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Old 15th April 2015, 15:22   #61
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: One year & 14,500 kms update

Dear Arindam

I just happened to book the Zest Revotron XT. Will request to know the Fuel efficiency you are enjoying in your red beauty now that its probably done a few thousand kms.
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Old 25th April 2015, 20:42   #62
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: One year & 14,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nissan1180 View Post
Thank you for sharing a wonderful ownership review. Wishing you lots of happy kilometres ahead.
Isn't doing 140 on a new engine not recommended?
You are welcome Nissan1180, and thanks to you for your kind wishes.
Yes, indeed the car should not be driven at high RMP for the first 1.8 K Kms that's the running in period for Zest, I crossed that before trying out those speeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SAE40 in veins View Post
Dear Arindam

I just happened to book the Zest Revotron XT. Will request to know the Fuel efficiency you are enjoying in your red beauty now that its probably done a few thousand kms.
Hi SAE40,
Congrats on your booking. On a regular city drive with AC in ECO mode I get 13-14 Kmpl depending on traffic held ups and my mood. Well in case, I'm in a naughty mood I tend to use the sports mode and the mileage drops in that case. But to give you an idea below is a visual of data that I maintain.

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-performance.png

The 2 spikes in per filling mileage are due to small fillings done at Service Center its averaged out in the subsequent data points.
The figures above are mostly for around 40% Highway drive (90% of that swiftly) and the rest is city drive, add to that 6 service center visits with loads of idling. About 60% is with AC the last couple of months. I have not had much chance to drive sedately on highways yet, but the car can achieve much higher mileage if driven at constant speeds. There is another picture which shows that below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...d-dsc_0949.jpg

I can give you another perspective my Xeta used to give me 14 KMPL w/o AC in city, this one gives me the same with AC.

6 Months completed Clocked 7500 Kms Zed going strong

Well in the mean time Zed completed 6 months of ownership and 7.5K Kms.
  • 5 Visits to service centers during this period including first free service, all issues mostly the ones which were there from delivery has been taken care of, no new issues yet.
  • A total maintenance cost of Rs. 35 on 2 occasions Total Rs. 70 (Seventy) so far, for some service materials, like cotton wool and similar stuff.
  • No new mechanical issues till now.
  • The tactile switches, knobs and control still feeling good.
  • Sports mode really is a joy and the difference seems to have improved over time.
  • Mileage has been good, I have managed > 17 Kmpl, but I really do not have the tenacity to maintain constant speeds in Kolkata roads. Will give it a try in future. Highway drives so far has been pretty much > 100 KMPH with AC.
  • Harman Kardon ICE has been stable, paired with Xperia Z, no issues till now

Below is a list of all voice commands get used to it and enjoy the freedom, you hardly need to touch the buttons

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-voice-commands_1.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-voice-commands_2.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-voice-commands_3.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-voice-commands_4.jpg


First Service on 31st Jan 2015 - Visit 3

My first 2 visits were for below reasons
  • Stalling issue - 22nd Dec 2014 - 1900 KMs. Car was kept in observation for a day, after issue was fixed and I was given a loaner car.
  • ABS Demo - 29th Dec 2014 - 4500 KMs ... not much was done only a demo of the ABS that clarified my experience during Vizag trip.

I had the following issues still pending resolution from delivery of the car -
  1. The noise in steering column - The steering column noise, it was a rattle at low speeds on uneven roads. The problem was looked into by the service team but they accepted that there was no resolution at this point and TML is looking into this issue. Some tightening, refitting and greasing of the steering column parts did not help. They will notify me on arrival of the part once the RCA is completed by TML.
  2. A faint vibration on the driver side door - A very dedicated service person attended this and the problem below about noise in dash board. The door problem was hard to replicate there after.
  3. A rattle in right side of the dash - I was a little careless and energy sapped to check, thought it should be done.
  4. Instrument Cluster smudge from inside - This was replaced, I was really impressed with the speed at which the part was shipped. But it took a long time for the team to pair the instrument cluster.
  5. Mud in Engine bay - KIT was dispatched real quick but I was not convinced either way that it was fitted correctly/incorrectly.

