I was an early bird to book an Aura ABS Quadrajet Manza at Concord, Bangalore. I began to distrust foreign cars with the horrible experience of spares and servicing of our Fiat Siena and Fiat Uno (we liked and loved both the cars for their performance and safety), and the attitude of foreign companies to withdraw successful models from Indian roads (Ex. Fiat models, Opel cars, Baleno, Matiz, etc) . Narrow seats and crappy leg space of Maruti cars are deterrents. Cost Vs performance of Hyundai cars was not attractive. Tata cars were the only option. We booked a Vista but changed to Manza at its first announcement.
Experience:
Extremely happy with the technology used, the ample space availablee (on a long trip a built-in toilet room could be the only missing luxury), smooth and noise-free engine, good electrical controls, powerful AC, window control, excellent ABS, comfortable seating, good music system, good look and feel, comfortable ride, and timely, fast and friendly servicing by Concord.
Unhappy with: Horrible interior plastics with sharp edges, which can cut your fingers. The steering wheel is disastrous with sharp edges where the spokes join the steering rim, very poor finish which hurt the fingers while turning. The hard plastic cover over the horn again with sharp edges and 5 mm gap is another thorn (one can play Tabla on it). Poor engineering is where TATA should give some attention to. At delivery the wind screen water spray was not working (took one month to rectify, because spares were to come from Pune), one spring fell off from the Bonnet open lever, Glove cabin bulb was hanging, manufacturing debris were visible on most of the plastic items. If door alignment is improved (Manza declares ’I come from the Estate Family’ ) and the rubber beading are bettered then Manza is an international luxury.
Head light can look a bit more ’ up’.
The engine could be a bit more powerful (may be 1.4 or 1.5 Litre), the gear shift a bit more smoother and the power steering a bit more easy ( or in American terms less ’responsive’), then no one can stop this car.
Mileage: Bangalore city 12 to 13 Km/L, High way 15 to 16 Km/L
It is a good buy and value for money car.