After a year of owning Indigo GLX, its time for me to write this review. Have driven 8000 kms mostly in city roads - potholes(OMR Chennai) except for a long drive of 750+ kms
Buying experience was average. I was explained all features in detail and took a test drive and found it to be OK. Since I knew what to expect out of the cheapest mid-sized car, there wasn’t disappointment.( If you are ready to shell out more, strongly recommend Fiesta). Was able to take home the vehicle with in a week.
Driving: Power steering, suspension - have no complaints. Found no differences between this and my pvs Nissan experience. Vehicle responds neatly to the steering( in high speeds >90, it shows little latency(or I feel so), but I think its normal). At high speeds the drive was comfortable, no rattling, vibration. Braking was good(tried at 70-80kmph), vehicle doesnt wobble and comes to stop in straight line. Reliable.
Gear shift and Clutch - Frankly little hard and at times, gear not getting properly shifted resulting in grinding noise. But with usage, you learn how to avoid it. In City traffic at end of 30-45 mins drive, you would find your foot aching a bit:-(
Engine runs silent. AC is good, though circulation to rear seats is low.(new luxury model has seperate back seats ac vents) Low rpm power is good. You wont have to downshift often in city traffic. Pick up is good both in 1st and 2nd gear.
Power windows for the rear window got stuck once, but got rectified automatically after trying couple of times. Havent got the issue again.
Mileage: Gives approx 10 kms in city and 13-14 kms in highway
Interiors: Average.
Comfortable spacing for 5 tall people and ample luggage spacing. Has cheap plastics, no-so-fine finishes, but were not definitely flimsy. No breakage in any of the parts so far
Service/Problems:
Have given for 1 service, regular one. I had a small scratch in the front and’ve requested them to spray paint it, but on delivery found that it was unattended. The service personnel gave lame excuse, but decided not to take it further. Unfortunately the exposed surface has rusted after that:-(. Now looking for a touch-up paint myself
One of my tyre(JK Tyre) bursted out when driving through a bad road and had to shell out 4.5k to replace it. The service people themself were recommending MRF tyre. Wondering why cant Tata roll out vehicle with better tyre.
I heard that spare parts and maintenance would be very cheap(Ford is known for their high maintenance costs)
Overall the vehicle is good bet for the money. If you are a person going for functionality rather than aesthetics, then definitely this is a vehicle for you.
Edit [ 5Nov2010]:
Dashboard has started becoming sticky for past year. Its so sticky that you wont dare to touch it. All dirt keeps collecting. Irrespective multiple services, the problem remains. Even a professional detailing didnt resolve the issue. The usual answer I get from Tata Motors Svc Center is that its a’2006-model-wax-dashboard’ and its like that only.
Though its peripheral issues, its very annoying whenever you look at the dashboard. Usually have to advice the passenger not to touch and keep clothes safe from the dashboard. My bad:-(
Only solution looks to be replacing entire dashboard shelling out$20K. I just thinking of using it for some time and disposing off for a different car( definitely not a Tata)
Edit [ 12-Jul-2011]:
Have visited OMR Check point for last 2 instances( Feb and Jul) and have spent Rs 40k so far. The SA screwed me up with replacing parts which I didnt ask for, citing some technical issue or other.
List of parts I’ve replaced so far include(in last 1 year)
a) Steering assembly b) bearings in all 4 wheels, c) front suspension d) compressor fan( fan keeps running always) e) Alternator service f) all 4 window motoros
I think pretty much I’ve replaced every part of the car. Now looking at disposing the car and getting new one. Thanks to Tata and OMR Checkpoint for screwing me up