[naddy]

Originally Posted by SaNdY_AR

Your Hexa should have got an ECU update for sure if you are not observing the gargle sound that much. ECU updates have reduced the gargle noise by 50% to 80% as observed by users, including me. But it is not gone completely, however there is a significant reduction. Other than this, the steering also feels light after the first service. This is also a feedback from users who have received the vehicle after first service.

Regards
Sandy

No bro, I had the first service last month, a day after Diwali and I was standing there with the person during the service. Reason for it being, all senior technicians were on leave, so the checks were being done by juniors or helpers, am not sure. So i preferred to stay with the car.
And the noise had been there since last 15-20 days and all of a sudden it has vanished since yesterday.
I am talking about the 'tak-tak-tak' noise specifically which has vanished completely and not just reduced. Let me drive for some more days and see if it re-appears.
BTW, what is your and abhi's ODO reading?

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by naddy

BTW, what is your and abhi's ODO reading?

Mine has done about 11500 kms.

[naddy]

Originally Posted by abhi7013

Mine has done about 11500 kms.

Oh!
Let me keep driving for some more days and come back with updates. When did you get your ECU updated? The service centre didn't tell me anything related to the update in October!

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by naddy

Oh!
Let me keep driving for some more days and come back with updates. When did you get your ECU updated? The service centre didn't tell me anything related to the update in October!

The updates are only for specific chassis numbers. Cars delivered post September have the updated version.
I got the update done yesterday and the difference is very huge and noticeable. The gargle is still present albeit much less, but as mentioned earlier, lag has reduced significantly.

[naddy]

Originally Posted by abhi7013

The updates are only for specific chassis numbers. Cars delivered post September have the updated version.
I got the update done yesterday and the difference is very huge and noticeable. The gargle is still present albeit much less, but as mentioned earlier, lag has reduced significantly.

I need to check with TASS. For me, vehicle is delivered in September last week. It had the very prominent fin/turbo noise. So, if I had the updated ECU, the noise shouldn't have been there or should have been negligible.
And further, god knows if they would be able to answer why the noise has disappeared.
UPDATE for today - drove almost 100 kms, noise not heard even once. I would mention again I am talking about the 'tak-tak-tak' noise.

[kbishwa]

Saw a discount up to around Rs 70k on Hexa, offer says insurance @ Rs 1/-

[Anuruddhs]

My car is April Model and I got the ECU update on second service and noise has reduced a lot. I also heard a second update will be available soon. I am not sure though what second update is all about but for sure first update is worth to get it done. Once the car is connected it reads the car details and if car has older version it will update. In case you are not sure just get it checked at TASS to make sure it has latest update.

[ptushar]

Has anyone recently purchased an XMA with the camera added as accessory? I was told that I cannot get the camera connected to the ICE. Instead I will either get a rearview mirror with a screen or a screen on the dashboard.

Since I am buying original from Tata, I wonder why it cannot be integrated with the ICE?

Has anyone experienced this? Has anyone got the camera fitted on the XMA and got it integrated with the ICE screen instead of adding any new screen?

[mostlynerd]

Originally Posted by VeeEight

Friends

My query is for Owners who own a Tata Hexa Automatic (XTA).

I see from the Tata’s web site that both ESP and TC are not available on the XTA variant - while I am surprised as to how Tata could have missed such a safety measure - in your experiences , have you felt the absence of these to be a concern or the mechanics of this vehicle adequately compensate ? Please advise - Thank you

It is a miss from Tata for sure. It would have been great if these were available in the automatic. In the cases where you will need ESP and Traction Control the car will not be able to compensate with the existing tech it has. That is if you are tearing down a loose gravel surface / rough surface at high speed. Or even if you are doing 150 on a smooth highway but have to swerve to avoid multiple obstacles.

If your daily commute does not include these, then you should be fine. From the Hexa Manual:
"ESP is just a driving aid, it cannot enhance your vehicles stability in all conditions and does not control your vehicle's entire braking system. It is still your responsibility to drive and corner at reasonable speeds and leave a sufficient margin of safety"

I have an XTA and I am a very tame driver. I don't speed, I don't take risks while driving and I don't get aggressive on the road. So this was not a deal breaker for me while considering the XTA since 70 of my driving in the city and even on highways it is not high speed highways. I don't have any buyers remorse.

