
Also let us know about the on road price. discounts, freebies etc
Cheers

Hi Schoudhury, first of all, hearty congrats on your Ritz! Its a brilliant car really. It was always 2nd in my list if I had to go. Nice tall boy, peppy engines, sporty stance, better features packed in than the Swift, and as I mentioned, plenty practical storage spaces. Enjoy!

As for the price - totally forgot to mention this in the huge story above! Sorry guys.
The OTR individual in Pune for QJD Aura ABS Refreshed BS4 DT4 (Insane name huh!) is now 5,81,000/- inclusive of RTO, Insurance, 2+2 warranty.
I got exchange bonus of 15k, Free insurance+warranty = 20k, corporate discount = 5k (I left Infosys 2 months back. Otherwise I'd have got 10k here ) So overall discounts of 40k.
OTR Pune (MH12 reg.) = 5,41,000/-
Note that the exchange bonus was from Tata and it wasn't sliced out from my Omni's actual price. Omni was taken for a genuine valuation price in accordance with the insurance as well.

• For MH14 (PCMC) it will cost about 10k less!!!

• For in stock BS4 non refreshed it will cost ~5k less!!
• For existing stock BS3 it will cost a total of ~10k less!!

No freebies to anybody since the discount scheme was on and it was Diwali. Pandit is now the sole dealer in Pune. Pratham Motors closed business and B.U. Bhandari has swapped for VW.

Got Garware Sun-control film, 5 floor + 1 boot mats, 4 mudflaps and body cover from the showroom (Pandit Auto). Somehow didn't feel like handing my new dame to the accessory stores in Pune. The guys aren't all that good at handling someone else's prized possessions. Could have saved a bit, but never mind. Total cost for all these was around 5500/- which was actually less than what I expected for a showroom fitment.

So 5,46,500/- with all bells and whistles.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Drivetech Vista. Do post the interior pics of the car. Agree that the black biege combo looks a lot better than all beige.

Enjoy many more happy miles with the Vista.

[Anandg]

Congrats Reinhard,
Your post was worth reading till the end. I am sure tata would be so impressed that they might call you for a felicitation at their head quarters! really. You have explained many features in details that even tata PR department failes to highlight thus loosing many new buyers. I am sure your post would act like a lamppost for new buyers and give them more option to confuse themselves(nah just kidding).

Do post the pics of the car interiors that you have appreciated so much in your post.
Drive safe and enjoy your new ride.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Anandg

Congrats Reinhard,
Your post was worth reading till the end. I am sure tata would be so impressed that they might call you for a felicitation at their head quarters! really. You have explained many features in details that even tata PR department failes to highlight thus loosing many new buyers. I am sure your post would act like a lamppost for new buyers and give them more option to confuse themselves(nah just kidding).

Do post the pics of the car interiors that you have appreciated so much in your post.
Drive safe and enjoy your new ride.

Anand Your note is special for me! Afterall it was your thread where I entered my first ever post as a TBHP member. Glad to hear from you really. LOL @tata felicitation. I hope they don't. I'd be happier if they addressed and ironed out the drawbacks that I've mentioned instead. Yes pictures are on their way. Didn't get a chance to shoot over the weekend since I had to be in office. It was unplanned but problems during live deployment made me rush to office. (Which was good in a way, since a 50km drive on deserted weekend roads is what I'd always prefer with my new beast!)