[hillsnrains]

Originally Posted by Musa

I was wondering why nobody in the 30+ pages had made an issue of the horrible driver ergonomics!

I agree with you on most of the observations/concerns. For sure TATA messed up few small yet very important things like
1. No steering reach adjustment
2. Cramped foot wells (both driver and navigator) for this size of a vehicle
3. Location of gear lever
4. Long gear lever and long travel during gear shifts
5. Less useful driver hand rest etc..

However, "horrible" is little harsh on HEXA I think.

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

However, "horrible" is little harsh on HEXA I think.

All issues pointed out were faced by me and my friends too. But the reason why none of us kept pondering on that was, it was not such a great issue that would put us off from buying it! Every car has a disadvantage and even after careful observation, this was the only thing we found! As you said, horrible is harsh!

But, few people really really value their driving comfort and all other factors take a back seat! The reason why i felt this issue not great, is that I've been driving santro for 11years and this is a worthy upgrade! But still, tata should have atleast added a dead pedal. It would have given more space, as well as improved driver comfort on highways!

[aayushnair]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

I agree with you on most of the observations/concerns. For sure TATA messed up few small yet very important things like

1. No steering reach adjustment

2. Cramped foot wells (both driver and navigator) for this size of a vehicle

3. Location of gear lever

4. Long gear lever and long travel during gear shifts

5. Less useful driver hand rest etc..



However, "horrible" is little harsh on HEXA I think.

I'm 6"2 and prefer a comfortable, laid back seating position.

I was able to find the spot on position in Less than 5 adjustments if I remember correctly and faced no discomfort, the gear lever too didn't feel out of reach nor did the steering, just the way I like it (although I would've preferred a reach and rake combination - my Fabia has it!)

The foot well although was narrow, I'm a size 12(UK) with my large shoes and all; it still didn't feel like I couldn't manage. The safari definitely gets this right though and it is much bigger. This is something which could be a concern, but not to an extent where I pass the car off.

I agree with the "horrible is harsh" I also acknowledge that this is a very very personal opinion. What customisations I would like to make to my seating positions will be very different from others.

For me I felt like it was made for me. It still takes me a very long time to get it right on my Fabia when it is valet driven and despite asking them to not change the seat position, and it still is (another thread for sure maybe required for this discussion)

Tata has made a great effort in putting this together, and they are still listening I hope - something tells me TeamBhp has a pull right at the top level somewhere.

By the time they launch one may never know!

Cheers

[anuraglakhotia]

I am not sure if TATA has already started delivering Hexa. I saw a numbered Hexa in my society in Ghatkopar, Mumbai yesterday. And boy, TATA has done a fabulous job with the car. The car looks big, very well built from outside. Gives out a sense of built to last. The grey and black colour combination looks fabulous. The alloys look in sync with the overall styling and size of the car. The face looks well sorted, however, the rear is a slight let down as compared to the overall styling. The all black interior looks great and the entire dash feels like its very well bolted together. I did not get a chance to sit inside or drive the car. But from what I saw, this seems to be a job well done. On the basis of the TBHP review and what I saw, TATA has another winner in Hexa after Tiago for sure. Way to go.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by anuraglakhotia

I saw a numbered Hexa in my society in Ghatkopar, Mumbai yesterday.

I too spotted one MH14 registered (white plates) grey Hexa yesterday morning in Andheri. I guess we spotted the same car. And since the cars are already getting registered, I am sure the prices would be decided as well. Wonder what is stopping Tata from declaring it then.

[hillsnrains]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

I too spotted one MH14 registered (white plates) grey Hexa yesterday morning in Andheri. I guess we spotted the same car. And since the cars are already getting registered, I am sure the prices would be decided as well. Wonder what is stopping Tata from declaring it then.

Most of the Hexa Experience event cars were MH12 (Pune) white plate registered. Similarly Tata might have registered some on MH14 (Pimpri Chinchwad RTO where TATA Motors factory is located).

I strongly believe these were owned by Tata Motors, not individual.

[sachinayak]

A few individuals have been chosen by Tata Motors to drive the Hexa for a couple of days. This could be one of such individuals.

On an unrelated note, a lot of positive feedback on the choice of alloys and the size (specially around how it contributes and complements the vehicle's road presence). So while the only positive listed for these 19 incher's was the looks, it indeed seems to have created the desired effect.

