[vishnusv]

Originally Posted by fuelinmyveins

Sounds like hiss from the turbo charger's boost relief valve.

Somewhat similar sound in my Zest was fixed by replacing vacuum regulator

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by VKumar

The video below is the weird engine noise the car is making. Please notice the rubbing noise coming in time and again

That is a absolutely normal sound from an engine with variable vane turbo, it is just a bit louder than normal though.

The dealer should be made to replace the entire vehicle for playing around with the clutch and turbo. The dealership can retain the car to use as a as a test drive or a loner vehicle.

Originally Posted by rshnvjy

Better than using higher wattage halogens, a good idea would be to use HIDs or aftermarket LEDs.

HID is good for low beam in a projector setup. In high beam there is lot of scatter, a good short distance spread, but less depth and penetration.
This gives a false sense of security by illuminating things close by getting your eyes adjusted to the brightness and indirectly reducing your distant vision.
LED can be harsh to the drivers of other cars. LED's are still new in the market Once better LED's are available, and in a lower temperature spectrum i.e. yellowish colour, they can be used for high beam.

Rahul

[Palio_2005]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

HID is good for low beam in a projector setup. In high beam there is lot of scatter, a good short distance spread, but less depth and penetration.
This gives a false sence of security by illuminating things close by getting your eyes adjusted to the brightness and indirectly reducing your distant vision.
Rahul

I have HID in my S Cross. I agree that they are not great for highway rides. My old Linea with normal Halogens had a better throw in HI Beam.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by rshnvjy

Better than using higher wattage halogens, a good idea would be to use HIDs or aftermarket LEDs. They consume less power than any halogen and naturally would be a lot less taxing on the battery and circuit components of the car, and all are definitely more reliable in the long run than halogens.

Originally Posted by abhi7013

Would recommend not using HIDs upper of 4300k rating as the yellow component would be absent providing a little blue tinge. This in turn hampers visibility when going fast, or when the roads are wet during rains.

Thats exactly what I am apprehensive about. The color temperature. I have burnt my fingers once with those fancy blue-white bulbs and know better now. Color temp should not exceed 4300K in an aftermarket lighting mod.

I had getting considered bi-xenon projector fogs as auxiliary lights. But didn't find any suitable place to mount them. Also, I don't want to compromise warranty coverage.

[Anuruddhs]

Does anyone have a idea where is the OBD port located for HEXA , need to put the Carnot GPS tracker in OBD port .

[Kishen.padiyar]

Originally Posted by Anuruddhs

Does anyone have a idea where is the OBD port located for HEXA ,

It is at the right bottom corner of the dashboard - visible when viewed from underneath.

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by Anuruddhs

Does anyone have a idea where is the OBD port located for HEXA , need to put the Carnot GPS tracker in OBD port .

Any link where I can find your review of the aforementioned GPS tracker.

Using the MMI system in my Manza. Looking for an alternative for Tiago.

[Jyodi Backster]

The other day, I took my family for a Hexa test drive.
We checked out the XT version on display, and also the XM version from the stockyard.
My wife and mother found the middle row bench seat (of the 7 seater version) to be much more comfortable compared to captain seats (of the 6 seater version). This was more to do with rather tall captain seats. For me at 5' 9", I found the captain seats to be more comfortable, but I guess, anybody shorter than 5' 6" would not find the seats comfortable, because their feet would barely touch the floor.

In general, looking at the seats and also the driving position and ergonomics, Hexa seemed like it's build for large Europeans for a left hand drive configuration!.
Logic behind the second part?
If you sit in the passenger seat, then everything falls into place! the hand rest feels so good, the handbrake is easy to operate, The Gear lever is not a stretch. Only thing missing is steering wheel and ABC pedals!

My friend @nsbhagwat who owned an Opel car earlier, said the same thing that Hexa surely is built for left hand drive and Hatte-Katte European/American driver.

Coming to the actual test drive.
It was a 6 seater XTA. I was in the driver's seat, father in passenger seat, mother (who has back and knee problems) in the second row captain seat, wife and 9 year old kid in the third row seat.
Just for reference, I'm tallest and heaviest in the family at 5' 9" and 69 kg!

