Tata Zica Test Drive Review - Most Stylish Car Ever by Tata
Tata Zica Test Drive Review - Most Stylish Car Ever by Tata

Tata is back with its new zippy entry for the most competitive lower-B segment cars. Tata Tiago is the latest offering by Tata motors and this time they’re back with a very stylish and peppy car to steal the attention the attention of consumers from their competitors. This time Tata has worked a lot in improving the design of the car at both the interiors and exteriors. And I am sure, upon launch of this car is February 2016, this car is going to gain a good amount of traction and we’ll be seeing this a lot on roads in the coming year. I was invited by Tata Motors to experience the drive of Tiago at Goa, and after getting a test drive in this car, it left me with a burning desire of buying this Car upon launch.

Tata Motors is already an established name in the automobile sector with its vast series of transport vehicles ranging from large trucks to small pickup vans. Although, being the largest manufacturer of automobiles in India, Tata Motors has failed to make a significant mark in the small car segment. The only hatchback small car launched by Tata Motors that tasted success in the private car segment is Indica which made its debut in the market in 1998.

However, Tata Motors didn’t catch up to its most successful car and continued the sale of Indica after reviving and upgrading the original model to Vista and later the Bolt versions. Even though, the car has broken many sales records in the past in the small car segment, Tata Motors wasn’t satisfied with the model as it was largely bought by fleet operators rather than attracting the private car buyers.

Tata Zica Test Drive Review
Tata Tiago Test Drive Review

Nevertheless, all that is going to change with its most ambitious project of late, the Tata Tiago, that was developed in just 3 years. The project, which was kept a secret with codename Kite, is unveiled now and finally I got to test drive this latest small segment car launched by Tata.

Tata Tiago Test Drive Review

While driving the Tata Tiago, one thing was clear that the Tata Motors has struck the right balance of a good riding experience with the smooth packaging of the right features in its latest product. Being said that, the overall dual-path suspension and tuning up of the shock-ups felt just right, ensuring that you can enjoy a smooth ride even on the worst roads. Tiago doesn’t offer a bumpy ride while covering potholes or jumping speed-breakers which reassures the quality of the suspension once again. The petrol variant, however, offers the best ride and the car remains steady even at triple digit peak speeds. The quality rubber from Goodyear ensures tight grip on different surfaces as well.

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The driving experience surely puts the car in the league of European manufactures such Fiat, Renault, and VW. Tata Tiago is undoubtedly one of the best in the makes for city conditions while suitable for casual long drives every now and then. But, then that’s what small segment hatchbacks are made for.

Let’s have a look Under the Hood

The heart of an automobile lies under the hood and that’s where the real power of the car comes from. Tata Tiago is powered by all-new engines that delivers on both power and fuel efficiency. The car comes in two variants: Petrol and Diesel.

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The petrol variant is equipped with a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder Revotron engine that delivers a maximum power of 85 bhp and a peak torque of 114 Nm while the diesel variant is powered by a 1.05-litre, 3-cylinder unit that offers a maximum power of 69 bhp and a peak torque of 140 Nm.

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The diesel variant also marks the debut of the RevoTorq family of oil burners that promises to boost the efficiency of Tata Tiago evidently. Engines of both petrol and diesel variants are mated to a smooth-shifting 5-speed manual transmission gearbox. An upgrade to an automated manual transmission (AMT) seems like a possibility in the coming months, but for now, they are launching the model with a manual unit.

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Tata Tiago Diesel Variant

Both the petrol and diesel variants of Tata Tiago performed well in terms of shift quality of the gear box promising a smooth ride. Even though the top-end performance is rather ordinary, the driving experience is amazing for long drives or high traffic city rides. You can effortlessly speed the petrol powered machine at 110-120 km/h, however, it will definitely get breathless after let’s say 140 km/h, which is quite common among most small segment cars.

The Elegant and Classy Interiors

Unlike its previous models, Tata Motors decided to offer a completely new dashboard to Tiago including a few parts inspired from the Bolt. The main attractive point of Tata Tiago’s interior is its extraordinary 3-spoke 360 mm steering wheel, which not just add to the looks but also great to hold with ergonomically installed audio controls.