[mostlynerd]

Originally Posted by SaNdY_AR

Your Hexa should have got an ECU update for sure if you are not observing the gargle sound that much. ECU updates have reduced the gargle noise by 50% to 80% as observed by users, including me. But it is not gone completely, however there is a significant reduction. Other than this, the steering also feels light after the first service. This is also a feedback from users who have received the vehicle after first service.

Regards
Sandy

Originally Posted by naddy

No bro, I had the first service last month, a day after Diwali and I was standing there with the person during the service. Reason for it being, all senior technicians were on leave, so the checks were being done by juniors or helpers, am not sure. So i preferred to stay with the car.
And the noise had been there since last 15-20 days and all of a sudden it has vanished since yesterday.
I am talking about the 'tak-tak-tak' noise specifically which has vanished completely and not just reduced. Let me drive for some more days and see if it re-appears.
BTW, what is your and abhi's ODO reading?

The ECU update is being rolled out by Tata not on the basis of who can hear it, but by their own understanding of which cars needs it. I am assuming particular batches of vehicles are being updated for gargle noise. My XTA is May manufactured and I have had the gargle occasionally. My chassis number was not tagged for ECU update in the first service that I went for last week. I have done about 3800kms so far.

[prasanna_indaje]

It has been a month and 2500 kilometers, since I have taken delivery of my Hexa XTA.
Summarizing my experience so far (I have upgraded from a SCross 1.6 Zeta, so all comparison below is either with respect to SCross or Maruti).

Prologue : Have been following Hexa since the time test mules were spotted and initial news started trickling in. However, in February 2016, I upgraded from my trusted SX4 ZXi to SCross 1.6 Zeta. SCross accompanied me for an year and a half and 30000 kilometers. Journey with SCross was fantastic. However, desire for a bigger car with AT and 7 seats was irresistible and I decided to upgrade in Oct 2017.

Test Drives and Decision : Since requirements (and the budget) were frozen we decided to check only XUV and Hexa. I was almost sold on Hexa and my wife wanted XUV500 at any cost. Both of us took a day off from work and started car hunting. We initially went to Mahindra showroom next door and took a test drive of XUV 500. It was a W6 AT and it ticked all boxes after a short test drive on a defined route. This was on Sept 25th and GST benefits were still available, if booked right away. SA promised a call back the same day evening with buyback value of my car and best price on W10 AT AWD. (Its a different story that I got the call exactly after 20 days ). Wife was happy and wanted me to book immediately.

But, I wanted her to check Hexa before taking the final call. Though she was not very happy, she agreed and we went to Tata showroom nearby (KHT, Bangalore). I had driven Hexa earlier, but it was the first look for my wife. She got into the display vehicle, spent few minutes and came back with a wide grin and told - "Interiors are fantastic, car is spacious and lets book this". 'Agree' became 'Strongly Agree' after a TD for few kilometers of construction infested roads of Whitefield the same evening. SA did not have restriction on the DT route ad I was free to drive as much as I want.

Thus car hunting ended and I booked a Tungsten Silver Hexa XTA the same day.

Delivery : KHT and TATA exceeded all my expectations here. After the 'premium (read- sad)' Nexa experience last year, I kept my hopes really low. But, the delivery turns out to be a real good experience. Car was ready at requested time. All documents were neatly packed in a folder and SA explained all documentation and gave a quick demo of the car.
They made us to cut a cake before handing over the keys and all KHT staff members came to delivery area and gave a fantastic send-off by clapping as we drove out.

Entire delivery experience was spot on and i would rate this 10/10 without any second thought.

The Car : Few days after delivery, I drove Hexa to Panaji and returned to Bangalore via Mangalore (Panaji - Mangalore - Sakaleshpur - Bangalore). The car behaved well in all types of roads. Ride quality is exceptional and no more complaints from fellow passengers on bad roads.
There are no squeaks or rattles. I have no complaints on ergonomics as well. As of now, the average mileage is around 10.5 over 2500 kilometers. It returns around 12 on good highways and 7-8 in B2B city traffic.