Dashboard Noise 4th Feb 2015 - Visit 4
Dashboard noise reported on 31st Jan was not resolved I realized it the next day I went to office. It was very much still there. I reported the issue to the service center and they sent a guy to my house on 4th Feb. This guy suggested me to drive while he could listen and locate the source of noise. I suggested to keep going towards the service center in case required. While approximately midway to the NH6 Salap service center he located the noise coming from the glove box area. The glove box was dismantled in the moving car. Above the glove box was housed the a controlling unit probably the one for EBD/ABS. The housing for that had screws loose causing the rattle. Once the source was located the guy requested me to go to the service center anyway so that we may check the other issues as well. All ended well the dashboard noise was no more and gone for good. The steering column noise was still not resolved, they checked again but was in vain. TML was still doing RCA for the issue.

Steering Noise 21 Mar 2015 - Visit 5
RCA was completed and I got a call from the service center that the part has arrived. It took them about 3 hours to replace and hand over the car to me. The steering noise was no more. Drive shaft was replaced for the issue. The steering would rattle at ambling speeds on rough roads. Test drive went fine with the guys at service center I was happy.

Zest Drive Out 22nd March 2015
This was a really good event that was arranged by Tata Motors. Enjoyed the entire day with family and fellow Zest owners. Some pictures below

Zed and Zilva
Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1252.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1256.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1272.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1277.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1282.jpg

Steering Noise 24th Apr 2015 - Visit 6
I drove the car for a few days and noticed that there was a faint squeaky noise while turning the steering wheel anti clockwise. This was a new problem appeared to be a small niggle was certainly not too intruding but I was eager to get it resolved. Also saw the Mud in engine bay fitment was not perhaps done correctly, I could still see some mud. Confirmed the above with help from dear friend Prithwiraj (Tbhp handle - prithwirajthesaha) who is a co-Zest owner.

In the mean time I got several calls from the service center inquiring how the vehicle was running, I told them about the issue and was requested to visit the service center. Along with that I had a small cosmetic issue where the plastic fitment on the bonnet where the windshield washers are located was slightly elevated on the right side. All issues were resolved, the steering now is super smooth, no noise and again I was elated. This time I was visiting the Rajarhat workshop.

Mud in Engine bay issue - The kit was indeed fitted incorrectly, well the service center guy was not illogical since the screw holes aligned perfectly. I wish TML should have included a handout on how to fit this part. Also, noticed a lot of rust. The guy cleaned the part and applied anti-rust coating on it. Then fitted the part with a lot of diligence. What I liked most was the fact that TC motors arranged for the same mechanic who fitted the part last time at Salap, the guy is really a hardworking and diligent person. He came to Rajarhat just to get my job done. Now that rainy season is about to set in Srikant gave important lessons to guys at Rajarhat on the MIB issue fitment on Zest. The fitment was done real neatly.

The Rubber coated Mud in engine bay fitment, rubber blocks yet to be fitted
Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1436.jpg

Zed dismantled for the Mud in engine bay fitting
Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1437.jpg

Steering Noise - It was just a matter of refitting some of the part along the steering column. I do not have any idea on the name of the exact parts though, whole thing was done in 5 mins.

All in all was impressed. Especially, the steering is now super smooth, I realized the difference only after I drove the car after being handed over to me. The Rajarhat facility is new and really good.

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1250.jpg

Last edited by arindam_xeta : 25th April 2015 at 21:05.
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Old 4th June 2015, 18:47   #63
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: One year & 14,500 kms update

@arindam_xeta

It has been more than a month with no updates. How has the car been doing ? Overall, are you happy with the way the car has been performing ? My family is looking for a new car and I wanted to know about the owner's comments before asking them to take a look at Zest. Has the after sales experience improved ? I own a Vista myself and do not believe in the "TASS = nightmare" myth. But just want to know about it because any improvement in this regard is a bonus for the customer.
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Old 8th November 2015, 02:31   #64
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: One year & 14,500 kms update

Firstly my apologies for not being able to update the thread for a long time, but there was really nothing to update , except for fuel price nothing really changed between me and Zed, the bond only grew stronger.

