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| Re: Tata Hexa @ Auto Expo 2016 ACI's video review is up: What they say: Quote:
The engine can be had mated to a new six-speed manual gearbox offered in 4x2 and 4x4 versions, as well as with a six-speed automatic transmission that sends power solely to the rear axle.
It was the latter we sampled first and it immediately impressed us. The engine is surprisingly responsive and has a nice, linear spread of power, pulling cleanly from about 1,500rpm. There’s no spiky mid-range surge, just a mild swell of torque across a very broad rpm band. Automatic gearshifts are quick, smooth and very fluid and it makes the most of the Hexa’s performance. In fact, the automatic is substantially quicker than the manual and a 0-100kph time of 12.71 seconds for such a behemoth is pretty respectable.
| BBC Top Gear has gone live as well: Quote:
As with any SUV, you sit high-up in a Hexa. The cabin is well-appointed and elegant with an array of soft-touch buttons and switches. Tata hasn’t gone in for anything fancy, here, but it still feels rich. Even the leather seats on this top model was nicely finished. Strangely, there are a few ergonomic issues – the front centre armrest is more useful as a storage bin than an armrest and the climate control display is oddly angled so the driver and co-driver can only see the bottom half. No dead pedal in the manual version will be bothersome over long distances. These issues apart, there is plenty of space.
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From India Today: Quote:
The "comfort" mode is more inclined to offer fuel economy while the 'dynamic' mode remaps the electronics and this results in a boost in performance which is prominently felt. Then thereis the '4wd' mode which turns the Hexa into a decent off roader and thanks to the LSD, the Hexa can take on quite a bit of challenge. On the downside, the manual version of the Hexa does feel a bit heavy to drive.
| Digit: Quote:
Tata has provided a 10.1 speaker arrangement on the Hexa. The JBL-powered speaker setup includes a multi-channel amplifier, a subwoofer to the rear, and ten speakers arranged strategically to give you a wholesome surround sound experience. One speaker is placed right in front at the median, while the rest are either door-mounted or arranged at angular positions. To begin with, the system is incredibly loud, draining out any noise from the engine at volume levels of 13.
| Evo India: Quote:
Almost every surface that you can touch is layered in a soft-touch plastic, in fact only the surround of the dials and the panel around the drive mode selector is hard scratchy plastic that earlier was the predominant material in a Tata cabin. The seats are particularly well finished, with inputs from a vendor that does seats for Mercedes-Benz – it is not only nicely bolstered and supportive but has neat perforation and even neater (white) stitching. The rear captain seats (the Hexa can be had in 6-seater and 7-seater layouts) are even better, with integrated armrests, so much so that my colleague Adil Darukhanawala who has just taken delivery of his new Innova Crysta proclaimed it to be better than on his new MPV. An added convenience is (manually adjustable) sunblinds for the middle row passengers.
| Financial Express: Quote:
In simple words, the torque is ample to move the two-tonne-plus MPV over paved terrain with utmost ease. For most of our driving duration on the highway, the Hexa was in the 1,500 to 3,000 rpm range and it returned an impressive figure of 13.1 km/l on the MID (or Multi Information Display). This engine has two transmission options, a 6-speed manual transmission which is exactly the same as found in the Storme and a Punch Powerglide Strasbourg 6-speed automatic transmission. It is a torque converter unit, but this gearbox is well tuned for the engine. The engine noise doesn’t filter much into the cabin, partly due to the good Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH) proofing. While most torque converters have the inherent issue of shift shocks, this automatic is one of the most refined units we have driven so far.
| Carwale: Quote:
The only catch is – and we are talking about the manual here – the lag before the variable geometry turbocharger reaches maximum boost. The manual Hexa feels lethargic and heavy and unwilling till the rpm needle crosses the 2,000rpm mark. Beyond this, and before the engine hits 3,500rpm, the Hexa is on song. It pulls strongly, reacts well to throttle inputs and the engine sounds and feels reasonably refined. Past 3,500rpm, however, things get loud and a bit vibey. The good news is, the acceleration still refuses to let off, and the Hexa continues to gather momentum without bother very close to its redline. It’s not a character one generally associates with large, heavy SUVs. It was pleasantly surprising.
| ThrillOfDriving: Quote:
Tata’s new HorizonNext philosophy is on display in many nuances. For instance, the door lock/unlock button is front-and-centre where either the driver or passenger can reach it. The reverse camera can be activated by a button without engaging reverse. The maps are co-developed with MapMyIndia and run off your smartphone. Little good decisions that add up to a nicer experience. Inside the vehicle, the dash is very smart to look at, maintaining an all-dark theme. Controls fall to hand easily and visibility of the infotainment system and driver binnacle is good. Plastics look better than they feel. Seats are a particular high point, being in leather with contrast stitching (another learning from upmarket stablemates). They’re nicely bolstered and quite generous in size, which should be a plus for the heavy-set. Headroom is ample, save for the third row, which is okay. The second row provides a lot of legroom.
