I bought an Indica LSI in December 2004 from A One Motors Delhi. This is our third Car, before this we had a Maruti 800 EX. Based on My undestanding there are a few points one must consider before buying a vehicle, they are as follows:
Reliability. TATA is as reliable as Maruti or Hyundai. There are individuals who have faced n number of issues with Maruti. Being an Indian Product, I feel we should give a chance and support to our products.
Comfort. There is no comparison if you talk about comfort. Indica is among the best comfort providing cars in the B segment. Ample of space. Close in performance are the Palio and the Getz.
Fuel consumption. Typical indian mindset, where people want the best of both worlds in a single product. The Indica Petrol gives a decent average of 12-14 in city drive. That is decent for a car like indica. Please do not compare Indica with a Maruti 800, they are different.
Security features. Missing in almost all the cars of B segment. I am not sure about the Getz or Swift but they are very expensive and return the same kind of fuel efficiency. Overall the Indica is a very well built car and you really feel safe even while driving at 100 KMPH. Unlike the Maruti...
Now I would like to add a few points that TATA should consider if they really want to excell with their Indica Petrol.
Engine is not really refined and there is a scope of lot of improvement.
The dealers should give up their laid back & casual approach for selling the indica. They should not force the buyer for the diesel version. I am not sure if the commision on a diesel version is higher that the petrol cars. Every single customer is valueable. Our opinion is very important.
There should be an increase in a transparent system for repairs and maintenance. The workshops should ensourage, customers to interact with the mechanic or the workshop manager for any queries or issues.
The spare parts seem to be a bit high priced. I am not very sure as I have just had a cluth overhaul done for my 1 1/2 year old car due to a manufacturing defect. It was free of cost for me under warranty but the estimated cost was around 5000. which is high, please correct me if I am wrong.
Overall, Indica Petrol is a very good car. It fares above ones expectations in all the fields. I am hopeful that TATA learns a bit faster to keep pace with the changing market trends. They have taken a very good initiative by launching an indian product in B segment Cars. However there are a few things like the overall finishing of the interiors, refinement of the engine, better after sales services and I DO NOT doubt that they would be able to increase the sales of this excellent product to a good numbre and capture the major part of the Market Share.
Thanks
Devesh :)