Grey Noir Tata Manza Quadrajet Aura (ABS) has finally arrived!

vcash · 25th March 2010, 00:36

The Background
Towards the end of October, 09 my family decided that we wanted to change our Indica to another car in Jamshedpur as she had begun to get a little long in the tooth. In four years, she had completed over 100,000 kms and needed to be retired from active duty.

We had a budget of around 7L, as this was the third car in our garage and we did not want to spend too much on what essentialy would be a workhorse. Much deliberation took place in the house and while the Jazz, i20, Punto and other premium hatches sounded good, they were shot down for four reasons:

1) Lack of an affordable diesel in the model ranges: At close to 8L for some upper end petrol hatches and with our kind of mileage, those did not make sense.

2) Mileage: The Indica was used to ferry us to the nearest domestic airport in Ranchi which was a 120 KM's away. The lack of a boot was sorely missed when one had golf bags and luggage in tow and making the airport runs in the SX4 or the City would get heavy on the wallet.

4) Back seat comfort: The Indica's were hardly driven by any of the family members. This would primarily be a chauffer driven car so back seat comfort was paramount as well as easy ingress / egress was key.

3) Durability: Needed something tough and that could take a beating - I was not sure if the premium hatches could handle the torture. However, with 2 Indica's in the house previously, I was confident of their utilitarian nature.

So we needed a diesel, a boot and something affordable. After careful deliberation and elimination of the Fiesta and Verna due to their age in their respective model lifecycles and the elimination of the Linea due to the low seating and compact rear seats, the Manza it was.

A test drive by me at Wasan Motors in Mumbai and a quick test drive by my Dad in Jamshedpur confirmed the Manza as our final choice.

The order
We usually prefer to get the top loaded model in most of our cars since saftey in the way of Airbags / ABS / EBD etc seems to be a 'luxury' feature in Indian domestic market. However, this time I was advised by a few people to avoid the Aura+ model, since electronics could get iffy with the airbags and remote controlled ORVM's. So the Aura ABS it was.

By the time we were ready to make our decision, it was already mid-november and since we did not want a 2009 manufactured vehicle, the dealer in Jamshedpur advised us to place the order in January for an early February delivery - This way we would be assured of 2010 manufactured vehicle.

We booked a Breeze Blue Manza in late January. A booking amount of Rs. 25K was realized by the dealer on Feb 4th. We were advised by ASL Motors in Jamshedpur that we would get the delivery in 8 to 10 days. A couple of weeks passed and we were informed by the dealer and Tata Motors that the car would only be produced by the month end. In the mean time, we decided to switch the color to Grey Noir since I got to see a Breeze Blue in flesh in Mumbai and was not a big fan. On Feb 24th, the color change was made. On Feb 25th, we were informed that the car had been dispatched and the dealer asked for the remaining ex-showroom payment to avoid the excise upcharge applicable after the Budget was announced on Feb 26th. We made the entire payment then. We were informed to expect the car around the 5th of March.

Due to some delaer / internal TTM miscommunication, the car never made it on the 5th or subsequent delivery deadlines. We were okay with the delays - just not very happy with incorrect information being passed around. Things got better when a senior sales manager along with the dealership's CEO got involved - We were told to expect the car between March 20th and the 22nd.

The Delivery
I was in Jamshedpur over the 20th / 21st weekend but the car only came into town on Sunday, which was the day I had to fly back to Bombay so I could not see the car or take delivery.

On Monday, TTM did it's own PDI and comitted to deliver the car on Tuesday, March 23rd after fitting some OEM accessories we had requested. A close friend of mine went and did the PDI at the showroom and gave it a clean bill of health. With 22 Kms on the ODO and a Feb manufactured date, we were getting a good example.

Accessories were fitted and the car was delivered in the evening. The delivery process was very smooth thanks to ASL's attentivness. I must thank the sales staff there for taking special care during this time, espescially after delivery comittment goofups.

The Transaction
The car's ex-showroom was Rs. 6.45L. We opted for the extended warranty - This added Rs. 5K. Insurance was another 18K. Registeration & tax was 6K and our accessories package was 25K. Total on-road cost was 6.99L (Right under our budget!)

A word on the accessories. ASL gave us a very good deal on the OEM accesories. 5 Manza alloys + Tata-Fiat Parking Sensor + Manza PU seat covers + Floor Mats and Boot Mat for Rs. 25K. MRP for this package was 32K. The 7K discount was much appreciated and it was the dealership's way of making up for the misscommunication and delay in delivery time.

