[KPS]

Great review, 5 stars

I am impressed with the significant improvement in the fit and finish of the final product. This car is not cheap looking and should enable Tata to claw back some market share.

There is a lot of hard work required from Tata to bring their old customers back to their fold. Over the past few years there have been lot of slippages with repeat car buyers exiting Tata cars after pretty poor ownership experiences.

Cheers

KPS

[narayan]

A few comments from a Tata owner

1) The Zest is designed really well and takes forward the strong design language that Tata has demonstrated all along. If you look at most Tata cars, they have fundamentally sound proportions ( Indica, Vista and of course the evergreen Safari/Storme )

2) Interior Quality is VERY VERY GOOD and I disagree with the reviewer that its on par with the competitors. Its far better than the Amaze, marginally better than the Dzire but definitely not as good as the Xcent

3) The Zest also carries forward the age old feature of Tata cars ( which is being heaviest in their respective segments ). I am not sure if this is due to poor designing or simply because TML puts in a lot more steel in its cars than the other car makers. But I am sure this will contribute positively to the structural safety of this vehicle. The thick A pillar which as reported does create a minor visibility issue ( nothing serious to be worried about ), adds to the safety in case of frontal collisions. I doubt cars like Amaze or even the Xcent could be as safe. This is purely my personal opinion and so pls dont come asking for NCAP ratings etc

4) The red light for the rear window lock actually glows when windows are unlocked - this is a typical Tata feature seen in the Storme as well. Should have been intuitively the other way round

5) Space is best in the segment and there is no "scooping" or "filing" of front seats to create any additional legroom. This car, fundamentally, was built for space and it shows in the low window sil line and the large glass area. This also means, the a/c needs to be very very effective to cool the large passenger cabin

6) Tata has done a good job with the dashboard but if you observe the old Vista dashboard, at the outset, it was designed as a "2 piece" unit. The entire top portion can be removed and fitted with a different set up and thats why Tata would have saved a lot of money in modifying the old Vista dash to this new one. The bottom half of the dash is exactly as per the old car

7) While doing all this, Tata could have gone for redesigning the door pads to create more storage space ( read bottle holders ). they seemed to have ignored this probably for cost reasons

8) Center arm rest would have been a good to have feature at the front atleast. I feel the omission at the rear is valid so as to make this a true 3 seater at the back

[discoverwild]

Kudos to the team for having come with a comprehensive review. The parting shot picture from Rehaan also shows the kind of evolution that the company has made between the Vista and the Zest and yet retain the same lines.

As far as niggles go, the Vista has definitely exceeded my expectations and I have not a single rattle in the car that has on the other side of 50K in 32 months of ownership. In fact, I was wondering if mileage had come down as I seemed to refuelling more than I used to and then realized that the price of diesel has moved from 48 to 62 since I bought the car!

Many thanks to Aditya, GTO, Rehaan and others who got together for this report. I would love to know why you guys went back to the Zest again before putting up the review.

[vinjosep]

Originally Posted by Aditya

What you'll like:

...

Thank you very much for the fantastic review! Rating a well-deserved 5-stars.

We have booked one online a week back and this review is more than helpful in our journey to find our second car... and be happy about it

Originally Posted by discoverwild

I would love to know why you guys went back to the Zest again before putting up the review.

I have the same query as well....

[scopriobharath]

Brilliant Review - If Tata can offer the same levels of reliability a.k.a Storme, it is sure shot hit. It will fly out of the showrooms.

One Question - I have even noticed the same in the pre-launch thread.

What is the fascination of DRLs on any model. IMHO, we dont need DRLs in any place in india. DRLs were designed for northern european countries where daylight is availble for only 5-6 hours a day (ex scandinavia). Almost everyone seems to be so keen a DRL option (seen this right from the XUV Thread), is there really a need for DRLs ?

Thoughts ?

[GrammarNazi]

Ah! What a review. Rated 5 Stars.

Amazing car. See, this is what you get when you put a Gujju into the equation! (My Tata Motors Ideator meet!)

lol jokes apart, I feel redeemed for having said :

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

...I'd believe Karl Slyms' wisdom, IMO he knows what we'll need. Lets wait & see....

What a tremendous effort by TATA Motors! And What an astonishing result! I'm quite sure, NO ONE could imagine that this could be made out of the Indica Vista platform.

Kudos, and all the absolute best to them to re-capture the hearts of the Indian Auto Enthusiast.

[Aditya]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

I would love to know why you guys went back to the Zest again before putting up the review.

When we drove the car in Goa, in the short time that we had, it was not possible to comprehensively test the Sport and Eco modes. Additionally, the roads in Goa are really smooth - unlike the stuff that we are likely to find in Mumbai and other places around India. The drive in Mumbai gave us a better feel of the vehicle in more realistic conditions.

[eyesice]

Brilliant review. Never imagined that a Tata product will have such quality and finesse. On the other hand, Tata has to drastically improve their A.S.S quality & reliability ( Past experiences made us sell a 3 year old Safari ). There is no point in selling a good car which cannot be maintained by the company. For this sole reason, I would probably wait a year before considering the Zest.

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Almost everyone seems to be so keen a DRL option (seen this right from the XUV Thread), is there really a need for DRLs ?
Thoughts ?

