[vasanthn21]

which has better driveability? Zest Petrol (city mode), or Diesel or Diesel AMT?

I took test drive of only the diesel manual version, and liked almost everything about the car. Only one point is bothering me. I opened the bonnet and saw rust in almost new cars on both occassions in cards from 2 different dealers. Would appreciate comments from owners regarding this.

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by jasonbourne

I have two questions related to the Run-in period of Zest.

1. The recommened First Service interval for Zest comes up at 4500 Kms or 3 Months. Do we still have to change the Oil after the first 1000 Kms and then on stick to these intervals as per the article How to Run-In your New Car? When I asked the SA for changing it at 1000 KMs, he recommends not to even if I am spending it out of my pocket
2. In this thread I see lot of people posting that they drive at 120 Kmph even before the first 1000 Kms. Is it not harmful for the engine? Wont it be advisable to reach those speeds after the first 1000 Kms?

No need to change the oil at the first service. With the MJD change at 10K to be extra careful while Tata recommends ate 15K for the Club Class Manza and I have followed the recommendations.

I have not exceeded the speed limits shown in the sticker during my first 1000 kms. I went to Goa and back within 7 days of getting my Manza and stuck to speeds recommended. I would not recommend going over those speeds.

The engine opens up post 10000Kms.

[Zubin21]

I saw Zest in XTA trim (Yes it was XTA, i checked it), with F-Tronic badge too. Not sure it was diesel or petrol as it was moving and couldn't get close enough to ask the driver. It was a showroom car probably to be delivered to the Concorde Showroom in Mumbai (as i saw it on two occasions near the showroom). Does anyone know of the trim?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by Zubin21

I saw Zest in XTA trim (Yes it was XTA, i checked it), with F-Tronic badge too. Not sure it was diesel or petrol

The F-Tronic moniker is for the AMT model and we don’t have a petrol based AMT Zest at the moment. Just the diesel 90 hp AMT.

[amansanc]

Originally Posted by Zubin21

I saw Zest in XTA trim (Yes it was XTA, i checked it), with F-Tronic badge too. Not sure it was diesel or petrol as it was moving and couldn't get close enough to ask the driver. It was a showroom car probably to be delivered to the Concorde Showroom in Mumbai (as i saw it on two occasions near the showroom). Does anyone know of the trim?

Spoke to the SA at the Autocar performance show held in mumbai last week. He mentioned that only one trim is available with AMT gearbox. And that is XMA Diesel. It doesn't come with airbags and a few other features. If Tata has launched XTA, then its great news. People can now choose safety and comfort of AMT gearbox.


Cheers
amansanc

[Zubin21]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

The F-Tronic moniker is for the AMT model and we don’t have a petrol based AMT Zest at the moment. Just the diesel 90 hp AMT.

So I would assume TML is slowly sneaking in XTA Diesel Variant in the Showrooms as they realized that most of the customers inquiring for AMT model would have preferred a top-end automatic variant even at a higher prices! I think this should be interesting as it would present the customers with a very practical option of Zest XTA to Elite i20 Asta crowd. Even if it doesn't sway those many numbers for Zest, it certainly makes the choice difficult for the buyer in that price.

Originally Posted by amansanc

Spoke to the SA at the Autocar performance show held in mumbai last week. He mentioned that only one trim is available with AMT gearbox. And that is XMA Diesel. It doesn't come with airbags and a few other features. If Tata has launched XTA, then its great news. People can now choose safety and comfort of AMT gearbox.


Cheers
amansanc

Even I thought the same! When I saw the XTA labelled car with F-Tronic badge, I certainly believed that TATA had made a goof-up and somehow someone labelled it incorrectly. But this time I saw another car with the same labelling and I even saw the touchscreen infotainment system inside. Although I tried to take a pic it came out uselessly blurred. Not sure if its actually a variant they are trying to introduce or just some cars in the Showroom to gauge response.

[bullet_chacha]

I was happily driving a 2012 Dzire L.di until I went mad over the build quality, both interior and exterior. Several attempts were made to upgrade to a car which I could drive for another 5 years, however, family pressure and other factors kept this thought away. Enough was enough, many-a-mornings were spent with a furious face after seeing a dent here or there, all thanks to the thinnest possible sheet metal used. By the time I had sold my car, I had actually spent close to 60k in denting and painting in a span 0f 2.5 years stretched to 30k kms.

