[superbhikari]

Hi Friends
My Uncle is going to purchase a sedan in couple of days. He booked both the mentioned cars and both cars are ready to be delivered by 01 June 2009. He is confused which one to go for. Please help out with pros and cons of both the cars based on his requirements which are as follows -

1) His running is quite a lot - 30-40k annually
2) He intend to keep the car for not more than 5 years.
3) He needs good boot space to carry business related items.
4) Wants a car with decent handling in city too.
5) Family of 5, so in-car comfort is as important.
6) Resale value.
7) Durability and Servicing cost.

Kindly state advantages/disadvantages of both the cars. He is in dehradun, so service availability of TATA and Maruti is not the issue, at all.

[extreme_torque]

I would tilt towards Indigo primarily because its roomier for a family of 5 and the Dicor engine under the hood isnt a slouch.

[Takumi-san]

Hmm, I agree with extreme_torque about the roominess. I loved the turbo of the Dzire , you may want to decide after test driving both. Maruti may be a bit cheaper to service, but not by a large margin when you compare with Tata.

Also from my personal experience I think the Indigo can take more abuse. Having said that, I have a friend who owns an Indigo and who recommended I go in for a Maruti product when I was interested in buying one. However that was the Esteem and I think the Indigo has improved from since then. I guess owners of these respective cars would be able to best answer your query.

[greenhorn]

ask him to TD the car in city traffic before buying one

The Indigo Xl is more of a passenger's car, while the Dzire is more of a driver's car. Ask your uncle which he prefers

[superbhikari]

He did test drive both the cars and quite satisfied with both. Dzire is a bit driver friendly but then Indigo XL has far more features/comforts/space than Dzire. Performance difference is not too much to crave for. Heard f lots of rattling problems in Swift/Dzire. Whats the position of Indigo on that front?

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

TATA INDIGO XL

Advantages--

1) Unrivalled space. Limousine like rear space.
2) Good equipment.
3) Tried and tested mill. Can be serviced at local mechanics as well.
4) XL model is quite rare so attention on road guarenteed.
5) Looks larger than immediate rivals. Dezire looks puny in comparison. Almost as long as the Optra.
6) Looks neat and good atleast when new.

Disadvantages.

1) XL model not very good at resale.
2) Typical TATA problems--panel gaps,unreliable electronics
3) Performance is adequate and far from exciting.
4) At best a 'nueteral' handler.
5) Not exceptionally fuel efficient.
6) TATA's after sales nothing to write home about.


Dzire Diesel

Advantages

1) Has gem of an engine. Turbo lag not at all apparant.Very fuel efficient.
2) Better handler than Indigo.
3) Has good equipment on offer. Good sound system.
4) Has good boot space.
5) Maruti's unrivalled after sales.
6) Better plastic quality and less panel gaps than Indigo.


Disadvantages.

1) Love it or hate it oddball looks. Very common too,
2) Lack of space at rear.
3) Not as exciting as swift hatch.
4) Long waiting list for diesel model.



These are the major pros and cons. Other minor niggles do exist with both the cars but are nothing that cant be easily rectified.


Regards.


edit-Which models are your uncle looking at? Indigo XL is available in a couple of trims, one fully loaded, other without some of the features.
Same for swift, the top end ZDi is quite a match for the Indigo's features.

And as Greenhorn put it, if your uncle wishes to chauffered around, XL is good. If he loves driving then Dzire seems better.

[greenhorn]

About the Indigo

2) Typical TATA problems--panel gaps,unreliable electronics

Panel gaps , yes, lots of them, but I havent had any issues with tata electronics, at all.

5) Not exceptionally fuel efficient.

actually the dicor has good FE. mileages of 17~20 have been reported for XL dicors
And the Dzire

6) Better plastic quality and less panel gaps than Indigo.

Panle gaps , yes the Dzire is better, but the plastic is no great shakes. Everything will start rattling soon enough

A dzire ZDi will take ages ( a friend of mine was quoted 8 months) for delivery.

check out bouncer and cnaganathan's XL Dicor review threads

[architect]

Indigo XL Dicor

(+) Lots of features for passenger comfort (including the amazing rear seat space).

(+) Better ride quality than Dzire

(_) Issues with Dicor engines have been faced by Indigo owners, with, of course, customary Tata love for replacement under warranty.

Swift Dzire

(+) Amazing engine

(+) Over all quality and fit-and-finish of parts and interiors seems better

(+) Better handling (but VDi deserves wider stock rubber)

(-) Rear seat space and comfort is nowhere near XL.

[extreme_torque]

@yc.... Much has been said about the Tata service being bad and i dont think that is true. They have one of the best warranty replacement policy in India. Have you even heard a company replacing the clutch after 30k's kms? Or for that matter replacing the seat because one of the spring inside was making little squeaky noises?
The job card is opened on the Siebel CRM and Tata can see it. If you give bad feedback, its immediately visible to Tata and they take appropriate action. Maruti service is good but that doesnt mean others are bad.