Well, today is the big birthday eve, of my beloved work horse and I made sure that I have time enough to do some justice to the service it provided for this one year.

Over the last one year, I have had no major issues, period. The ones that initially existed, mostly loose fittings and a part defect were promptly taken care of. The car is now doing 14,500 Kms, with second service done.

With Zed, we completed our most recent trip to the hills of North Bengal, and I was majorly impressed with the amount of power exhibition, will come back to this in a moment.

The first 10K kms, I was pampering the car a bit too much which caused a less than perfect experience, which I finally got when we visited North Bengal. Shifting too soon as per my habit and hence perceiving a sluggish behavior. I have seen a lot of such complaints in different forums. My habit was more due to driving my petrol indica for 7 years.

Zed was more comfortable in the mid-range and wanted me to shift a tad bit later, it took me pretty long to understand that and get used to it and at one point it was fairly disappointing, thankfully that's all gone.

Some pictures of Zed

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0076.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0077.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0080.jpg

So far I think this is the most VFM car one can buy. The drive-ability is very much customizeable, it exudes power, milage and balance between the two when you need it, makes you feel safe, the steering is a breeze (a little more feedback could have made it even better).

The AC is really efficient, again climate control is very well designed and it is programmed to even change the blow directions as per parameters mostly, temperature difference between ambient temperature to maintain and outside temperature, crank cycle etc.
Ex: When I start the car in the morning, and put the AC in AUTO mode, the AC blows air to the windshield, it does so for about 5 mins and then switches to full-front flow, again in the evening when the temperature starts falling it redirects the warm air to the feet for some time and then starts blowing it front, cool air. The fan speed is also regulated as per ambient and outside temperature difference.

The pluses minuses below were composed when the car was about 8,000 Kms run in. I'm retaining it to share the entire experience as I felt it.

Pluses
  • The car showed no glaring issues.
  • The supplied components were durable, no washouts of markings, buttons and switches are still very much tactile and responsive, at least until now.
  • Really good high speed stability, suspension chasis and body a big thumbs up
  • Switch on sports mode and you have a totally different car, oozing torque take you away in front of other traffic with real eaze.
  • Commendable Paint quality was already good but it also is pretty tough, minor dashes and rubs which otherwise is expected to leave scratches amazingly was intact in certain cases. I was dashed by an innova once front on and it kissed my right ORVM did not expect stuctural damage or broken mirror, but was certain it will leave a scratch, but to my amazement there were no scratches. This is one of several instances where the paint finish was way better than my expectation.
  • Harman ICE was good to listen, but it proved to be a stable system so far, I have used only android devices. All other electronic features are still good and stable.
  • With the MUD in engine bay fitted the Engine bay remains pretty clean now.
  • In Sports mode the car exudes very linear torque in a wide midrange RPM.

Minuses

The fit and finish leaves much room for improvement compared to standards set by itself in certain areas, so in-consistency is there. I'm unsure if it has improved in the later batches, but its a disappointment since it could have positively improved the ownership experience and sales numbers a lot.