Year 2014 came in and two giants of the Indian automotive industry launched their contenders, Tata with a Zest and Hyundai with an i20. Now the goal was clear, a well built car with slightly better features than what we call basic, good looks...and most importantly, thick sheet metal!

I was being inclined towards the i20 initially, but the price range of the diesel kept me away. Moreover, the family wanted a sedan and not another hatch in the house. Hence, Tata was being considered as an option. Test drove the Revotron and was immediately sold on it. This turbo petrol engine curning out 90 odd bhp is amazing. While I was still contemplating, decided to test drive the diesel as well. Nothing better could it be to get the fell of a tried and tested machine in a completely new design and a concept. I immediately decided to stick to the diesel and booked the XT in Silver.

The booking was made at AutoVikas, Kirti Nagar, NEw Delhi and the total on road price came out to be 7.97lacs which seemed to be a good deal considering the package on offer. This also included the 333 assurance and I need not pay a penny(well not in literal sense) for 3 years. Dealing with AutoVikas staff was a pleasant experience right from test drive to the delivery. The bank formalities of financing etc. was completed with SBI and the delivery was finally taken.

Enough of background, let me start with the review.



There you go, meet my silver XT...and to be proud and honest, few of the first in Delhi!

On the outer, the car does screams from what segment it is from But this feature packed sub 4 meter sedan has some juice to cater to everyone. Be it a performance enthusiast or a features fanatic, this machine would never let you down. The space inside the car is amazing and this few of the cars that can easily accommodate 5 people.



From the front, you can see the projector headlamps, the front honeycomb grill, the fog lamps and the DRLs (not lit at the moment).


The Headlight assembly

[narayan]

Originally Posted by bullet_chacha

By the time I had sold my car, I had actually spent close to 60k in denting and painting in a span 0f 2.5 years stretched to 30k kms.

Congrats on the new car. Do i see a deep scratch on the front driver side door ?

[nijelj]

Completed 1600 Kms of my RT-XT. 300kms of city driving and 1300kms of Highway.

Impressions: Interior / Exterior
-Quite a Looker and so a head turner, I have a killer photograph of the angel eyes and the red tail lights lighting up the garage
- I went through a youtube video of how to use the touch screen/voice activated head unit, so was able to show off to my wife and friends
- Haven't fiddled with the height adjust yet, but the driving seat is already very comfortable. Wifey and 6'2" BIL also were comfortable on the 600km ride back.
- Rear door Child lock is available for frisky two year olds
- Rear seat head restraints and seat angles are at the correct position for a relaxed back seat passenger
- Airbags means I cannot let my wife sit in front with my son (I know I shouldn't let them sit in front, regardless of airbag). He doesn't like sitting in the child seat when awake. So my wife has to sit behind holding him. On our Nano, he can see outside easily and is comfortable. But the back seat of the Zest doesn't offer him the same visibility, leading to him fidgeting a lot and then vomiting.
- The climate control is simply superb, I left it at 26 degs and while driving didn't need to increase or decrease at all. Its only when you open the doors in the afternoon, the hot air comes in and then I have to increase the blower speed if I want faster cooling

Experiences : Electronics and Electricals
- Rear parking assist is very helpful as pointed out by other owners. But after an extended, very slow and tight reversing, the collision alarm was faintly audible even when vehicle was being driven. I had to switch off/on the vehicle to rectify it. It hasn't repeated since.
- Central locking : As already known, the key has to be removed for the automatic unlocking of the doors. If you need to drop off passengers, they can't open the doors themselves(even if child lock is not active). The driver needs to unlock by himself. I need to accustom myself to this. Let me know if there is a work-around.
- The quick wipe feature has an extra wiper swing some 5 secs after the main spray and wipe action. Hope this is a feature.
- The automatic locking of parked vehicle after it has been unlocked, wont happen if you use the physical key to open the boot/front doors. This is mentioned in the manual.
- The angel eyes are purely for appeal and offer no light for dark conditions. You are better off driving with the DRLs
- Phone connectivity was smooth and there was no echo with phone calls over the speakers.