| AutoX: Quote:
The engine is more refined than before, but tends to get noisy as the revs climb up. Despite the increase in power from the Aria, it feels a bit sluggish bearing the over two-tonne weight of the car. That being said, it’s easy to maintain three-digit speeds on the highway – and it feels fairly planted while cruising. This engine comes mated to a 6-speed manual as well as an automatic transmission. We drove the manual first and found it to be quite disappointing. The transmission is very rubbery and doesn’t slot into the desired gear with ease. Clutch action, though, is light – which should make it comfortable to drive in traffic. The 6-speed automatic transmission, on the other hand, came as quite a surprise. It shifts smoothly – whether in D, S or manual. In D, the car up-shifts quickly to stay in a lower gear in a bid to save fuel. The downside of this is evident when you’re going uphill – at which point you have to shift to Sport or Manual to drop a gear and extract more from the engine. Tata also has what it calls ‘Race mode,’ which can be activated by keeping the accelerator pedal pinned for a few seconds while in S. This allows the car to stay between 3,000-4,000rpm and somewhat negate the turbo lag.
| Motoroids: Quote:
If you’ve ever been inside an Aria and scorned at the austerity, you’re in for a surprise the minute you step inside the Hexa. It’s a cut, scratch that, two cuts above the Aria’s interiors. Inside, the Hexa exudes this distinct, upmarket charm that can be felt in the materials, the 50 Shades of Black colour palette, the multi-coloured mood lighting, and the way things have been put or sewn together. The new dashboard is all about straight lines, with rectangular vents and full sized, soft touch plastic inserts that mimic leather. A note of appreciation for the build quality. Honestly, with the Tiago, I was convinced that Tata Motors had outdone themselves as far as build quality goes. But the Hexa takes it a couple of notches higher.
| DriveSpark: Quote:
The second row is where you need to be, the captain seats are designed with best lumbar and thigh support. Seated on the captain seats with the armrest, the legroom to the headroom is ample and is comfortable for a long drive. While the second impresses, the third row is a bit of downer. With high knee position, the bench seat is good enough for a medium sized and not a big person like me. The headroom was barely enough as the roof line grazes over your head. Feet position for the third row does not let you move freely and could be a bane while travelling far and wide.
| NDTV Auto: Quote:
The Hexa with the manual gearbox gets the driving mode options that changes the amount of power and torque the engine makes. For example, in comfort mode, the engine makes 150 bhp of power and 320 Nm of torque while in the sport mode, the engine makes the full 156 bhp and 400 Nm of torque. Now while this might not be immediately apparent to the average consumer, there is a noticeable difference on how driver friendly the Hexa gets especially around the mid-range. The modes also change the ESP efficiency and traction control settings on the Hexa which means a little more leeway for spirited driving in the sport mode. There is also a ‘rough mode’ that is essentially an off-road mode that gives you better power at lower revs and a less intrusive ESP setting that gives you a lot more leeway when one (or more) of your wheels lack traction. Power delivery isn’t what we would call hectic and the clutch could have certainly been better in terms of both its overall feedback and free play. The Hexa is not what we would call fast though as with 2280kg of kerb weight to move around, it does take some time to get up to speed. But, its isn’t painfully slow either and once you do get it going, mid range performance, especially on a highway is impressive.
| Zigwheels: Quote:
There’s no getting away from it, the way the Aria tackles bad roads is very impressive. The 19-inch wheels make short work of lightly broken roads. The way the recalibrated suspension shrugs off bigger potholes and ditches is shocking at first. Tata say that the use of multivalve dampers has helped the suspension tackle off-road better while improving ride quality, too. No doubt, you can feel that at work on our roads, too. The chassis has also been made more rigid and this has helped tune the suspension better, too. The stiffer setup of the suspension at the rear has been done to make the Hexa more sporty to drive. What is apparent is that at highway speeds, it feels absolutely composed and does well to mask its size when being steered through traffic. However, if hustled hard you will feel the body roll, albeit in a controlled manner.
| CarDekho: Quote:
But, getting into a comfortable driving position was easy thanks to the eight-way adjustable driver's seat (that's not electric adjust, by the way) and the tilt adjust steering. The seating position is very SUV-like, where you tower over most vehicles on the road, and get a superb view out of the front windscreen. It is among the few cars that I can sit comfortably in, in all three rows. The third row space has been improved over the Aria and is genuinely usable now. Of course you still sit with your knees pointed towards the roof and headroom won’t be great for the taller passengers. But, then, there’s always the second row.
| IAB: Quote:
According to Tata Motors, the Hexa gets a ‘first in India’ patented curved LED taillights. The taillight element bends through the D-Pillar and looks quite attractive at night. The Hexa features a water wading depth of 450 mm according to Tata Motors. For reference, the Land Rover Discovery Sport (the Hexa is expected to cost a third of the Disco Sport) can handle a maximum of 600 mm.
| TheQuint's video review:
Last edited by RavenAvi : 21st October 2016 at 23:15.
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