A year & 6900km with my Tata Tiago: Pros, cons & other observations

Interior plastic feels less premium than other brands.

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November 2022 – I completed 38 years of existence on Nov 10th, 2022 and decided to finally join a driving school to learn to drive a car. Well, there is never any age to learn something new, isn’t it?

Anyway, I learnt to drive within 15 days and started practising in my friend’s Hyundai i10 Grand. During the learning phase, I was good with steering controls but struggled with clutch and gear controls. I didn’t own a car at that time but now that I have learnt to drive, I wanted to own one and started my hunt to buy a car.

Being a first-time car driver, I wanted to go for a hatchback as it would be easier for me to get a hold in the city and on the highway as well.

Also, I was thinking of going for a second-hand car in good condition.

My options were:

• Maruti Suzuki Swift
• Maruti Suzuki Alto K10
• Hyundai i10 Grand
• Tata Tiago
• Toyota Etios Liva
• Ford Figo
• Ford Ecosport (Although not a hatchback)
• Honda Brio
• Nissan Micra

However, I wanted a car that was good to drive and also scored high on safety. I struck Maruti and Hyundai from the list owing to their low safety ratings. That left me with Tata, Toyota and Ford which was good in terms of performance and safety.

I started scouring for 2nd hand cars in marketplaces such as Spinny, Cars24, Mahindra First Choice etc. There were a lot of options to choose from with varying price points as well. However, I decided to buy a car that wasn’t too old i.e. between 2018-2022. In the meanwhile, I also took suggestions from friends and family who had different points of view. Most of them said it is better to go for a first-hand one while the rest mentioned that second-hand cars were better considering that I am a fairly new driver.

After days of searching and thinking, I eventually decided to go for a new one. The problem was that Ford had left India and Toyota wasn’t selling Etios Liva anymore. Honda Brio and Nissan Micra were too small for me (I am 6 feet 1) and were no longer in production.

That left me with Tata Tiago.

Now the question arose of whether to go for a manual or an automatic. I preferred an automatic considering my initial struggles with clutch and gear and also it is easier to drive in city traffic.

Therefore, I did intense research, reading up on AMT technology and watching user reviews on YouTube. The most common complaint on Tata Tiago AMT was engine lag when the car auto-shifted from the 1st gear to the 2nd. Also, there were a lot of user complaints about the AMT gearbox giving trouble after 2-3 years of usage with some users having to replace the gearbox unit entirely which cost them almost a lac.

After seeing all this, I changed my mind and decided to go for a Tata Tiago manual transmission. Apart from giving good mileage as compared to an AMT, manual transmission is fun to drive except in city traffic. I had fixed a budget of Rs. 8 lacs and didn’t want to go beyond that. Anything lesser than that was a bonus.

I visited Key Motorss, Kanakapura Road on Dec 1st week, which was near my house along with my brother and wife. We checked out the car and took a test drive. The engine response and suspension felt good and the car was comfortable too. It is a peppy car to drive and sneaks through the traffic when compared to bigger cars/SUVs.

On Dec 19th, 2022, I visited the showroom and booked a red colour, Tata Tiago XT Rhythm. The XT Rhythm variant has all the basic features along with a rear camera, a 17 cm Harman infotainment touchscreen system, 4 speakers and 4 tweeters. I got a discount of Rs. 10000 along with a corporate discount of Rs. 2500. I also took the accessories pack worth Rs. 11,000 that included the seat covers, floor mats, bumper protector, mud flaps, perfume, and a waste bin.

I made a point of asking for updates from the dealership once or twice a week as I had read complaints about Tata dealership’s inefficiencies and didn’t want to take any chances. Considering my ‘enthusiasm’ they also made a point of updating me every time a milestone was achieved, although it was me calling them every time for every single doubt.

Eventually, my vehicle arrived and I went for a PDA at their yard on Mysore Road. I was thrilled to see my car for the first time and did a thorough PDA. I had gone through the PDI checklist article on TeamBHP and knew what and how to exactly check. The car was fine and we didn’t come across any issues.

PDI at the Yard

On Feb 1st, 2023, I received my car at their dealership with Subhash (SA) assisting me throughout the process from order to delivery.

At Key Motorss, Kanakapura Road

Me and my brother with Bajrangi

Receiving the keys from Subhash

After the documentation and cake-cutting ceremony, I took the car home. Being a newbie, I was nervous about driving it, so asked my brother who had accompanied me to drive it home. My parents were thrilled to see it and we took photos alongside the car.

My happy parents with my nephew who is wondering what's happening

In the evening, I drove it for the first time when I had to go to pick up my wife. My brother accompanied me just to see if I was driving correctly. I was nervous initially but then mustered courage as I kept driving. After picking her up, we went to a temple nearby to perform the car’s puja and returned home. I christened it ‘Bajrangi’ after Lord Hanuman.

With my wife at the temple

1 year of driving Tata Tiago:

As of 1st Feb 2024 i.e. exactly a year after taking delivery of the car, it had clocked almost 6900 km, with 80% of it being driven within the city. Outstation trips have mostly been to Mysore and Coorg. I want to take it to farther places such as Goa, Mangalore, Pondi etc.

During the running-in period, I used to experience a slight lag in its pickup and when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. With time, the lag decreased and was almost nonexistent after the 3rd service.

Pros:

• Peppy and powerful 1200 cc, 3-cylinder petrol engine
• Smooth clutch as compared to Nexon (A blessing for the left leg)
• Gear shifting is smooth and the travel is less
• Small yet spacious for a tall man like me
• Steering is the lightest in its segment
• Stable and no body rolls on highways
• Sticks to the ground at high speeds
• Handling is excellent
• Mileage is good both in the city and highway. Maximum mileage observed on highways = 26 km/ltr. Maximum mileage observed in the city = 14 km/ltr. Latest tank-to-tank mileage = 15.29 km/ltr(Mostly been driven in the city. Increases when taken on the highways)
• The car has become smoother after 3rd service

Cons:

• Interior plastic feels less premium than other brands
• Body panel gaps are quite big compared to other brands
• Some interior fittings feel clumsy and not properly fitted in the factory

Tata Service Feedback:

Have undertaken 3 free services with them at TASS (Key Motorss, Konanakunte) and the experience was good. Their service personnel are responsive and listen to your issues before recommending satisfactory solutions. Better to book your service slots well in advance and be there at 8:30 am. The only downside is their service centres are small, and parking is inadequate. They need to take larger spaces and build bigger body shops and parking spaces.

Cost of:

• 1st service – Rs. 177
• 2nd service – Rs. 177
• 3rd service – Rs. 4406 (for consumables that included oil change)

Accidents/Mishaps:

This was more of an own damage rather than an externally inflicted accident. On my way to Coorg, I had stopped at Mysore for lunch and had parked the car in the basement. To come back to the main road, there was a steep climb that I was unable to manoeuvre and ended up bashing the rear of the car into a pole behind me.

The rear door and bumper suffered damage and had to be replaced. Lots of lessons were learnt from that incident.

The repair process at TASS was smooth and the insurance covered all of it, although I lost the no-claim bonus when I renewed the insurance in Jan 2024. It took a total of 3 weeks for the car to come back from the repairs, and I had to constantly follow up with them to speed up the work and give me the car on time.

Conclusion:

Overall, I am very happy with my Tata Tiago. It is a budget-friendly, sturdy and performance-oriented vehicle for the city and the highway. It’s just been a year of owning and driving it and I intend to keep it for many years to come. Even if I go for a bigger vehicle, I will continue to keep it.

Cheers to everyone!

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