My ownership report,
Variant: XT 4x2
Colour: Sky Grey
Seating Arrangement: 6 seater with Captain seats
Delivery Date: 3rd Feb
Kms done (till date): 400+ Kms (mostly in City)
Mileage: 10 kmpl (my driving style is anything but sedate)
Dealership Experience:
I have mainly owned Maruti Suzuki cars before this. Also have experience with Honda and Hyundai (purchase of my friends). This is the first one with Tata and for sure has been a pleasant one till now. The SA (Raza) in Concorde, Chandanagar (Hyderabad) has been one excellent support throughout. His prompt response and handling of all my requests in time has been nothing short of spectacular. The delivery experience was also seamless except for the cake cutting and photograph sessions (which I am not a big fan of). Since this was the first Hexa being delivered out of this particular branch - the entire unit was in attendance. Overall, full marks to the team.
I didn't opt for any accessories except Extended Warranty (3 + 2 years @ INR 13K) and rubber mats. I wanted carpet mats, but that was not available. After these few weeks, the rubber mats with hexa pattern all over it has one problem. My formal shoes (soles) tend to get trapped on the mats during clutch movement. Just before the evening ended, noticed that the child lock on rear right side door was stuck and could not be moved. Called the SA and he asked me to drop in the next day as it was already late.
The next day, they had some door mechanic available to check this. But when he got into the process of removing the inner door casing, did he realise what a monster this was. Almost 2 other people were required to help him remove it and hold when he checked the problem. While doing so, I got to first hand see the solid manner in which everything was put beneath that door cover. To keep the story short, he found out that some bar inside was not aligned properly and was obstructing the movement of the switch. He fixed it and the problem was solved. In the process, they managed to induce a couple of small scratches on on the window beading housing the window glass. The SA was very apologetic and promised to take it to the service centre for touch up. I told him not to bother and we could get it addressed during the 1st Service. The windshield liquid was also low when delivered. Definitely a couple of misses on the PDI front.
But whenever I have a query - the SA handles it immediately with the same alacrity shown before the delivery of the vehicle.
First Impressions from the drive till now:
a. Road Presence:
Simply majestic; attracts eyeballs everywhere. What is more, it feels like you are sitting on a chariot looking down on other vehicles. Once, there was a black BMW X5 standing next to it and they looked like siblings in terms of physical dimensions. Funny, but XUVs and Dusters looks like a hatchback besides it.
b. Maneuverability:
Excellent on road when in motion. But definitely not the easiest one to park in narrow corners. Only when I pulled her into my Apartment Parking block did I realize how small it made that space look (my Swift had acres of space in it until Hexa came along). The steering at low speeds is also not like the smooth Electronic units and reminds you that this is a car of large proportions and behaves like one. But when you are in motion on the roads, you can zip and shift around like any normal car and it won't complain. Importantly, the feedback from the steering is precise. I did not have trouble in pushing it into some tight corners where there was hardly any additional space to leverage.
Note: This is the first time I am finding the inadequacy of large parking spaces in my Office and other places. It makes anything standard look small by default. In a couple of places, the valet parking folks were more comfortable with showing me the parking space instead of taking over the vehicle.
c. Engine and Drive Modes:
An engine that truly shows its class in a mature and unhassled way. The growl is so majestic and yet unstated in its own way. The oodles of torque is really there for you to feel and experience. But don't expect it to move out of the block like a sprinter (unless you are ok with quick and jerky shifts). Beyond the initial turbo lag, it just pulls so cleanly in any gear. The other good aspect is how you can amble around in even the 4th gear without too much of fuss. I just prefer leaving it in auto in the city drives. "Comfort" mode is the one that can show you what a slouch ball this can be if mandated. The response really becomes muted and is best reserved for highway cruising without any overtakings.
d. Gear Box (manual):
Not the best out there but neither the worst. But make no mistake, the manual box requires a firm hand is not going to please the members of the fairer sex. But yes, it does give you a sense of driving that big vehicle which doesn't make everything look dainty. If you plan to drive more in the City, better stick to Automatic. Else be prepared for your arms workout (not complaining as it saves me a trip to the gym
). Shifting gears is not exactly a smooth affair, but my wife still vouches that she cannot figure out when I shift them. But I definitely expect it to become lot smoother beyond the first thousand kms.
