[sumithb]

Impressed with the way Tata's have come out all guns blazing.

@Tata: If anybody at Tata is listening, how about doing a zesty Storme

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

The companies you've mentioned are of non-Indian origin, hence they don't value India's independence day that much as a Tata Motors or Maurti (just kidding ). Why the poor showroom folks shouldn't enjoy a holiday on independence day, when rest of the country does. Taking care of their showroom employees seems to be a priority over increasing foot falls on 15th Aug.



They can more than make up for this loss by extending the working hours on week days. Also they can take the test drive cars to potential customer homes.

Well said.

Selling a car is not really a weekend proposition, whether long or short.

By the way, as far as I know, all the workplaces must be closed on 15th.

[RavenAvi]

All I can say is, God Bless competition. Take your pick - there's one for every budget!

(Click on the picture to open in a new window)


All prices, ex-showroom Delhi.

Bold Italic = Automatic variants,
Bold Italic* = Automatic Diesel variant.

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by IMeMyself

That's strange. Even I have Order No. 206 for the Revotron. But we have been in touch with the dealer since 21st July.

Sorry! My Order number is 602 on 24th July. I will keep after the dealer too. Did you hear of any 25k discount being given to those who booked the car before its launch?

[IMeMyself]

a4anurag,
Thanks. Haven't had any interaction with the dealer since 12 Aug and since we haven't finalized anything yet we haven't discussed delivery yet. Hoping to finalize by this Sunday wrt Rapid vs Zest.

gsurya,
Haven't heard of any such discount. I think if that happens then it should seal the deal for us wrt Zest! Do let us know in case you hear anything about this. Will speak to the dealer Sunday and broach the topic of discount in any case.

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by IMeMyself

gsurya,
Haven't heard of any such discount. I think if that happens then it should seal the deal for us wrt Zest! Do let us know in case you hear anything about this. Will speak to the dealer Sunday and broach the topic of discount in any case.

Neither have I, but see this post:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3505993

[MunnabhaiMBBS]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Headroom is sufficient for those up to 5'11", although a 6-footer might have minimal clearance from the roof.

Comment on Rear Headroom:

Being 5'11" myself, my head was already touching the roof of the stationary car, I am sure it's gonna bang hard against the rear glass / roof portion while crossing the speed-breakers or potholes.

[aaggoswami]

Went to a Tata showroom to have a look at Zest. Liked the car much, so asked for TD which I was granted without any drama. I drove the top end version with Manual Transmission.
For sake of clarity, I am putting down my views in 2 sections, one for car and other for the factor which might make or break this car after the relatively competitive pricing, i.e. Dealer Experience.

Dealer Experience :
The dealer I visited was Miles motors, Atladara, Vadodara.
Went into it and nobody was to talk to. 3 men were winding up what was a grand launch ceremony for Zest. I went upto Zest and started to have a look. Nobody bothered me, which I something I like as it gave a nice window to get feel of the car.

Later on, a lady comes from somewhere in the office when I have the hood open. She started to talk about features, engines, etc. Under the hood was reventon 1.2.

I asked for price list, got a hand written from her for XM diesel. Its around Rs. 7.2 OTR in Vadodara.

Also, a Safari Storme was there so could not resist myself and went upto it. The lady quickly asked me to have a seat at sofa. This was because the Storme was a delivery to someone. I really liked it. She tried her level best to keep me away from a car which was to be delivered. Max I could do was sit in driver's seat and get down.

Negatives were : very low staff due to holiday, no water, etc. serving which nowadays is the norm. The entire dealership was as if it has just opened or was to be closed down, this could have been better.

Got the TD without much hassle. The TD guy was also trying to explain to me all the things and tried to impress me with music system and AC at lowest setting. Quickly asked him to reduce AC ( and eventually did it myself ) and to shut the music system down. He obliged.

Overall, as compared to my Honda showroom visit, this one was much better, though Maruti, Toyota and Hyundai are better in that order.

The ZEST!

I am damn impressed! On this independence day, I feel proud that an Indian firm has moved very forward. A brand which now owns British firms like JLR. Very nice TATA.