Experiences : Engine & transmission
- I drove almost 1200kms with the ECO mode and felt that I was in a sluggish car, but overtakings were scare-free if planned properly.
- Got a chance to pit the zest against its rivals, when I had an Ertiga, Dzire and a Amaze overtake me. I left it in ECO and was able to catch up and overtake the trio. They didn't seem to like it though, because soon they started pulling some risky behavior. I let them pass before any incidents happened.
- On the highway, the behavior in different modes are noticeable
- at the 900 km region, I had a faint 'chuck' noise coming from the drive line, when slotting from 3rd to 4th. I had this in my 2003 Indica in the intial kms, it was traced to exhaust system tightening. I hope this is the case.
- Towards the 1200 km region, while my BIL was driving in the Thoppur ghat (some spirited driving required to overtake the trucks drag racing at 10kmph), the turbo started to give a 'barking' noise. A quick blip on the throttle, gives a noise. Will try to recreate for the 1st service.

Overall, I'm happy with my car and hope I have many joyous kms with it.

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

I opened the bonnet and saw rust in almost new cars on both occassions in cards from 2 different dealers. Would appreciate comments from owners regarding this.

Would you let us know where you exactly saw the Rust in these cars? I can check on mine and let you know.

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by bullet_chacha

. I immediately decided to stick to the diesel and booked the XT in Silver.

There you go, meet my silver XT...and to be proud and honest, few of the first in Delhi!

Congratulations to you on your new drive. Many miles of smiles and joy to you and the family! I can say with confidence that you will enjoy this one for many years!

Originally Posted by nijelj

Completed 1600 Kms of my RT-XT. 300kms of city driving and 1300kms of Highway.


Experiences : Engine & transmission
I drove almost 1200kms with the ECO mode and felt that I was in a sluggish car, but overtakings were scare-free if planned properly.

Got a chance to pit the zest against its rivals, when I had an Ertiga, Dzire and a Amaze overtake me. I left it in ECO and was able to catch up and overtake the trio. They didn't seem to like it though, because soon they started pulling some risky behavior. I let them pass before any incidents happened.

Overall, I'm happy with my car and hope I have many joyous kms with it.

Congratulations! I am sure the zest will provide you and the family many years of smiles! The tuning is exactly like the Club Class Manza and I can assure you that once you cross 10000 kms the engine will open up and you are going to have a huge smile each time you do a long drive. The FE will astonish you and the drive and ride quality is going to make you smile all the way! while others like the Vento, Rapid, Amaze, Dzire, Etios etc..struggle on pit holed roads your Zest is going to float away. Trust me you are going to love this car!

Have a safe drive and once again many congratulations!

[bullet_chacha]

I was happily driving a 2012 Dzire L.di until I went mad over the build quality, both interior and exterior. Several attempts were made to upgrade to a car which I could drive for another 5 years, however, family pressure and other factors kept this thought away. Enough was enough, many-a-mornings were spent with a furious face after seeing a dent here or there, all thanks to the thinnest possible sheet metal used. By the time I had sold my car, I had actually spent close to 60k in denting and painting in a span 0f 2.5 years stretched to 30k kms.

Year 2014 came in and two giants of the Indian automotive industry launched their contenders, Tata with a Zest and Hyundai with an i20. Now the goal was clear, a well built car with slightly better features than what we call basic, good looks...and most importantly, thick sheet metal!

I was being inclined towards the i20 initially, but the price range of the diesel kept me away. Moreover, the family wanted a sedan and not another hatch in the house. Hence, Tata was being considered as an option. Test drove the Revotron and was immediately sold on it. This turbo petrol engine curning out 90 odd bhp is amazing. While I was still contemplating, decided to test drive the diesel as well. Nothing better could it be to get the fell of a tried and tested machine in a completely new design and a concept. I immediately decided to stick to the diesel and booked the XT in Silver.

The booking was made at AutoVikas, Kirti Nagar, NEw Delhi and the total on road price came out to be 7.97lacs which seemed to be a good deal considering the package on offer. This also included the 333 assurance and I need not pay a penny(well not in literal sense) for 3 years. Dealing with AutoVikas staff was a pleasant experience right from test drive to the delivery. The bank formalities of financing etc. was completed with SBI and the delivery was finally taken.

Enough of background, let me start with the review.

Attachment 1319168

There you go, meet my silver XT...and to be proud and honest, few of the first in Delhi!

On the outer, the car does screams from what segment it is from But this feature packed sub 4 meter sedan has some juice to cater to everyone. Be it a performance enthusiast or a features fanatic, this machine would never let you down. The space inside the car is amazing and this few of the cars that can easily accommodate 5 people.

Attachment 1319171

From the front, you can see the projector headlamps, the front honeycomb grill, the fog lamps and the DRLs (not lit at the moment).