[anthiltg]

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

I agree with you on most of the

However, "horrible" is little harsh on HEXA I think.

I agree, there are niggles and irritants such as this. But how major or minor it is depends on every individual and their driving styles. At the end, every car purchase boils down to the compromises one is willing to make and those that he/she doesn't want to...

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

So while the only positive listed for these 19 incher's was the looks, it indeed seems to have created the desired effect.

Larger wheels have better appearance, improved handling and stability but are less comfortable.
Lower sidewalls aids handling, as there is less flex in tire. Alternatively greater sidewall height aids comfort.

Tata has done a great job by setting up suspension according to the bigger 19" wheels as already confirmed by various members after test driving Hexa. Hence it is a win win situation where we get better looks and handling without loosing on comfort.

Just to mention the cheapest SUV/MUV car to have 19" wheels after Hexa is Mercedes Benz GLE 400 with 75 lakhs ex showroom price. Hope I didn't miss out any other car.

[Rahul Rao]

I got a chance to drive a Hexa Automatic yesterday. Concord motors sent it over to me for an hours, it had MH14 registration, and the people who had come with the car said that 12 cars were registered at the Concord PCMC office, and two each were sent to each of their showrooms in Pune and Mumbai.
Drive was really good, infact far better than the Innova Crysta AT and XUV500 AT which I had test driven recently. Really happy to see that the Indian cars are comming of age.

Rahul

[Konkrilla]

Hi team

I had a small test drive of about 500 kms from Mumbai to Bhimashankar and back from 25th Dec to 26th Dec

When I had got a call from Mr.Sayandeep from Tata Motors saying that they are offering the car to me for trying it out for 2 days I was super excited
I asked my sister who usually selects the places for our various trips to suggest some place where we would be able to test the cars capability, we decided on a trip to Bhimashankar temple
The route from Mumbai to Bhimashankar has a mix of concrete road, tar road; rural roads and some place no roads
I had pre booked the XTA 7 seat Tungsten silver variant so Mr.Sayandeep managed to give me the same color and variant which I had booked but in 6 seater . Good in a way my family members were able to experience the fabulous 2nd row captain seats

The moment I saw the car parked below my building I was floored by the looks it way better than the photos also the tungsten silver color looks stunning,

Exterior: It is a stunner, the looks the car commands is unbelievable
There was quite a crowd to check out the car, the paint quality is fantastic

Interiors: The moment you open the door the interiors screams class the all black interiors looks very good, rich and classy definitely better than the competition

Seats: The seats look very elegant The Driver Seat it just hugs you comfortably and after driving few kms and with few settings you do get a sweet driving position
The 2nd row captain’s seats were great as per other family members they felt like a royal sitting on it
The third row is good enough for someone who is around 5 feet it has good leg space and is comfortable enough to fall asleep peacefully ( my wife just dozed off in few kms, that’s also because of the fantastic ride quality of the car )

Handling: As GTO aptly said ….it's easily among the best riding cars

After starting the car once the stick is slot on “D” mode it moves at 10kmhr speed without pressing the
Accelerator that’s Creep mode for you very helpful in bumper to bumper traffic
Press the accelerator and it glides ahead upshifting as you speed up lift your leg off the accelerator and it downshifts smoothly. Pretty smooth transmission


Weight: once the car moves you really can’t make out the weight of the car

The AC doesn’t cool BUT chills. Even when we had parked the car in the open it took just a couple of minutes to cool down the car
Also the sunblind’s is a blessing in these no film days it pretty much blocks the sunlight

Ice:
hexa ice is way way way ahead of the competition The touchscreen size for some might be too small but it didn’t bother me much I rarely saw the screen when I drove, just connect the iPod select the playlist and forget about it, change it via the steering controls also the buttons felt good. Coming to the sound output well well it’s the best stock ice I have ever heard in its as well as above 2 3 segment … awesome

Steering wheel at the beginning I felt its tad small for the car but few kms down the line and it started to feel just right but I would have liked if it had the same texture as the dashboard right now it’s just plain

19” alloy is a work of art; I feel its perfect size for the car and helps enhancing the character of the car