Some specifics -
I'll start with the most important aspect- I hope TML read this part and does some corrections to improve on this aspect. If there is something that can be done in current configuration I wish it's made available.
  1. Low RPM drivability of Revetron left me disappointed at times but it all changed a little before my North Bengal visit and there after. I discussed the issue with more knowledgeable friends and even visited the service centre in doubt if it's an issue. At times I felt the accelerator was numb and the car would engine break. I discussed this issue with the service centre and they checked the car throughly but found no fault to correct. Lastly I was advised to shift a little higher up the RPM band. In CITY/ ECO mode with AC on, once you are really down on the RPM Revetron starts to feel a little sluggish (Yes, but it was my fault to shift early and not being able to maintain the RPM). Example: Taking a speed breaker smoothly in second gear will leave you behind all, unless you down shift to first gear and this follows you all through out the RPM range and respective gears. The car instantly start appearing heavy and sluggish, NOTE: AC on in CITY / ECO mode. Incase your car is fully loaded this certainly will be felt. Note: I'm not saying the car would stall, but it will take it's own sweet time to get back to the power zone, by then every one else is gone past you. At least I felt so. I'm yet to drive the car in steep inclines, except for in Vizag. But I'll not give my verdict on this unless I do parts of Northbengal. So will depend on other ownership reports for driveability on inclines. In Vizag (did right after run in period was over) I felt again maintaining the right RPM becomes very crucial else you will have to shift down unless you want to be the last car in the lot. Now all this I'm saying is in ECO and CITY modes. In SPORTS mode you will not feel these pains, life is a way more easy and it feels good to drive the car. Thus, it leads me to say, the ECU needs to be more intelligent or the least power in such should be enough to not make one feel that much sluggish. ex: . It needs to improve the on-demand power delivery. The car should not have to switch to sports mode to encounter speed breakers and get back to cruising speeds quickly. If demanded the responsiveness on demand of the car should be same across modes. I'm not sure if the likes of BMW and Jaguar will demonstrate similar behavior in ECO/CITY or fuel saving mode.
  2. Well if you check the FAQ released by TATA Motors it does say that the engine characteristics is such that it should improve drivability in low RPM but it does not really mention if they are talking about Sports mode or all modes in general. Since my practical experience says you do need to shift down at low RPM in a particular gear to maintain responsiveness in general with other cars around in similar conditions. So if that's not right then TML should be taking some corrective actions on my car.

  3. Fit and finish - A pillar fitting, the plastic material does not give you that plushness you would otherwise expect, B pillar claddings again feels shoddy.
  4. Compare the A and B pillar fittings with the fit and finish of the dashboard material and there is a disparity of standards. Dashboard is of much better material.
  5. Mud in Engine bay - The actual wheel well claddings did not have the mufflar around the struts causing the mud to enter the engine bay. I would have appreciated a replacement of that cladding rather than a bare (un-painted) metallic fitment and some rubber- foam (not sure about the right term to name it, it's a rubberized soft sponge) fillings to block the opening. Also the Service Centres had no clue how to fit it. I had to visit twice to get it done alright. Service centre guy helped to get the metallic part smuged with some rubberized paint to prevent it from rusting. I'll expect if this may be actually replaced with the new fitment that's rolling out now for new cars now.
  6. The Navigation feature in the Harman system sure should have been included before launch. Such an important and obvious feature upgrade within a span of 2 months will surely leave most customers dissatisfied. Once can't call it a life cycle upgrade since no other enhancements were made since then.
  7. Bottles, Nicknacks, are very much part of any drive and the interiors should have had more cubby holes. An armrest in the back seat again should have been in place. These should not have completely ignored.


Well, I was composing this entire write up for sometime and the point on "Low RPM drivability of Revetron" was indeed something that was spoiling my experience with the car. Say till about 8K Kms I was finding it hard to live with the engine due to this issue with driveability. Then slowly I started changing above 1700 RPM. If you do that consistently you will never feel underpowered, infact the car will start feeling pretty light and powerful. This is in both ECO and CITY mode. Sports mode was never an issue anyway.

If you see I let that frustration stay since I'll rather encourage TML to tune the engine so that both at customer side and OEM side such frustrations may be avoided in future. Well now it's all history after my last trip to North Bengal, we did Namchi, Kalingpong and Darjeeling. This was a trip to just drive Zed on hilly terrain and boy, it loved it so much as I did driving it. I did the second service after coming back from this trip.

Once you take the road upto Kalingpong from NH31A the first 5 kms have real steep turns, but very well maintained turmac. Zed was really showing terrfic mannerism in handling and pickup was easy and surprisingly fast. I was so much at ease that whenever there was no traffic on the other side I could pass other cars with utter ease. These were local taxis in the form of boleros, altos, Wagon R, Dezires, Omnis and the likes, so they were not slow by any means. I could also garner a lot of respect from them as most of them were very polite to lend me that extra space to make the overtaking move easy. Zest was never lacking in power.

