[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by ashesh

The "Key" contest was a major campaign for Tata Zest and they have failed miserably to execute it properly. Just like dealers, support has no clue what's happening. I am not sure how did they mess up this one. Everything was online, the key barcode was scanned and detailed uploaded to website instantly.All they had to do was pick a record from the database.

They announced Key contest winners!

Originally Posted by simplyself

The SA at Concorde, Nagole, Hyderabad was nonchalant at the best. He wasnt concerned at all whether I would buy the car. He didnt even asked for my phone number but simply scribbled his number on the price-list. I wasnt expecting a red carpet roll-out but lack of enthusiasm amused me. I didnt asked for a test drive and he didnt offer me one. Worse, he didnt even care to take me to the display car to explain the features TML has shown on the tabs provided to them.

His demeanor suggested he would have flatly refused test drive.

I had the same experience at the same showroom today

I got a test drive after asking and the behavior was very similar to that of yours. The showroom was under renovation. God! this is a damn new building and Concorde entered this building hardly around 2-3 months ago and now they are getting it repaired. What were they doing when they started their showroom here?

Upon inquiry i was told that Alloy wheels would be offered on all models. But i doubt this one.

The TD experience was just mediocre. The vehicle stalled like anything as it clocked 20K without a service. While driving, the SA was sitting back and bending over me and trying to understand how i am driving. I didn't like someone behaving like that. I couldn't resist and just said, "Your experience is half of my driving experience". After Clarifying my experience in driving he settled himself comfortably.

Coming to the vehicle, i was as surprised like many others on this thread.
Pros
- Features
- Excellent Music system.
- NVH Levels in cabin are Awesome. Loved the way TM has done it.
- Power. As expected. Inline with expectations. No Lovely Turbo boost though.
- Nice set of wheels being offered.
- Awesome rear seat comfort.

Cons
- Quality is just a tad higher than their earlier models.
- The stalks were thick. But they didn't sound durable.
- Did anyone noticed, the steering is hollow. Try to tap it with nails and you would definitely feel vibrations from it.
- Dash is good. But not anyway closer to VW/Skoda quality. Seems better than that of Toyota, but it actually isn't.
- No Thud quality of doors.
- If you put a big bag in boot, then expect a bump in your back of head from the boot lock. Loading and unloading luggage is going to be difficult.
- The Key quality is not that great. it seemed hollow.

Other than that, rest is as per expectations.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by gemi_kk

Upon inquiry i was told that Alloy wheels would be offered on all models. But i doubt this one.

He is correct, alloy wheels are standard across all variants. But the design is different between lower and top variants.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by iamdeva

I have booked Zest Revotron XT and received the Engine and Chassis details today. Had given an option of Dune beige and P White at the time of booking but finally settled for white. Will take delivery of the same sometime next week.

Hi Deva, congrats on the Zest! BTW
1. How much time did they take between 'Booking' and 'Receiving Engine/Chassis details' ?
2. After booking, did they give a 'Delivery Commitment date' ? In the terms and conditions, it is mentioned that on booking with choices, they would give a delivery commitment date. if they do not honor the delivery commitment date for more than 21 days, there will pay out an interest of 10% for the delay. I still haven't got a Delivery commitment date itself.

2. Also when should we confirm whether we need accessories, AMC and extended warranty? In my case,The Sales exec has basically just got my signature on the yellow form without filling in my requirements. I'm worried that they will fill in all extras without asking me. . I have confirmed over phone that I need the AMC + extended warranty, and that I don't need the accessories kit. Hope that is enough.

Originally Posted by nijelj

I'm yet to get a written communication about the color change.

Update here: On writing one more followup mail, the Sales team leader wrote back confirming that he has updated the request.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

He is correct, alloy wheels are standard across all variants. But the design is different between lower and top variants.

FYI all, The picture of the alloys on the XT (White car) and the alloys which comes on the others (Grey car) Pics Courtesy: GSurya

[iamdeva]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Hi Deva, congrats on the Zest! BTW
1. How much time did they take between 'Booking' and 'Receiving Engine/Chassis details' ?

