[sridhga]

Hi all,

I was trying to search for answers to this question if Indigo CS petrol is under powered. What are the pros and cons of this car?

Mods, If a similair thread exists please merge this.

[sarath]

Hello sridhga, I own a 6 months old Indigo CS petrol. I wouldn't say the car is underpowered but it is not that great to drive either. The engine has enough grunt in the city but you have to consantly down shift to keep up with the traffic. The car feels really strained after 100Kmph, so in the highways, this could be a gripe for some people.

Pros:

1. Price - The on-road price was around 4.5 Lakhs when we bought this car. Ours is the GLX version which is the top end variant. I feel it is VFM for the price.
2. Interior space-much Better than any hatch back in the same price range. The car has a boot too which is a bonus.
3. Decent equipment list- Power everything, HVAC, fog lamps, Seat belt and Ignition Key-in warning, Tacho, beige interiors(personally, I dont like it) and central locking with remote. ICE was not available when we purchased the car but seems it is available in the new BS IV e-CS.
4. Amazing ride quality.
5. Excellent lighting- Night driving is breeze when headlights and fogs are used.
6. Gear shift action feels better than previous generation Indicas I have driven.
7. Comfortable seating for 5 + luggage.
8. Big car for small car price.

Cons:

1. Engine feels coarse when revved beyond 3000 rpm and seems unreal for a petrol. It is better to upshift at 2500 rpm and reach 5th as soon as possible.
2. Maximum highway mileage I got till date was around 14 with AC. I have never checked the city mileage so cant comment about that.
3. Interior plastic quality not upto the mark wrto competition. The car's inside does not feel as upmarket as some of the competition.
4. The steering postion is too high for my liking.

These are purely my observations. My personal opinion is that go for this car if you want a comfortable car for your 5 member family, you want to carry your luggage with you for an occational outstation trip and your max budget is 4.5 Lakhs. There are better options available otherwise.

[condor]

@Sridhga, any specific reason for the petrol version ? The diesel version should be easier to sell too, when you need to.

[greenhorn]

compared to my indica turbo, the xeta GLS felt undertorqued ( which petrol car doesnt )
but even compared to your DLS, you will feel the lack of grunt, especially since its a heavier car, and the 1.2L engine runs out of breath pretty fast. Otherwise, if you stick to mostly the city, and are not a spirited driver, the CS petrol should be ok, but for obvious reasons, you are advised to get a diesel

[sridhga]

Originally Posted by condor

@Sridhga, any specific reason for the petrol version ? The diesel version should be easier to sell too, when you need to.

I have a relative who is likely to buy a new car. He liked the space inside the indigo. But he prefers petrol. His reason is that his usage is low and only for weekend out of town trips.

When I bought an Indica, I test drove the diesel as well as the petrol and felt that Indica petrol is slightly underpowered. I felt it is fine at lower speeds. But at higher speeds I am slightly suspicious. I believe petrol engines in Tata are good. I never heard of an engine problem in Tata petrols. Earlier versions of Indica and Indigo carried 1400 cc petrol engines. But now they carry 1200 cc engines due to tax benefits. Only concern is if it is underpowered. In everything else it is a great car for a small family's weekend outings.

@sarath- Thank you for the info.

@greenhorn- Thanks for your inputs.

[condor]

If Tata still had the 1.4 petrol, it would have been good. Also, that engine was based on the same block as the 1.4 diesel, and hence was over-engineered for a petrol. Too bad they stopped that 1.4 & now have the 1.2.

How about the Vista petrol then ?

[GTO]

Sridhga, remember...the Tatas & Mahindras are best bought with oil-burners. Diesels is really what they go best. I own an Indigo TDI & can tell you it's no scorcher. However, the power is more than adequate for daily running in an honest point A - point B car. It's surprisingly refined at low rpms & very fuel efficient. The turbo-lag can catch you out initially, but you get used to driving around it with time. Coincidentally, I was driving the Indigo around town today and was just thinking "If Tata could work out the quality issues, it would be an ideal budget family car". Unfortunately, Indigos age very fast. My 3 year old Indigo feels older & more worn than the Honda City Vtec I sold earlier this year. Even though the latter was twice the age (7 years) and had double the mileage (over 70,000 clicks).

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

compared to my indica turbo, the xeta GLS felt undertorqued ( which petrol car doesnt )

Compared to the Xeta, the CS is only a little bit heavier. Keeping that in mind and the fact that the Xeta is a top seller, I dont think it should be too bad.

Of course, if you are carrying 5 people+luggage+AC then its going to feel that way.

[sridhga]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Keeping that in mind and the fact that the Xeta is a top seller,

I did not know this.

@GTO Thanks for your inputs

[Samridh]

Clarifications first - I am not an expert. My father owns an Indigo and we think its a safe car with a charecteristic Fiat like 'thud' (that's it). TATA Indigo is a product of an ideology where SRS Airbags were still a thing of the future and a solid and heavy body meant a safe car. If that be the touch stone of it being a good car the criteria is met. However, as GTO said TATA weds diesel. Please bear in mind that even if Kake ka Hotel starts serving Steak Hatche a cheval it would not be up to the mark.