The Experience
Since I have not driven the car, it would be incorrect of me to post a review. However, feedback from my father and friend who have driven it is on par with what other Manza owners have reported.

Extremely spacious and comfortable to sit in.
Brilliant ride and an equally brilliant rear bench.
Peppy enough for city cruising once the power bands are correctly managed.
Sharp brakes that need getting used too.
Plenty of little amenities that make the car great VFM.
DIS is fluctuating around 12 Kmpl - This should get better.
Quality is average but a marked improvement over previous Tata products.
The car rides tall like the SX4 and the commanding view is nice.
Cabin is pretty quiet for a diesel as is VH levels.

The car has not been driven around extensivley so I cannot comment much. I will only post a detailed review when I get an opportunity to go to Jamshedpur in the next few months. But from the looks of it, hopefully this workhorse should serve us well for another 100K Kms!

Cheers,
V

P.S. Pictures to be uploaded in the morning.

cadaver_prad · 25th March 2010, 00:47

Congratulations on your new manza. Good to see a lot of Manzas coming in. Eagerly awaiting the pics

adits · 25th March 2010, 15:43

Congratulations vcash. Its afternoon now and still no pics or did you mean on friday morning?

I guess your car completes all the Manza colours available on TBHP. Let me see who I can remember. Guys, can you fill in the blanks here
1. Gold Satin - vjoy3
2. Monarch Red - trrk and amit
3. Dew White - windiesel, kingpin and gowda79
4. Infinity Black - Sunil Albal
5. Grey Noir - vcash
6. Breeze Blue - ??
7. Jet Silver - I guess this one is missing
8. Minimal Grey - gagz (looks like this colour has been discontinued)

gowda79 · 25th March 2010, 16:06

Vcash congrats on your Manza and man welcome to the Manza Family.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adits

Congratulations vcash. Its afternoon now and still no pics or did you mean on friday morning?

I guess your car completes all the Manza colours available on TBHP. Let me see who I can remember. Guys, can you fill in the blanks here
1. Gold Satin - vjoy3
2. Monarch Red - trrk and amit
3. Dew White - windiesel, kingpin and gowda79
4. Infinity Black - Sunil Albal
5. Grey Noir - vcash
6. Breeze Blue - ??
7. Jet Silver - I guess this one is missing
8. Minimal Grey - gagz (looks like this colour has been discontinued)

The Breeze Blue is also officially discontinued.

Latheesh · 25th March 2010, 16:17

Congrats on your new Manza, now you can have a permanent place for keeping your golf bag. Pics please!

longhorn · 25th March 2010, 16:25

Congrats on your Manza. It is a good choice for the kind of use and roads you have mentioned.

amitw79 · 25th March 2010, 16:38

Welcome to the Manza Family. Look forward to a comfortable and safe 100Ks in your Manza

vcash · 25th March 2010, 17:23

Thanks guys.

Have had a hectic day. Will try and upload pictures later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Would have done it now but currently on my phone as damn web sense at work blocks Tbhp.

Also I beleive that Gagz has the Grey Noir as well and not the Minimal Grey.

Akhil@Bengaluru · 25th March 2010, 22:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcash

Thanks guys.

Have had a hectic day. Will try and upload pictures later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Would have done it now but currently on my phone as damn web sense at work blocks Tbhp.

Also I beleive that Gagz has the Grey Noir as well and not the Minimal Grey.

I got minimal Grey

nkrishnap · 26th March 2010, 12:46

Congrats Vcash. Grey Noir is nice color and i believe its easier to maintain than the other colors.

Please do post the pictures

vcash · 26th March 2010, 21:26

The Pictures:
Sorry for the dealy guys, but hope this makes up for it. Will try and get some better ones in a day or two.

Cheers

Akhil@Bengaluru · 26th March 2010, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcash

The Pictures:
Sorry for the dealy guys, but hope this makes up for it. Will try and get some better ones in a day or two.

Cheers

Congrats Vcash.
But what is the thing seen in 6th Photo, on the right side (Some cable coming on the Display consol)

vcash · 26th March 2010, 23:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akhil@Bengaluru

Congrats Vcash.
But what is the thing seen in 6th Photo, on the right side (Some cable coming on the Display consol)

Thanks!

That is the reverse sensor indicator. Apart from an audible tone, it flashes, red, green and orange depending on how close you are too an object while reversing the car.