2. After booking, did they give a 'Delivery Commitment date' ? In the terms and conditions, it is mentioned that on booking with choices, they would give a delivery commitment date. if they do not honor the delivery commitment date for more than 21 days, there will pay out an interest of 10% for the delay. I still haven't got a Delivery commitment date itself.GSurya

For me the whole experience of booking was pretty smooth. At the time of booking, I was told that I can get the car in 15-20 days. It is about a month between the booking and receipt of engine / chassis details. I could have got it earlier but I took some time to decide on the colour. Also due to the shradh period, I did not followup further. Few of my friends have also got the vehicle details and are getting the delivery in a months time from booking. I also find that white is relatively easier to get (i know some of you have been quoted otherwise)

Originally Posted by nijelj

2. Also when should we confirm whether we need accessories, AMC and extended warranty? In my case,The Sales exec has basically just got my signature on the yellow form without filling in my requirements. I'm worried that they will fill in all extras without asking me. . I have confirmed over phone that I need the AMC + extended warranty, and that I don't need the accessories kit. Hope that is enough.
GSurya

I was told I can get delivery within 30 days. Thats the only committment given. My SA mentioned that you have 90 days to opt for the extended warranty and Gold AMC after which there will be a tax of 20%.
If you need accessories to be fitted then you need to inform them atleast a week prior to delivery so that they can take care of the fittings before the delivery

[isandy]

I have booked the Revtron Petrol Zest XMS (Dune Beige) in late July and am still waiting for delivery. So I went to showroom (Prerana Motors) for update and had to kill time waiting for Tata Motors person, so just out of curiosity I took a fairly long TD of Zest Quadrajet XT.

I had earlier done the TD of both petrol and diesel earlier for a short stretch and was not very happy with initial pick-up of diesel and was fascinated by 3 drive modes of petrol.

During this test drive I got a chance to see the Turbo at work, as soon as RPM reaches about 1700, the driving dynamics totally changed and she turned into a sprinter and gave me goosebumps. It brought a wide grin on my face and seeds of confusion in my mind. So immediately after that I took another TD of Zest Revtron on the same stretch and found that it has superb low end torque but after there was nothing too special.

I am now very confused as to which one should I go for and need the experts at Team-BHP to help me out of my dilemma and guide me on making the correct choice.

My usage will mostly be restricted to weekend drives and occasional long drives, say once every 3-4 months. So average monthly run will be around 1000 kms. Considering this and price differential between petrol and diesel being just Rs 10 now, I had decided on petrol but now feel paying extra for quadrajet will be a good choice.

Below are some of the pro's and con's that I could imagine. Would request you to validate them and add if I have missed anything.

Zest Petrol - Pro's
- Decent engine with good refinement and different drive modes
- Works out to be about 1.2 Lac cheaper than corresponding diesel variant
- Maintenance and spares cheaper than diesel engine (does it hold true as both are turbo charged variants??)

Cons -
- New and hence unproven engine
- Expected mileage of about 13 in city and 16 on highways
- Lacks mid level grunt and becomes a tad noisy when pushed

Zest Quadrajet Diesel- Pro's
- Turbo, Turbo Turbo
- NVH levels almost to the level of petrol, even when revved
- Mileage of about 16 in city and 22 in highways
- Proven Fiat Engine, so long term reliability not an issue

Cons -
- Higher initial costs of about Rs 1.2 lacs
- Sluggish initial pickup, hence a pain in stop gap traffic of Bangalore
- Resale value may go down considering fuel pricing rationalization

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by isandy

During this test drive I got a chance to see the Turbo at work, as soon as RPM reaches about 1700, the driving dynamics totally changed and she turned into a sprinter and gave me goosebumps. It brought a wide grin on my face and seeds of confusion in my mind. So immediately after that I took another TD of Zest Revtron on the same stretch and found that it has superb low end torque but after there was nothing too special.

I am now very confused as to which one should I go for and need the experts at Team-BHP to help me out of my dilemma and guide me on making the correct choice.

