[S2!!!]

Tata Zest

What you'll like:
• India's first diesel-automatic in the C1 segment. Affordable, convenient & low running costs
• Build quality, fit and finish are on par with competitors. Tata has made significant improvements
• Spacious well-designed interiors & comfortable seats. A rare compact sedan that can seat 5 adults
• 1.2L turbo-petrol has class-leading torque and impressive low-end driveability
• Balanced suspension offers compliant ride quality mated to neutral handling. Nice EPS too
• Light controls, agreeable ergonomics and good refinement. Drives like no mass market Tata car has before
• Features: 3-driving modes (petrol), LED DRLs, projector headlamps, 5" touchscreen, parking sensors, voice commands & more

What you won't:
• When driven hard, the AMT can't match the smoothness & shift-times of a conventional automatic
• Turbo-petrol lacks mid-range punch and fails to excite at higher rpms. Not to an enthusiast's tastes
• Poor in-cabin storage (narrow door pockets, no 1-liter bottle holder, missing seatback pockets etc.)
• Thick A-Pillars create severe blind spots while driving
• Missing niceties (rear seat armrest, dead pedal, seatbelt height adjustment, boot lid cladding)
• Concerns over long-term reliability & durability. Previous Tata cars haven't fared well in this area
• Tata's sub-par after-sales service quality is far from that of Maruti, Hyundai and Honda

Link to Official Review

Maruti Dzire

What you’ll like:
• Priced lower than the outgoing Dzire. Noticeably better in most areas (quality, comfort, interiors etc.)
• Competent engine range. Very refined motors
• Absorbent ride quality, even over rough roads. Neutral road manners too
• Terrific fuel efficiency, especially from the diesel
• Effortless to drive in the city; light steering, clutch and gearshift. Automatic transmission available
• Maruti’s excellent after-sales service & wide dealer network

What you won’t:
• Oddball boot design. Side profile looks particularly awkward
• Small 316L boot & no folding rear seat either. Limited practicality
• Mediocre brakes (LXi / LDi & VXi / VDi), just like the mechanically-identical Swift
• Limited rear seat space is incomparable to the Manza, Etios, Verito et al
• Hefty 1.2 lakh premium for the Automatic transmission variant

Link to Official Review

Honda Amaze

What you'll like:
• An all-rounded compact sedan that does most things well
• Packaging brilliance. Roomier backseat than the Dzire, and a larger 400 Liter boot
• 1.5L i-DTEC engine offers segment-best power & performance. Excellent driveability too
• Diesel's 25.8 kpl ARAI fuel economy rating
• Light controls, slick gearshift and easy maneuverability for in-city commuting. AT gearbox available
• Honda's reliability & fuss-free ownership experience

What you won't:
• Diesel's NVH is a full level poorer than the refined Maruti Dzire
• Brio's unconventional dashboard is too basic for this class of car
• Not as dynamically accomplished as the Ford Fiesta Classic, Toyota Etios and others
• Diesel isn't as high-rpm friendly as the 1.3L MJD
• Many practical features missing (climate control, seat-belt height adjustment, adjustable neck restraints, auto-locking doors, full MID, folding rear seat etc.)

Link to Official Review

Hyundai Xcent

What you'll like:
• All-rounded package in a contemporary design
• Interiors have best-in-class fit, finish & quality. Accommodating 407 liter boot too
• Fuel-efficient, practical diesel & peppy petrol. Smooth gearbox
• Loaded with features (keyless start & go, reversing camera, rear air-con, cooled glovebox etc.)
• Comfortable ride quality and predictable handling
• Hyundai's fuss free ownership experience & excellent after-sales service

What you won't:
• 1.1L 3-cylinder diesel lacks the top-end punch of competition. Ordinary highway performance
• Steering & dynamics aren't to an enthusiast's tastes
• Narrow width makes it more suited as a 4 seater, rather than 5
• Boot aside, the premium i20 is closely priced with more power, space, equipment & refinement
• Adjustable front neck restraints, seat-belt height adjustment, full MID, auto-locking doors & dead pedal missing

Link to Official Review

Technical Specifications:



Prices:

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line section. Let the polling begin!

[extreme_torque]

Frankly at that price and with the more powerful diesel, it is an easy choice for me. The Zest it is all the way.

[raj_5004]

I like the styling of the Xcent compared to the others but as an overall package, I vote for the Zest.

