[raghulsudheesh]

My ODO has crossed 100,000 kilometres in three and a half years’ time. I was using a Ford Figo, which had clocked 86,000 kilometres in around three years. After my marriage in 2015 February, I decided to go for an upgrade. My search was for a sub four metre diesel sedan and the options available then were Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent, Ford Asipre and Tata Zest.

Dzire was ruled out for lack of space inside the car (I am six feet tall person) and also the build quality. Xcent was ruled out for space as well as the engine didn’t seem to be exciting. Ford Aspire also didn’t seem to be very promising and I wasn’t happy with the Ford service also. Within my budget, I was stuck between Honda Amaze and Tata Zest. I liked Amaze but the interiors and all were basic. There was no premium feel. Once I drove the Tata Zest, I almost fell for the car then and there. The engine and gearbox were sourced from Fiat, the interiors were good and gave a premium feel, music system was the best in segment and was sourced from Harman Kardon; and I loved everything about the car. It was also the Team BHP car of the year for 2014! It took one month for me to convince at my home that I wanted to take a Tata Car. It was a time when Tata was surviving in Kerala with Nano sales alone. Finally, I was able to convince my family and they were also impressed with the car after the test drive. There was only a single dealer in Thiruvananthapuram then and we got the car delivered from them, Mohandas Motors on October 16th, 2015.

The experience with the Tata Motors service had been good but it required a lot of effort to maintain the car. Firstly, the dealership, Mohandas Motors, shut down their operations and I was able to do only my first service from them. Tata had a new dealer (Trivandrum Motors) which had a very small workshop and can barely be called a Service Centre. Tata’s Service Manager suggested a small service dealership, Febin Motors, which was 20 kilometres away from the city. I got my second service done from them. By the time for the third service, I relocated to Ernakulam and I had Concord and RF Motors there for service. Again, Tata’s own Service Manager advised to go for RF Motors, as he had better control over them and I was also happy with the service. The credit should be given to RF Motor’s Service Manager who was very customer focussed. But soon RF also shut down their operations. RF Motors was replaced by Malayalam Motors in Kochi and my service manager at RF Motors moved to Malayalam Motors but to a service centre in Muvattupuzha, which was almost an hour away from Ernakulam city. But still I had gone to this place for service when the car clocked 90,000 kilometres as I trusted their service manager. In-between, while I clocked 60,000 kilometres, I had got my service done at Febin Motors, Trivandrum and it was a major service as the timing chain kit was replaced (it’s mandatory to change them at 60,000 kilometres for all 90 PS Zest variants). I had purchased a Tata car at a time when nobody was trusting Tata Motors, their dealerships were closing down and people were calling me a ‘fool’ for shifting from Ford to Tata. However, the Service Manager from Tata Motors, Sabarish Panicker (sadly this person left Tata Motors for a better opportunity abroad, a year after I took the car); RF Motors Service Manager, Niju and Febin Motor’s owner, Renish, helped me a lot to maintain my car properly and in perfect condition. I am much thankful to these three people. I usually sit at the service centre itself when the service is done and closely follow whatever is being done. I had to travel long distances just to get the service done. Now things are in much better shape. Tata has two dealers in both Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi and people have also started trusting Tata. But I still rely on Malayalam Motors, Muvattupuzha or Febin Motors, Trivandrum for all my service requirements as I always want the best for my car and have trust in these folks. Either I have to travel one hour from Kochi or one hour from Trivandrum to get the service done!

There hadn’t been much issues with the car till date except for the regular wear and tear. Touchwood! I am almost a newbie, just that I crossed the 25 posts barrier. Please pardon me for any errors/mistakes.

Sharing a few pictures also!

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by raghulsudheesh

My ODO has crossed 100,000 kilometres in three and a half years’ time.

