[saket77]

Tata engineers are well aware of the fact that the market looks at its initial batch of cars with skepticism. Well, this time, they are playing it safe and taking their own sweet time to furnish the production cars.

The intent is there this time. Wishing them all luck!

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by aseem

I don't think Tata being a taxi is a testament to its quality. It was a testament to its perceived "cheapness". As in 150 Rs air filter etc. The plastics were cheap, the interiors were cheap, the body shell aged very poorly. Compared to a 5 year old Swift a 3 year old Indica looked older.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Body shell aged poorly compared to a Swift? Hah! This isnt even an Apples to Apples comparison. How about a three year old Ritz/Swift taxi vs a private Indica? My friend had a well maintained Indica Turbo with nary a squeak or a rattle at 80k clicks.

Aseem Bhai, I owned a Tata Indica DLS Turbo for 5 years and did nearly 120K kms on it before I switched to the Manza. If maintained well the Indica is pure value for money car and I can tell you confidently that no car in its class comes close to it. Another thing.. The space in an Indica is equivalent to an Honda Amaze ( that was one of the reasons I rejected the Honda amaze when I upgraded from the Indica ). Extreme Torque is correct.. I had the opportunity of being driven in a Ritz in a Private Taxi and 1 year old Ritz was in shambles, the AC was lousy and worse it was so noisy. Atleast in an Indica Taxi the AC will still function full blast.

Anyways this is a thread on the Zest and the Bolt and lets not get diverted. Tata cars have traditionally provided VFM and from the number of reviews I see that new offerings will continue doing so.

[itsashishsharma]

Till now, reports have come out like the Zest is best car from Tata. Actually this doen't help. We don't need to really be reminded about Zest being best Tata car. What we need to know is how good it stands among the competetion. More on that please.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by aseem

The plastics were cheap, the interiors were cheap, the body shell aged very poorly. Compared to a 5 year old Swift a 3 year old Indica looked older.

Not to contest your perspective, but just wanted to mention that my neighbor's three and a half year old Indica Vista looks almost new - as good as my 3 year old Linea. We can't compare the Taxis with anything else, we know what they are driven like, don't we.

[safari_lover]

The Hindu Business Line, in their test drive article, reports that the Zest will be launched in the first week of August.

Prices and mileage numbers are to be announced at the time of launch in the first week of August this year

source - http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle6222559.ece

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by kaviprem

...Oh ! BTW, Everybody would agree ETIOS interior is as good/bad/cheap/hard as Indica...

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

...But yes, we are indians and believe that Toyota is a gods gift...

The Etios / Liva sales number have proved undoubtedly what impression has the product created in the minds of Indian customers. I do NOT think there is any point in debating further about this brand / product on this particular thread.

Originally Posted by RSR

If Tata deliberately price it high (i.e. out of the reach of cabbies), then wouldn't they find it even more difficult to attract private customers?...

Price it high, then it will go the way of the Aria. Price it low, then it will go the way of the Indigo CS. What can they do?

Have variants loaded well and price it VFM - slightly below (10-15K) other products in the segment. Removing features (like a 75 bhp engine, ABS / Airbags) etc will ONLY help to reduce prices to a greater extent. Taxi operators would prefer a no-frills car. The whole idea should be NOT to have a no-frills car. Even the base variant should have ABS / Airbags standard with all 4 power windows etc (like how the face-lifted Fiesta is faring against the competition in it's segment).

[p'arth]

Seeing a lot of talk on possibility of base zest variant becoming a taxi. I believe unless the manufacturer itself wants to sell to the fleet companies the car/brand cannot tow the taxi route.

MUL also has a DZire LDi which has all the ingredients to have become a taxi but it was never encouraged by MUL hence did not succeed in becoming a taxi as much as Indigo/Logan did. Whereas in comparison Indigo/Logan etc. had always got the backing of their manufacters to go the taxi way due to the bulk bookings and immediate orders they get. Short term gain but long term brand damage.

This time TM may not be encouraging any fleet sales and the dealers would be aligned to that. So even if the fleets want the zest they might not get the sweet wholesale price with zest.
Thus everythign resides in TM's hands to control the brand and image of its latest baby.

[S2!!!]

Tata Motors' current situation is a real challenge for the company. They are banking heavily on the Zest and Bolt to change the public perception of the company and get out of the taxi image. Right from pricing to positioning to feature list has to be perfect to the 'T' for Tata to achieve the desired response from the market.

