I have owned a Indica Lxi for over 3 years now and I have quite a few points both good and bad and this review might be beneficial for wood be buyers (or second hand buyers alike). So read on then...
Style and Build:
The Indica is a beautiful looking car although its getting a bit old. The car looks good from all angles, I especially love the front view with those smiley grills. The recent style update has worked very well kudos to Tata Motors for this!
The car has a solid build and feels safe (this I am saying as I had migrated from the Maruti 800). The paint quality of older cars was a bit shabby but the latest cars have top notch paint and build quality.
Interiors:
First and foremost all doors open all the way 90 degrees which is pretty cool and would be appreciated by the women folk and elders alike. On sitting on the drivers seat one would immediately appreciate the spacious cabin. You would also get a good all-round view of the road, well except for the thick pillers which obstruct while turning. Also you cannot see the bonnet from the drivers seat no matter how tall you are, which means you got to have good judgement while driving in heavy traffic.
When it comes to reversing the car (and this, of course I assume you are wearing a seat belt at all times (as I do), its pretty difficult to look back as god knows for what reason, but the belt gets stuck and you have to strain your back a wee bit). Also the headrests also obstruct your view while reversing. I for one, am of average 5ft 7 inch height and I still do feel that the seats, especially the headrests should be a bit shorter than what they are at present.
The interiors and the stalks are a bit plasticy and tacky, but then the car justifies
its costs (its almost a lakh cheaper than any high end car of same class).
Engine and Transmission:
Put the key into the ignition and turn it on, the car starts with a throaty growl and quickly idles. The petrol engine is quite a silent one as there are no vibrations felt in the car, infact you wouldnt understand whether the engine is running if you stopped at a signal. The 1.4 litre engine is pretty powerful belting out 75 bhp of power and makes 0 to 60 Kilometres dash in about 6 seconds. However the transmission is not very good, gearshift feels rubbery and is pretty imprecise, the car rarely false in to the reverse gear at the first try. For first time users this would be very annoying however once you get used to it, it isint much of a problem.
On the highway this car is a revelation (again I am talking about the petrol), with a meaty torque curve, this car easily pulls away and while overtaking in the right gear you just require a nudge the throttle - amazing (however just see to it that no more than 3 people are there while you do this otherwise you will require to downshift).
Ride and Handling:
The car feels pretty solid and suspension are very good and can eat up a lot of potholes my only grouse is there is a some amount of body roll when negotiating turns but then again I am sure most of the users wouldnt mind it. The ride otherwise is perfect.
Fuel Effeciency:
Dont go past 3000 rpm and take easy starts and this car will reward you with a fuel effeciency of 10-11 kmpl in the city.
In a Nutshell:
I have had a few problems like the sporty exhaust (which I think is a available in the top end version) gets rusted and then easily breaks and even after changing, it tells same story. However I think you can get an alluminium exhaust but you have to pay extra for it. Also the bonnet couldnt be opened as the wire leading to it got broken and this happend twice which made me go straight to the serviceman to re
pair it! Also I feel the horn to be too loud. I also wished the car should have airbags and ABS but then am I asking for too much?
But otherwise its good value for money, its got nifty features like the delay lamp (inside the cabin), anti glare mirrors (for night driving) all of which makes me love the car even more. If you are a second hand buyer I feel you should not settle for anything less than the V2 version which has had a lot of improvements since its introduction.