[madhu33]

Originally Posted by madhu33

1 important question :
Has the Zest been Crash tested? If yes ? Where and how much did it score?
If no official information out from Tata , does it imply it is not NCAP tested ?
Does it make it a lesser safe car than an I20 which is 4 star NCAP rated?
It weighs over 1100kgs so does that imply a safer body shell?(similar query since 3 years in my mind for the Manza now)
Or is it crash tested at Tata's indoor crash test facility? Any such Disclosure from TML ?
Expert inputs would be welcome.

Originally Posted by shashi63

That's something our Mod's could check with TML. It would be interesting!

MODS i hope you can help us on this .
Especially since i also have this question in mind for the Manza.
I wonder why so much of weight?
Is it just due to poor design or is it the underpinnings and comparatively a safer body shell?
More weight = safer car is it just a myth? (of course i am not talking of older gen- Ambassadors etc.)

Originally Posted by shashi63

I think the Zest if made lighter would be a totally different package! Tata cars have traditionally been heavy vehicles guess that comes from the years of truck manufacturing! Just Kidding!

No , ideally a car shell has to be designed keeping safety in mind .
I would like my cycles to be as light as they can but not necessarily the cars to be the same.
Lighter body weight = better fuel economy & performance-agreed,
but then what about the safety ?
Amaze's body shell feel from the outside looks scary to me. But may be it fares decently in an actual crash???

Originally Posted by sachinayak

The video that i shared on Page 1, seems to suggest that the Zest was indeed crash tested. The score? Like Fuel Efficiency and Pricing, this too seems to be a closely guarded secret by TaMo.

Let us hope they are planning to surprise us by releasing this information prior to launch to help sustain and enhance the "WOW" factor it already seems to be garnering.

yes i saw the complete Video now , and in the end they do have a clip showing the crash test but the crash ratings do not find any space on any Advertising material shows 2 possibilities :
1)Crash ratings were not a 4 star or a 5 star which means it was not worth advertising or
2)Crash test was done at in house facility and hence there rating would have made little sense to be advertised.

In any case as a consumer buying a car in 2014, i feel it is my right to know the crash ratings. I mean sports mode , HK music system etc are welcome but then what about the safety? Why is it not being advertised more prominently?
Is the ZEST faring poorly in that department?
Or the problem is that there are very few buyers thinking like me in this segment ?

Originally Posted by theredliner

Thanks for the excellent, highly detailed review Aditya and Rehaan. Rated 5 stars.
The thing that disappointed me the most is the Revotron. I knew that it'd not be an explosive one like the TSi. But was expecting it to be at least passable for an enthusiast.
After reading that the engine feels best under 4000RPM, I think it is more like a diesel engine tuned for driveability(like Ford 1.4 TDCi) than like a turbo petrol. I think that the manual 90PS diesel or even the 75PS one in the Bolt will be more enjoyable than the Revotron.
I hope that the aftermarket remaps will be able to bring out the best in the engine.
That would make this car an all rounder.

I would say a Polo TSI candidate might well never compare it with the ZEST.
However i would advise you to have a detailed test drive of the Revotron...nothing like own TD experience and observation.
From My TD experience i would say not to expect the TSI wow factor here.(that also comes with the paddle shifters)

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

What is it you'd like to know? Will try to answer.



R

Basic review of the kind of formats it reads, kind of devices it can plug in, what are the settings available and finally the sound quality in comparison to lets say an after market component system.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

finally the sound quality in comparison to lets say an after market component system.

In the Manza i am used to below set up :
1) HU : Pionner Avhx2590 BT (touchscreen DVD) .
2)2 x 4"components with 2 tweeters ( Infinity series) powered by AMP
3)2x 6/9' JBL Coaxials at the rear again powered by Amp
4)Finally a MTX bass tube (basic entry level model) with inbuilt AMP in the boot.
The above Set up has been done with focus on Acoustic quality (rather than BASS effect)

Coming from this set up , i honestly found the Sound Quality and Acoustics of the ZEST(low , mid and high volume) pretty hollow.

I realized OEM systems / speakers have there own limitations and are designed keeping various other parameters in mind and can never give the same acoustics (talking of mass market cars).

Yes the above impression remained unchanged for me post the TD.

However it definitely is very god compared to competing cars OEM systems in mass market.

However the user interface and feel was much better than on my Pioneer touch screen.

[lurker]

dear reviewers, I would like a few pics detailing some areas.

1. One at eye level, from drivers seat, looking ahead to understand visibility or rather how good is it. (if possible a photo from this angle for every new car review in future, so that drivability for shorter drivers can be judged//all having same background so that comparison is easier)

2. Is there a difference in waist line between the vista and the zest. It seems to be slightly lower than the vista by this picture. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...75115-copy.jpg
but by how much ?

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

That sounds just like the Aria...

Aria was the costliest in its segment.

[lurker]

MODS i hope you can help us on this .
Especially since i also have this question in mind for the Manza.
I wonder why so much of weight?
Is it just due to poor design or is it the underpinnings and comparatively a safer body shell?
More weight = safer car is it just a myth? (of course i am not talking of older gen- Ambassadors etc.)

Maybe they are heavier because TATA mainly use cast-iron engine block compared to aluminum used by Maruti, Hyundai etc. Cast-iron engine blocks are old technology but they are also believed to more robust and resistant to abuse than the aluminium ones. Abuse in this case would mean increasing fuel pressure due to tuning requirements etc. Also sheet metal in Tata has always been slightly better than the type used by Maruti, Honda etc. Using thinner sheet metal significantly reduces weight but at the cost of structural integrity even in case of a small collision.

Surely TATAs today have access to best metallurgical developments in the industry since they took over Jaguar, since Jaguar has been making it's cars with Aluminium chassis (only one in auto industry to do so) since a very long time.

