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-   -   Tata Aria 4x2 : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/105559-tata-aria-4x2-test-drive-review-3.html)

this is more a perception than reality. It was true for the qualis but not the innova. I have checked with a lot of Innova fleet owners including the ones we have in our office ( A fleet of over 40 innovas) and a common refrain is that the maintenance of the Innova is prohibitive and post 1 L KMs, it is not really a VFM in terms of running costs. Hence call centers have of late switched to Taveras and you see Innovas more as "premium" taxis.....but such is the strength of the Toyota brand that it will take a while for the perception to be affected.

Today had a test drive of the Aria 4X2 Pure version. The beige interior is not exactly bad looking also not preferable in terms of long term maintenance. But looking at the number of people who did not like the black and plum leather interior in Pride version the beige should have better acceptance now. The steering felt much, much lighter than the 4wd version. The 2WD vehicle was also much quicker in changing direction. The sprinting ability was so good that i felt there will be significant improvement in 0-100 and roll on times than the 4WD and maybe challenge some sedans too:) . It went from 100-140 kmph in no time!
In the short time i spent with vehicle the negatives were that the brakes did not feel as sharp as the 4WD version.

When I see the Aria, all I can think is: of ALL the vehicles in the Indian market to take on why the Innova? The battle was lost before it was even waged :(

Having said that the 4X2 variant seems like a better value proposition than its predecessor. Hope it sells!

The day will not be far when innova will face the same fate as honda city now once the nissan NV200 is launched at a cheaper price. Hopefully Aria 2wd will gain sales atleast from people who got bored seeing the number of innovas on the road and want to stand out.

If ARIA fails, it would for two reasons imo.

1) Brand building
2) Positioning (Price)

I agree that ARIA is a good car. It is made well, and so far there are no major complaints with regards to reliability. This is definitely a car that would make the owners/customers happy.

With that said, TML wants to jump from VFM manufacturer to premium manufacturer directly. Though it is not impossible, imo ARIA is not the right product for that jump in positioning. ARIA 4x2 might improve the sales by 200 nos.

Moreover AFAIK ARIA was conceived to be an export model. Rs.15 lakhs is about Euro 24000. At this price point the exports seem more challenging than the domestic product. TML should start to invest more in the marketing department.

I dont think, neither before nor now, that Tata ever thought of the Aria as the Tata to take on the Innova. Its just the perception outside, probably precipitated by the the "crossover" branding. The job of taking on the Innova will be for the Merlin and not the Aria.

The introduction of the 4x2 version I beleive is just to increase sales largely by dispelling the image of being overpriced by introducing some low priced variants.

Hey, I would beg to differ on this one. I have personally driven Innovas that had crossed 4 lakh KM, one of my friends and the other of cab wala with a fleet of over 300 innovas. They were is very good condition, the owners were also extremely happy about the maintenance. The engine was unopened and was still giving 12kmpl. They might do another 1 before they dump. On the Qualis, I have seen 5.5 lakh km in Vaddodara, I dint get a chance to drive it, but it sounded like perfectly in condition. In Singapore, I have seen taxis fitted with D4D engines cross 10 lakh KM and still in pristine condition. I m sure there are exceptions or may be because of abuse. But in general, they are built to last forever and maintainance is well within your budget. Intact, Toyota gives you service cost on each service till 2+ lakh KM on paper when you go to their service outlets and you even have an option of purchasing AMC at 30% discount on a program called smiles. That said, Taveras have very bad reputation for engine life, they don't reach the 2 L line, but they are chosen for their extreme fuel efficiency. Even 1.3DDSI though people believe it is very reliable, my own swift almost done at 1.3 lakh km, may be it could do another 30k max.

That said, I liked the looks and excellent interiors of Aria and had td it. My take, 3rd seats are important where there was a compromise, though numbers talk high about engine, AWD was no way near the sheer driveability of Innova. Cost of ownership to life. I drive 40k km per year, Innova will surely last for 5-6 years, whether Tata has a track record for this for their Dicor engine is for time to tell. But Tata is also doing a good brand building exercise, of late I feel Tata Aria is a poor mans Land Rover ;-) if that continues on people like me, I think people will pay the premium.

