[sumannandy]

I own a Tata Safari, this is how I see it.

1. The cars are spacious and very comfortable, Build quality is awesome.
2. Service center attitude is very very bad. They will not diagnose issues correctly or they do not want to do it. There are few exceptions. Its the service centers that ruins the overall experience. They even forgot to put the dipstick after oil change. I was advised to change combination switch when it was a simple wiring issue. They will almost never proactively diagnose anything unless its broken. Due to this, multiple unscheduled visits to service centers for niggles is not uncommon.
3. Parts quality is not as good as competitors. Once its starts aging parts start failing.
4. Tata Motors Management commitment is very very very good towards ensuring a good experience. I doubt any other manufacturer would have it. But that does not unfortunately translate to the service center. In multiple cases they helped me by involving the vendors or ensuring it is resolved.

What do you do with 1 and 4, ultimately you have to deal with 2 and 3. And for all other brands I owned such as Maruti in India and Honda, Toyota, Pontiac in USA, 2 and 3 are so good and 1 is so reasonable that you get an excellent experience overall.

Summary, if I am looking for a new car for my family members, I would not buy a Tata, for myself, may be.

[highwaylover]

I had created this poll in the 'TATA Zest owners group' Facebook page. I know the sample size is small, but it definitely tells me that a lot of people bought Zest simply because of the merits and VFM factor even though there is TATA bashing going on everywhere

[arun_josie]

My brother-in-law took his Zest(Revotron XT) delivery last Sunday in Mysore from Urs Cars. ODO was 25 during delivery and the fuel level was almost NIL. The dealer refused to fill a liter or two and said it is sufficient to reach the nearest fuel station.







I did a 15Km drive (only sedate driving) and here is my initial observation,

• Eco, City, Sport mode: Not much response when we are in Eco mode and car was struggling on the inclines. I would prefer City or Sport mode which responds better.
• Gear shifting was smooth and falling in place without much effort.
• Clutch was smooth but has a short travel (May be since I am used to Lineas long travel)
• Seats are comfortable and felt easy to get the driving position correct. Rear seat was not spacious as Inidca though.
• Liked the ICE very much which comes with 8 speakers.
• Very light steering which will be helpful for city driving.
• No option to open the boot from remote-key even in the top-end model.
• Also, when the car is locked and if we try to open the boot the alert alarm comes ON. We need to first unlock the car and then open the boot with the key to avoid this. Not sure if there is any setting to change this.
• A-Pillars are really wide. I found it difficult to take right turns on the junctions as this creates major blind spots.
• No dead pedal and no space to move the leg towards left side as well. Found it difficult since I am used to the dead pedal now.
• For the first 30Kms of drive in Mysore City traffic and Outer ring road the FE was around 10.5Kml.
• I felt that AC blower sound was little higher even after the reaching the required chillness.

Overall, In my opinion it’s a good car for city drives. Hope he gets good after sale service from Tata.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

[*]Also, when the car is locked and if we try to open the boot the alert alarm comes ON. We need to first unlock the car and then open the boot with the key to avoid this. Not sure if there is any setting to change this.

Isn't it a good feature? I guess it's the same in most cars. I used to do the same on my Swift VDi. Unlock the car first and then unlock the boot.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Isn't it a good feature? I guess it's the same in most cars. I used to do the same on my Swift VDi. Unlock the car first and then unlock the boot.

I am not sure whether this is a good/bad feature. But why unlock the car when my requirement is just to open the boot using the key?

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I am not sure whether this is a good/bad feature. But why unlock the car when my requirement is just to open the boot using the key?

Every door including boot needs to be safe for me. And when central locking is in place, I would definitely prefer an alarm if the boot opens without me unlocking the central lock mechanism.

[rkg]

I had my Indica Vista for 5.5 years and 92K mileage. i had sold it as scrap for 2.7 lakhs . Iam lucky i found a scrap consumer who can shall out that much. of late i have heard from him that the scrap is still running fine for the past 6 months and he is happy.

After getting 2.7 lakhs by selling the scrap i bought another 2 ton scrap in the form of ARIA. So far this 2 ton scrap has run 15K in 6 months The total service cost for 15K is 3593/ only. that too for consumables like engine oil,oil filter, sediment filter.

Somehow this scrap has taken me to Leh and back to bangalore without failing me anywhere.

I have relatives(very close) who bought the best quality available car in the country, Swift Dezire, whose turbo has run into trouble within 6 months & stranded him on the highway and Maruti with its outstanding service has charged him for towing and asked him to buy turbo on his own( he has to come to bangalore buy it and go to Anantapur) . But the problem persisted. He gave it another outstanding MASS at Bangalore, who told him it is fuel pump issue not turbo and the MASS @ Anantpaur did not diagnose properly.
He is disgusted and said will sell it.

But i think it is his bad luck & fault of TML but not Maruti and its Service. Because the engine was made at TATA-FIAT plant.