1) Zest has excellent seats. After i20, this was a very positive and pleasant change.

2) Excellent space, more than new i20. Dzire, Xcent, i20 and Amaze are no match for Zest for space. Front and rear space is simply outstanding for the segment it belongs to. Headroom is not in short supply even at rear.

3) The feel of switches like power window switches, etc. have improved. Felt better than Amaze, Mobilio. Hyundai tops this parameter with Maruti coming in for close second.

4) Contrary to what others say, boot space is actually usable, that is what I felt.

5) Two metal rods to prevent luggage from entering or rear seat/cabin. Nice protection.

6) The seating makes one feel like driving an SUV or rather a crossover. A very big positive.

7) Excellent visibility. One can even look at the hood if seat is set high.
Makes driving this car comfortable.

8) Either there was something horribly wrong with speedo or the car is excellent in masking speeds. At 55 I thought I am doing less than 40. Would be on my toes on same stretch of road in my Grand i10 at 55.

9) Nice ride.

10) Balanced,mature handling. Very few nasty surprises as far one is not pushing the car too hard. Mild spirited driving is not an issue. Where my Grand i10 would make the driver tense, Zest was at ease.

11) The diesel engine (in 90 bhp format) driveabiltiy is one area where Tata has managed to beat down Suzuki and Fiat ( Fiat as such is beaten down by all who are using its engine ). The same motor in Ertiga ( I am also factoring in that Ertiga would be heavier than Zest, though the exact figures are not with me ) feels lively only after 2000 rpm. In Zest, the motor will pull from 1000 rpm in 4th gear without any complain. And a small push after 2000 rpm. Gearbox was smooth overall and slots were easy to find.

12) Brakes on top end version made my Grand i10 brakes feel wooden. Excellent brakes on Zest. No wooden feeling, progressive pressure put on pedal results into equally progressive bite. In my Grand i10, after the initial pedal push, small push further makes no difference at high speed.

13) Steering was nice to hold. This is the car which I would love to do a 1000 km drive in a day.

14) I am not an audio expert and by end of my TD the sales guy accompanying me started to boast of it and informed me that even at high volume, the quality of audio wont suffer. It did not for a layman which I am in audio systems. Felt better than Innova, Wagon R and my current system in Grand i10. Audio system is something I never give any attention to in any car. This one seems to impress me.

Negatives :

1) Fit and finish in some places needs to be improved.

2) Rubber and plastic quality has improved, not segment best which is led by Hyundai and Maruti.

3) No bottle holder on doors. A small but irritating oversight. If they were going in for new tooling, they should have given bottle holders.


Overall :
Amazing combination of ride, handling.
Space is outstanding.
Quality of interiors can give depression and inferiority complex to Amaze, Mobilio and Etios twins.
Features like projector lights add upto the value and actually help in driving.
MID was not overtly catchy which is practical.
Meters were too small. A larger speedo at center would be my personal preference. Atleast larger dials would have been more practical.
High stance is also very useful on Indian roads.

A very practical, quality alternative to segment leaders. Step in right direction for Tata. Makes Toyota and Honda offering in this segment look like shameless shortcuts. Better alternative to pricey (IMO) hatches, mainly i20 and in future the Jazz.

[SnS_12]

Asked my wife and my parents to check out the Zest at Wasan Motors in Borivali (East) as I was in office, and I just could not wait till the weekend to get some concrete info about pricing and delivery period.

But to my disappointment, they didn't have the Diesel TD vehicles yet and the sales guy mentioned that the delivery for the AMT model would commence post Oct

I guess TATA is trying to build up demand for the Revotron engine and hence they are delaying deliveries for the diesel models.

The sales guys informed my family that they would let us know once the Diesel TD vehicles comes, which should be on the weekend.

I am anyway planning to go there tomorrow to get a valuation done on my Indica XETA.

Hope the AMT arrives by tomorrow, as I am really looking forward to buying the same

[ortho_surgeon]

I need to drive this vehicle.