We also experienced similar torquey response on Peshok road, while going from Kalingpong to Darjeeling, After crossing Teesta Bazar the next 10 kilometers till Lamahatta is very steep, with hair pin narrow turns. Zest was upto to the task and felt adequetly quick and nippy. I really felt confident in the entire trip. The hilly terrain was hardly 200 kms but the rest of the drive was also through very challenging roads conditions of Bihar. The car came back without rattles.


Second service was right after this trip and was just a routine oil, filter change, tyre rotation and that's it.

Verdict after 1 year of ownership

Odo trickled past 14,500 KMs, GOLD AMC, Extended Warranty, Service cost so far Rs 220.

Verdict-Pluses
  1. Out and out value for money proposition, I took this in Nov 2014, so a gamble on my side but I'm impressed with the overall package.
  2. North Bengal trip done, very capable car, it's solid, feels heavy, no tinny body, imparts confidence in rough roads, fun to drive on inclines.
  3. Electronics, no issues so far, no blown fuses, no fused bulbs, all switches tactile and tight.
  4. Tyres OEM Bridgstone is ok, suspension and lower body no rattles, handles broken roads with ease, unless you bottom it out. If you do bottom out the short wheel base ensures major hits are on the stronger metal parts rather than on the plastic splashguards or mud flaps.
  5. 5. Doors and dasboards are still rattle free, no sqeaks, except for a chirp rattle which was there from the begining but could never be reproduced consistently enough to be rectified, I think this problem is still there.
  6. Harman ICE continues to be a stable piece of electronics and continues to be so, it really makes every driver that much more enjoyable.
  7. Revetron Engine exhibits good power, now that I learnt to handle it. The "Low RPM drivability of Revetron" is a thing of past. Post 2nd service the engine sounds a lot more smoother and also drives smoother than before. I have not yet driven enough to conclude on milage improvement.

Verdict Minuses

Except for point 1 above "Low RPM drivability of Revetron" the rest stays as it is. These points are mainly generic and wont take a year to discover

Tata Service

Pre Conditions - I'm not comparing with any other car manufacturer, since I really do not have any such benchmark. So, it's only TML benchmark for me for last 8 years. My personal experience at service has been good so far and things are improving. I'm trying to identify points where it may be improved further or has not yet improved much from before. The points below are w.r.t service received at TC Motors Rajarhat Workshop. I have not had to go to any other service centres yet.
  1. Theoretically, Greetings, Water, Tea all were timely, more than it used to be. When it comes to delivering a squeky clean car at first shot, consistency is far lacking. I'll prefer a soptless car rather than a cup of darjeeling tea. The ground level staffs, the boy who's cleaning the car, washing it, leaves the final mark on your customer, once the technical/ mechanical guy has resolved the issue. So some effort needs to go in grooming these people and provide them adequate resource to work neatly.
    On my last visit my car dashboard was cleaned with a cloth with which the person might have cleaned all the cars in queue before mine. Obvious result was the beige colored interiors had black soiled residues and he kept cleaning with the same cloth again and again, resulting in messing up the entire dashboard, making it even more soiled and dirty, it was much cleaner before. One needs to have a supply of clean lint free cloth to take care of these issues.
    But on my last to last visit I had a very good experience with washing and cleaning
  2. 2. I could not judge their technical prowess improvement, since I hardly had any technical issues. But, reading other forums and perceiving responses form acuantances I feel this is an area where huge improvement is required and more so as more and more sophistication and complexity creeps into the system.


Diwali gift for customer is a nice gesture and I thank TC Motors Rajarhat and the entire TML dealer group for the same. I think the dealers will play a very vital role in future as more technically improved cars makes it way in the market, like Hexa . So TML needs to ensure they are in sync with the pulse of the delear and get into service credit type contracts where you get paid fully if you deliver excellence.

Some more pictures of my buddy Zed and very Happy Maiden Birthday to him, he came home exactly 1 year ago this day and I'm proud of him!

Near Teesta Bazaar

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0447.jpg

@ Lamahatta, after taking the steep Peshok Road.