Engine started with a slight shudder but soon settled in a quiet idle.
I found it to be way too refined and quiet as compared to my sister's Vento 1.5 TDI.
started driving it after putting it in Drive mode, and it took off well, nothing great, but adequate power.
After that, it was just not increasing the speed much, so I thought of putting it in Sport mode.
The acceleration improved slightly but, something just didn't feel right. The car was doing roughly 40-50 km/hr.
It was as if the car was running with some speed governors on. Tried switching between Drive and Sport mode and also by manually changing the gears, but it would just not gain speed, flooring the accelerator was just raising the engine noise but not actually increasing the car speed.

SA did not have any idea what was happening.
I had taken a TD earlier and the Engine and gearbox had worked flawlessly then. And overall power and gearshifts were more than adequate for my driving style.

We then took the Hexa to try out some rough roads. We drove over a broken road which did not have any tar on it.
My Current Car is 9 years (and 1 lac+ kms) old Mitsubishi Cedia which needs suspension work.
Father's reaction (1st row): 'Our Cedia rides better, I don't feel such bumps in our Cedia.'
Mother's reaction (second row captiain seat): 'It's good, don't feel the bumps much. But Cedia is better.'
My Kid in the last seat: 'Baba, in this seat, I'm getting tossed a lot as compared to our Cedia, and I can feel the road surface.'
My Wife: 'Do they still make Cedia?'!!

Few minutes later, drove my Cedia on the same rough road patch. From the driver's seat, found the ride just slightly bumpy as compared to Hexa.
(For reference, Cedia was running on 1 yr old Michelin 3 ST 195/60 R15)

A couple of days later I called up the dealer (Concorde Baner) to complain about the bad TD experience.
They informed me that the SA by mistake took the hexa which had some problem.
Some pressure pipe had punctured, and engine was not able to transfer all the power to the wheels.

I am mainly looking for a safe family car to replace my aging Cedia, but just can't find a good replacement.
So far I've tried Corolla Altis, Scoda Octavia, Hexa and Innova Crysta.
My ever increasing grey hair and Cedia's pathetic resale value suggest I should try the Corolla at least this time,
where as whatever is left of the black hair is pushing me towards the monster 1.8 TSI.
But family rejected both... Corolla though spacious and comfortable, too bland and too overpriced.
and Octavia for it's rather low and not so comfortable seats, plus 5th passenger is not really welcome in the octy.

Innova Crysta felt wow from inside as well as outside, Engine felt more powerful and responsive compared to Hexa, ergonomics spot on.
But Ride and NVH levels etc. felt just better than our Celerio Zxi, and no where near my ageing Cedia.

I need a safe, comfortable and quiet 5 seater Automatic for our long drives, and currently only Hexa seems to be the one.
XTA at that price point seems to be lacking on the extra safety features which are available on the XT 4X4 (Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with Roll-over Mitigation and Traction Control System) and XMA though less expensive, misses on extra air bags, climate control and alloy wheels.

Just not sure if I should wait for Tata to introduce XTA+ version with those missing extra safety features and may be even add a couple of airbags in the third row, definitely ready to shell out more for that.

Today morning, on my way to office, I noticed two camouflaged Hexas hitting the NH4 highway. I wonder what changes are they testing now?!!.
May be I should wait for a few more months?

Cheers,
Vivek

[Anuruddhs]

Just completed 1500+ Km in my 2 weeks old XTA.

Here is my take on Hexa now.
Ride quality on expressway is phenomenal, those steel plates on lanes or small strips will not be felt while changing the lanes. Joints on flyovers were almost not felt at all on the downside some of the bad roads you will feel little more unsettled compare to my previous ride Manza don't understand the reason .

Pickup : no complaints at all even on single highways overtaking was done without a fuss . Sports mode was just used for fun but really never used for lack of power. Just put a heavy foot and you are in power band and ready to rock the roads even in normal mode.

AC: at 46 deg outside during 12-3 PM you need to set the fan at 2-3 speed , rear at 1 , otherwise after 4 PM only front AC at speed 1 is enough. AC is super chiller.

Mileage : if you cruise at 100-105 its consistently delivered 14.5+ with AC on all the time. At light foot around 90 you can squeeze 16+ easily .

At 100 KMPH Hexa feels its running too slow , Almost no noise at all from anywhere. I drove at higher speeds for 30 Kms and car feels planted and controlled. My kids were complaining we are going to slow when we were cruising at 105.

