[DriveOnceMore]

Well, a wierd though came up to my mind.
We see Hyundai Creta, (with 5 seats, no 4x4, no true off roader, on par or lagging behind in terms of equipment list, smaller foot print) to be acceptable at a price point of close to 18 lakhs on road.
Add two more lakhs and you get a lot in Tata Hexa XT, but many sees it as overpriced car.

Also I'm not able to understand why we are comparing Hexa with Crysta?
They are from different league Crysta is an MPV and Hexa is a MPV+SUV.
Hexa offers a lot over and above what Crysta can offer, even after undercutting it in terms of price.

Have a word with Tata owners post launch of Zest / Bolt and you'll realize the transformation TML is going through in terms of Quality and A.S.S.

Those who find Hexa to be overpriced, once again compare the feature list of Hexa vs. it's competition in DETAIL and then you'll start realizing it's worth.
E.g. Driver modes which are not just a gimmick but which really alters the performance, JBL + Harman infotainment system, Seats and Upholstry sourced from Merc supplier, Dual Zone Auto AC etc.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by param22k

Hi Sameer, points taken. Some counters though. ...give the new product an initial push.!

Very well said sir. This is what I've been telling all along. Hexa maybe a good product but their premium pricing for their product is not justified and we need to keep in mind that this is not an all new product too. It's the same Aria which they gave us 6 years back with a lot of add ons. But all the desirable add ons are on their most expensive XTA variant where the pricing is not justified.

TATA fans may feel that this is an Indian manufacturer and we should probably support the pricing but I think it should be the opposite. Our govt supports them a lot with our tax money so TATA should probably forgo some of their profits to benefit Indian customers in return.

TATA really needs to give us all new products at justified pricing if they need to earn some of our trust back. To be frankly honest Innova really is VFM compared to Hexas pricing if you compare the resale vale, amount they've invested for manufacturing plants and Yens exchange value.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by abhi7013

There is something brewing? Regarding the safari? If so, then me and many other people like me would cancel the current booking and wait.

I don't think we know anything more than the fact that it is named Project Raptor (?) and has major Land Rover inputs. Though you might as well dismiss it as rumors.

Originally Posted by ashis89

From what I know, the new Safari is in works but is two years away from launch. It should be displayed in Auto Expo 2018.

I guess that is about right. Tata has their plates full with enough launches for this year.

Apologies for all this OT though.

[BeantownThinker]

So I did a comparison of the pricing difference between the variants and here is what emerged

The base variant XE costs Rs. 15.27L OTR in Bangalore

The Top-End Auto XTA variant costs Rs. 21.95L OTR in Bangalore. And for this additional Rs. 6.68L you get
1. Auto transmission
2. Sports Mode
3. Side Airbags
4. Touchscreen Harman ICE
5. 10 JBL Speakers
6. Customisable Ambient Light
7. Auto Headlamps
8. DRL
9. 19" Alloys
10. Fully Automatic AC
11. Reverse Sensor
12. Auto Wipers
13. Premium Benecke-Kaliko upholstery (which is basically Art Leather)
14. Captain Seats option
15. Folding ORVMs

The Top-End Manual XT 4x4 costs Rs.22.06L OTR in Bangalore. And for this additional Rs. 6.79L you get
1. AWD
2. Drive Mode Selector
3. Side Airbags
4. ESP
5. Touchscreen Harman ICE
6. 10 JBL Speakers
7. Customisable Ambient Light
8. Auto Headlamps
9. DRL
10. 19" Alloys
11. Fully Automatic AC
12. Reverse Sensor
13. Auto Wipers
14. Premium Benecke-Kaliko upholstery (which is basically Art Leather)
15. Captain Seats option
15. Folding ORVMs

Apart from the Auto Transmission in the XTA and the AWD in the XT 4x4 I dont see what else justifies a premium of Rs. 6 lakhs over the base variant. It just does not make sense.

Unless, the XE variant has been under-cut to appeal to the taxi segment. This being indicated in the service interval of 6 months or 10,000kms.

[param22k]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

...It boils down to people's desire to own things beyond what they can afford. I am not saying it is bad, but that's what is happening now.

With all due respect, dismissive assumptions like these regarding consumer behaviour are a significant factor leading to companies botching up their product strategy/management.

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

...Apart from the Auto Transmission in the XTA and the AWD in the XT 4x4 I dont see what else justifies a premium of Rs. 6 lakhs over the base variant. It just does not make sense.
Unless, the XE variant has been under-cut to appeal to the taxi segment...