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0464.jpg

Another shot @ Lamahatta

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-edited_dsc_0465.jpg

Last edited by arindam_xeta : 8th November 2015 at 02:36.
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Old 8th November 2015, 03:06   #65
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: One year & 14,500 kms update

The mileage so far

This includes - 90% AC-ON, Tank full method. It mostly syncs with the MID

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-zest-milage.png
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Old 13th February 2016, 03:36   #66
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by arindam_xeta View Post
The mileage so far...
Could you explain what's the "mileage per filling" parameter (blue line)? Howz your car holding up? I believe no news is good news!

Quite happy to see a very (mechanically) stable product from TATA. I don't mind some initial niggles as some of the established brands too have had it. It matters whether the company rectifies it at the right time and the right way.
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Old 15th February 2016, 17:59   #67
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by arindam_xeta View Post
The mileage so far
Thanks for the detailed updates, and I concur with your views on the performance of the vehicle. I have found that staying in the 1500-2500rpm range not only ensures that the car performs well, but also returns the best mileage. Contrary to expectations, shifting up earlier actually increases fuel consumption.

My car is almost six months newer than yours, and I have never experienced any issues with the car itself. Service as you have mentioned still leaves something wanting, but because the car itself is sound these are mostly peripheral issues of not cleaning the interiors/exteriors, smudgy interiors and the like.

The car returns around 12kmpl on hilly roads that are undivided, and generally have a good amount of traffic including a lot of buses. However, all of those caveats apart, the car is unlikely to return anywhere near the claimed milage even in the plains unless driven in top gear at 55kmph steadily for 10kms Sad, because that's the most important aspect for most people including my parents who are actually using the car with a driver who is not really concerned about mileage in the first place.
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Old 18th March 2016, 15:23   #68
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Thank you, Arindam_xeta. Your ownership experience in this thread was very useful. I bought Zest Revotron XMS in Feb-2016. So far, I have driven 550kms and its been a good experience so far with zero problems/niggles. Your detailed thread has been very helpful indeed - particularly the details on RPM range for upshifting gears.
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Old 11th June 2016, 22:42   #69
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftnfurious View Post
Could you explain what's the "mileage per filling" parameter (blue line)? Howz your car holding up? I believe no news is good news!

Quite happy to see a very (mechanically) stable product from TATA. I don't mind some initial niggles as some of the established brands too have had it. It matters whether the company rectifies it at the right time and the right way.
The blue line is a calculation based on distance covered since the last filling to the current and the volume of fuel required for tank fill. On the contrary the green one is based on total distance covered by total fuel consumed. Yes the car has been pretty stable so far. No news is indeed good news until now , Thanks swiftnfurious

Quote:
Originally Posted by VeluM View Post
Thanks for the detailed updates, and I concur with your views on the performance of the vehicle. I have found that staying in the 1500-2500rpm range not only ensures that the car performs well, but also returns the best mileage. Contrary to expectations, shifting up earlier actually increases fuel consumption.
You are welcome VeluM, off late my mileage has improved for the better, but it really does not bother me unless its drastically low which may indicate some issue. So far I'm happy with it's overall performance.

Quote:
Originally Posted by srvm View Post
Thank you, Arindam_xeta. Your ownership experience in this thread was very useful. I bought Zest Revotron XMS in Feb-2016. So far, I have driven 550kms and its been a good experience so far with zero problems/niggles. Your detailed thread has been very helpful indeed - particularly the details on RPM range for upshifting gears.
So good to hear srvm, hopefully you are enjoying the drives to the fullest! All the best and Happy Miles with your Zest!

My Zest trickled over 24k kms in the mean time, will update on the same as soon as possible!
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Old 14th June 2016, 23:31   #70
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

My Zed is trickled over 23,500 kms now, 9K+ kms post my last update. It's gone past 1.5 years of ownership.