The typical Indian mentality that if the West does something, we too must copy it. Just like we go to Starbucks when we get the best filter coffee for 10 Rupees.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

What is the fascination of DRLs on any model. IMHO, we dont need DRLs in any place in india.

I also think that DRLs are a bit too bright and obnoxious, and there needs to be a tighter standard for the amount of brightness they are allowed to have.

DRL studies have undoubtedly shown that having them is safer, but then again, that was based on DRL-equippied cars which constituted only a small part of the cars on the road. They were different and they stood out.

When every single car has DRLs, i don't know if the numbers will be the same - but i do know that I'll find it a little irritating with all those bright white LEDs in my rear-view mirror.

cya
R

[arulpeem]

This is review is really comprehensive and a very good one. Thanks to Aditya and Rehaan for all the effort and time.
With respect to the reliability I can expect it to be only better. I owned petrol Indica for 6 years, 2002 to 8 and currently own a Vista ZX , from 2012 February onwards. The vista has done 37K Kms and I have had hardly any issues till date. The current experience is a major improvement and now with all the focussed effort of TATA I can only expect the reliability to be far better now. The service experience is also improving and I see a marked difference over the last one year or so...
I know what my next upgrade will be to

[ajaypjayaraj]

Great review. Tata seems to have up the game for its competitors. While people were disappointed seeing the panel gaps and other such quality issues on the Amaze, Mobilio, etc. from a company like Honda on one hand, Tata on the other hand seems to have progressed miles ahead in many such areas leaving competition behind. That's a very welcome move. Reliability would be something to wait and watch. But now, at-least there's hope!

[swiftnfurious]

Great review as usual! Rating 5 stars! Thorough attention to details. And more than anything, hi five for TATAs efforts. Though it's late, they have nailed a lot of problems. Wish this car becomes a game changer for TATAs lost fortune. Unless this car becomes a huge hit, we will continue to get sh*t treatment from other manufacturers who are inventing new modes of cost cutting for Indian market.

Originally Posted by narayan

....I disagree with the reviewer that its on par with the competitors. Its far better than the Amaze, marginally better than the Dzire but definitely not as good as the Xcent....

The highlighted portion in your post is more or less in alignment with the reviewer comments; isn't it? This is what is meant by "on par with competitors"! Neither the worst, nor the best; right in between.

Originally Posted by narayan

....there is no "scooping" or "filing" of front seats to create any additional legroom....

There is a definite "scooping" of the rear portion of the front seat. Or to put it better, the back side of the front seats are NOT flat; but there is a slight recess in the middle portion. Quite visible even to the un-trained eye.

Originally Posted by narayan

....Tata has done a good job with the dashboard but if you observe the old Vista dashboard, at the outset, it was designed as a "2 piece" unit. The entire top portion can be removed and fitted with a different set up and thats why Tata would have saved a lot of money in modifying the old Vista dash to this new one. The bottom half of the dash is exactly as per the old car...

I thought this (upper dash) is more of a straight lift from the Manza or the Vista D90 with very less modification (from a design perspective). Isn't it not the case?

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

...What is the fascination of DRLs on any model....Thoughts ?

Why should ONLY the high end car (or few i20) owners show off? Even I would love to. It's more about making the car eye-catchy I believe. This definitely brings in a certain "desirability" to the car I must confess.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

...but i do know that I'll find it a little irritating with all those bright white LEDs in my rear-view mirror...

+1. The DRLs on the Zest are way too bright. On the other hand, the corona ring is just perfect with respect to the brightness + style quotient.

[iceman7]

I will quantify this as a LEAP for TATA. I am thoroughly impressed with the progress that TATA Motors has displayed with the Zest. I really really hope that this car sells well. TATA needs to be rewarded for making the first move in this segment.

5* review

[naveen.raju]

Excellent review guys! Was looking forward to this. TATA definitely got high hopes and I do feel that it will do well. Compared to the Indigo CS this is a better package and the quality looks top notch. Hope they will rectify all those niggles when it comes to QC and this will be a good deal.

Why is that all new cars have a lot of piano finish on their cars (All new Fiesta is loaded with piano finish panels)? Although it looks super cool, it's one finger magnet and develops a lot of scratches.

[Gannu_1]

Excellent review Aditya, Rehaan! And many thanks for publishing it on an otherwise boring and gloomy Monday.

Tata has to be applauded for the efforts they’ve put in for the Zest (and the Bolt). The European influence is evident from the design of the innards - the dashboard looks kickass especially with that instrument cluster, touchscreen HU, the 3-spoke steering with the thumb contours and perforated material, the combination of beige and black on top of the dash! Cover that Tata logo and a layman could mistake it for a German car. Honda - please have a look! I can’t even think how shoddy the Amaze’s interiors (and now the Mobilio’s as well!) look in comparison. The multi-spoke rims on the diesel looks swell! A dead pedal and a central armrest would have been some welcome additions but perhaps for the next revision.

I am hoping that the diesel AMT would bring in a considerable volume of sales for Tata. There are no diesel autos in this segment, so Tata is clearly a step ahead. All Tata needs to do right now is to iron out the bugs and push the marketing department to promote the Zest. The Zest Studio campaign is underway in some of the malls in the tier-1 cities (and Pune). They need to do a lot more. Good luck fellas. I am sure your efforts will pay off.