This is a Tata Motor's original accessory and at Rs. 2800, completely worth it. I got a OEM sensor first installed on the SX4 and it has been such a boon with cars with a high waistline. Really pays for itself by avoiding small dings and dents while reversing into tight spaces.

Cheers,
V

DRIV3R · 26th March 2010, 23:17

Congrats on the purchase, vcash. You will enjoy the roominess of the Manza.

Guess you have to edit your signature. It is QJD for QuadraJet Diesel and not QDJ !

adits · 27th March 2010, 14:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by gowda79

Vcash congrats on your Manza and man welcome to the Manza Family.

The Breeze Blue is also officially discontinued.

It still shows on the Manza website, so assumed that it is still there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcash

The Pictures:
Sorry for the dealy guys, but hope this makes up for it. Will try and get some better ones in a day or two.

Cheers

The sticker looks good, it works both ways.
1. No one will come near you, thinking you have a small kid on board (or is it true?

)
2. All the better for you till you get used to the size of the thing

25th March 2010, 00:36	#1
vcash BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 453 Thanked: 22 Times	Grey Noir Tata Manza Quadrajet Aura (ABS) has finally arrived! The Background Towards the end of October, 09 my family decided that we wanted to change our Indica to another car in Jamshedpur as she had begun to get a little long in the tooth. In four years, she had completed over 100,000 kms and needed to be retired from active duty. We had a budget of around 7L, as this was the third car in our garage and we did not want to spend too much on what essentialy would be a workhorse. Much deliberation took place in the house and while the Jazz, i20, Punto and other premium hatches sounded good, they were shot down for four reasons: 1) Lack of an affordable diesel in the model ranges: At close to 8L for some upper end petrol hatches and with our kind of mileage, those did not make sense. 2) Mileage: The Indica was used to ferry us to the nearest domestic airport in Ranchi which was a 120 KM's away. The lack of a boot was sorely missed when one had golf bags and luggage in tow and making the airport runs in the SX4 or the City would get heavy on the wallet. 4) Back seat comfort: The Indica's were hardly driven by any of the family members. This would primarily be a chauffer driven car so back seat comfort was paramount as well as easy ingress / egress was key. 3) Durability: Needed something tough and that could take a beating - I was not sure if the premium hatches could handle the torture. However, with 2 Indica's in the house previously, I was confident of their utilitarian nature. So we needed a diesel, a boot and something affordable. After careful deliberation and elimination of the Fiesta and Verna due to their age in their respective model lifecycles and the elimination of the Linea due to the low seating and compact rear seats, the Manza it was. A test drive by me at Wasan Motors in Mumbai and a quick test drive by my Dad in Jamshedpur confirmed the Manza as our final choice. The order We usually prefer to get the top loaded model in most of our cars since saftey in the way of Airbags / ABS / EBD etc seems to be a 'luxury' feature in Indian domestic market. However, this time I was advised by a few people to avoid the Aura+ model, since electronics could get iffy with the airbags and remote controlled ORVM's. So the Aura ABS it was. By the time we were ready to make our decision, it was already mid-november and since we did not want a 2009 manufactured vehicle, the dealer in Jamshedpur advised us to place the order in January for an early February delivery - This way we would be assured of 2010 manufactured vehicle. We booked a Breeze Blue Manza in late January. A booking amount of Rs. 25K was realized by the dealer on Feb 4th. We were advised by ASL Motors in Jamshedpur that we would get the delivery in 8 to 10 days. A couple of weeks passed and we were informed by the dealer and Tata Motors that the car would only be produced by the month end. In the mean time, we decided to switch the color to Grey Noir since I got to see a Breeze Blue in flesh in Mumbai and was not a big fan. On Feb 24th, the color change was made. On Feb 25th, we were informed that the car had been dispatched and the dealer asked for the remaining ex-showroom payment to avoid the excise upcharge applicable after the Budget was announced on Feb 26th. We made the entire payment then. We were informed to expect the car around the 5th of March. Due to some delaer / internal TTM miscommunication, the car never made it on the 5th or subsequent delivery deadlines. We were okay with the delays - just not very happy with incorrect information being passed around. Things got better when a senior sales manager along with the dealership's CEO got involved - We were told to expect the car between March 20th and the 22nd. The Delivery I was in Jamshedpur over the 20th / 21st weekend but the car only came into town on Sunday, which was the day I had to fly back to Bombay so I could not see the car or take delivery. On Monday, TTM did it's own PDI and comitted to