If the Xcent was priced a bit lesser, my vote would have tilted in it's favour.

Amaze & Dzire - no ways!

[Mik]

I was comparing the 4 on carwale myself to see the feature hits and misses (Not sure if carwale notes all features comprehensively)
Anyway, for those with an academic interest in the top manual diesel variant for the 4 cars
http://www.carwale.com/comparecars/t...2426&car4=3302

[iliketurtles]

It's a tricky choice to make for me. The Zest has a lot going for it; packed with features, very well priced and a petrol that is surprisingly power-packed. The diesel too makes a compelling case for itself, what with the AMT on offer. I believe that car will be lapped up by the urban masses as it has democratized automatic cars big time. Kudos to Tata for that.

However, Tata has also always had a bit of a reputation of having very iffy first gen cars. I feel that the attention to detail they've showered on the Zest will see this be no issue, but what of the service aspect? It is for this reason that the Xcent comes into the picture for me. It looks great, is a safe bet and has fantastic fit and finish although it's a bit pricier. I wouldn't pick the Amaze or the Dzire over either of these cars, simply put.

All said and done, I'd be leaning towards the Zest though. Seems like a great buy at that price, has tons of features I like and just seems a very complete package. Would love to see how it fares.

[ghodlur]

The diesel AT for the Zest will be the segment first and IMO will have an edge over others. It will worth seeing if Zest fares better to Amaze in the NVH and fuel economy figures. Xcent would be an underdog in this contest while Dzire is an old horse. Each one have a USP to woo the customers. I have voted for Zest for the freshness and Tata's luck riding on the new launch.

[DCEite]

Petrol= Xcent
Diesel= DZire

Zest will have to wait. Amaze? No way

[e2p]

I will go with the Zest - reading all the reviews I have some respect to TATA now. Agree that we need to wait and watch on how it performs in real road life.

Being a truly Indian car with a European touch, I really wish that Zest becomes a success.

[nkrishnap]

As far as I am concerned, the Zest and Xcent make a strong case for themselves. But Zest gets the vote for the features and killer pricing.

Dzire to some extent for the design and the Amaze for the poor build are out of my list if I were to buy a compact sedan today.

[theexperthand]

For me it will be the Zest - it is a whole new value proposition with lot of feel good features, a torquey petrol engine, Diesel AMT and so many segment firsts. Being no stranger to Tata, I don't have any mental barrier to over come also.

PS: If not for the Zest, my pick will be Xcent.

--Anoop

[arnabchak]

Zest is a fantastic car. My heart would definitely go with Zest. But I voted for Dzire, yes that oddball car!!

Why? It is a tried and tested vehicle with lower cost of maintenance and ownership, better long time reliability and better resale.

Also, Maruti after-sales is definitely better that the still evolving Tata.

Amaze---No way!!

Xcent- Very close yet a little far

[safari_lover]

Do we have the detailed list of features per variant? If I understood this correctly, the XMS variant of Zest is very close if not equal to the top end versions of the DZire and Amaze. This makes the Zest a great value for money. Even the TDs have found it hard to fault the car in terms of quality, build, etc. My vote definitely goes to the Zest.

[S2!!!]

I voted for the Zest. I am not sure as to what extent will the Zest affect the sales of the Dzire but it will definitely leave a huge impression on the sales of both the Amaze and the Xcent. TaMo seem to have re-entered the market with a bang - great product, great pricing and have promoted the Zest fairly well too (wonder when will they scream about the diesel+AMT combo though). Now all they need to do is ensure that the Zest is niggle free and improve the overall customer experience (dealership and service network). The Zest surely seems to be a winner.

[madhu33]

I have voted for the zest .
Much better Overall package. That platform and underpinnings form the Vista/ manza is well suited to the Indian conditions IMO.

Dzire: Close second. Too common and hence personally i didnt vote for it as my choice. Although better resale value is adefinite advantage to a typical Indian car buyer .

Amaze :Noisy diesel. Extremely uncomfortable back seat recline and in existent under thigh support.
Have had only 30-40 minute driving experience of Amaze diesel.
Although on paper it is supposed to be most powerful diesel in the segment .
In real life scenario i did not find it to be so superior to the MJD powered Dzire and even the Manza.

Xcent: Actually i don't know much about it.
Still i assume ZEST is better and voted for Zest.