[BeantownThinker]

I have question on the "hill-start" tactic on the AMT.

Many people on the Celerio review and here as well are suggesting usage of the hand-brake for starting on a slope. My question is why not use the foot-brake? It is much easier to use and co-ordinate, as my left foot is anyway not doing anything in an AMT.

Is there any technical reason for this? Does the gear-box de-clutch on application of the foot-brake? Or is it just a case of old habits being carried forward?

[veyron_head]

Just read the review in go. Brilliant review of a brilliant car. I am brimming with pride that our own TML finally launched a truly world class car. I am sure a large part of the credit goes to the late Mr. Karl Slym, who was entrusted with the turnaround.

What I love about this car is its fresh looks, unlike any Tata car we have seen earlier. I only wish though that the tear drop headlamps that resemble the vista were also changed.

Net net, great job by Tata.

[rohan_iitr]

Very informative review !

Also, the car itself looks very promising. The car screams practicality - whether it is the high ground clearance and tall seating or the low end torque in the petrol variant or AMT offered in the diesel variant.

Anyone looking for a practical mid side car would find this car hard to overlook.

Tata has definitely designed a good product, now remains the more important part - to make it reliable and niggle free and to provide a good sales and service experience to the customer.

Rohan

[streetfighter]

Zest is a complete turnaround for Tata and I'm sure good things in TML will happen once they price it competitively. Just saw the demo car in person (couldn't do a test-drive) and it is way above the other Tata cars in terms of design and quality.
The review by Aditya and Rehaan are spot-on and have covered the intricate details of the car. Happy to see that TML has tried to re-invent themselves; now it is upto the advertising/sales team and the dealers to do the rest.
Speculative buyers of DZire/Amaze/Xcent should certainly see and do a test-drive the Zest before signing the cheque.

[nagarajmg]

Excellent review !! I was eagerly waiting for this. Kudos to TATA and wish them all the best!!

I have comment to make on TATA ASS, I have been using MANZA since last 2 years driven around 32 K. The service and support has been very good. My family owns cars from Maruti and GM. For me the ASS is on par with Maruti and GM.

[noopster]

Super review, Aditya and Rehaan! I think the Zest is a very important product for Tata. Their previous attempts at designing quality products have been duds. The Vista and Manza suffered because of association with the Indica name. Aria was simply overpriced and consumers didn't see its value. One hopes Tata gets it third time right with the Zest!

The features look very enticing and I do hope they get the pricing right and they could have a winner on their hands. Turbo Diesel AMT under 4m is a mouthwatering proposition. I do think Tata missed a trick by not making the angeleyes the DRLs. That would have been perfect!

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

Many people on the Celerio review and here as well are suggesting usage of the hand-brake for starting on a slope. My question is why not use the foot-brake? It is much easier to use and co-ordinate, as my left foot is anyway not doing anything in an AMT.

It's considered poor practice to use your left foot to brake while driving an AT vehicle. You could of course do it in a situation like this but as a general rule your left foot stays jobless!

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Full spec sheet (including gear ratios) are attached to the bottom of this post.

I had a question about the specs. It mentions ABS with "Corner Stability Control". Any idea what this is? Is it supposed to be some sort of (possibly low cost) ESP system?

Agree with the pricing strategy. Tata should start low and then (depending on the market response) start moving the price up. There is still the A.S.S issues that most potential buyers will be worried about, and they may see sales pick up after about 6-12 months of launch, depending on how the initial batch of buyers rate the sales/service/ownership experience. This feedback should ideally determine whether they should think about increasing prices incrementally, or if they still need to work out some issues before doing so.

[parsh]

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

I have question on the "hill-start" tactic on the AMT.

Many people on the Celerio review and here as well are suggesting usage of the hand-brake for starting on a slope. My question is why not use the foot-brake? It is much easier to use and co-ordinate, as my left foot is anyway not doing anything in an AMT.

Is there any technical reason for this? Does the gear-box de-clutch on application of the foot-brake? Or is it just a case of old habits being carried forward?

Absolutely, there is one specific technical reason behind the use of Handbrake on a slope against the Brake pedals.

Handbrake is also called known as Emergency Brake literally. Wonder why?

It is THE ONLY and COMPLETE Mechanical mechanism in a vehicle that directly connects to the braking of wheels when needed in Emergency bypassing all the hydraulic braking mechanism. This is the fail-safe way of not letting the car slip from its position and which the standard braking cannot provide. To know exactly how that mechanism works and is connected, you would need to do some searching for mechanical images regarding the same. But this is it. And this is what is required to not let the car slip back by chance on a slope.

On a normal plane road this would not make much difference.

There are other reasons too, like
1. slippage in brake drums or discs causing degradation of brakes and as simultaneously clutch being used, degradation of clutch as well
2. even if someone were to get used to the slippages and claim managing the incline, it would still effect inhibiting in oneself the bad habit of getting used to the luxury of left foot being used on Brake pedal in an Auto while that same inhibited habit could prove dangerous and maybe fatal when shifted to Manual if and when needed.

[narayans80]

Great review! Love the all black interior, its seriously depressing to have an all beige interior (as a former owner of i10).

Would love to know the variants planned for the Zest. So its XL, XM and XT in petrol and XL, XM, XM AMT, XT, XT AMT in diesel? An interesting add-on question is if the XM variant comes with dual airbags and ABS.

The pricing would something to look forward for as well, IMO Tata should start off my undercutting Amaze/XCent pricing and increasing at a later point of time like how Mahindra did for XUV.

Initial issues would also be a concern, Tata will be gauged on how their after sales responds to them. Given the pre-release hype surrounding the Zest, its their best chance to redeem themselves.