Team-BHP - Tata Zest : Official Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by directinjection (Post 3504396)

Only the top end model comes with a boot lamp!

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 3504437)

You can always carry a torch :p

First thing I noticed when comparing variants. It's plain ridiculous to omit such an important aspect in a car. It's a not a feature but a basic necessity. Hope someone in TML rectifies it sooner.

Meanwhile, you can use this :)

http://www.ebay.in/itm/2-Pcs-Mini-Co...635ddd1&_uhb=1

Enquired at all three Chennai dealers, viz; VST Motors, TAFE Reach and Concorde Motors: no dealer has the Zest on display.

And they cannot "show" it to the customer too. Reason given was "S'aar....Zest not officially launched in Tamil Nadu, please wait till 23rd/24th August when the official launch will be done and you can come to the showroom and take a look"

I think TML is doing a big mistake here. With the upcoming long independence day weekend, TML should have maximised this opportunity to ensure as many footfalls, bookings and test drives as possible for a vehicle, which everyone is speaking good about.
Contrarily: visited the Hyundai showroom also. The new Elite i20 in all its various avatar's was present and needless to say hordes of potential prospects were pouring over it.

In this day and age, speed & time to market is of critical importance. Everyone is eager to take a look at a new vehicle and if they have to wait for a week or ten days to take a peek & get to test drive it - much of that initial enthusiasm will get dampened.

After a long time, TML seems to have got in a good product and they should not fritter away any opportunity, however miniscule it may be, to get hold of potential customers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arjab (Post 3504647)

And they cannot "show" it to the customer too. Reason given was "S'aar....Zest not officially launched in Tamil Nadu, please wait till 23rd/24th August when the official launch will be done and you can come to the showroom and take a look"

When I booked my Zest on 21st July online, I was told by the dealer it would be launched around 20th August. I think Tata may have decided to prepone it to steal the buzz from Punto Evo & Elite i20.

Mumbai Concorde already has it on display, there are lot of test cars out in Malls giving test drives on weekends. In fact, I took my test drive at EA Mall in Chennai on 27th. Ask the dealers, these Mall shows & test drives may still be going on.

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Originally Posted by narayan (Post 3504638)

Very few cars with Xeta engine would have been sold so very difficult to make a comprehensive judgement but you should note that the block was common for petrol and diesel engines ( I recall reading this somewhere ).

Also I would not club together Jap and Korean reliability in 1 category. The Japs are leagues ahead and my view is that Korean engines will start throwing up bills post 80-100k ( I have no data to back this but this is purely based on what I have heard and read over the years )

Umm not really. I have seen Santro's and i10's with 1lac+ kms and still going as strong as ever. Though can't say for the diesel engines (not what we are comparing anyway).

As far as throwing bills is concerned, our Maruti WagonR at 80k+ kms started to throw a lot of bills, so much as we decided to dispose it off.

Last time I saw Tata to be this aggressive was during the launch of original Indigo. (Yes they were active with Nano too but the plot backfired)
For some reason I feel Zest is the outcome of the expectations of general public and automobile enthusiasts for the kind of product it is. I am sure forums like Teambhp is something Tata monitored closely to get the inputs. And the initial result is out.

What Tata cracked with Zest :
- Most affordable auto geared diesel car. (Thats what has been discussed zillions of time in TeamBhp)
- Cheapest Turbo charged petrol engine (Since Tata could never penetrate the Petrol car segment thanks to better options availabe, Tata went the turbo charged mode of providing something that could aid driveability and fuel economy at good price range. I am sure Turbo petrols will soon become popular in India)
- Interior ambiance. (Its not like they havent improved in this regard from original Indicas to Vistas, but this time they kept attention to detail as their first priority but in terms of form and function. This should boost up the confidence among the buyers)
- Fewer compromises (Be it Dzire for space or Amaze for cost cutting bits, every compact sedan had its compromises while with Zest Tata had the flexibility and economy to provide a very balanced product with lesser number of compromises.)
- Even if the product is good bad pricing can kill the outcome. Tata played to its strengths and priced Zest very competitively. Not in terms of attractive pricing for the base model but a balanced pricing scale for all the variants that makes other cars look positively expensive through out.