And yes, the 'gargle' noise is there and clearly audible sometimes. As far it is not affecting the performance, I am ok with its presence.

Comparison with SCross : The way SCross used to mask its speed is phenomenal. Hexa is not corner hugger. It gives you a sense of speed you are travelling at. Having said that, Hexa is not very slow either. One can comfortably cruise at 100+kmph, as long as you want.
NVH and interior quality is much better in Hexa (including quality of plastics used). Seats are ergonomically better and good for long journeys.

Do I miss anything in Hexa when compared to SCross?
Yes. Three things :
1. The way SCross used to pin us back to the seat while hard acceleration
2. Lightning quick 'in-gear' acceleration
3. And mainly, the Fuel Efficiency

Overall, I am very satisfied with my ownership so far and hoping for good in coming years.

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by nijelj

. It seems there is a batch of 50 Hexa's being delivered to Zoomcar

Looks like I will rent a Zoomcar Hexa for my next trip.

So I took myself on my offer and rented the Hexa for last weekend.

For some background, Among UVs, I have extensively driven my family longtimer, the 2006 Innova diesel. I currently own a Nano and a Zest petrol. Our family has been accustomed to Tata passenger cars since 1994 (Tata estate) and I have also had an Indica Diesel for 6 years/1 lakh Kms. I am a Tata Fan (trying very hard not to be a Fan-boy)

Zoomcar experience: Booking went smoothly. A little costly for me. The booking amount based on time that I required the vehicle for was 13.5k for 42.5hrs and free 645kms. Extra kms would charged at 15rs/km. Plus 1500rs as deposit. I was excitedly waiting for the pickup time. Two hours before pickup I get this message. "Please note that as per recent Government regulations, your allocated car has a speed governor that limits the speed to 80 km/hr. This initiative has been taken keeping your safety in mind." Heart sunk, I console myself since it is for my safety.

Although Zoomcar could benefit by
1. Lesser wear and tear of cars
2. ‎more chances of user NOT making it back on time, which costs 300rs per extra hour
3. ‎less fuel used for same Kms. After my riding, the display was showing 700kms Distance to Empty after a full tank
4. ‎Surely they would get a better deal from the insurance companies since they now have the speed governor.

But no I think they have done this 'initiative' and told me about it at the last minute, 'for my safety'. Their site has no mention of this. Infact they have mentioned 125kmph as a limit after which there is a fine.

The vehicle
A Hexa XE which has run 900kms was assigned to me. I looked it over for scratches and dents. It was clean and everything was in place. As I get in, nostalgia sweeps over me. You see, we had bought a brand new Tata estate way back in 1994 and the Tata-large-car's-new-car-smell is still exactly the same!

I understood the basics, lights on off etc. The documents were explained to me. The trip reading was read out to the attendant, a photo taken with me in front of the car and I was good to go. The music system was easy to adapt to since I already have the Zest. At home, I strapped in the child seats for the kids, some luggage and went to sleep. Early next morning we started at 330am to Udupi.

Navigating out of the city, we did not experience the speed limiter. It was once we reached the open highway that the limiter cut in. It's lifeless after 79kmph. A debate started in my head about this regulation. Yes it made my overtake maneuvers that much more planned but what the hell. I was operating within the law, but what the hell!. The SUV presence helped vehicles moving at 78kmph on the right lane give way for me, as I menacingly over took them slowly, deliberately, inch by inch. That is until they got bored and pressed their accelerators and 'Zoom'ed off into the horizon.

Regarding Engine and Driveability : I was a more than little underwhelmed by the car. It was a base version,yes, but I am not worried about creature comforts. It was the engine and driveability that got to me. At second gear, if you took a hump, reducing speed to below 15kmph, to get your speed up, it would take 5-6 secs. No kidding, I literally counted the seconds! The turbo lag is so pronounced! After these seconds you get a pull so powerful that it lasts until the 80kmph speed limiter. This made for some careful driving because I had nausea prone passengers. At one point of time, I was actually yearning for my Nano. I thought this was a Variable geometry turbo but definitely this did not behave like one. Later I read in this thread that there was a patch to take care of the turbo flutter noise, which helped with turbo-lag. For sure, this patch was not there.