Attachment 1319172
The Headlight assembly

Attachment 1319173
Another Angle

Attachment 1319174
The DRLs

Open the door and a whole new world of driving awaits

Attachment 1319180

Lets walk inside the car and sit at the driver's seat

The MID displays a whole lot of information such as temperature, Trip A&B, Distance To Empty, ODO, time, average since the list trip etc. The Tacho and Speedo are well designed and illuminated. The MID also gives you the door open notification and tells you as to what door is open. I'm yet to check it for boot and bonnet.

Attachment 1319176

Attachment 1319177

Attachment 1319178

Attachment 1319179

Attachment 1319175

The steering is nice to hold, the smaller diameter does make it convenient to steer. It is simply feather light and takes the least effort to turn the car around. In the XT variant, it comes equipped with steering mounted controls. On the Left is volume rocker, seek track/channel and mute/hang up buttons while on the right is the voice command/call button.

Attachment 1319186

Attachment 1319187

If your phone is connected via bluetooth, just a press of the call button downloads your call log and which is displayed on the HU screen. Although the fit and finish is just amazing, I somehow find that the system lags, as in it takes some micro seconds to respond, be it mute, increasing/decreasing volume or making a call. Forger the voice commands,, I hardly use them.

The stalks on the right and left are a good fit and finish too.

Attachment 1319189

Attachment 1319190

The left is the wipe and wash stalk as usual. However, i'm not sure if thats a typical feature of Tata, cars, but the stalk has to be lifted up, instead of being pulled down to engage the wipers and vise versa for the washer. It also has a rotating dial to change the speed of the wiper when the water sprinkler is engaged. Similar is the right stalk for the headlight operation, it also has a dial to adjust the throw of the light.

Moving on to the ICE that comes fitted. The HK system is amazing considering the stock setup and comes equipped with 4 speakers and 4 tweeters. The sound quality is decent but not to the taste of an ICE enthusiast. Its a pleasant experience over all.

Attachment 1319191
Connectnext

The centre console houses the HU, ACC, AUX/ USB ports and buttons to control fog lamps, rear defogger etc. It also houses the ACC controls whose settings are also visible on the HU. As soon as the AC settings are changed or ACC is switched on, the HU automatically takes you to the AC screen and the settings can be altered from there as well. However, the touch of the HU is not that great, it being resistive, soI, and everyone one for that matter would prefer to use the knobs and the dials for the climate control.

I never faced any connectivity issue with bluetooth. The phone gets automatically connected even when its on the second floor and the key is inserted.

There are some points where some attention is required and with such engineering talent available, it seemed to be a silly engineering mistake. First of all, the storage space in the cabin is least thought off. No bottle holder, only 1 cup holder. This might be a problem if anyone is fond of "car-o-bar" .


No cup holders for passengers, no space to hold bottles?

Secondly Once the driver straps the seat belt, its very difficult to operate the seat back support adjustment lever as the belt almost overs it entirely.



I could find the boot panel gaps to be uneven as below



The rear stance of the car is somehow not right. I find the they started beautifully at the front and just rapidly wrapped it up at the rear. The rear could have been lowered a bit.



Other niggles that I found are as follows:

Even though its a perfect car, there are some things that surely need some upgrade. Here are some other misc. points

1. The headlight is simply insufficient. The visibility is only limited to a couple of feet away. Highbeam is completely useless even if there is slightest of street lighting available.
2. Upgrade the ICE
3. The cabin lighting is poor, one can simply not see anything at the rear. Another light for the rear is much desired.
4. I do not like the alloys, they have to be 17' or 16 in the least
5. I somehow find the handling to be sleepy. It takes a bit while to go into the curve. I guess its a feature, antiroll or something.
6. Brakes are awesome and the abs do work!
7. The noise from the engine has increased, maybe its budging closer t 1st service and would be sorted out at that time

...and there's much more that I need to explore.

As for now, I have plonked in a sub and an amp combo in the boot.




Its a well thought of concept and a car that I can live with for another 5 years. It has been returning no less than 16kmpl in the city driving. I'm
loving the experience and would recommend you the product to anyone whose contemplating!

And there you go for another shot at night:



Note to mods: Please merge the previous post as that was wrongly posted and those images are not visible in this one

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by bullet_chacha

Year 2014 came in and two giants of the Indian automotive industry launched their contenders, Tata with a Zest and Hyundai with an i20.

