[manishkapadia]

Originally Posted by NiInJa

its good to know the V model of Brio costs 5.4L now, we got the S model in BLR in Sep 2013 for 5.3L

I do not know where does the Brio cost 5.4 on road. Last I had checked it was well over 6.3 for the V variant, and that too comes without any airbags.

A Honda showroom in Western suburb of Mumbai had offered an showroom car to me @ about 5.5 last month. I didn't pick it because it was manufactured in 2012 or 2013 ( no I am not kidding ) and even my wife could make out that it was repainted at a couple of places.

Give me a Brio with ABS and Airbag @ less than 5.5 OTR Mumbai and that's my most preferred small car over anything else that's available . It is that much fun to drive and can be parked in the tightest of places.

Sorry for being Offtopic

[amit_snk]

As much as I am in awe of your review, as much as I am in awe of this car. It's first time that a Tata product's review has given me such joy. From this absolutely detail review I make out that Zica is a world class product (minus the engines), which brings me to another point, what has Tata got from the JLR? Yes they profited a lot, but real purpose of Tata buying JLR was TECHNOLOGY and their R&D, doesn't seems like they received much in that field.

JLR itself is not a big name in terms of diesel engines(as far as I know they use Ford's engines) but they surely could have helped Tata develop a super refined and powerful small petrol engine, that would have given Maruti and Hyundai run for their money.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Actually Tata themselves are benchmarking the Zica against the Grand i10. Their are targeting the Grand i10 and the Celerio.

I wasn't aware of this but Tata is trying to ride two boats here. How can a car compare with those from two segments? I think Tata should clearly define the segment they want to compete in. This is what they did with Zest (Sadly it didn't work) and I feel, didn't with Manza.

The Bolt hasn't been selling. With the Zica, the Bolt will find it even harder and may get phased out.

Having gone through the complete review and with personal experience of Zest ownership, Zica compared to Bolt is one full size smaller, has one cylinder less, misses out on turbo (petrol), and doesn't get touchscreen or ACC. I don't see any overlap between them and don't see any reason why anyone wanting to buy Bolt will lean towards Zica.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Actually Tata themselves are benchmarking the Zica against the Grand i10. Their are targeting the Grand i10 and the Celerio.

The Bolt hasn't been selling. With the Zica, the Bolt will find it even harder and may get phased out.

Kudos to the 5 star review. The wait for each Team BHP review is totally worth for the in depth coverage and the detailed pictures.

Even though TATA is bench marking Zica against Grand i10, I dont think they will try to price it in the same segment. What I feel is TATA will project ZICA with the pricing of Celerio (or lower) as a low cost alternative to Grand i10.

If Zica is priced against i10, I do not see lot if Zicas moving out from the shop floor in a hurry.

--Anoop

[arch_hornet]

Great review S2! It's very interesting to see the Tata quality keep getting better and better! The one thing that really struck odd, however, was the pull-up kind of door locks. In 2016, that feature definitely sticks out like a sore thumb! Otherwise the interiors look great for the price! But then the engines - ah! Sounds like that needs a lot of work, especially the petrol.

[Dr.Suraj]

WoW! Just what I was waiting for... since a long long time!

First and foremost - FULL 5 stars for the review. This is why it's worth the wait. Worth to wait for a Team BHP review. The level is many notches higher than the blotchy and partial job done by many others who just add fancy graphics to their video reviews.
EVERYTIME - Team BHP takes such efforts in their reviews. Respect!

Now for the product - having followed the Kite - since almost a year now - spyshots and lapping up every single detail, having taken the bold risk of refusing my wife her Nano GenX AMT, just to say, "Don't worry, we will buy the Kite." - I think it's safe to say, no one was waiting as eagerly for this one as me.

