[VeluM]

Originally Posted by ACM

Pride - Night Shade Black.

Okays. Did you choose Black+Plum for the interiors, or different?

Originally Posted by ACM

No Deals - just got Insurance from outside (not the dealer) for 25K less, and got 3K off on the Registation through a contact.

Hmm. Well, too early to say anything. When do you expect delivery? (and when do we expect an ownership thread?)

[crazycardude198]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Pride! Cool! Which colour? And what interior scheme have you chosen? It looks like the Aria is following the Innova trend of selling higher numbers of the higher specced variants. Haven't heard of anyone booking the Pleasure variant yet.

PS. Where will you be collecting the vehicle from (Dealer) and what deals (if any) are they offering? I know it is early, but that's an indicator of how things are going, methinks. I haven't seen any here in Bangalore either, yet

I have actually booked the pleasure variant. For some reason the interior in black+plum doesnt really appeal to me. I cant see any pics of the black+beige trim although at the auto-expo there was a version in this trim, but Im not sure whether this is the trim approved for production.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...-pg-52-005.jpg

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...-pg-52-006.jpg

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...2-img_2257.jpg

[ACM]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Okays. Did you choose Black+Plum for the interiors, or different?

Hmm. Well, too early to say anything. When do you expect delivery? (and when do we expect an ownership thread?)

Black and Plum interiors - Family liked it, Black and Black has a long lead time and may not even be produced in the near future as per the showroom comments,

PDI tomorrow or day after, Delivery early next week, Ownership thread mid next week.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by crazycardude198

I have actually booked the pleasure variant. For some reason the interior in black+plum doesnt really appeal to me.

Congratulations!! I liked the Black and Beige too, along with the Black and Plum. Black and Black is too dull, IMHO & probably too hot for most of India. Hot meaning literally

What did it come to OTR? Will you be getting after-market alloys or opting for OEMs from the showroom?

Now (Along with ACM & LobsterB) we have reviewers for all the three variants on TBHP!

Originally Posted by ACM

Black and Plum interiors - Family liked it, Black and Black has a long lead time and may not even be produced in the near future as per the showroom comments,

PDI tomorrow or day after, Delivery early next week, Ownership thread mid next week.

Cool!

Good choice. As said, B&Black is too dark. Car will tend to get super-hot in the summer, even with tints.

[gshanky]

Originally Posted by ACM

Black and Plum interiors - Family liked it, Black and Black has a long lead time and may not even be produced in the near future as per the showroom comments,

PDI tomorrow or day after, Delivery early next week, Ownership thread mid next week.

Sweet! Another ARIA ownership thread is great indeed.

IMO black and black interiors would have been good for the long run. TML should be stupid to not make the vehicles in that trim. I assume the dealer is BS'ing. But black and plum also looks premium.

Seems like the initial excitement over ARIA has calmed down and now it all depends on the word of mouth feedback of the first set of owners. Keeping fingers crossed.

[gharika]

I did visit the TATA showroom to experience Aria and found a few glithes in fitment and workmanship. The bottom of the tail lights jutted out a corner, enough to get catch a cloth and tear it, joints in the 5th door frame (top right) and rear side doors (bottom, close to rear wheel) look ugly. The arches also don't fit well with the body where they overlap the rear bumper. All this is not expected at this price range.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Gharika - Completely agree with you on your observations. Yesterday i had a chance to have a really good look at one since Concorde Motors had set up a kiosk at the place where i work.

Overall the vehicle does have a lot of improvements from other TATA vehicles but the following areas are major glitches

- Poor under thigh & lateral support in the front seats. Bigger built people will have issues fitting into the seats as the width of the seat base is quite less. Side support is too less.
- Seat sliders in the first row have rough edged plastic around them & are not ergonomic to adjust.
- Inner door seals have lots of wrinkles where it meets near the headlining
- Poor finish of insulation material behind the grill in engine compartment
- Rust visible on few areas around the engine compartment
- Painting defects on rear quarter panel (orange peel)
- No place to rest your clutch foot on, tight squeeze for people with larger feet. Pedal position placed too high
- Stitching on leather gear shift knob giving way
- Some of the Overhead bins not opening
- Operation of OEM system not very intuitive
- Ridiculously small screen for the music system/GPS. Sure shot recipe for disaster trying to read it in bright light while on the move.
- Uneven panel gaps where front bumpers meet the headlights & fenders.
- None of the buttons /plastics used feel premium for 16 ~ 19 L OTR
- Seats look like real leather, but feels very much like fake leather. Leather smell too is missing

I wonder, does TATA actually QC check these vehicles before the dispatch to customers ?

Plus points were
- Vehicle presence - Awesome
- Great 17" alloys & tyres
- Good GC
- Great comfort in 2nd row
- Easy to get in and out of
- OEM music system sound quality is quite good
- Provision for 8" sub in the rear hatch door
- Good storage space all around

Overall i found the price too high to justify all the glitches present. finding such defects at a price range of the Manza would be OK, but not at this price range !

The Innova is definitely a superbly engineered product, built to a much higher level of refinement !

My overall rating - 5/10
TATA has come a long way, but still a long way to go !

[kaviprem]

^^ I am 99% sure that you saw the KL registration vehicle which was meant to be a test & educative vehicle for all the South Indian [at least TN, KA & KL] dealership [sales & service]. Above all, it was a pre-production vehicle and one notable difference is that how the front cup holder came out in the vehicle you saw in your office campus ?

I understand few like screen being small, no dead-pedal, etc ... are your opinion.

By all means, [I hope] you have concluded by seeing a wrong piece of ARIA.