My usage will mostly be restricted to weekend drives and occasional long drives, say once every 3-4 months. So average monthly run will be around 1000 kms. Considering this and price differential between petrol and diesel being just Rs 10 now, I had decided on petrol but now feel paying extra for quadrajet will be a good choice.

Zest Petrol - Pro's
- Decent engine with good refinement and different drive modes
- Works out to be about 1.2 Lac cheaper than corresponding diesel variant
- Maintenance and spares cheaper than diesel engine (does it hold true as both are turbo charged variants??)

Cons -
- New and hence unproven engine
- Expected mileage of about 13 in city and 16 on highways
- Lacks mid level grunt and becomes a tad noisy when pushed

Zest Quadrajet Diesel- Pro's
- Turbo, Turbo Turbo
- NVH levels almost to the level of petrol, even when revved
- Mileage of about 16 in city and 22 in highways
- Proven Fiat Engine, so long term reliability not an issue

Cons -
- Higher initial costs of about Rs 1.2 lacs
- Sluggish initial pickup, hence a pain in stop gap traffic of Bangalore
- Resale value may go down considering fuel pricing rationalization

For about 1000 kms a month , i would say go in for the revotron.
I own a diesel Manza , Have driven both revotron zest and qjet zest.
Revotron felt better.
Diesel zest was very similar to the Manza. 1.2 lac price difference for 1000kms a month run is not justified IMO.

[IMeMyself]

Almost a month since I canceled my booking and two weeks from the time State Head of TML spoke with me to let me know that the refund will be processed on priority. And still no refund yet.

[IMeMyself]

An update. The refund has happened on 22 Sep after it being initiated on 18 Sep. The confusion and time & energy wastage happened because I didn't receive any communication from TML about the refund being initiated into my credit card a/c and neither did I get an update from Citibank that the amount has been credited back.

Also, when I had called on their call centre number (where the hold music was insanely loud and ear splitting) that they had given to help with additional queries, they had absolutely no clue and asked me to send all details to another email ID at which point I had no more patience and spoke to TML's State Head- Mr. Vishwas Kapoor (with whom I had spoken earlier to resolve wrong communication by Concorde Motors regarding the refund procedure) who provided me the update about the date of the initiation of the refund)

Appreciate the timely and smooth resolution of this refund issue since the time after I had emailed customercare@tatamotors.com on the suggestion of fellow BHPian 'isandy'.

TML seems to have their intentions alright but their processes are all over the place. Hope they find a decent customer care head with a process orientation to avoid unnecessary time and energy wastage of all concerned.

[highwaylover]

did a TD of Zest petrol XM variant. Noticed one little problem .. if i drive keeping my hand on the gear rod, i could feel the vibrations. Is it a problem with the vehicle i drove or some one else also noticed?

I did not notice it that much in the Diesel XT manul.

[Maverick5490]

Today's TOI in Mumbai had an Advertisement of the two new Zest's

Even the fonts look similar!

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Today's TOI in Mumbai had an Advertisement of the two new Zest's

Even the fonts look similar!

Good catch Maverick!

It'll be interesting to watch how the two companies react to this. Will one of them go to court? What's relevant is which company started using the Zest trademark earlier. Given that the products belong to 2 completely different segments, probably the two trademarks can co-exist. Let's see what happens.

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Good catch Maverick!

It'll be interesting to watch how the two companies react to this. Will one of them go to court? What's relevant is which company started using the Zest trademark earlier. Given that the products belong to 2 completely different segments, probably the two trademarks can co-exist. Let's see what happens.

I don't think either would go to Court as both do not have the trade mark for the name 'Zest'.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

I don't think either would go to Court as both do not have the trade mark for the name 'Zest'.

Not clear what you mean by that.

Trademark rights are not dependent on registration of the trademark. In fact the rights acquired as a result of actual use are superior to those acquired purely through registration.

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Not clear what you mean by that.

Trademark rights are not dependent on registration of the trademark. In fact the rights acquired as a result of actual use are superior to those acquired purely through registration.

Ok, I thought it needs to be properly registered so that no one else can use it.