I was one of the first buyers of the Indica. Even before the car was launched on the Indian roads I had made up my mind to buy this car. I was very proud then of the fact that an Indian company has developed a beautiful small car and I was keen to show my support for this great effort. Those days there was an euphoria about the car. Virtually some kind of mania to own this car. People were falling over each other to book the car and be the first to own it..
Soon after I got the car (a silver mettalic colour adorned it) I drove in and around the city of Mumbai and thoroughly tested the car. It proved to be a great car. A car to be seen in as people turned around to give us a second look. Perhaps this was on account of a strange screeching noise coming form the fan belt !!!
We enjoyed the space inside the car. Very roomy. The car was also very sturdy. Other cars started making way for us to avoid bumping into us.. People soon realised that this car was made of strong stuff..
We also were delighted with the mileage - I used to get 17 kms to a liter of diesel. Wow !! When I drove to Pune / Lonavala, I used to get 22 kms per liter.. Maintainence was minimal..
The one thing that really bothered me was the sound of the fan belt. This was one pain point that took a long time to get fixed.. But eventually did.. I was one of the lucky ones who got a free replacement from the company and it stopped making noise... I still managed to get looks from people (this time one of envy)..
The service from the dealers was only average.. Like in most car manufacturers, TATAs too did not pay much attention to this critical part of running a car business..
We finally sold the car after 3 years of good enjoyment. Although I moved into a larger and more luxurious car (Honda City), I still miss my Indica.
Look forward to your feedback / comments..