Prem.

[Rahulk76]

I chanced upon knowing that ARIA is already under some retro of prop shaft issues therefore delayed deliveries from TML.

[mooza]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Yesterday i had a chance to have a really good look at one since Concorde Motors had set up a kiosk at the place where i work.

Originally Posted by kaviprem

^^ I am 99% sure that you saw the KL registration vehicle which was meant to be a test & educative vehicle ....it was a pre-production vehicle and one notable difference is that how the front cup holder came out in the vehicle you saw in your office campus ?

By all means, [I hope] you have concluded by seeing a wrong piece of ARIA.

Such vehicles should not be showcased to customers, especially since first impressions are very important. I think TML is getting it wrong here.

Sorry for the OT, but my Manza TD vehicle too had a cover / panel at the front seat belt area loosely hanging out, and the horn not working. I advised the sales chap on this, and he simply said the car is to be sent for servicing, where it will get rectified ! But why showcase such demo pieces in the first place ?

[nirmaljusdoit]

Kaviprem- It was a KA registered vehicle , from the volume production lot, judging from the sticker on the left side rear quarter glass ! Pre volume production vehicles are never sent to dealers, rather they are scrapped or used internally for various endurance trials !

After spending a large part of my career in the industry, working with one of the top automobile companies in the world, my review may seem a bit critical but these are my observations without even going for a test drive !

What is evident on the surface in terms of fit & finish, ergonomics etc is like the tip of the iceberg, there would be many more compromises below the surface in various other functional parts, which of course comes out only after time has passed !

TATA really needs to work on the dealership experience, I have been waiting for a test drive from the time it has been launched ! I did receive a few calls from Concorde motors, but that's it. The sales executive who i met at the roadshow said that they cannot commit any test drive as they are swamped with queries & the dealership management doesn't seem to be interested in providing them another vehicle for TD's !!

I feel TATA should have taken more time to get it right & taken better care in the product planning stage. Quality production on the shop floor is also important to ensure a defect free vehicle is delivered to the customer.

While the vehicle overall is good, the competition is strong & the ARIA feels a generation behind, not ground breaking. For TATA yes, it is a ground breaking product, but the market eventually will decide, based on the product meeting expectations at that price level. IMO the ARIA will not be able to meet the sales expectations.

[Trapezio]

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Kaviprem- It was a KA registered vehicle , from the volume production lot, judging from the sticker on the left side rear quarter glass ! Pre volume production vehicles are never sent to dealers, rather they are scrapped or used internally for various endurance trials !

After spending a large part of my career in the industry, working with one of the top automobile companies in the world, my review may seem a bit critical but these are my observations without even going for a test drive !

Tata is the only last company I know that sends preproduction cars as test drive cars. I have just driven one which they sent us. I know this for sure. Some of their poor image at least is due to their naiveness.

As for the rest of the companies (I won't pick names here) their press cars are not even manufactured completely on the normal production lines! Perhaps I am speaking too much here.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by Trapezio

Tata is the only last company I know that sends preproduction cars as test drive cars. I have just driven one which they sent us. I know this for sure. Some of their poor image at least is due to their naiveness.

Interesting, and foolish. This naivete would hamper customer perception and I cannot fathom the reason why they'd do so. I can only think that the dealers get these cars cheap and and they believe that the customer would make the decision based on the car he sees on the showroom floor, and not during the test drive (just my theory, but obviously it's full of holes),

Originally Posted by Trapezio

As for the rest of the companies (I won't pick names here) their press cars are not even manufactured completely on the normal production lines!

From a purely business stand point, this is precisely how it should be. All cars destined for the dealerships test drives/road shows etc. should be specially tracked on the production floor.

[Trapezio]

@Amartya True, but its not really ethical to demonstrate a knowingly different product (either in terms of feature or quality) and deliver something different. Its my personal opinion here. BTW, I did not say they are 'tracked' in fact they will not be on the production line.

BTW, I was driven around the Aria at the limits. Over 100kmph I would choose Aria over the Innova/Scorpio on a wet twisty road. That is when the grip of the 4wd really comes into play. We were six well built guys sliding around turns on a kind of private road. That was really cool.

Even when it starts to slide there is no drama and is quite progressive. That is a very nice trait. Brakes were reassuring even under hard braking from 100kph speeds downhill. Overall a good effort. With the Aria none can complain that Tata is not trying.

I read criticisms that its expensive. Sorry to engineer a platform that meets all norms across two continents will be expensive. Ask Toyota with Innova itself. It might be cheap,but it does not sell in any country which is anywhere near challenging in safety norms.

Also, I do not consider side/window airbags etc 'gimmicky' engineering in India. I have not come across that many vehicles which could integrate flat folding 3rd row seats with under floor tyres on ladder frame. Its simply tricky.

Anyways, each to his own!

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by mooza

Such vehicles should not be showcased to customers, especially since first impressions are very important. I think TML is getting it wrong here.

Agreed and this is the same I told the Concorde Motors when I saw an old ARIA which was pre-production and I know its a pre-production for various reasons, never mind

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Kaviprem- It was a KA registered vehicle , from the volume production lot, judging from the sticker on the left side rear quarter glass ! Pre volume production vehicles are never sent to dealers, rather they are scrapped or used internally for various endurance trials !

I know, they should not be having it. But, they did and if I remember right, they currently do have it because I took TD only on that and it was a KL registered vehicle.

Anyway, I respect all your other comments & observation. I just wanted to be doubly sure if your comments were on that older vehicle and your bar is set high

Prem.