Throughout the drive I never really missed the manual gears be it any road the auto transmission was more than capable in tackling it
It climbed the mountain hills without a sweat and that too in the “D” mode I never felt like I needed to use the manual mode or the race mode the “D” mode is very capable in doing that
It just depends on how you play with the rpm
Overtaking is also not a problem when I was behind any cars I held on to a certain RPM and when I felt it was safe to overtake I hit the accelerator and off she went

And the 4 disc brakes did a good job of keeping us safe whenever needed
Hill assist works flawlessly, if the car is climbing and if you stop the car it won’t roll back but stand still

Cruise control works like a charm set in on the speed you desire rest your right leg for some time and when you press the brake pedal the cruise control disengages


The real fun I had was driving the car on the rural roads with those twist and turns and ups and down roads
The car stays grounded and I didn’t feel any body roll, that’s where the weight helped it to be grounded



City driving is enjoyable no stress at all

2 things I didn’t like
Wipers placement: I didn’t like the way it is placed on the windshield the way it is placed it obstructs the view of the bonnet edge which otherwise help in bumper to bumper traffic
Navigation: I was not able to mirror the navigation app from my phone on the screen I tried few times then gave up maybe it only supports android and not ios devices

My younger Brother in law wanted to drive it for few kms to try it out , he is a true Hyundai fan boy, but that few kms turned to about 100 odd kms he fell in love with it and didn’t realize he drove so much praising the car all along.. TM that’s 1 more fan added to the list


Few instances during the trip:
Throughout our trip People actually rolled down their car windows to take a look at it , people standing on the road stopped talking among each other and started looking at it hexa had that kind of pull towards it
When we were crawling in traffic a guy knocked at the windows the moment we rolled down the window he asked very excitedly “when did they launch how much is it for and the favorite Q among Indian’s kitna deti hai

When we stopped at a restaurant a guy comes and checks out the car and starts praising it saying innova has a solid competitor to it

Most of the People were actually comparing it with the innova, when I said this will compete with hexa in similar price point they said for them hexa is above the xuv in every way and they think this is a very good option against the innova J

In another incident A couple who just bought a crysta asked me about the price launch date etc. and after checking out the car the wife told her hubby in a rather stern voice “ I told you to wait till we try out the hexa now see how good it is and what we missed “

And once when I was approaching a toll booth a guy literally blocked my way to a toll booth rolled down his car windows had an eyeful of the car and only left when the car behind me started honking

Through the 2 day journey the Hexa managed to
Convert a Tata vehicle hater to a Tata vehicle admirer (my elder brother in law)
Made a Hyundai fan boy to a hexa fan boy
Made a neighbor change his perception about Tata vehicles and changed his mind from buying a CRV to thinking about buying the hexa
And of course made me a celebrity wherever I stopped

There came a time after driving few hundred km’s that I started to respect the car for all it can do,
The last time I had so much fun driving a car was my sisters Palio 1.6 GTX the first generation car

Take a bow TM hexa is one gem of a car you have created
Price it for what it deserves you sure have a winner in your hands

And to sum it up that Tail lamp is the cherry on the cake…

[rajivr1612]

Originally Posted by Konkrilla

Price it for what it deserves you sure have a winner in your hands

The most sane quote regarding pricing so far.

Though I am not in a position to buy this now, however down the years it will be a compelling buy especially the automatic.

Thanks for the wonderful review.

[hillsnrains]

Originally Posted by Konkrilla

I had a small test drive of about 500 kms from Mumbai to Bhimashankar..

I envy you man for that short test drive. Thank you for wonderful review

Didn't you try sports/race car mode during over takes? It's really fun, which I explored during short test drives.

Did you monitor the Fuel consumption? At least MID figures, so far there is no authentic input on this.

[Turbanator]

Navigation: I was not able to mirror the navigation app from my phone on the screen I tried few times then gave up maybe it only supports android and not ios devices

Yes, Apple Car play does not support Maps in India yet. Perhaps something to do with turn-by-turn navigation which is not available either.

http://www.apple.com/in/ios/feature-...y-applecarplay

If Hexa has an android auto, then google maps will be supported. But Does Hexa support Car Play / Android Auto at first place?

[RavenAvi]

The latest version (ver 12) of the Tata Hexa's official 30-second TVC.

The previous version which was shared off youtube (and subsequently removed) was version 04. Plenty of changes can be noted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqc1qGU4ILI