ZICA - the name is slowly growing on the tongue,but the love is increasing everyday. Especially after the review. Loved the Zest & now this. Interiors, exteriors, everything fits perfectly.
I have to sound unrealistic to ask for DRLs, Automatic Climate Control & Reverse camera in a car of this price.
What I am wondering is, why those locks are of the pull type. (Yes, I read that bit about lack of place, yes, I also read about the fact that the Renault Duster & BMW 7 series come with such locks) - but still.
And why are there 2 dummy ports (12V) - when the official accessory costs mere 400 Rs. Tata - PLEASE give them as part of the package atleast in the XZ trim. Don't leave these for 'special editions'. (you can add graphics, camera, scuff plates in those).
Ok, if I wasn't nitpicking - then the rear legroom seems a little less. Especially since I have owned the Indica in the past. That is quite unlike a Tata car. That seems like a serious question mark.
& the other thing is why is it not living upto the 'Zippy Car' tag.
I am going to reserve my comments till I take a test drive, not going by just figures. Because, depends on driving style too. I have managed quite a fair bit of fun in my 2 cylinder Nano engine too. Darting in & out of bad traffic and accelerating quicker than some other bigger cars leaving them with quizzical expressions on their face.
That being said - it also might not be a major issue in city driving. Highway performance, definitely will feel stable & safer than a Celerio for decent driving.

PRICING, pricing and pricing. That's all is left to be seen. Just like the Bolt, this entire thread could do a U turn if Tata takes a wrong turn. (myself included).
Going to go this week to Concorde and book it nevertheless. Tata Zica XZ Petrol Berry Red.

Great going Tata. Hats off again. Really good effort. Definitely a good direction and exhibits motivation, that itself deserves respect and applause.

Reminds me of this line from Rocky "Life isn't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you take the hit and keep moving forward." It's okay to fall, what's not okay is to stay beaten down there. To rise and try again. Go for it Tata, change the tide. Script another chapter in automotive history, reverse the fortunes.

[narayan]

Great package except for the engines as mentioned in the review. This seems to be clearly aimed at making the Bolt/Zest relevant. But I feel the engine specs will be overshadowed by the superior features for the segment including that awesome music system.

The Bolt will now feel extremely uncomfortable demanding precious showroom space once the Zica comes. Not that it sells well but sibling rivalry is probably the largest competition for any car in India ( more than similar models from other car makers ). I don't think any car maker has overcome this other than Maruti.


The Bolt Revotron XE starts at a list price of 4.45L but can be easily had at 4L atleast ( on just cash discount ). Likewise, the Grand I10 which I think starts at around a similar figure if not slightly more can also be had with good discounts as seen in newspapers recently. Of the Total advertised offers of around 60-70K - I believe atleast 40k of that could be cash discount. Now Tata motors would have to price the Zica to undercut the G10 by atleast 20-25k ( I mean the already discounted price of the G10 ). That means a starting price of around 3.75-3.9 levels for the base petrol.

And once they do it, the Bolt is all but dead. Overall they should be happy if they sell more cars. Alternately, they can stop producing the base model Bolt altogether and offer the Bolt in ONLY XMS and XT trims. That way they can address customers with various budget options.

[Chetan_Rao]

Just when you want to believe Tata will keep its promise of going all out (and they almost did with this car), they have to put a fly in the ointment, and a BIG one at that!

It's pretty obvious from the review that the Zica can more than keep up with its competition on most aspects (and even has a few USPs, most notable being the ICE), then why cripple the product with sub-par engines? All of its competition has smooth(er) petrol motors, and it's not like Tata can afford to tease its target audience with potential future updates.

Even with a vastly improved product, Tata's years of lethargy has ensured they only get one shot to impress, if at all. Throw everything at it Tata, or go home.

[RJ411]

Thanks to the team for a wonderful review. TATA is getting better and better in every release. Pricing is definitely going to decide the fate of this car.

-Killer pricing at launch
-Get the numbers
-Increase the price later (Read Kwid)

I sincerely hope TATA gets a winner.

[sachinayak]

While everyone is complaining about Tata compromising on the engines, just think of the circumstances.

1. Tata is no Hyundai to get away with with higher pricing. See what happened to the Bolt. People expect Tata cars to be cheap. No matter how much Tata improves with respect to interiors, or quality or even features, we all expect Tata to be cheap.


2. This market segment is highly price-sensitive. Even Hyundai could not get away by pricing the Eon higher than market anticipated. How can Tata fare any better?

