I recently sold my Tata Indigo GLS and I thought of sharing my experience. I bought this car on 31 May 2003, when I had visited Autofin, Secunderabad during that time to buy a Indica DLS. But after having a look at the Indigo I switched on to the Indigo. I wanted to buy the Diesel version, but at that time there was a waiting time of around 2 months for that, and it was dearer than the petrol version by about INR 65K. The petrol version was available to drive away. So, Indigo it was, and petrol at that, silver colour that I bought. Please remember that we did not have too many options at that time for cars as we have now.
My overall experience on the car has been pretty good, with space being the biggest strength of the car. The boot size was also awesome, and I had lots of space even after putting in a amp-cum-woofer.
I had driven around 35000KM during 5 years, which was primarily because I also had the Hyundai Getz(yeah, I should write a review on that too) and I was alternating the car in between. The Getz was primarily for my better half, and she was hardly driving that for a variety of reasons.
During the near-5 years of my ownership, apart from normal servicing, I had changed the Battery(6 months back), tyres(3 months back), and clutch cable(3 months back). I did not spend any amount on any other parts for the car. So, to that extent the cost of ownership of the car is pretty low.
I had just the one accident in 2003 Oct, when a scooter rammed me from behind, and my rear bumper cracked. I had it replaced with the metallic paint for approximately INR 3000. IMO, this was much cheaper than many other car makes - except for may be the Maruti(but, I cannot comment on that as I have never owned/driven that). Of course I have replaced my side mirror many times, and it has always costed me between 150 to 200 INR. Overall the cost of spares was very cheap.
I had one long drive on the car when I drove from Hyderabad to Chennai in 2003 end. I had also driven to Khammam in between. The long drive was Indigo’s second biggest strength. I felt that the car was well designed for highway driving, and I was able to cruise at about 100+ KmPH. I dared upto 120 KmPH and after that I did not dare to increase my speed. Maybe it would have gone up by 10 to 20 KmPH - I don’t know. The car was gliding beautifully on the highway.
The air-conditioning was extremely efficient and very powerful. I haven’t had any problems with the A/C for the last 5 years. I had a feeling that the A/C in this car was much more powerful than most of
the other card that I have driven on - I am comparing this to Palio, Santro, WagonR, Getz etc
The steering wheel was very responsive and excellent. The pickup was pretty good. In the newer cars, you will find some kind of a lag when you hit the accelerator to the floor(I think that the computer chip sort of controls that maybe), but in Indigo, I never felt the need of any further power.
The fuel efficiency was something else. I was consistently getting about 10KMPL for the last 4 years. And in the last 1 year I am getting 11+, fundamentally because I shifted from IBP to Shell petrol stations. 11+ is on the city with my A/C on. I used to get somehwere around 13+ on highways.
The fundamental gripe about the Indigo was that it was not refined. The gears and the clutch was not smooth. The difference was very evident as I was alternating between the Indigo and the Getz.
The engine is not the smoothest or the most silent. I could hear some amount of whining from the engine especially with the A/C on full blast, in summer and especially when I am around 30 to 45 mnutes into my drive.
Overall I think it is a reasonable package and is definitely a value for money, although it is not the most polished or the refined of cars.