[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

3) I do not really "miss" having the Aria. IMHO, the XUV is equally competent is most areas and better in some. The only area where Aria shines over the XUV IMHO is in ride quality and boot space with 3rd row up, not a big deal breaker for us.

You are making a mistake of assuming that you are the ONLY ONE "thinking" and rest are following the herd. Please do consider that different people have different needs, perceptions and priorities and they "think" based on these factors.

P.S.: If you are thinking that I got the XUV over the Aria only because I do not trust TATA, then you are wrong my friend. I actually like the XUV more than the Aria.

I'm sorry for having tried talking sense with experiences and facts from actual owners in this forum, not to offend an XUV owner to prove his point, his likes and facts contradicting his statements, by hook or by crook.

You win, I lose. That should be OK ?

Please be happy with your product, YOU have placed your money in it.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

I'm sorry for having tried talking sense with experiences and facts from actual owners in this forum, not to offend an XUV owner to prove his point, his likes and facts contradicting his statements, by hook or by crook.

ROFL.

Wish you ever tried to understand the other side of the coin too. Anyways, to each his own... Let us conclude on that!

P.S.: I am not talking as an XUV owner here. My comments were in general and solely based on my experience and research (the way you have your's).

Secondly, it is not about winning or losing. Lets be mature enough to understand that this was a perfectly normal and healthy debate about two products.

Regards.

[ACM]

Continuing on the recent discussion as a past ARIA owner.

My view of the reasons for the Aria failing in the Indian market is

1) Pricing - The pricing did not match the brand. Through it was still VFM for what it offered in many ways. The XUV that came later through threw the ARIA VFM argument out of the window though and that killed it with no chance of recovery. They revised pricing later.
2) I DO NOT feel the product issues were a reason for the product failure as it was not really known to that great an extent in the first year and infact the product was perceived to be more reliable and sturdier than the XUV.
3) Absence of sales in the initial period kills most products.
4) Bringing in lower priced models later took away the premium audience that they had earlier and did not bring in too many customers at for the basic models either.
5) Marketing was bad. The advertisement campaign on TV was poor. The advt. though classy was to confusing.
6) It looked too much like a premium Innova but has too similar a shape. People in India will for now at least not pay more for a similar looking TATA vs a Toyota whatever may be the spec list.
7) Crossover and 4X4 aspect was never understood. Too new an idea for the times. Even the similar looking Merc R Class has shut shop.
8) They need to give the vehicle a more aggressive front.

Yes there were product issues but in general (though there are many cases to the contrary) I feel they did attempt to support the customers and resolve issues as well as they could. They did also prioritize the Aria customers over others.

[sudhakarg]

Originally Posted by LobsterB

Of the five free, first two are at 1k and 5k and they didn't cost me anything. The consumables during free services (from 15K Kms onwards) were close to 8K. Towards the end of free services (around 40K onwards if I remember correctly) I moved to a 10K Kms service schedule against the 15K Kms recommendation. Paid services with labour and other small maintenance stuff was costing closer to 11K. Front and back brake pad pairs were 10K and clutch overhaul was 12+K. In addition I had also replaced left ORVM(under 3K) and wiper blades among other small things.
This 90K doesn't of course include warranty replaced components or their labour charges, but does include consumables associated with failures covered under warranty (coolant replacement after water pump failure, gear box oil topup for gearbox packing leakage etc).


Interesting, can you please provide more details about the maintenance package? Is this from dealer or manufacturer?

I spoke to the worli, Mumbai workshop today. they are offering three types of maintenance packages based on extent of the service

1. Silver:Only fluids - regular lubricants, filters et al , can opt for it anytime
2. Gold: All maintenance except batteries and bulbs, can opt for it only within a year of purchase
3. Platinum: covers everything except damages , can opt for it only within a year of purchase

Pricing is based on the number of kms on the odo and duration of the contract

eg a silver package may be available as follows
a. 20k kms, for a period one year will cost about INR 9976
b. 20k kms for a period of two years 2 years will cost INR 10093
c. 30K Kms for a period one year will cost INR 14500
d. 40 kms for two years will typically cost 18500 for 2 years

do ask your service consultant on this as the costing will depend on multiple factors

[sudhakarg]

Originally Posted by ACM

Continuing on the recent discussion as a past ARIA owner.

My view of the reasons for the Aria failing in the Indian market is

1) Pricing - The pricing did not match the brand. Through it was still VFM for what it offered in many ways. The XUV that came later through threw the ARIA VFM argument out of the window though and that killed it with no chance of recovery. They revised pricing later.
2) I DO NOT feel the product issues were a reason for the product failure as it was not really known to that great an extent in the first year and infact the product was perceived to be more reliable and sturdier than the XUV.
3) Absence of sales in the initial period kills most products.
4) Bringing in lower priced models later took away the premium audience that they had earlier and did not bring in too many customers at for the basic models either.
5) Marketing was bad. The advertisement campaign on TV was poor. The advt. though classy was to confusing.
6) It looked too much like a premium Innova but has too similar a shape. People in India will for now at least not pay more for a similar looking TATA vs a Toyota whatever may be the spec list.
7) Crossover and 4X4 aspect was never understood. Too new an idea for the times. Even the similar looking Merc R Class has shut shop.
8) They need to give the vehicle a more aggressive front.