I was driving Manza most of the times in last 7 years so i was also feeling its too big but after driving it 2 weeks from inside it does not feel too big to drive, so I think its just getting used to the size. I was thinking i will take my zen to most of the odd jobs but now i am adjusted to the size.

boot space takes two cabin suitcases easily+ 1 small bags. No issues felt with third row seats not folding completely.

[gaganchugh06]

I do hear a similar sound in my Strome upon revving the engine I also don't feel it's anything​ to worry about.

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by Anuruddhs

Pickup : no complaints at all even on single highways overtaking was done without a fuss . Sports mode was just used for fun but really never used for lack of power. Just put a heavy foot and you are in power band and ready to rock the roads even in normal mode.

Mileage : if you cruise at 100-105 its consistently delivered 14.5+ with AC on all the time. At light foot around 90 you can squeeze 16+ easily .

I talked to quiet a few Hexa owners about performance and effeciency. Those who bought an automatic are happy with both, and many who cruize at 100 on highways say 15 or more, 10 + even in city. No one complains about turbo lag either. But those with a manual transmission say 11-12 in city at the most 13 on highway, they also say there is no torque below 2000 rpm. I assume that they do not upshift as fast as the automatic, and dont use 6th even at 100 seeing the low rpm due to tall gearing.
I think TATA should give the Varicor 400 state of tune only with an Automatic transmission, only the base XE is ok with a manual. Also note that 70% of the bookings are for Automatic.

Rahul

[Anuruddhs]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

I talked to quiet a few Hexa owners about performance and effeciency. Those who bought an automatic are happy with both, and many who cruize at 100 on highways say 15 or more, 10 + even in city. No one complains about turbo lag either. But those with a manual transmission say 11-12 in city at the most 13 on highway, they also say there is no torque below 2000 rpm. I assume that they do not upshift as fast as the automatic, and dont use 6th even at 100 seeing the low rpm due to tall gearing.
I think TATA should give the Varicor 400 state of tune only with an Automatic transmission, only the base XE is ok with a manual. Also note that 70% of the bookings are for Automatic.

Rahul

Hi Rahul,
I just wanted an automatic so I don't even bothered to test drive the manual one. I test drove the crysta automatic and found NVH on crysta at higher side and also gear shifts not as precise as hexa. My friend who has switched from safari storme to HEXA XT 4x4 did not complaint about mileage and power, rather dynamic mode is the one to be used if that's the case until you are at cruising speed. I will take a ride on XT and let you know the difference in power and driving. Now i know how to handle the automatic to drive efficiently, I have driven the automatic for long times but they all were petrol and never bothered about anything else as they were all rentals aveo, verna, elantra GT , altima , sonata etc .

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by Anuruddhs

Now i know how to handle the automatic to drive efficiently

Can you elaborate more on this? I mean is there anything specific apart from super light foot on accelerator pedal.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

I talked to quiet a few Hexa owners about performance and effeciency. Those who bought an automatic are happy with both, and many who cruize at 100 on highways say 15 or more, 10 + even in city. No one complains about turbo lag either. But those with a manual transmission say 11-12 in city at the most 13 on highway, they also say there is no torque below 2000 rpm. I assume that they do not upshift as fast as the automatic, and dont use 6th even at 100 seeing the low rpm due to tall gearing.
I think TATA should give the Varicor 400 state of tune only with an Automatic transmission, only the base XE is ok with a manual. Also note that 70% of the bookings are for Automatic.

Rahul

Did the manual owners you talked to have 4*2 or the 4*4? 4*4 may be more fuel inefficient due the heavier weight and the drag of the 4*4 gear. Tata needs to improve the manual power train in the Hexa if they want to pull in numbers. This is one area where the Crysta is head and shoulders above the Hexa.

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Did the manual owners you talked to have 4*2 or the 4*4? 4*4 .................................................. . Tata needs to improve the manual power train in the Hexa if they want to pull in numbers. This is one area where the Crysta is head and shoulders above the Hexa.

All were 4X2. I havent seen even one 4X4 running on Pune roads. At the moment I am just talking to users about the performance and their views on the car and waiting for the 4X4 AT to be launched. Three months or so after the launch I will book one. After travelling about 3.5 lakh km in my Innovas I am spoilt for the space and commanding seating position, and considering the current poor price to feature ratio of the Crysta, the Hexa is is the only car that makes sense. I am also of the firm view that engine size should be big enough to keep highway cruising speed be below 2000 RPM, higher engine speeds are only for the reserve torque we need while overtaking.

Rahul