But the things Tata needs to take care of
- Consistent quality (While the initial impressions as good, Tata has been notorious for being inconsistent in terms of reliability, durability and quality. This can even look more magnified if the competitors are like Maruti or Honda or Hyundai. Ask the dzire owners about how dependable their cars are)
- After sales service and support. Again Tata cannot take this for granted when competition is very serious in this aspect.
- Right kind of promotion for its vehicle (Yet to see any serious effort from Tata in newspapers and televisions)

For me even though the pricing is excellent, two things are a bummer.

First there is no XTA or Automatic with XMS, as the front exterior appeal with DRL and corona rings, interior no FATC and touchscreen audio, and lastly no airbags is definitely a bummer.

Second is that I realize even with the AMT technology the price difference between XM and XMA is nearly 72,000! I know still it is the cheapest diesel automatic, but I am sure for this price they should have at least added the full safety equipments! Also I hope that we see an option to get the DRL or the Touchscreen package optional on the XMA.

It is going to be a very very tough next 10-12 months after the launch of the Zest.

With so many gizmos and stuff , Zest is going to be very closely scrutinized .
Even the not so relevant irritants are going to get loud word of mouth thereby making it a point of ridicule.
Many such irritants with established brands might go uncomplained but with TATA zest, IT IS GOING TO GET NOTICED & REPORTED.
Tatas have got themselves to blame for having this ghost sitting on their head...Come to think of it, it is the TATA MOTORS brand value they earned themselves with INDICAS & INDIGOS wherein the people were so used to rock reliable maruti 800s, Zen and Esteems

Wishing some luck to TML with the Zest,May fortune favour the brave.

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Originally Posted by arnabchak (Post 3504509)

Super Duper Pricing by Tata for Zest.
4) Manza(twin may lose some sales owing to the newer product)
If I was Hyundai or Honda, I would watch the space very very closely.
And be worried!!

I don't think both Hyundai and Honda has taken Zest so seriously and considered Zest as a threat or anywhere near it.
But yes, The Manza will be further affected for sure.
It would be very interesting to see the numbers starting from September 2014.

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Originally Posted by madhu33 (Post 3504766)

I don't think both Hyundai and Honda has taken Zest so seriously and considered Zest as a threat or anywhere near it.

It would be very interesting to see the numbers starting from September 2014.

Don't think Zest will affect Xcent in big way but Amaze will be dented for sure due to its poor interiors and production constraints. I expect Zest to do 5k+ at least in the first few months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by madhu33 (Post 3504766)

I don't think both Hyundai and Honda has taken Zest so seriously and considered Zest as a threat or anywhere near it.

It would be very interesting to see the numbers starting from September 2014.

That is certainly not the case-atleast not with Honda.

They have alread slashed the prices by 25K on the ex showroom and have come up with various finance schemes.

Infact in the TOI Mumbai edition, there was an advt featuring Amaze at a down payment of Rs. 94K and an EMI of Rs. 7999/-.

Could not see that if Honda was insensitive to the impending situation.

Fact is, they are worried. And the nos. will tell.

Tata should only capitalize and grow on the Amaze share, more so as production at Honda is being bifurcated for Mobilio.

So, the Honda production volume may look like this:

Mobilio>City>Amaze>Brio.

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Originally Posted by AGwagon (Post 3504738)

agree:

Your point seems valid. I checked out Celerio prices and difference between Manual variant vs AMT variant is approx 38,000/-. Also AMT variants offer couple of minor additional features like Outside Temp Display, Gear position Indicator. I'm not sure if costs for AMT of a diesel engine will be that much higher when compared to a petrol one. Will leave that to experts to comment on.

Probably TATA is looking to cash in on the first mover advantage on Diesel AMT.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry10 (Post 3504768)

Don't think Zest will affect Xcent in big way but Amaze will be dented for sure due to its poor interiors and production constraints. I expect Zest to do 5k+ at least in the first few months.

Zest is a looker, Xcent has a very typical rear and something that I do not like. Now, agreed, that it is my personal choice. But, for someone looking at a compact sedan between 7-7.5 Lakhs, Zest would be a good choice. I hope TML manages to keep customer satisfaction at a high and improves the overall experience of users who visit the showroom and decide to buy the car.

I am an old Tata user and so far, my 2004 model Indica has proven a rock solid companion. I hope they offer a loyalty bonus or something that I will definitely think about upgrading mine for another Tata vehicle.