You sir made us wait too long, but the wait was worth it.
Many congratulations. Very nice review and to the point. Only thing I couldn't agree on with you are expectations we can have at this price point, ICE and Alloys are of decent configuration. In fact the XT's ICE sounds better than any car < 20L. Its your enthu towards ICE, Amps and Woofers but really, this is the best we get.
Alloys are of size 15", same across variants, with 185 section Bridgestones. In this price bracket, 15" is something you get only in topends, 185 is max you can have. I think Linea E comes with 16", Citys, Vernas and Ciazs all do with similar sizes. But in case you upgrade the alloys, pls do let us all know. With your taste in ICE, your Alloys choice would be interesting and guiding for reat of us.

[SaurabhAgrawal]

I've only done 400 kms in a month, but I've been facing a problem with my Zest XMS (Petrol) since day one. Sometimes, the engine stalls when I'm bringing the car to a near-stop speed, like on a big speed breaker, or at a red traffic signal. As I lower the gear from 2nd to 1st with the clutch pedal completely pressed, the car starts beeping, and some of the lights on the RPM dial light up. In a couple of seconds the engine stalls, unless I immediately let go off the clutch pedal and give some gas. If the engine does stall, I've always been able to switch it back on in the first attempt by turning the ignition key.

Since all this happens so quickly, I've never been able to note exactly which indicator lights on the instrument cluster light up. But I'm certain that the "battery charging" and the "low oil pressure" do turn red. All the warning lights also turn off once the car starts, and I drive away normally.

I googled but couldn't find any reason why this could happen in a new car.

Anyone faced a similar problem? Any suggestions?

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by nijelj

- Airbags means I cannot let my wife sit in front with my son (I know I shouldn't let them sit in front, regardless of airbag). He doesn't like sitting in the child seat when awake. So my wife has to sit behind holding him. On our Nano, he can see outside easily and is comfortable. But the back seat of the Zest doesn't offer him the same visibility, leading to him fidgeting a lot and then vomiting.

Please do not compromise on safety. Buy one of the better quality car seats anchoring properly at the rear. These are having a good height and will enable him to see out. Even holding him in the back seat is not safe. He will be crushed between your wife and seat in the unfortunate (God forbid) incident. Incentivise him with some treat when he sits in the car seat to get him habituated. An acquaintance has had to have major facial surgery due to an accident when sitting in the back seat and face hit the front seat with heavy impact.

There is simply no option but to belt up for safety, even in the back seat.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by SaurabhAgrawal

I've only done 400 kms in a month, but I've been facing a problem with my Zest XMS (Petrol) since day one. Sometimes, the engine stalls when I'm bringing the car to a near-stop speed, like on a big speed breaker, or at a red traffic signal. As I lower the gear from 2nd to 1st with the clutch pedal completely pressed, the car starts beeping, and some of the lights on the RPM dial light up. In a couple of seconds the engine stalls, unless I immediately let go off the clutch pedal and give some gas. If the engine does stall, I've always been able to switch it back on in the first attempt by turning the ignition key.

Since all this happens so quickly, I've never been able to note exactly which indicator lights on the instrument cluster light up. But I'm certain that the "battery charging" and the "low oil pressure" do turn red. All the warning lights also turn off once the car starts, and I drive away normally.

Forgot to mention this issue too in my update a few posts back. I have noticed that this happens if you leave the car unstarted for two days or more. For me the stall happens two three times in a km and then it becomes alright. If I take the vehicle out every alternate day this doesn't happen. And no I'm not stalling the car because I have used the wrong gear. this happens even if I'm coasting. I'll need to make a video of this behavior in-time for my first service.

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Please do not compromise on safety. Buy one of the better quality car seats anchoring properly at the rear. These are having a good height and will enable him to see out. Even holding him in the back seat is not safe. He will be crushed between your wife and seat in the unfortunate (God forbid) incident. Incentivise him with some treat when he sits in the car seat to get him habituated. An acquaintance has had to have major facial surgery due to an accident when sitting in the back seat and face hit the front seat with heavy impact.

There is simply no option but to belt up for safety, even in the back seat.

Hi Sandeep thanks for your concern. Granted I do compromise on safety,when my wife holds my son in the rear, but she is sure to have her seat belt around her atleast. Also when not holding my son, my wife buckles up even in the rear seat. I have a "Li'l wanderer" car seat for my son strapped at the back, so that takes care of quality. My speeds slows to 60kmph max in this condition.

I will try the Incentive method, when we drive back from Christmas vacations. Thanks for the tip!