[Trapezio]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I am almost certain that the middle row can be moved forward to give more legspace to the third row. Besides it becomes pointless to have three three rows of seats facing forward with no luggage space like in the Scorpio.

Agree completely. 7-seater without luggage space as in Scorpio defeats the very purpose.

We once drove Scorpio for 1500 km with seven people on board with our luggage in our laps! It wasn't fun.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

I am almost certain that the middle row can be moved forward to give more legspace to the third row. Besides it becomes pointless to have three three rows of seats facing forward with no luggage space like in the Scorpio.

i would have preferred to have more leg space & lesser luggage space. in the aria, if you move the middle row ahead, then it becomes cramped.

believe me guys, my family did a trip to kerela & back in my innova. they were 5 adults + 1 driver & loads of luggage (by loads i mean around 7 big suitcases & 4 soft bags). even with that small boot & NO CARRIER, they managed to shove in the luggage. point is- more leg space means more comfort on long drives.

what use is the boot when i just need to carry around 7 people in the aria without any luggage? that means both the middle & third row is cramped & there is acres of empty space wasted in the boot. if the third row is on rails, then thats a different thing.

[Shan2nu]

Seems to be a good design. Very diff from what we've seen from Tata so far.

But id wait and test drive the Aria before commenting on the refinement and build quality.

Shan2nu

[lurker]

Originally Posted by harimakesh

I Pray TATA learnt their LESSON of Righly Positioning New brand and pricing it right from day1 from TATA's own earlier futile Grande i & MKii effort

Brand Positioning ^

well they can learn something from Mahindra which positioned Scorpio pricewise somewhere near its competition Sumo at the time of launch and then increased prices incrementally - when they actually got around to refining their base product with each annual or incremental product revision.

Perception of value regarding Scorpio in the minds of customers also changed with each revision thus. So Scorpio which was launched in the 5.5-6 lac slot is now commanding 11 lacs ORP for the premium versions and customers are prepared to pay and associate value in their acquisition.

Tata's have an opposing record in Grande, which was launched with premium pricing and has slid down hence, also taking down the value of the brand with it. And ofcourse there always has been a quality questionmark attached to almost all their products esp in areas of plastics and electricals.

So in short what Mahindra's have done is brand-building and what Tata's have done is brand-diluting.

[ravibhat]

What I have noticed is older Safari has better front and 2nd row and even back jump seats as far as comfort goes. Aria lacks is few Design issues like for 14 lacs vehicle it needs more leg room and boot space is too huge. Not so ideal design for sure. Personally I felt look wise also not so nice. Considerring these minor issues which can be major ones while choosing 10lacs+ vehicles I doubt If Aria find success!!

Giving too much of goodies doesnot mean vehicle is VFM! We should understand how useful are they and how long they work

Only time will tell If it is going to find better sale in charts. My experience is If someone need to carry more than 5 Adults no vehicle can beat Innova. I pray Toyota give 4X4 MUV in 14 lacs range.

Regards,

Ravi.

[Santy]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Very unlikely. The 115 bhp 3.0 Liter the old cast iron block from the Tata 407 with a common rail fuel injection. The new engine is more likely a contemporary unit like the 2.2 DICOR which has no connection with the 3.0 DICOR.




I am almost certain that the middle row can be moved forward to give more legspace to the third row. Besides it becomes pointless to have three three rows of seats facing forward with no luggage space like in the Scorpio.

You are right the middle row slides forward and 5.8 inch person can easily sit in 3rd row, I would not call it would be comfortbale as those are small seats, but other wise over all seating is very comfy, I am sure Innova 3 rd seat is not better apart from the recline it has there

[Asifgrkhan]

Folks who are in the US can probably confirm on this.
I feel the dimensions and seating arrangements in the ARIA are inspired by the Acura MDX which is a 7 seat luxury cross over sold in the US. Even the small storage lid behind the 3rd row seats is a direct rip off. I know this because I own an MDX. The limited room in the 3rd row is also the case in the MDX. What isnt the same is the level of fit and finish which even on a the very new Aria does not compare at all. The MDX spots 17 inchers also - 235/65 R17s.

The only difference I note is that the hood is sloping in a minivan fashion and Tata could easily have made it a little bit more horizontal for an SUV look.

Some pictures follow.

[MihirC]

Originally Posted by vijaythacker

yeah raj, seems like that car is Linea.

Dear Vijay, that car does not seem to be a linea. Observe the steering wheel and also the dash with the missing ice. AFAIK no model of linea, including the ones displayed at the expo have this type of steering and dash.

[aditya79india]

Originally Posted by CoNrOd

@ aditya79india: I believe that the engine you saw was for a commercial vehicle application. Simple means to identify: check out the size of the turbo; you generally find such a huge turbo only on commercial vehicles that are designed for lots of load carrying. another point is the size of the engine and its packaging (as pointed out by vinumon), it's not designed for a car and thats for sure. Have a look at the existing 2.2 VTT Dicor engine and you'll get an idea...

Originally Posted by VINUMON

Tucked in a corner behind one of the low floor busses was this........