Regarding driving dynamics: The steering felt good and not too difficult at slow speeds. I drove it over big rumblers/hump hybrids at a fairly good speed and experienced the vehicle losing its composure slightly. On the curves, I got wheel squeal at 60kmph. Otherwise it was soaking up the potholes and did well over the broken roads between Mangalore to Bangalore.

Regarding comfort, interior: In the thread experiences, most noted that the arm rest was too short. But I felt it was perfect, because it could support my elbow and slightly more while in gears 1,3 and 4. Anyway in gear 5 I do not keep my hand over the gear shifter. Either both hands on the steering wheel or I would rest my elbow on the rest and the palm on my lap. The gear slotting was ok.

I did not find the cubby holes in the central console convenient for storing the regular 5.5” phone. The door pockets are too deep, so at toll booths, I was doing stomach crunches to reach the wallet at the bottom of it.

The third row was the least favorite spot for everyone. The person sitting there complained that they could not sit there comfortably. I was not able to easily slide the :60 seat forward to help with the legroom. Also the method to change the recline on the second row seat was not known to me, initially. In the Innova there is a lever on the side of the seat back that helps with the recline. Here it is the seat shoulder handle (that is used to tilt the seat forward) which sets the recline. The :40 seat was not locking at the base, so I asked the passenger there to wear her seatbelt at all times. I later found out that the pull cord used to unlock the seat was the culprit. The stitching that made the loop of the cord was already frayed, this meant that after pulling once, the cord would not fully go back in, thus not resetting the lock. I had to manually push the stitched area back in through the hole, for the seat to lock.

But everybody liked the second row and the co-driver seat.

I had installed my dashcam on the windshield behind and left of the rear view mirror. Due to the scissor action of the wipers, the unwiped area coincided with the field of view of the cam.

Summary

Later my dad had called me to find out, if the vehicle was good. I had to tell him that Tata will still have to improve. It's the driveability that put me down the most and turned me off of the Hexa. After spending close to 15k, a mediocre performance was heart-breaking. Alas, if only I had read about the software patch earlier, I would have given the vehicle the benefit of doubt. Ah well, opportunity lost. Dad will most probably buy another Toyota. And my transition to a tata fan-boy will be that harder.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by nijelj

But no I think they have done this 'initiative' and told me about it at the last minute, 'for my safety'. Their site has no mention of this. Infact they have mentioned 125kmph as a limit after which there is a fine.

No, it is indeed a recent government directive which requires yellow board vehicles to be limited to 80 kmph

[nijelj]

Originally Posted by AkMar

No, it is indeed a recent government directive which requires yellow board vehicles to be limited to 80 kmph

Yes thought so too,seeing that the official SMS that I have pasted in my post mentions the same. My grouse is, if they had let me know sooner, I would have taken steps to plan my travel accordingly. Or they should have mentioned it in their site earlier.

Additionally, no company would argue against this regulation since they get so many advantages. My safety, may not be the primary reason for the initiative by Zoomcar atleast.

[abhi7013]

Originally Posted by nijelj

Later my dad had called me to find out, if the vehicle was good. I had to tell him that Tata will still have to improve. It's the driveability that put me down the most and turned me off of the Hexa. After spending close to 15k, a mediocre performance was heart-breaking. Alas, if only I had read about the software patch earlier, I would have given the vehicle the benefit of doubt. Ah well, opportunity lost. Dad will most probably buy another Toyota. And my transition to a tata fan-boy will be that harder.

Have never driven an XE and hence was unable to relate to the "mediocre performance"!
Would just like to highlight that it's an engine with lower power than the XM/XT variant.
And yes, the lag has reduced to about 95% post the ECU update and taking off from speed breakers is such a pleasure!
Regarding third row, a person has to sit on the bench seats and then push/pull back along the rails. Only then will they move, making more room behind. The recline is the another adjustment that can be done. But sad to know the condition of the handle. Also, the 80kmph limit is a real downer.