I would agree with your analysis. If TML have undercut prices on lower variants to target taxi segment, they're seriously damaging the value proposition of their top-end models. This scenario, if true, represents another positioning mistake. Trying to get their fingers into multiple pies to have a sure shot winner. Usually, this leads to confusion in the mind of the consumer and is, more often than not, counterproductive or downright disastrous.

[ashis89]

When Hexa prices were yet to be announced, the concerns were regarding lacking features such as auto-dimming mirrors, sunroof, electronic seat adjustments and some more. BTW, nobody said the Crysta lacks a sunroof or there are no auto-dimming mirrors on the XUV or there are no drive modes.

Now the prices are out and the concerns are regarding Hexa being over-priced or Hexa might not a safe bet. Prices are at-par competition and most would agree it is VFM. The standard warranty is at-par and so is the extended warranty options and yet. Such concerns are near impossible to address for any manufacturer.

Edit: I was trying to understand the different view points and how does the manufacturer walk through such a situation. A thought came to my mind. Is this an example of "Grapes are sour"?
Or developing cold feet at the last moment, maybe.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

So I did a comparison of the pricing difference between the variants and here is what emerged

The base variant XE costs Rs. 15.27L OTR in Bangalore

The Top-End Auto XTA variant costs Rs. 21.95L OTR in Bangalore. And for this additional Rs. 6.68L you get

The Top-End Manual XT 4x4 costs Rs.22.06L OTR in Bangalore. And for this additional Rs. 6.79L you get

Apart from the Auto Transmission in the XTA and the AWD in the XT 4x4 I dont see what else justifies a premium of Rs. 6 lakhs over the base variant. It just does not make sense.

That's almost everything in the car except the engine and the chasis. Even in the case of a C2 sedan you would see the price between the bottom and top end at about 4 - 5 lakh. In a fantasy world, Tata would be able to sell the XTA for 12L OTR, but in reality, nobody can. My personal opinion is, if you don't want to spend 20L on "this" car", then it is as simply as this is not the car for you, look elsewhere. No point in crying foul.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

Well, a wierd though came up to my mind.
We see Hyundai Creta, (with 5 seats, no 4x4, no true off roader, on par or lagging behind in terms of equipment list, smaller foot print) to be acceptable at a price point of close to 18 lakhs on road.
Add two more lakhs and you get a lot in Tata Hexa XT, but many sees it as overpriced car.

Unfortunately for TATA, the market and segment the Hexa is in, there are too many intangibles involved. Success depends upon how well the overall product is packaged, priced and also "perceived" by the customer. Its the job of marketing to gauge this and price it accordingly.

For example, HK 10 speaker system might be a great feature for 10% but the remaining 90% would be happy with a basic 4 speaker system. So they will not see any value in the HK music system.

Tata themselves have compared Hexa to Crysta and XUV in the brochures. So why shouldnt the customer compare it and take a call based on the value proposition?

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Very well said sir. This is what I've been telling all along. Hexa maybe a good product but their premium pricing for their product is not justified and we need to keep in mind that this is not an all new product too. It's the same Aria which they gave us 6 years back with a lot of add ons. But all the desirable add ons are on their most expensive XTA variant where the pricing is not justified.

TATA really needs to give us all new products at justified pricing if they need to earn some of our trust back. To be frankly honest Innova really is VFM compared to Hexas pricing if you compare the resale vale, amount they've invested for manufacturing plants and Yens exchange value.

Sorry but I find this argument to be biased towards Crysta or rather biased towards anything but Hexa.
When we compare with Crysta we should compare 4x2 variant of Hexa and I see good half a million difference in AT / MT variants between both cars.
I ran through a rough calculation in mind while typing this post, as described below:

Total payment at the end of 5 year loan tenure at ROI of 10.35
Innova Cysta ZX 2.8 AT: 3.95 lakhs (15% Downpayment) + 28.76 lakhs (Total repaid amount at the end of 5 years) = 32.71 Lakhs

Tata Hexa XTA 4x2: 3.23 lakhs (15% Downpayment) + 23.53 lakhs (Total repaid amount at the end of 5 years) = 26.76 lakhs

A good 6 lakh Rupees difference between Cysta and Hexa.