Between XUV and Hexa, I found the former to be more easy to operate whereas the latter slots in more precisely. Both have their hits and misses.
e. Handling:
No competition here; is too arrogant to slow down for bad patches. Everytime I go back to some other car, they remind me the actual state of roads which is so forgotten when driving an Hexa. In some of the short drives on highway, it promises to be a supremely comfortable cruiser as well. If you love long drives and some adventurous terrains - there is no need to look beyond. If you intend to be chauffeured, this one is miles ahead of Innova in comfort. My wife lived all here life in US and is so critical of the road conditions here. Her long trips on Innova or XUV did not do much to change that perception. However, Hexa has left her muted for the past few weeks.
f. Seating and Passenger Comfort:
- Extremely comfortable on all 3 rows
- Legroom is more than adequate for people of all sizes
- Lumbar support and other adjustments were easy and hassle free
- Seats firm but comfortable nevertheless; stitching and contouring on spot
- Ingress and egress is not easy for old people; definitely requires an effort (but the cabin rewards you for it once in)
- In general, you never feel claustrophobic in this cabin - no matter what!
g. ICE and Others:
- Sound quality is top notch provided you are using the right source (iPod,SD card with good quality music).
- 10 on a scale of 30 for volume was the max I have pushed it to when it gets really loud, but zero distortion
- The equalizer settings are also comprehensive to suit your style
- Haven't tried the map yet, so cannot comment on it.
- The screen size did not matter much to me as it did the expected functionality reasonably well. Not sure if a bigger or more responsive screen makes a huge difference as I most often use the buttons or steering mounted controls.
- Pairing your phone with it didn't need me to refer to the manual; was intuitive and easy.
- Mood lighting is nice, but looks faint as it is only from the floors. Might be better when in highway; will confirm later when I do try it.
- But everything in the interior seems to be built to last (only time will ultimately confirm though). Nothing seems flimsy or cheap.
- Reversing camera is adequate and is something I am using for the first time (this car demands it, while never felt the need for it earlier).
- The central console in the instrument cluster giving info such as mileage, gear etc., is also simple and intuitive. The stalk used to operate it is also pretty easy.
- The interior definitely lacks storage space for the driver and a lot of other things. Things improve for other passengers, but is definitely a shortcoming from the driver's perspective. XUV definitely has a smarter layout in comparison.
- Haven't had the time to explore the ConnectNext Apps (though I have installed them on my phone).
- Auto headlamps and wipers are convenient features that work with a nice touch
- Keyless entry is missed, but not really a deal breaker
- Sunroof is not really on my list, so doesn't really matter
h. Miscellaneous:
- Not the easiest car to clean. Kids with their dusty shoes can leave several imprints on the interiors. Always enjoyed cleaning my cars, but this one would be an endurance test.
- Mileage depends on your driving style and how you treat the engine during the first few hundred Kms. Tata recommends caution and care for the first 1500 to 1800 Kms. When the car was delivered to me, it had 65 Kms on it and an average mileage of 7.1 kmpl. It has not improved to an average of 10 kmpl under heavy Hyderabad traffic.
- Last week, got a call from Telangana Service Head who introduced himself and asked me about the vehicle performance. He also left me his number which I can used to contact if any issue with servicing and also dropped me a mail with Service related details.
- My personal opinion, the features you get on the top end is really worth the money you pay for it (not just cosmetic).
- All the people who have hopped in to my car till now, have left it being thoroughly impressed
More updates once I do some long trips on it. Sorry for the delay in posting these details (I thought better late than never). Hope it helped providing some clarity from an owner's perspective.
On the topic of comparison to competitors, I believe there is a simple logic. You either like or don't based on what it offers (and also what it doesn't). So it is just a personal choice you have to make irrespective of what anyone feels. But in general, this is definitely a highly commendable effort from Tata and their intent is very clear with the refinement levels they have tried to target in this offering.