The Zest if priced too high might not be accepted by the Indian car buyers while if priced low, it could once again attract the fleet taxi owners. Having a stripped down version of the car might actually generate volumes mainly from the fleet owners and that can be enough to keep private car owners away from the car.

IMO, Tata can introduce a totally stripped down version of the Manza, something similar to what Maruti did with the Dzire Tour, with a 75bhp FGT or even the 1.4 TDi and minimum frills. This would leave the fleet owners happy by giving them a larger car, with a bigger boot as well as maintain the premiumness of the Zest by keeping the car targeted solely to private buyers.

What to you guys think?

[damager21]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

The Zest if priced too high might not be accepted by the Indian car buyers while if priced low, it could once again attract the fleet taxi owners. Having a stripped down version of the car might actually generate volumes mainly from the fleet owners and that can be enough to keep private car owners away from the car.

I think even if a low priced Zest was to attract fleet taxi owners, whether to sell Zest to them or not and if at all in what quantity, can all be controlled by Tata.

I think a better strategy would be to continue selling Indica & Indigo to fleet owners with Zest & Bolt sold only to end consumer.

Since last year we have seen a new trend where auto manufacturers have been launching stripped down variant of their car at an unbelievable base price just to create a buzz and attract footfalls to their showroom. Then it's up to the sales people to push higher variant to these potential buyers.

Ford did this successfully with EcoSport and every other manufacturer has been trying to replicate this strategy. I think Tata is planning to do the same by launching base variant of Zest without Alloy wheels, Harman audio system, Airbags, ABS and with a 75PS engine.

My belief is that Tata will launch higher variant of Zest in the price range of Amaze and promote Zest as a premium product. The choice that consumers will have to make is to own a car from premium brand like Honda Vs. own a Tata car with premium features.

[Amarkarthi]

Originally Posted by damager21

It will come with the 75PS version of 1.3-litre diesel engine. This engine is the same Multijet engine that will power the 90PS Zest, but it will use a fixed geometry turbocharger instead of a Variable Geometry Turbocharger used in XM & XT variant of Zest.

Also, the base variant will not have alloy wheels, the Harman audio system, Airbags or ABS.

This clearly is a statement of welcome for the fleet owners.

But I see this as a good strategy from Tata to keep the market on fire with Zest turning around to be a hot number cruncher in terms of sales. When Tata is able to have a wide range of variants in the Zest portfolio for enthusiasts, this lower variant would no way affect the branding like how MUL has it's Tour co-existing with Dzire in the market.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by p'arth

....MUL also has a DZire LDi which has all the ingredients to have become a taxi but it was never encouraged by MUL hence did not succeed in becoming a taxi as much as Indigo/Logan did. Whereas in comparison Indigo/Logan etc. had always got the backing of their manufacters to go the taxi way due to the bulk bookings and immediate orders they get....

I am NOT sure how the manufacturer back up fleet owners? I do NOT think the manufacturer will even get to know whether the cars dispatched go to personal usage / fleets.

On the other hand, Dzire Tour has very harsh ride quality, pathetic rear space and the service costs are more than a TATA whereas the Indigo / Logan excels in the first two. I don't think a Logan is cheap if something goes wrong; so if the fleet picked this up, I would be inclined to believe that it was more due to the first two factors.

[bigben]

Maybe the current Manza will be produced for the taxi market. Besides, the Zest does not have a very large boot. How many Indigo CS's have we seen being used as a taxi? At least in Hyderabad, I have not seen any.

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I am NOT sure how the manufacturer back up fleet owners? I do NOT think the manufacturer will even get to know whether the cars dispatched go to personal usage / fleets.

Car makers can restrict dealers from registering car for commercial purposes and thereby can have control.

[torquecurve]

What if the current gen Vista/ Manza is priced 25K less than the Base version Bolt/ Zest. For a taxi/ cab operator, everything else being same this will act as enough of a motivator to buy the Vista/ Manza over the Bolt/Zest anyday. This will also act as a differentiator for the market.
With the launch of the Movus Tata has already made a clear distinction between vehicle targetted for the Cab market and Personal use vehicles.

[motomaverick]

Update

Prerana Motors has started Pre-launch booking for the Zest. 5k or 10k refundable amount. The price for the car will be available in the coming week.