Calculating the resale value after 5 years:
Innova Crysta ZX 2.8 AT:@60% of on road price today (too optimistic) = 26.33 * 0.6 = 15.79 lakhs

Tata Hexa XTA 4x2: @45% of on road price today= 21.54 * 0.45 = 9.70 lakhs
@50% of on road price today (optimistic)= 21.54 * 0.5 = 10.80 lakhs
@55% of on road price today ( too optimistic)= 21.54 * 0.55 = 11.85 lakhs
@60% of on road price today(way too optimistic) = 21.54 * 0.60 = 12.92 lakhs

Again difference ranging between Rs. 2.88 lakhs to Rs. 6.09 lakhs (best possible and worst possible cases)

Additional equipment list Hexa has to offer is not considered here.
On the same line brand value / peace of mind of owning Crysta is not considered.

Please add your thoughts on this.
On Road Pune prices taken from CarWale and Loan calculator used is from emicalculator.net

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by ashis89

A thought came to my mind. Is this an example of "Grapes are sour"?
Or developing cold feet at the last moment, maybe.

Completely agree with the "grapes are sour" viewpoint!
Before any hint of the prices, everyone were just crazy over the features, looks and quality. And most of the serious buyers were prepared for the prices to be well near and above 20L.
It was the few others who expected the xt to come at 15 to 18L otr who are now disappointed.
Most serious buyers are silently confirming their booking if you look around a bit!

[saurabh2711]

Read the discussion on last few pages for the pricing that "TATA" had finalized for the New product "HEXA". This is indeed a make-over of Dead "ARIA", no doubt about that. I agree People are not ready to Pay 20+ for Tata's (any segment).

Imagine, TATA wants to fool us. Creates HEXA in TATA & Launches it with its International Brands (Jaguar - LandRover). I am just wondering had the "HEXA" carried a Jaguar or a Land Rover Badge; which way the discussion might have headed. Imagine Jaguar - HEXA (or whatever) OR LandRover - HEXA (or whatever, again). With no changes what-so-ever in current design & pricing.

At least I am sure many people (NOM) would have gone for it without even a single thought. Just because it is carrying a logo of international Brand. That brand is available for so cheap or even 2-3 Lakhs higher. They would have now forgotten that All are coming from same stable{at least the parent brand is TATA}. This indeed carries a caveat, that once on road (TATA/JAGUAR/LANDROVER) HEXA should be successful & performing without niggles.

Now slightly off-topic, futuristic (may be unrealistic) : what will be the impact of GST (if any) on the vehicle prices? Lets stick to HEXA at this moment.

--NOM--

Regards,
Saurabh

[damodar]

After the price announcement changed my booking from XTA to XMA but was still confused between automatic and manual. After driving around 100km finalized XMA tungsten silver. The AT was satisfying in all kinds of situations and didn't missed the manual at all. TATA has got the tuning of the gearbox just right, see the mileage I got after resetting the MID and driving for 16 km in slow traffic.

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

[DriveOnceMore]

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

So I did a comparison of the pricing difference...service interval of 6 months or 10,000kms.

Whoa! you are forgetting many other features which really add VALUE to XT variant.
E.g.
Over an above what you have mantioned:
Hill hold Control,
Hill Descent Control,
Reverse Camera,
Front Fog Lamps
Traction control,
Cruise control,
Proper 10 Speaker music system with dedicated amplifier and a sub woofer.
Touch screen ICE with Voice Recognition
Hydraulic brake assist.
Rich instrument cluster,
and lots of Chrome inside out.

So if you add these features into your list then it will be a very clear picture and easy to digest what those additional 6 lakhs brings to you.

Also, FYI Crysta top end AT comes at a premium of 9.5 lakhs OTR.
And top end XUV 500 will set you back by 7.5 lakhs over and above the base variant.

[vigneshkumar31]

Originally Posted by DriveOnceMore

Whoa! you are forgetting many other features which really add VALUE to XT variant.
.

Besides, the feature list , we should also remember these numbers;
Varicor engine twisting out a Class leading torque of 400 Nm and a 156 bhp.
These should surely count for something!

[engine_charan]

Hello All,

I went to look at Tata Hexa and impressions was very good.

Positives:
1) Hexa looks very bold and design is very refreshing
2) The SUV is very good in equipment level on all variants.
3) It is also offered in 4x4 and automatic variant.
4) Interiors looks very premium on higher variants.
5) Alloys looks awesome. Good job Tata.

Negatives:
1) There should have been one more variant below 10 lakh rupees.
2) Tata should open separate stores to sell Hexa

I have done a short walk around of Tata Hexa. Please watch and excuse me, as I am still amateur in shooting videos.

https://youtu.be/_Y_NGEP72b0