deliver the car on Tuesday, March 23rd after fitting some OEM accessories we had requested. A close friend of mine went and did the PDI at the showroom and gave it a clean bill of health. With 22 Kms on the ODO and a Feb manufactured date, we were getting a good example. Accessories were fitted and the car was delivered in the evening. The delivery process was very smooth thanks to ASL's attentivness. I must thank the sales staff there for taking special care during this time, espescially after delivery comittment goofups. The Transaction The car's ex-showroom was Rs. 6.45L. We opted for the extended warranty - This added Rs. 5K. Insurance was another 18K. Registeration & tax was 6K and our accessories package was 25K. Total on-road cost was 6.99L (Right under our budget!) A word on the accessories. ASL gave us a very good deal on the OEM accesories. 5 Manza alloys + Tata-Fiat Parking Sensor + Manza PU seat covers + Floor Mats and Boot Mat for Rs. 25K. MRP for this package was 32K. The 7K discount was much appreciated and it was the dealership's way of making up for the misscommunication and delay in delivery time. The Experience Since I have not driven the car, it would be incorrect of me to post a review. However, feedback from my father and friend who have driven it is on par with what other Manza owners have reported. Extremely spacious and comfortable to sit in. Brilliant ride and an equally brilliant rear bench. Peppy enough for city cruising once the power bands are correctly managed. Sharp brakes that need getting used too. Plenty of little amenities that make the car great VFM. DIS is fluctuating around 12 Kmpl - This should get better. Quality is average but a marked improvement over previous Tata products. The car rides tall like the SX4 and the commanding view is nice. Cabin is pretty quiet for a diesel as is VH levels. The car has not been driven around extensivley so I cannot comment much. I will only post a detailed review when I get an opportunity to go to Jamshedpur in the next few months. But from the looks of it, hopefully this workhorse should serve us well for another 100K Kms! Cheers, V P.S. Pictures to be uploaded in the morning.
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 00:47	#2
cadaver_prad BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 218 Thanked: 18 Times	Congratulations on your new manza. Good to see a lot of Manzas coming in. Eagerly awaiting the pics
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 15:43	#3
adits BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 178 Thanked: 25 Times	Congratulations vcash. Its afternoon now and still no pics or did you mean on friday morning? I guess your car completes all the Manza colours available on TBHP. Let me see who I can remember. Guys, can you fill in the blanks here 1. Gold Satin - vjoy3 2. Monarch Red - trrk and amit 3. Dew White - windiesel, kingpin and gowda79 4. Infinity Black - Sunil Albal 5. Grey Noir - vcash 6. Breeze Blue - ?? 7. Jet Silver - I guess this one is missing 8. Minimal Grey - gagz (looks like this colour has been discontinued) Last edited by adits : 25th March 2010 at 15:56. Reason: added colour
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 16:17	#5
Latheesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CNN/BLR Posts: 4,243 Thanked: 10,090 Times	Congrats on your new Manza, now you can have a permanent place for keeping your golf bag. Pics please!
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 16:25	#6
longhorn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,525 Thanked: 1,561 Times View My Garage	Congrats on your Manza. It is a good choice for the kind of use and roads you have mentioned.
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 16:38	#7
amitw79 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Toronto Posts: 124 Thanked: 116 Times	Welcome to the Manza Family. Look forward to a comfortable and safe 100Ks in your Manza
	() Thanks

25th March 2010, 17:23	#8
vcash BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 453 Thanked: 22 Times	Thanks guys. Have had a hectic day. Will try and upload pictures later tonight or first thing tomorrow. Would have done it now but currently on my phone as damn web sense at work blocks Tbhp. Also I beleive that Gagz has the Grey Noir as well and not the Minimal Grey.
	() Thanks

26th March 2010, 12:46	#10
nkrishnap Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,983 Thanked: 7,407 Times View My Garage	Congrats Vcash. Grey Noir is nice color and i believe its easier to maintain than the other colors. Please do post the pictures
	() Thanks

26th March 2010, 21:26	#11
vcash BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 453 Thanked: 22 Times	The Pictures: Sorry for the dealy guys, but hope this makes up for it. Will try and get some better ones in a day or two. Cheers Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

26th March 2010, 23:17	#14
DRIV3R Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: India Posts: 1,905 Thanked: 2,254 Times	Congrats on the purchase, vcash. You will enjoy the roominess of the Manza. Guess you have to edit your signature. It is QJD for QuadraJet Diesel and not QDJ ! Last edited by DRIV3R : 26th March 2010 at 23:18.
	() Thanks