[vivek.singh.73]

Chuck the Tata vehicle out of your options i.e. if you want peace of mind

BTW its not blind advise..its out of 4 year of close experience with Tata vehicle, their support dealer across Noida/ Hyderabad and corresponding TATA regional offices. They treat you as if customer is intruding on their personal space and not letting them focus on greater things in life.

It reminds of one true professional I met, his saying goes as " By focussing my eyes on the ground, it inhibits my ability to look up and strategies for future"

Cheers

[vivek.singh.73]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

@yc.... Much has been said about the Tata service being bad and i dont think that is true. They have one of the best warranty replacement policy in India. Have you even heard a company replacing the clutch after 30k's kms? Or for that matter replacing the seat because one of the spring inside was making little squeaky noises?
The job card is opened on the Siebel CRM and Tata can see it. If you give bad feedback, its immediately visible to Tata and they take appropriate action. Maruti service is good but that doesnt mean others are bad.

They have worst warrant replacement policy in India..they leave you with a job card and ask you to follow up with TATA regional office and their vendors...you may end up spending more time chasing ppl up then the actual cost of replacement. They only listen to ppl. who abuse them left right and center...and create rucks. Typically businessmen/politician types.

Middle class salaried class - are left to our own steam...typical India scenerio. Don't expect any remediation by sending emails or soft phnne calls.

[ankan]

Indigo dicor xl.
1. very very roomy.
2. decent engine. ( have a tdi love it.)
3. spares cheap.
4. A.S.S. has improved exponentially over the years.
5. handling satisfactory.

swift dzire.
1. cramped compared to the indigo ( normal) even so no compition with the xl.
2. engine good.
3. spares almost similar.
4. A.S.S. good.
5. handling is good accoeding to many.

personally i would go for the indigo xl as per the requirements.

The Xl is a good car just because its a tata dont under estimate w.r.t. dzire. Both have their plus points but in the comparison indigo wins hands down.

[loving_alaap]

Very difficult choice.

If FE & Resale is not a big issue than Better go by Indigo. (though not much difference, but perhaps these are the only so called advantages of the ugly looking, thin paper built Dzire)

Better go by TATA.

[joy_swift]

Swift Dzire if he wants a driver's car.Has a very punchy engine and also the interiors are decent.I love this car.

Indigo XL is more of a passengers car.Comfort is the prime thing and it pampers the rear passengers.However,the dash looks extremely primitive(now for more than 10 yrs) and the plastics are cheap compared to the Swift(not a source for encouragement either ).

The new Indigo is round the corner and if you wait for another 5-6 months can be the ideal choice.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

@yc.... Much has been said about the Tata service being bad and i dont think that is true. They have one of the best warranty replacement policy in India. Have you even heard a company replacing the clutch after 30k's kms? Or for that matter replacing the seat because one of the spring inside was making little squeaky noises?
The job card is opened on the Siebel CRM and Tata can see it. If you give bad feedback, its immediately visible to Tata and they take appropriate action. Maruti service is good but that doesnt mean others are bad.

Well, to be frank I have never owned a TATA product. 4 years ago dad had an Indica petrol as a company car and we did had our fair share of problems and as all the cars we own are from Maruti, comparisons did crop up in our mind. Am not of opinion that TATA's A.S.S. is the worst but it certainly isn't upto the mark considering the stories I hear from my friends who are owners of TATA cars.
Even Mr.Vivek's post (owner of an Indigo Marina) says it all.


Coming to electronics, il disagree with the fact that TATA cars do not face such issues. In all the 2 years we had the Indica with us, the horn never worked after switiching on the Aircon and TASS was never able to rectify it.

Another friend of mine who bought a Sumo Grande after using a Sumo in his family for 9 years, was a very happy customer until one day, immediately after getting his vehicle back from TASS the car suffered an electric failure resulting in loss of servo assistance to brakes and Steering becoming heavy as truck, all this on a highway. The fact that it was a new vehicle and TASS took almost 45 days to give the car back makes matter worse.

I never questioned TATA's policy of warranty and all, and I would like to add that during 30 of those 45 days the guy was given a Sumo Victa for personal use which is commendable. But the question is why did TASS required 5 days to analyse the problem and another 40 to rectify it? Also, the guy had to shoot numerous emails and make several phone calls to higher officials at TATA to pressurize TASS to act fast and reasonably.
The day the incident happened he called me and going by the details I was of immediate opinion that the car has suffered a major fault with the electronics. It was surprising to see that for the first two days the service centre guys kept mentioning that the car has a damaged brake cylinder and hence loss of pressure!! When he pointed towards non functional power steering and aircon they asked him to wait for another 2 days before they could analyse the complete problem.
Why was it so tough for them to realize at first place that the problem was with the electronics?? Was it so tough to guess/analyse by the guys at TASS considering that they are proffessionals? It was indeed surprising, shocking to be precise.


So, if you compare it with Skoda incidents, it all looks very good but on comparing it with MASS or even Hyundai, its still a long way to go. The bright side is that its slowly but steadily improving and replacements under warranty and the fact that they atleast acknowledge their fault again shows they are working hard to improve. But still its a long way to go for TASS.