Above all the car sells due to quality not on weight.

At least my scrap car Indica Vista did not strand me anywhere across the length and breadth of the country. Most probably by fluke. otherwise how can a scrap car which sells by weight and patriotic feelings can last like that?

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Every door including boot needs to be safe for me. And when central locking is in place, I would definitely prefer an alarm if the boot opens without me unlocking the central lock mechanism.

Why would you want to first unlock and then open boot with the key? Its just redundant to have a 2 step procedure here. You don't do the same with other doors. You just unlock using remote and open the door, no involvement of the key thereby.
For the boot, cheaper way is to open it by key only, even though the car is locked by remote. The better way, i20 has this, to unlock the car using the remote and just lift the boot, the boot has a touch sensor that activates only if the car is unlocked.

[mayankverma]

Last Sunday, I was waiting on a traffic signal and chatting with wifey in my zest when a mini truck scratched the rear left wheel arch and rear bumper to park his vehicle in the left lane. In an attempt to run away he added more scratches and broke off the mud flap. He ran off against red signal. I felt so helpless and angry.
I was going on a leisure trip/long drive to lavasa and needless to say, it crushed my weekend mood and I almost cancelled the trip. But good sense prevailed and I felt better as the day passed and we reached lavasa.

Attaching a pic of the hurt corner. Suggestions welcome for possible repair options.

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Attaching a pic of the hurt corner. Suggestions welcome for possible repair options.

Damage doesnt look so bad.
I know it really is those type of scratches which really hurts the heart more.
Get it rubbed by a rubbing compund.
This will make the scratch and dent very less apparent.
Please dont go for a repaint as the damage doesnt warrant a repaint.
Just get it rubbed from a rubing compund thoroughly and live with the scratch.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by mayankverma

Attaching a pic of the hurt corner. Suggestions welcome for possible repair options.

Originally Posted by madhu33

Just get it rubbed from a rubing compund thoroughly and live with the scratch.

Agree with madhu33. I have used Formula 1 Scratch Out for similar scratches, and it does make them less noticeable. You can then request the ASC for a brush touch up during your next scheduled service.

Cheers,
Vikram

[mayankverma]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Agree with madhu33. I have used Formula 1 Scratch Out for similar scratches, and it does make them less noticeable. You can then request the ASC for a brush touch up during your next scheduled service.

Cheers,
Vikram

Thanks madhu33 & comfortablynumb. Will work on reducing the scratch using formula 1 and live with it

[madhu33]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

All I can see that is a horn issue in the above post

Do you expect air bag to deploy when you bang the steering wheel hard?

+100 to your above post.

For the airbag to deploy, it has to be :
first : equipped with Airbags and
second : crash of the frontal part of the car.. not a bang on steering wheel.
That wont activate an airbag.No ways.

And about the horn issue.
Advice to the potential & Current Zest/manza buyers
If ever , whenever, wherever caught in such type of situation,
just call 1800 209 7979 . this is the emergency assist number.
call them and ask for urgent help saying the car is not drivable and you are stuck.
Believe me the response will be efficient and prompt most of the time.
The breakdown mechanic shall reach you in prescribed time frame.
All he can simply do is take the horn fuse out or simply disconnect the horn wiring(push type lug connectors) located behind the TATA front logo on the bumper.
Getting the Horn function correctly is no big deal.
So please dont strike off the Zest from your list of probables just becuase someone has had this experience from his Manza.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Every door including boot needs to be safe for me. And when central locking is in place, I would definitely prefer an alarm if the boot opens without me unlocking the central lock mechanism.

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Why would you want to first unlock and then open boot with the key? Its just redundant to have a 2 step procedure here.

The better way, i20 has this, to unlock the car using the remote and just lift the boot, the boot has a touch sensor that activates only if the car is unlocked.

I agree with what itsashishsharma has posted. I had this feature on my old car 'Getz Prime', where I had to only unlock the car from the remote to access the boot.
The same thing actually worked wonders during mall visits, where all I had to do was to use the remote to unlock the car, for the guard to access the boot.

If not this, TATA must have at least equipped the Zest with a 'Boot open' option (button) on the remote.

From my experience, Hyundai offers some really smart features on their cars, which becomes very handy on a day to day run. However, I have realized that it is really tough to beat Germans when it comes to some really innovative thinking.

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

Summary, if I am looking for a new car for my family members, I would not buy a Tata, for myself, may be.

Sums it up perfectly, if one is ready to put up with the service center tantrums, tata vehicles provide the maximum bang for the buck. Side-effect : very quickly you will learn the intricate details of the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic devices which need to be in top shape to keep your car running and as a consequence you end up joining team-bhp . If it were not for the inconsistencies shown by the service centers tata vehicles would be a pleasure to drive and own.

PS: i have owned a tata vehicle for the last 10 odd years.