Congratulations on crossing the 1L kms mile stone. Zest is really an awesome but sadly underrated car. Infact TATA Motors started to turn things around with Zest/Bold and then followed it up with Tigor/Tiago. Quality, fit n finish, reliability, durability of Zest was miles ahead of Indica builds.

Fun Fact, Zest is the first car which Pratap Bose (their lead in new car development) developed. Here is one of his quote from twitter about the hard work given into Zest.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by raghulsudheesh

My ODO has crossed 100,000 kilometres in three and a half years’ time.

Congrats.

1L kms milestone is always special. Wishing you many more reliable miles ahead. And time for a detailed ownership report!

Originally Posted by raghulsudheesh

However, the Service Manager from Tata Motors, Sabarish Panicker (sadly this person left Tata Motors for a better opportunity abroad, a year after I took the car)

Nice to read early morning. Was my classmate, and happy to report that he works for one of the most desirable brands in the business now.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by raghulsudheesh

My ODO has crossed 100,000 kilometres in three and a half years’ time. I was using a Ford Figo, which had clocked 86,000 kilometres in......

Sharing a few pictures also! ]

You came 1 year and 1 day later onboard and you beat me by 10,000 km To 1,00,000 km!!!!!

I bought mine on 15.10.2014, an XM 90 D. Sadly, 90 HP engine is no longer offered on lower variants.

As for car itself, except the off repeated complaint about the lack of storage space, everything else was quite good. Many people new to the car would be surprised at the interior space.

On the whole, car is very good and I agree it's a very underrated car. Tata's strategy didn't help either.

I see the end of the road for Zest. With the change of platforms, the old platform gets ditched. I don't think Tata would continue to make Zest after April, 2020.

Now I couldn't find fuel filter for the 90 D at local Tata Service. The service people offered to change oil, oil filter and air filter and change the fuel filter when the part came in. I refused because they would lose interest in it as there are not any 90 Ds around and I may become complacent.They promised me one the day before yesterday but not yet found it. In the meantime I did another 350 km and I am jittery.

[condor]

Originally Posted by raghulsudheesh

My ODO has crossed 100,000 kilometres in three and a half years’ time.

Congrats, Raghul ! Wishing you many more happy miles !

Originally Posted by NaXal

Zest is really an awesome but sadly underrated car. Infact TATA Motors started to turn things around with Zest/Bold and then followed it up with Tigor/Tiago. Quality, fit n finish, reliability, durability of Zest was miles ahead of Indica builds.

Agree with that. I think the looks of the Zest was an evolution of the Vista. If they had given it a fresh look, or at least not made it obvious, then the car would have seen lot more success.

[SamitMukherjee]

Tata Zest is a really good car. Perhaps, the first Tata car (along with Bolt) which showcased their serious intent in launching world class products.
I have been on a number of long drives in this car and have always appreciated its built quality, styling- Projector headlight, LED strip in tail lights etc.
This car has taken over taxi market here in Kolkata and Durgapur and is giving a tough time to Dzire.
Needless to say this car is a mile muncher and favourite among cabbie.

[ksameer1234]

I was at my hometown last week and got a chance to drive our family car, Zest XT petrol after a long time. Given that I have been driving my Tiago JTP extensively for about 4 months now, spending time with Zest brought out a lot of perspective. It in undeniable that Zest is a fantastic car doing everything right to be a nice and reliable family car.

First, some positives from our four and half years of ownership. The car has been fill it, shut it, forget it type serving well for whatever use it has been put through. Now, while the running has been relatively low (only 28k kms), things have been fuss-free. All these years and driven around on bad to worse roads, there is not a single rattle anywhere. The suspension is simply amazing and soaks up bumps like a pro. As for the engine, I would like to state that the engine is certainly not a slouch. For what its worth, the refinement is reasonably good and assist from turbo just past 1500 rpm means that there is adequate power on tap.