3. Tata cars typically are poor at making the first impression. Especially more-so with their designs. This time they have tried to change this. Make a good first impression. Good Exterior Design - Check, Good quality Interiors - Check, Plethora of features - Check, Value for Money - Check (well based on expected pricing), Music system - Check. These all help make an impression when you just see the car in the showroom, much before even the test drive. And most aam-junta may not have that level of driving passion that BHPians do.

4. Kitna deti hai??? With this being a significant factor influencing buyers, it isn't surprising that TATA went down this route.

Agreed, it is not a perfect car (heck, none of the cars in this segment are). But if they price it, the way all of us expect it to, we can hope it shakes up this segment.

[jayded]

Wow!

I'm just blown away at the attention to details shown by Tata on a mass market car like the Zica. Such a clean looking car and even the attention to minor details in the boot to give that clean look is just commendable. When cars twice the price of this (including Tata themselves) comes with tinny bootlids with ugly wires dangling and dancing around, this one just blows them away, without even asking for excuses from the others.

This is a true honest effort from Tata, and makes me want to buy it just for that. I hope this car succeeds in our market. It deserves to!

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Even though TATA is bench marking Zica against Grand i10, I dont think they will try to price it in the same segment. What I feel is TATA will project ZICA with the pricing of Celerio (or lower) as a low cost alternative to Grand i10.

If Zica is priced against i10, I do not see lot if Zicas moving out from the shop floor in a hurry.

--Anoop

+1. Definitely does not make sense to price it around the Grand i10. I think that's where the Bolt is.

Also need to keep in mind that they need to fit the upcoming Zica based compact sedan(or micro sedan) somewhere. So they will need to keep some decent breathing space to fit that in.

Hence in my opinion, I think the Zica will start at ~3.5-3.6 L (slightly lower than Celerio) and depending on how the base variant is loaded, will target the 1.0 Kwid also.

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

We're so glad that Tata has finally gotten over the egg-shape of the Indica, and moved on to a newer design language. Even its squat stance is a far cry from any other Tata car on sale today. Doesn't look it, but the Zica is longer than the Indica:

I think we have a typo here 'Doesn't look it, but the....'
But otherwise nice and commendable review.

Being a Tata fan, loved to read this most awaited review.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Even fleet owners - once a strong customer base for Tata - now have so many options to choose from

A very important point. While the Indica is still a common sight as a cab, the Indigo is dead. Replaced with the ever reliable Toyota Etios, Suzuki Dzire Tour. The Liva is catching up too.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

It stands on a four-fold program of intense customer focus, world-class manufacturing practices, enriched customer purchase experiences and consistent quality of service.

After reading this review and the Zest/Bolt's, they have upped their game significantly when it comes to car quality. By this I don't mean reliability, which is too early to comment. I wonder why this isn't seen though on their higher end cars like the Safari. I guess the Hexa will address this. Some way to go for after sales support though.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

On the flip side, the meters are on the smaller side

I remember this being a concern on the Manza too. I have to say that the instrument cluster looks superb and is comprehensive. A car like the Figo, that sits a segment higher, gets a very ordinary looking console.

Originally Posted by S2!!!

They're plastic and possibly cubic printed for that chrome finish.

If this is really what you say, I got to hand it to Tata for taking the effort in using this process.

After getting everything right, it is disappointing to know that none of the engines get close to what the competition offers.
As always, an excellent review. I too believe that Kite would have suited the car better.

[abhishek46]

Tata has done a good job here with the Zica.
But there a few problems.
1. 3 cylinder engines no matter how well engineered, are always looked down upon. On top of that it is a new engine, that too from tata. This is enough to keep people away.
Tata could have easily plonked in the 1.3 Mjd into the Zica albeit with some price tag increase.
2. Zica needs to shed some weight here for some good performance to come through. A porky 1 tonne plus for a car this size is not a good achievement in today's age. There is a fine line between being structurally safe and overweight. Zica seems to be leaning towards the later. it's hightime they ditched the old indica floorpan.
3. Many people praise cars like Zica, Zest, Bolt etc. But no one buys them primarily due to fear of Tata ASS. Tata does not seem to be doing anything with regards to that.