OK- then if the idea was to create a new segment, Tata has succeeded spectacularly. The only problem is: nobody's buying :Frustrati.
My point was: if the Aria had been priced sensibly, it would be a worthy alternative to the Innova, which is anyway a ageing model that consumers are tiring of seeing. As of now, it's in no-man's land: hopefully the 4X2 revives its fortunes somewhat.

Well, the perception of some owners will differ from others because of the fact that maintainance and spare costs of the Innova are still on the high side. For a fleet owner who doesnt mind these high costs, the Innova is fine. But for a owner who does, when these costs start increasing as the mileage rises he feels a need to get rid of the vehicle.

As for a poor man's Land Rover thing, its very accurate indeed. As the Aria will pretty much be the flagship Tata branded car, with the Jag and LR brands taking over after the Aria. Though wish we could get the 2.2L Land Rover Diesel with around 170bhp on tap.

Why do you say nobody is buying?? The Aria is doing a decent 300 odd units a month. Its doing better than the Yeti, Captiva, Endeavour, Civic, Santa Fe, Pajero, Outlander, CRV. Among similarly priced vehicles, like I mentioned earlier, only the Fortuner, Corolla, Laura and Cruze, sell more. With these latest changes number should go over 500. I wont be surprised if they hit 700-800 units a month. All this for a 15lakh+ "Tata".

Its only because people keep comparing it to the Innova that they call it a dud. Do you seriously think that Tata thought they could take on the Innova with a car whose base price was almost 2 lakh more than the top Innova???

In my mind there is just one reason - Innova.
There is not another car in the market which resembles Innova to as large a extent as Aria does. And so whatever new segment Aria intends to create and it may or may not have been devised to taken on Innova, but the fact is mostly people will compare it to Innova. Why go further, our Tata dealer compared it to Innova.

And however distinguished Aria maybe as a product and whatever VFM it proclaims to offer, the fact is that Innova is a champion product of a high order (atleast in our market), which has proven itself over last 5 years. This is a notion, which will be hard to beat for any manufacturer. No matter it is Tata or Nissan or...even Toyota. For eg. the goodwill created by Quais was so much, that when it was replaced by Innova, many people just did not want to buy the Innova and wanted Qualis to continue.

Mods please ban the word "Innova" from this thread.:Frustrati

Cmon seriously, if I was looking at an Aria for 15-16 lakhs, I dont think I would settle for a Innova. I would rather look at vehicles like the Yeti, or a sedan like the Cruze or the Laura, and if I could afford it a Fortuner.

Absolutely. it is not fair to compare Aria and Innova. Aria is in a different class and definetly a segment higher. An entry level sedan owner like me would definetly now consider the Aria 4 X 2 for my next upgrade.

lol: What were TATA thinking? This is hideous to say the least. A 12 Lakh rupee car with such cheap faded interiors with 80's wood type insert is a serious disgrace to our country's automobile industry. This pic should have been in the "Wacky Jobs" thread:deadhorse

Ummm that's not what julupani said. :D

Appreciate that there is a niche appeal for the Aria thanks to all the goodies Tata has plonked in but in my humble opinion, the vehicle has neither the brand pull nor the proven track record to take on vehicles a segment above the Innova. Which is why I think Tata has gone about it all wrong- they should have created a sub-brand for this segment. Selling the Aria at a premium over Innova while in the same breath the salesman is trying to sell you Manza as a cheaper alternative to Linea is just confused marketing!

I may not have exactly said that. But for somebody looking to move to something like a Laura or a Corolla etc. the Aria is definitely worth taking a good look.

Please check the sales figures, its doing better than a lot of cars from a lot of brands. Among SUVs/Crossovers/Soft-Roaders in th segment above the Innova but below the X1 , only the Fortuner is doing better. Whatever brand pull or track record they have, it seems not to be doing too bad at all. And this new reduced price versions will do nothing but help the sales even more.