Like others have mentioned above, my biggest grouse will be the weight and absolute lack of storage spaces. Had Zest been 100 kg lighter, I only wonder how the performance would have been. And as for storage, this is truly unforgivable. There is no space to keep even a water bottle. The other problem, personally is the boat-like handling. Doing 80 kph in Zest feels like doing 120, such is the kind of bouncing around that car exhibits. Lastly, and possibly the issue that killed Zest is the fuel efficiency, or lack thereof. City mileage of 11-12 kpl is the max that one can achieve. Even though this isn't a problem for us due to really low running, I am sure many prospective customers would have dropped out due to this.

To sum up, when we got Zest in family, I really wanted a car which would make me feel confident about safety of passengers. Creature comforts like touchscreen and ACC were a bonus. Looking back, Zest has turned out to be a good purchase decision. May be in some parallel universe, customers would have been kinder to Zest and it may have gone on to find its way in more garages. In this universe though, Tata will mostly pull curtains on Zest next year. In all probability, it will not be missed but I hope it continues to serve its devoted customers for many miles.

[simplyself]

At last the 90,000 km service had been done on my ZEST XM D, albeit a thousand kilometres later.

There were no problems, except for a malfunctioning front left turn pilot indicator. That was a chronic problem with my car. Whenever service was done, the problem would go away only to resurface after a couple of thousand kilometers. For now it had been solved but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Whenever the car returned from service, it never failed to surprise me with its enhanced pick up and smoothness.

[condor]

Guys, how is the highway FE of the Zest diesel - XMA / Manual ? How much do you get in city ?

[KiranGS]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, how is the highway FE of the Zest diesel - XMA / Manual ? How much do you get in city ?

We have zest XMS ( diesel). On highway it gives me in the range of 23-25, depending on road and traffic conditions. In city, the car is driven by my wife and she gets around 18-19 in hinjewadi Pune peak hour traffic. These figures are calculated using tank full to tank full method and with 100% AC.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by condor

Guys, how is the highway FE of the Zest diesel - XMA / Manual ? How much do you get in city ?

My Zest XM 90 D gives me 21-22 kmpl on highways and around 18 kmpl in cities, with AC on full time.

Only time I noticed the FE fall below 18 kmpl was when we tackled Sabarimala ghats with gusto. Then the FE was about 17 kmpl.

Usual speeds are 80 - 100 kmph. I rarely cross 100 kmph unless to overtake, and that has nothing to do with FE concerns. In fact, my MID setting shows DTE and not inst. FE.

[condor]

Kiran, Simplyself - thanks for your responses.


How are the Revotrons' doing on the FE part ?

[coldice4u]

Originally Posted by condor

Kiran, Simplyself - thanks for your responses.
How are the Revotrons' doing on the FE part ?

I have a Bolt Revotron. I get about 9-11 in the city and about 16 in the highway, not exceeding 100kmph. All numbers in CITY mode, measured tank to tank. The MID is optimistic by about 7-8 %. The motor has a high idle consumption, so returns very bad FE in stop-go traffic.
The Revotron motor has great low end torque though and hence its a breeze to drive in the city.

[rajesh1868]

Originally Posted by condor

How are the Revotrons' doing on the FE part ?

About 10-12 in city. Depends largely on the traffic


Highways - if you are in a hurry then about 15-17. If you are ready to drive sedately then 18+. For the sake of it if have managed about 20-21 couple of times.


The above highway figures are for a distance of about 300-350 kms up and down. Anything more than this, I haven't driven sedately and was always in 15-17 range

[srvm]

Originally Posted by condor

Kiran, Simplyself - thanks for your responses.

How are the Revotrons' doing on the FE part ?

Owner of Zest-Revotron here.
Completely agree with coldice4u & rajesh1868.

City mileage (Bangalore traffic): 10-12 kmpl with 100%AC on.
Highway mileage: 16-17 kmpl with 100%AC on (I typically cruise between 90-100 kmph).

+1 to coldice4u's comment on driveability of this engine in the city.