Longish highway trips done after my last update with approx distances-
  • Darjeeling, Deolo, Temi in Nov'15 (The pictures above were from the Kolkata, Namchi, Kalingpong Darjeeling trip in the month before Oct'15) -1200kms
  • A Kolkata Puri Trip (Jan'16) - 1100 kms
  • A Trip to East Sikkim, old silk route (Mar '16) - 1300 kms
  • Another Kolkata - Puri trip (May '16) -1100 kms
  • Regular office runs of 30 kms to and fro, some short weekly errands and typical family visits are the usual drives in city

So a total of 4700 odd kms on the highway, hence about 50-50 highway and city runs of the 9K kms. No major long trips yet but Zest has proved to be a pretty stable vehicle so far. Let me detail the issues I faced.

Till the Zuluk trip I did visit the service centre for a few niggles (one or two door noise issues, a noise from driver seat and mostly those), checkups and invites from the showroom and or Tata Motors for customer meets and feedbacks. When I came back from Zuluk, I went for a regular check up and had to update the Harman system to a new firmware version. The car was well serviced and returned back the same day, nothing really to complain about, Harman system had the new firmware version. I came home satisfied.

A couple of shots from the Darjeeling trip - these were taken at Temi

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1007.jpg

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_1008.jpg

Aah! those lovely cool looking peaks! But, summer had already set in and outdoors were really hot then. Hence wanted to check the outside temperature in the driver information system (DIS), to my amazement I could not find that mode, all other modes were present (ODO, <Temp>, Distance to Empty, Trip A, Trip B) only the temp mode was gone. I called the service centre the very next day and was assured a resolution. The technician informed me later in the day that the cluster needs a replacement. They did not have the part and hence no other option but to wait.

The entire episode of this issue was being updated in the Zest Owner's Whatsapp group, which has TML officials as members. This is a nice initiative from TML to monitor all issues and feedbacks. The part was located in some other service center in south Kolkata, but the next day was a election day in south Kolkata. However, to my amazement I received a confirmation from one of the TML officials Susar, that they are trying to source the part at the earliest and hopefully the car will be delivered the next day. The car indeed was delivered the next day.

I checked that Zed was fitted with the upgraded instrument cluster model, which has colored icons for the drive modes (ECO, CITY, SPORTS) in the cluster. The earlier cluster showed the drive modes in the white segmented display beside the shift indicator. Also, with mode change there is a beep now, unlike before. I took delivery and came home, the car was serviced to perfection no fluid changes done. Wiper blade replaced in AMC by service adviser, it was leaving water streaks during their checks, all good.

While on my way to office the next day I found that the rear demister stopped working. Both the button on the front panel and the touchscreen button were not responsive. Called the service center right away and took the car to them. Even they looked a little shocked and that got me to panic a bit, I started thinking, will they be able to figure out now what exactly has gone bad? Received a call from the service center that the Body Control Module (BCM) went bad. Its an ECU that controls all the lights, sensors and electronic buttons. The same was replaced and the car was returned to me the next day after check ups.

Since then all is good, I had no other mechanical problems.

A few snaps from the Zuluk Trip

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-13035638_1058753344196558_1092439487_o.jpg
Over the top snap by dear brother Samba (Teambhp handle) - old silk route

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_0004.jpg
Silk route view on Zed's ORVM

Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-dsc_0063.jpg
Another snap at Gnathang Valley

My observations so far!
  • Service Techs do have a strong knowledge of the car electronics and controls, so far they have been spot on in diagnosis!
  • Improved logistics, parts were sourced real quick, these are not high failure parts which were replaced in my case
  • I did interact with few other fellow owners and they had no issues with the cluster and BCM, seems problem with these were purely my bad luck.
  • No underbody noises or niggles
  • Zed has improved in its milage figures to some extent after my last visit to the service centre.
  • TML is putting some serious effort in putting the service right, my experience at TC Motors Rajarhat has so far been very good.
  • TML is engaging with the customer to collect feedback and is listening with a big ear.
  • The whatsapp group and launching of the service app are positive steps taken.

Zed is a very dear member of the family now and its going damn strong so far, I'm enjoying every drive with it, so far worry free! Since the service team has been spot on and very responsible.