It appears that the engine was displayed close to where its application lay.
(atleast for the time being)

(From Page-7, post 94)

Tata Starbus with automated manual transmission, on a new chassis range: Tata Motors has developed a brand new platform for fully-built buses and chassis. With a choice of 10 chassis platforms (with and without front overhang), the new range can render itself to 33 different seating and comfort – standard, semi-luxury, luxury -- configurations of fully-built buses for intra-city, tourist, school, and office transportation in budget, comfort and luxury options. The variant on display is a 27-seater.

The range meets the requirements of the proposed bus body code. The spacious interiors, parabolic leaf-spring suspension with anti-roll bar both at the front and rear, engine-driven air-conditioning and lowest NVH in its class, provide excellent ride and comfort. It can be adapted to both single and double door options and is powered with a new generation Tata 3-litre DICOR BS-IV compliant engine. Power steering, both tilt and telescopic type, and automated manual transmission (6-speed cable shift) make maneuverability easy. Tata Motors will market the bus, both as a fully-built unit and as a chassis for customers to design their own configurations.

1.) Pictures dont tell the whole truth. The turbo wasnt huge by any standards. Perfectly normal. Only thing it was a fixed geometry type not a VGT.

2.) CV diesels are designed with atleast 500,000 km design life and are low specific output and large displacement type to keep stress levels low. With 193ps / 3L, we get a specific output of 62ps/L which is very much passenger car territory.

3.) I am sure those who have seen the engine / GB combo would agree it is not a bulky unit unfit for large SUV application.

4.) The spec sheet clearly states ----> available in 2 versions. With GVW > 3.5 T & with GVW < 3.5 T. Now which CV with GVW < 3.5T require a 193ps engne with 470NM torque ???

5.) I am sure this is an engine with a clear cut passenger vehicle application, may be that version has a VGT instead of an FGT.

6.) Maybe TATA didnt want to flame passions too much by displaying an Indica sports variant and a 200hp diesel engine in close proximity, hence placed the engine in an obscure corner.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

i cant understand why they have kept such a big boot with the third row being so cramped? they could have easily shifted the second & third rows behind for more leg space.

or maybe the tapering roof does not allow that as if the third row is moved behind, it will be really short on headroom. whatever be the reasons, the aria needs more legroom in both the second as well as third rows.
Attachment 261799


and which car is this? the linea?
Attachment 261800

Thats not Linea. That car seems to be the Polo, definitely a car from VW

Originally Posted by vijaythacker

yeah raj, seems like that car is Linea.

[aslambhai]

Originally Posted by aditya79india

2.) CV diesels are designed with atleast 500,000 km design life and are low specific output and large displacement type to keep stress levels low. With 193ps / 3L, we get a specific output of 62ps/L which is very much passenger car territory.

5.) I am sure this is an engine with a clear cut passenger vehicle application, may be that version has a VGT instead of an FGT.

6.) Maybe TATA didnt want to flame passions too much by displaying an Indica sports variant and a 200hp diesel engine in close proximity, hence placed the engine in an obscure corner.

completely agree with you here. 64 ps/litre specific output is even more than fgt multijet engine!!!! this can't and won't be used for commercial vehicles and is definitely designed for passenger vehicle applications.

i am just putting forth specs of audi 3l tdi for comparison
torque: 407 nm @ 1750rpm
power: 225 @3750rpm

[pamiboy]

Interiors are hugely improved but there seems to be too many straight lines on the exterior. It may be mistaken for an older generation vehicle especially in west. Even in India I think after 6 months or so this design will look uninspiring or outdated. Why can't TATA leave the exterior design to those who know how to do it properly ?

[NewYorkDesi]

I also own an Acura MDX, had the older 2004 model which is pictured in this thread and the new 2008 model.

Lots of seating similarities with the 3rd row seating. Its cramped but very usuable for long distances if you have to.

The luggage space may look small, but you will be surprised how much you can cram into it. Its similar amount of luggage space in my 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan (also AWD) - and makes the Innova look like a joke.

Keep in mind the split seats, roof racks. I assume the roof carriers will see an increase in demand when the Aria comes to market.

Overall very impressive effort by Tata. I think its the perfect long haul vehicle, with good space, features, and the AWD. Whats better is that the toy / joke models that the foreign manufactures dump in India will need to be updated with "real" car models. That includes the Innova, CRX (considered a toy SUV in the US), and others.

Good going Tata...only Indians will be able to look out for India! The other guys will try to get by with the minimal effort. I wish Mahindra would put a serious effort in product devl instead of the dinosaurs like the Scorpio and freakish cars like the Xylo. India firms need to take the fight to the rest of the world.

Indians should realize we are seeing the next Hundai or Honda in the making here. At this rate of progress I can't wait to see what the 2015 Expo looks like.

Jai Hind!

[tsk1979]

More pics added to Post #2.
1. Boot
2. Dual tone interiors will have color matched with body color
3. Mini glove boxes on roof

[vista_qjd]

I dont know why, but i have been seeing too many comparisons being done on this thread - looks like this car, looks like that from the side etc etc.... I think any vehicle for that matter looks like some other at its basic form!
In my opinion, i don't think there is any other vehicle that is like the Aria. For its category, most vehicles have three row seating - no one needs inspiration for this, this is like a industry standard! So please lets stop comparing and talk about the vehicle and give Tata the credit for coming out with a great vehicle with a great design.