So its a choice that if you have to make:

1) If you want a good Petrol Sedan in that price bracket then consider Maruti Swift Dezire, Mahindra Logan or Accent Executive. (They all have decent petrol motors pushing them)

2) If you have your heart/eye set on a TATA look at the Diesel variant as it is where TATA has invested its years of know-how!

Just a few cons that I see on the TATA:

1) Though heavy, it skates at speeds close to 120kmph+.
2) Good A.S.S. is countered by heavy maintainence costs. For your information - "heavy maintainence costs" does not mean expensive spare parts, it means the frequency of repair(s) required. In our case, TATA meant spending more time (and of course money) at the service station. Its a very personal view, so no offence to people who may have long and happy stints with TATA motors.

[vivekgk]

I have an Indigo CS TDi. I've test driven the new e-CS petrol and diesel, and I have to say that the diesels are far better. The BS4 petrol engine is very quiet while idling, but yes, it is a bit underpowered, especially for highway use. But it is fine for city use. Since it is not a high-tech engine (nor is the car for that matter) it is cheap to maintain.

Pros of e-CS petrol -

1) Quieter and more refined than the diesel versions.
2) Cheapest sedan on sale, petrol or diesel. Sedan is sedan and hatch is hatch. I'd even consider a sedan to be safer than a hatch due to bigger crumple zone.
3) Large boot (larger than it looks from outside)
4) Lots of stuff on offer (top end eGLX comes with stereo, AC/PS, CL, PW, and remote outside mirrors)
5) Ride comfort
6) Lots of room.
7) Easy to drive in the city.

Cons

1) Lacks outright power or response of modern petrols. It is not a sporty car, but a sedate sedan.
2) Plastic quality is not as good as Maruti or Hyundai.
3) Panel gaps. You can never find two Indigos with all panels fitting the same way. But if you get a darker shade, it won't be so visible.
4) Some people do not like the steering position. I'm fine with it though.
5) Small problems that will irk you if you are not easygoing/patient/forgiving.

One of the main reasons I opted for the TDi diesel version was because it was more powerful. I found the petrol car to be about as powerful as the regular non-turbo Indigo. I recommend that you test drive the car in highway and city traffic to test the pick-up and response. I wouldn't call it underpowered, but it doesn't have nearly enough power to be fun to drive.

If you're on a strict budget, keep in mind that the boot makes it possible to convert the car to LPG/CNG in the future without compromising on luggage space or gas tank size.

[sanagg1]

Gurus on Team-BHP
please enlighten us by some details on TATA petrol engines.

Their history( genesis) and various development stages reliability, performance and issues etc

Cheers

[greenhorn]

from what i know
1. carb indica 1.4 L engine (98-2001)
very nice performer, indica 2000 among the best petrol indicas ever
2. MPFI indica 1.4L engine (hitachi ECU) (2001-2005)
kinda reliable, competent, but not particularly outstanding in any area
3. MPFI indica/indigo 1.4L engine (Bosch ECU) ( 2005-present)
used reworked bosch ECU, supposedly more grunt and more fuel efficent. used in all indicas until 2007 when the....
4. MPFI indica/indigo CS 1.2L engine (bosch ECU)(2007- present)
was introduced in the GLG, GLS , GLE. top end slightly limited, low end is mostly the same.

two LPG variants were introduced, both are plagued by problems, the second generation LPG is supposedly better.

all (especially early) xeta engines are known to experience the CEL light once or twice ( the ECU will set it even if someone sneezes )
but sometimes it just will not go away, and the tasc will have no idea why, and your life will become hell consisting of repeated visits to the tasc because the CEL keeps messing up your engine.

The DiCOR series also have similar issues, but the TDi doesnt, which is why it sells the most

[sanagg1]

@Greenhorn
Thank for the info.

More views and info someone?

Cheers

[sridhga]

Thanks Greenhorn for the info.

I did not find much on Tata petrol engines either on Team-BHP or elsewhere. I do not think it is right to summarily write off Indica/Indigo petrol lines without collecting enough data. I did not come across Tata petrol engines with serious problems either.

I agree with GTO on the longterm ownership experience on the ageing factor of the car. But, I want to add one point to this issue. I give my car to Concorde Chennai, for service. These guys are very expensive. They change many small parts during every service. But, every time, they bring my car to showroom like condition in all aspects. It costs me more, but I am happy. For ageing issues that GTO mentioned, Indica and Indigo need some small replacements on suspension, rubber linings etc which Concorde Chennai seems to have a proper handle on.

I agree with GTO that Honda could be a better car when looking for the petrol option, but, CS comes at such a wonderful price for some one looking for just weekend trips.

I hope the info posted by every one on this thread helps those looking for low cost sedan for weekend or limited usage.