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The cabin of Tata Tiago is by far the best from Tata Motors and blends in quality with sleek fit and finish. Fortunately, Tata Motors has banned the usage of beige in the interior of its cars and hence, Tata Tiago comes with a two-tone black and gray cabin that looks unique in its own way. The new colors are reflected in the instrument cluster as well with some great similarities to the Bolt.

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At the first look itself, it feels that the interiors of the car are highly dominated by piano black and chrome with certain portions of steering wheel, centre console and door handles boasting glossy touch. The AC buttons, AC vents surround and doorknobs on the other hand are given chrome finish. With the orange and red colored cars, the customers may have the options of coloring the interior (at the dealer level) with orange or red colors for areas such as side AC vents, steering spokes, gear lever surround, and the other parts which are finished in piano black such as the door handles and centre console. However, I loved the glossy black finish better than the vibrant orange or red.

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Apart from the color and finish, Tata Tiago also boasts about the 22 utility spaces included in the car that comprises of a ticket holder on the windshield, smartly installed storage space on top of AC vents, 2 cuphoders right between the 2 front seats, a cubby hole right next to the gear lever, a storage space on the driver end just below the AC vent on the farther end of the driver side, a tab holder in the glove compartment, front door pockets to hold two 500 ml bottles and rear door pockets to hold 1 ltr bottle, a glove compartment with cooling system, hooks with weight markings and a spacious boot with a loading bay.

Like every other modern day hatchbacks, the Tata Tiago is also equipped with cabin light that uses LED bulbs, functionality to adjust driver seat height, automated glove compartment, and many other common features. The electronic department is also highly equipped with sockets for charging, AUX and USB forming a multi-utility vehicle altogether. The car is also equipped with certain smart features like rear parking sensors fully concealed, with highly functional key operated follow me headlamps, and is operated by a stylish flip key.

The Stylish Aerodynamic Exteriors

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This car is an amazing combination of impressive exterior and interior design. While its front boasts a stylish swept back headlamps, bridged together with a wide honeycomb designed sleek front grille with a new three-dimensional ‘T’ logo placed in semi-vertical position, overall it gives a bold and expressive face with confidence and agile stance.

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There’s a neatly sculpted bumper with a wide air-dam & fog-lamp enclosures sprinkled with some chrome. However the most impressive part has to be clamshell hood, which adds some weight to front-end design of the car and overall gives a mature impression on the looks. Headlights come with smoked lens & sporty black bezel with sharp tail lamps & a prominent humanity line accentuate the sportiness of the car.

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Coming to side profile, this car looks completely aerodynamic by having consistent lines across & is a unique design compared with previous models of hatchbacks by Tata. There’s a crease that runs along the length of the car & blackened B-pillar gives a complete sporty impression.

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And other highlights includes stylish ORVM’s that feature turn-indicators and a stylish set of alloy rims.

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It’s the back of the car which impressed us the most. It’s altogether a new design ever by Tata and the jewel shaped tail lamps and muscular lines of the tailgate gives it a complete flawless look. Looking at rear bumper, it’s a dual-tone & gets a black panel to cut the visual bulk.

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There’s a roof mounted spoiler with gloss black air winglets (Tata calls that as Spats) & a circular shaped rear defogger with wiper whose designed is influenced from kind of a maze which you might have seen on newer model of Land Rover. Overall Tiago wins the hearts with a very well proportioned design from all angles which makes it looks very smart.

Final Verdict

Finally, after the success of Indica, Tata Motors have introduced a new stylish and promising model in the new Tata Tiago. The car boasts of class and elegance along with maintaining the standards of qualities necessary for Indian roads and traffic, especially in the cities.

An optimist to the core, I always see the glass half full. I like to take life as it comes and not to become too serious on the harsher aspects of it. Apart from this, I am an Engineer, a Blogger & a Researcher....

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2 Comments

  1. Nice review, Ankit! The drive experience is still fresh in my mind :)
    I loved the Zica too.
    It was great to meet you.

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