I was looking for a car, which is value for money(this only reflects my personal view and requirements)
Budget: 4.0 – 4.6 lac
Models that I compared: Santro XO, Indica Turbo Diesel, Swift VXI, Getz
(Swift VXI and Indica Turbo are in same price range with Swift being costlier than Indica’s highest variant by around Rs 10k, so calculating diesel cost and the cost of Disel cars being costlier really did not matter me)
Features I was looking for:
- Fuel economy
- Good Passenger Space(for 5 people and some luggage space
- Safety
- Decent Torque(helpful in bumper to bumper traffic)
- Good Air Conditioning
- Low Maintenance cost(In fact diesel cars and Petrol cars have same servicing cycle, easy availability and cheap costs of spares are a definite plus).
- Power Steering
- Power Windows(all four doors)
- Good Suspension(to drive on city’s potholed roads – it really does not matter which city until you are in India)
What really was not bothering me:
- Quality of interiors(I can live with this some how)
- BHP(as I know I will mostly drive in city traffic not going beyond 70 - 80 km/h, going up to 100+ Km per hour will be a rare possibility and will be more for fun rather than requirement)
- Cabin Noise(I found noise of turbo diesel engine bearable – may be my choice)
- Vibration(new diesel models are more refined and have acceptable vibration and this depends more on personal tolerance level, I feel)
Based on user feedback on different sites my assumption was that it mostly depends on the individual piece that you got(luck factor) and the expectations you build around that car.
For me, I was looking for a car for 90% city drive(mostly bumper to bumper) and few weekends out side the city(not more than 120 – 150 km drive)
This would mean travel of approximately 1000 KM per month.
I do not plan to sell it in next 4-5 years
I feel Swift and Santro/Getz have a better build quality than Indica(some how I feel they are safer then Indica as well, as they have got 4 and 3/4 ratings out of 5 in European Crash Test standards respectively, I am not aware of any such rating for Indica though)
Comparing the four models above, the car that suited most to my expectations was Indica Turbo DLX, especially for the Torque and Space on offer, not to mention about loads of other features like rear wipers which is missing in Swift(Getz would have been a definite favorite if they had kept the prices at least at the Swift VXI levels with same set of features, though it would have scored less on Fuel Economy. I really have no point why I discarded Santro, may be on space considerations but a real good car)
I have covered approximately 2500 KM till date(> 95% time in city as expected) with no long drive till date.
First Tank full – I was getting mileage of 13.5 km per liter(I try to use premium quality diesel)
After the car covered 1500 KM and first service done the mileage is now around 15.5 km per liter, with 30% of the times AC on. This is a pleasant surprise as I was expecting the mileage of Indica to be between 14 and 15 km per liter. I still need to check fuel mileage on highways.
Indica Turbo’s Cabin noise and Vibrations seem to be more hyped(in few user comments that I cam across) rather than real, as both of these issues really reduces at greater than or equal to 1500 RPM
One thing that I would have definitely expected is Tyre rubber thickness used on wheels of Indica. This is just about adequate. But the good part with Indica Turbo DLX is that the wheels comes with 14 inch rim radius, which can be a consolation.
One thing that I liked in Indica Turbo is its good torque at lower RPM levels. This was best in the models that I compared; this really helps in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Though turbo lag below 2000 RPM is apparent but Tata motors have managed to make power delivery as much linear as possible.
The paint job on Indica is comparable to the others in its segment. I would consider this as a good job by Tata motors.
My personal view till date:
Over All a good value for money car “if you are clear on your requirements” and “keep the car well maintained”.(I have intentionally not commented on my experience with dealers which I found similar in most of the show rooms that I visited)
To Sum up my personal observations:
Things that I liked:
- Good power at lower RPM(best in its class
- Space(I liked 40:60 split of back seats, not available in other models, this really helps when you have 3-4 people and need to carry more luggage than available in boot)
- Good Suspension
- Not to mention good fuel economy.
- Good AC(though it has still to be tested in hot summer conditions)
- Good(but not precise) power steering.
- Outer Paint job(Car body paint)
Things that I expect to improve:
- Thin Tyres(as the current tyre specification – 165/60 makes wheel rims vulnerable to pot
holes, but as I mentioned 14 inch rims are a consolation)
- Though this is just my observation and has really not been an issue, but I am not able to see
the cars bonnet, this is helpful in getting distance perception from the car in front of yours. I
am now used to it.
- This again is not an issue but I felt gear transmissions could have been smoother. May be it
will become smoother over time(same observation for the clutch pedals but I am used to it
now).