I hope the sales team is responsive enough thou. But after reading this review, I will definitely give it a shot.

But this roll back on starting at steep slopes is scary. I drive through Wayanad a lot, and have seen a few cars roll back due to the inexperience of the driver. I hope Tata takes care in producing this car with a good hand brake.

Above all, lets wait for the reviews about this vehicle in real world. I am still skeptical about a Tata product.

[guptad42]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

The companies you've mentioned are of non-Indian origin, hence they don't value India's independence day that much as a Tata Motors or Maurti (just kidding ). Why the poor showroom folks shouldn't enjoy a holiday on independence day, when rest of the country does. Taking care of their showroom employees seems to be a priority over increasing foot falls on 15th Aug.

They can more than make up for this loss by extending the working hours on week days. Also they can take the test drive cars to potential customer homes.

You have Indian consumer brands, across product categories, doing all kinds of promotions for the long weekend. Tata Motors are in the business of serving consumers and families come out in droves on weekends and holidays.

Maybe Tata Motors could have given half a day off on Aug 15th, kept the showrooms open from noon onwards and advertised to get people to come and see/touch/feel/drive the car.

Tata Motors is a brand that a large majority of our consumers have switched off from in recent years. I agree people use internet a lot of research these days, but TML need to do all they can to get people to come and see how far they have come with the Zest.

[Trust_In_Thrust]

Originally Posted by gsurya

Really? Can u get me his contact details & which dealer gave him this? I booked it on 24th July & haven't heard I am getting any such discount yet?!



Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

The dealer is Malwa Motors Sector 10 , Rohini , Delhi . I donot have the phone number since he was customer of the workshop where i was getting work done on my car and workshop people also didnot have his details. He paid i think 24 K as booking amount .Malwa Sales guy had mentioned that test drives will start from 16th August .

[karzzexped]

The booking period for the Zest is close to 6 weeks, which is actually a shocker. I wouldn't say that the response is like a response a Honda or a Hyundai gets (random pickings please) but its a welcoming response IMO. And the sales executive who sat by me for the test drive asked me to refer people who are 'car passionate' even though they have no idea of buying it. They have come in with a goal and that is getting into the competition they initiated.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

The companies you've mentioned are of non-Indian origin, hence they don't value India's independence day that much as a Tata Motors or Maurti (just kidding ).
They can more than make up for this loss by extending the working hours on week days. Also they can take the test drive cars to potential customer homes.

Originally Posted by simplyself

Well said.
Selling a car is not really a weekend proposition, whether long or short.

I am sorry but I do not buy these reasoning. IMHO, if you launched a great product, it should be followed up with great enthusiasm and holidays are the days when most companies make most business, why should Tata just lay back and relax. Also, I agree that everyone should get an off, but if 'selling a car' is your prime responsibility, then you should be focusing on your job rather than chilling out. I am not saying they don't deserve an off, but cashing in on the biggest holiday was a must.

The Maruti showroom which is a stone throw distance from this Tata showroom was in full swing and flooded with customers. Maruti (leaving the Suzuki part aside) is as much Indian as is Tata.

AutoIndian said that they can make up for the loss by working extra hours on weekdays. But compared to the long weekend turnout, how many are going to visit their showroom on weekdays. So no point in doing extra hours in an empty showroom.

Tata slipped from 2nd spot to 6th spot due to various reasons and one of them is this laid back attitude. They have to be really positively aggressive in presenting this BRILLIANT products to the crowd.

I am sorry to be a bit blunt, but I have nothing against you people personally. Its just that its frustrating to see this for a satisfied Tata customer, that the company is missing such opportunities.

This is my last comment on this topic. We can discuss offline further if we need to.

Cheers !

[pamiboy]

I understand that zest has many nice and contemporary features and it is priced very competitively, but I have a problem with it.
I know I am in the minority here but does anyone else think that the ZEST is butt ugly (as any other TATA cars)? From the side, from the rear, from the front, something is not very well proportioned. Though TATA have great potential (and rightfully so), I really feel they should hire some talent from outside the company. No offense meant to anyone. Thanks.