Yes there were product issues but in general (though there are many cases to the contrary) I feel they did attempt to support the customers and resolve issues as well as they could. They did also prioritize the Aria customers over others.

I think car launches are like bollywood box offices, either it is a huge hit and rakes in the moolah in the beginning , or it ends up as a damp squib. I think they should have refreshed the product rather than dumbing it down. while eagerness of the workshop to solve problems and defects are welcome, all those niggles and defects take a toll on ownership experience. I also have a sense that they have given up on the product after all it had a no show at the Auto Expo. That leaves owners like me worried bout the long term prospect of maintaining and running the car (never mind the non existent resale value)

[dark_horizon]

I lost my maps cd sometime back, and Tata is quoting Rs 16000 for it. Can anyone suggest an alternative to get the navigation system up again?

[volkman10]

Next generation Tata Aria to borrow styling from Range Rover.

Seems TATA's will work on the next generation Aria which is due for launch next year.

The New Aria will be inspired from the Range Rover (headlights and tail lights are very similar to the Range Rover) and the crossover will borrow heavy styling cues from Land Rover’s flagship vehicle.


http://www.motorbeam.com/cars/tata-a...m-range-rover/

[arulpeem]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Next generation Tata Aria to borrow styling from Range Rover.

Sounds interesting and good. The performance of the vehicle has never been an issue. It is the looks and the costing. If they take the right styling cues from Range Rover then I would definitely upgrade from my Grande MKII... Hope they make it a monocoque.

[rkg]

Concorde, Bangalore says, new ARIA's are being shipped to them. but they do not know what changes are there. Their news is there are some changes in ARIA. They are expected by March10th, 2014

[lurker]

I think the sweet spot for the Aria is around 8-9 lakh. Beyond that Innova's sheer resale value proposition will prevent any Aria sales. Now if the BoM (Bill of Materials) itself for the Aria comes to around 10-11 lakh, then the entire exercise is futile. But in view of products like the Zest, & Storm, there should be a relook at the Aria with an entirely euro perspective, and the design links to the Indica whether it be in the front end styling or the rear Indica-ish christmas tree tail lamps should be dumped with great haste. I think the failure of designs at Tata should be analyzed in detail because the entire look that they managed with the Aria was a 70s Euro design.

[rkg]

ARIA now comes with 150 HP and 320 Nm torque, Harmon Kordon music system, double parabola Projector head lights.

[GrammarNazi]

Harmon Kardon only on the top end 4x4 Pride variant. IIRC Aria always had 320NM of torque. A 10bhp bump in power is hopefully after fine tuning the engine for drivability, else what's the big deal?

Dunno what makes them feel that a vehicle close to 3tonnes with all round disc Brakes needn't have ABS as standard! And then they say they aren't getting numbers! I recently came across the Innova thread where the same issue was discussed. IMHO Automakers need to develop some conscience.

Anyway, hope this is a good come-back year for TATA.

15kmpl will give a cool 900km range for expeditions.
The Aria has an excellently designed low floorboard even with 200mm GC.
The rear suspension seems to've updated to a 5-Link suspension.
No design changes, not even bumper/grille, anyway not that it bothered much.
Somebody mentioned about the clutch being re-designed, such that it'd give 1L km life(?)

IMO its a damn good car, but the marketing failed to catch the imagination of the people. IIRC it was Ogilvy & Mather incharge(?).

[rkg]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Somebody mentioned about the clutch being re-designed, such that it'd give 1L km life(?)

Clutch is from LUK designed for 1 lakh Km life as per an engineer in TATA ERC

[lifebuoy]

Originally Posted by sudhakarg

I also have a sense that they have given up on the product after all it had a no show at the Auto Expo. That leaves owners like me worried bout the long term prospect of maintaining and running the car (never mind the non existent resale value)

Not at all. In fact, the passenger car range at the Auto Expo was ONLY new launches or updated versions, NOT the staid ones avl at the dealerships. Yes, even I had inquired with a similar doubt in mind, but I guess TATA does not give up that easily. The post of rkg has an updated ARIA with better power + FE figures.

Originally Posted by dark_horizon

I lost my maps cd sometime back, and Tata is quoting Rs 16000 for it. Can anyone suggest an alternative to get the navigation system up again?

The Navtec maps are the same ones used by Nokia Here Drive / Maps. Maybe you could ask Navteq for a replacement as they are the OEMs for this eqpt ?

[volkman10]

Tata Aria facelift coming on March 12.

Minor cosmetic tweaks and an updated 148bhp ‘VariCor’ version of the 2.2 diesel engine in store,the same one introduced in the Safari Storme, and it will produce 10bhp more in this guise, bringing the new power output to 148bhp from 138bhp. This will likely be accompanied by improvements to fuel consumption as well.

This facelift will also include a few minor cosmetic changes, like a new design for the headlamps and smoked tail-lamps.

The automatic variant is still far away.

http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...12-373767.aspx