This last one goes out to the service team
Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 20 months & 25,000 kms update-img_20160324_102125.jpg
Zed at Gnathang Valley
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Old 15th June 2016, 00:57   #71
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

That's a really nice thread and I must say you are pretty lucky to go on long highway drives in your Zest. It's really great to drive on the highways, I have had done a couple of highway runs myself.

I have a 9 Month old XT QDJ with around 24k on the ODO. The car hasn't given any majour trouble till now and I am pretty impressed by the car.

I wanted to know about the update for the Harman Kardon system you have written about in your last post, is it a major update? Any changes in performance/features after the update?

Thanks.
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Old 16th June 2016, 12:59   #72
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by arindam_xeta View Post
Attachment 1517930
Over the top snap by dear brother Samba (Teambhp handle) - old silk route
That is one fantastic capture!

This thread is becoming the go-to thread for anyone considering a Zest Revotron (specifically, and Zests in general), so my sincere thanks for keeping the thread alive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by parth.jain View Post
I wanted to know about the update for the Harman Kardon system you have written about in your last post, is it a major update? Any changes in performance/features after the update?

Thanks.
Any minor troubles?

The update most likely will not apply to you because your car is fairly new. The initial lot of Zests didn't support navigation via smartphone integration, and this was added after the Bolt was launched.

Arindam please correct me if there were any other new features/fixes that we should expect with the update.
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Old 25th June 2016, 20:55   #73
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by parth.jain View Post
I wanted to know about the update for the Harman Kardon system you have written about in your last post, is it a major update? Any changes in performance/features after the update?

Thanks.
Any time Parth.jain, thanks to you too for the lovely encouragement, the Harman update is a bug fix update, no feature addition.

Quote:
Originally Posted by VeluM View Post
That is one fantastic capture!

This thread is becoming the go-to thread for anyone considering a Zest Revotron (specifically, and Zests in general), so my sincere thanks for keeping the thread alive.



Any minor troubles?

The update most likely will not apply to you because your car is fairly new. The initial lot of Zests didn't support navigation via smartphone integration, and this was added after the Bolt was launched.

Arindam please correct me if there were any other new features/fixes that we should expect with the update.
I'm honored VeluM, the Harman system in mine does not support navigation and this update as mentioned earlier is a bug fix update. But, I was not experiencing any issues with it as such. There were one or two occasional unexpected behaviors but things have been stable after the update so far.

I did face a few issues lately, but the support and service has been really been good, I'll sum up those very soon.

As we know by now, the navigation feature will not be supported on the older models due to hardware limitations, mostly the RAM, it has been ruled out by TML. This is a bit of a let down to early customers, the system change coming in within 6 months of the launch. Its not a ongoing development since, after that navigation feature no significant improvements were made, this should have been rolled out to all customers, either from the launch itself or an incremental upgrade there after.
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Old 2nd July 2016, 09:10   #74
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

my zest (xms) has some issues recently while traveling to Sangla valley , I faced 2 issues:
1. 2 gear felt very weak surprisingly opposite to what it feels like in plains. I didnt have this issue in last year trip to manali.
2. while taking U bends on left side suspension make a noise if any big pothole comes.

No sure , will go to service center and share feedback very soon. SO far my experience was good but recently.
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Old 6th July 2016, 20:39   #75
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re: Zed, my Red Tata Zest. EDIT: 1.5 years & 23,500 kms update

Quote:
Originally Posted by thunder View Post
my zest (xms) has some issues recently while traveling to Sangla valley , I faced 2 issues:
1. 2 gear felt very weak surprisingly opposite to what it feels like in plains. I didnt have this issue in last year trip to manali.
2. while taking U bends on left side suspension make a noise if any big pothole comes.

No sure , will go to service center and share feedback very soon. SO far my experience was good but recently.
Hi thunder,
I did not understand the first issue as to what you meant by "2 gear felt weak". Did you mean that you were not getting enough pickup on 2nd gear? What mode were you driving in?

For the second issue, all I can say is that due to ABS it does make a sound when you land in a pot hole and you are braking, not other wise. Also, this happens at higher speeds. But I'm not sure if its same as what you experienced.

Do get you car checked and leave us a feedback on how its doing
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