Ts been just abt 3-4months since my long awaited purchase of New Indigo LS TDi(Bharat III model). Long awaiting was not basically for indigo but for an old maruti 800 replacement. We(me n my father) test rided maruti swift, zen estilo, chevy spark, tata indica turbo. Leaving spark others were impresive in their own way. Finally considering a need of diesel engine we got our focus on indica n swift. Swift being better of two in engine n make it was stretching our budget to excess of 5lakh. As my father prepared himself for a 5lakh budget we thot y not a big car if throwing this amt. Got our eyes on only possible indigo which suited this budget in sedan segment.
While I was outstation for my studies my father test rided indigo n made up his mind for indigo LS TDi n got all modification of LX version(including powr window, security lock, body n interior finish, fog etc). I came back home on vacations n got my 1st hands on it. This is how I went thru.
Smooth engine start with just one key twist(at extreme chill temp here) after letting coil heat b4 ignition(indicates). Pushed the 1st gear poped d clutch n she rolled smooth as running knife on semi-melted butter. Then I started punching d gas, the tacho rolled up and at just excess of 2000rpm a sudden sporty grunt n I felt like a supernatural power pushed in wit lotsa power from rear. Ofcourse its d turbo-charge quite common on diesel engines nowadays. Ts a smart move by diesel engine manufacturers to introduce turbo as they really lacked the feel. n it wud b more pathetic 2 drive indica/indigo old version wit ac on tuff roads.
The TDi engine has wat it takes 2 get close 2 high performance petrol engines although initial stages still lack d punch.may we have some more diesel revolutions. I have rushed this to max of 160kmph on highway n believe it or not it was still quite smooth on 5th gear n cud hv pushed more had road permitted me. This is really a surprise package from a diesel engine.
The interior as I alwez wanted has a creamish grey finsh which gives a royal looks. Seats r big and comfortable n have more inner space than most of sedan segments. Dials r impressive and dash n inner is feature rich for this segment(esp at 5.3lakh on road). Average as of now is around 15kmpl which is ok for a 1400cc turbocharged engine.
About TATA service, cant realy comment on just an exp of 1st service which was quite satifactory but there wasnt much 2 do abt it. M only worried about the bad reviews of tata’s after sales service in long terms and also quality nags heared abt tata cars which rolls in aftr abt 40-50000 kms of run. All I can say is wait n watch. But wud make sure from my side that tis car performs on long run n we dun let it make any issues. Its more of a driver than d car for its screwing job.
Pros-
Interior finish n features.
Spacious
3. Performance(being a diesel engine)
AC is effective
Wiring n space provisions for every add-on accesory.
Steering n wheel .Grip
Looks(depends on u personally)
Price
Cons-
TATA fear factor :(
Engine sounds n vibration initially till getting heated
Initial pick-up as Turbo waits for 2k rpm 2 kick in
Size of car - for crowded areas. Esp aftr driving maruti 800 for 10 years feels like riding on a bull after hands exp on a poor little donkey.
Tends to loose quality of fittings n finishing at rough use. I have a maruti 800 running for me since more than 15 years n is still going strong.mind it :)
Average not the best in its class(still is acceptable)
7. Same body make as of indica accept for rear. Tata should hv given a thought on tampering wit front looks instead of just attaching a rear luggage space on indica.
- Needs preper care to b taken for making it last long.
Summing up all, I wud advise this car for it being sedan type at a very good price wit tons of features n an improved diesel engine, so a good value for money.
*Regards,
Abhinav Arya*