[Arkanile]

My first post , an honor to be a part of this community. Am planning to buy XT petrol, test drove the vehicle a couple of weeks back,my 2 bits

A lot has been said about the a/c not being effective, my experience was different, found the a/c to be quite chilly and it was able to satisfy the requirement.
On the power front, I drove in both the Eco and city mode. Found the engine unresponsive and dull in the Eco mode, however press the city mode and the car becomes a different animal, was able to pull away nicely, small tap on the accelerator and it became quite zippy.
Could not experience any engine vibrations/clutter as mentioned by many members, possibly since the car was doing back to back test drives.
Test Drive done at Berkley's Chandigarh. Showroom was nice, was attended to immediately had to wait for the TD for 45 mins. In terms of knowledge, same story as others.

[abhinav.s]

Have only read the official review and did not bother reading further comments as I was not in the market for a small car. But member Keynote was looking for a second diesel car for city use so went with him for a test drive. The showroom staff were very courteous, honest and friendly. Checked out the demo vehicle inside the showroom. Will summarize the experience in bullets:

Pros:
1. Very well appointed interiors. Looks very premium for the segment.
2. Solid build quality all round. Panel gaps are minimum and uniform through out.
3. Steering feels very light and city friendly. But the return-to-center is a little too aggressive.
4. Suspension is tuned well for comfort over bad roads. The bumps are not felt inside and only the really bad pot holes make their presence felt. Else rough roads are taken care very well for this class of vehicle.
5. Interior space for rear seat passengers is awesome. I am 6'0. Setting the driver seat to my driving positing still had enough room for me to sit comfortably in the back seat.
6. ICE is superb with amazing sound quality from the system.

Cons:
1. Diesel drive-ability is good in the 2nd and 3rd gear. In B2B traffic, there is a lot vibrations on the clutch felt in 1st gear which is tiring and cumbersome. You cannot roll in 2nd in B2B traffic as it is too high so you have to move in 1st.
2. Once the windows rolled up, up to 2500rpm the noise inside is controlled. Above that the noise and harshness is felt inside. It is not very pleasant and might be a deal breaker for some.
3. The AC is not at all effective even with blower position in 4. When I was driving, it took nearly 10 minutes to start feeling some effect from the AC. Keynote in the rear seat was not feeling any effect of AC even after 15 minutes of driving around. After 25 minutes he started feeling a little bit of cool air coming through.

We did not get to drive the petrol. Speaking to the sales person revealed that the service has now improved compared to few years ago. And it has changed after Zest was released. T-BHP Zest & Bolt owners should be able to comment further on this part.
At close to 7L on road Bangalore for the top end diesel, Keynote is not fully convinced with the deal.

[Keynote]

Thanks Abhinav for accompanying and for your attention to detail.

Just to add few more points, Being a Friday (not much to do at work) had the opportunity to do 2 test drives within a span of ~ 4hrs. Both TDs were done at KHT Motors Domlur. Will try to summarize them below for both the test drives on the Diesel variant.

1st Test drive (as the driver) at 12:00 PM

Pros :

1. Exteriors look very nice, appealing and proportionate in size.
2. Solid build quality when compared to some of the flimsy cars available in the same segment from famous leading manufacturers.
3. Absolutely fantastic interiors and ICE for this segment, finally someone to challenge Hyundai head on in the features and gizmos area.
4. Space was never a constraint since I considered Tiago Diesel for a daily commute to office.
5. Light clutch and the diesel variants drivability was good is 2nd & 3rd gears. Engine is very eager to move in 1st gear and can get stalled if the clutch is not released slowly.

Cons :

1. Vibrations, vibrations, vibrations. They are present everywhere, right from the time you crank the engine.
2. AC is NOT at all effective and is a BIG downer. With AC set at maximum and with blower position in 4 it took a good ~15 minutes of driving to start getting some effect of AC. Though SA was polite and courteous during the course of TD, he did try to convince that it is due to the very hot temperature outside, and mine was the
first TD for the day. When another customer did a TD the previous day evening it was very effective and so on. This was around 12 noon mark, though fully not convinced at his comment, wanted to give him some benefit of doubt.

2nd Test drive (as rear passenger and Abhinav as the driver) at ~ 4:15 PM
Went a second time to check on Sales Persons claim of AC being ineffective due to the hot climate and realized it was a futile attempt from the SA to convince me (us).

1.Whatever positives said and done, no matter what the AC effect and Vibrations all around was a BIG downer. Absolutely no AC effect at all for almost 25 minutes at the rear.
2.Even after that it was just a hint of some air and that too wasn't comfortable.

Will I buy it, definitely not at this point. I would rather buy a Grand i10 at similar price or increase my budget and go for S-Cross 1.3 delta.

Thanks for reading.

[adityadeva]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

The TeamBhp review states that the AC is very effective.

I think the AC issue being reported by some members here could be due to a clogged AC filter

The culprit is a piece of filter paper that can be replaced in 10 minutes. If that is the case, I'm surprised that the showroom folks are not replacing these filters on a regular basis.

Finally a very probable reason for a/c being non effective as observed by some people.

I hope tata guys are reading every post in this thread very carefully.

Building and selling cars are not a plane jane business, it's about passion and challenges.

Also it would be best if the team members who develop the cars ride them for daily use, because, when one rides a car one has built, one rectifies the smallest imperfections that crop up.


Once more to emphasise that it's passion that has created all the top brands. If Japanese and Korean companies can sell and service their cars in India with Indian staff in showroom and services centres, any xyz company in India too can. But one needs that passion.

[Keynote]

The TeamBhp review states that the AC is very effective.
I think the AC issue being reported by some members here could be due to a clogged AC filter. This happened quite a few times in the Nano and it is irritating because the blower noise increases but the cooling efficiency decreases. I used to live in a dusty environment (road construction all around) and the filter got clogged within a week of replacement. The culprit is a piece of filter paper that can be replaced in 10 minutes. If that is the case, I'm surprised that the showroom folks are not replacing these filters on a regular basis.

Exact transcript from the team-bhp review by S2 "We found the petrol's air con to be super effective and never felt the need to go beyond blower speed 1. Mind you, even at that speed, the blower is audible. However, what confused us was that the diesel's unit felt noticeably weaker."

[gauravdgr8]

Well finally decided to have a relook at the Tiago and check out the vibrations or AC effectiveness here in Chandigarh.

Went to Berkeley. Nice showroom, courteous staff.

Vibrations: Spent 10-15 mins starting the car multiple time just to check the vibrations. On very minute inspections, there were some but nothing that would bother in day to day driving.

Sound of the 3 pot motor: Quite throaty. Stood at the rear and the exhaust note was pretty nice. Inside the cabin was not an issue at all.

Finally the AC. @ 40 degrees, the AC was quite effective and did not feel to drag. I kept it at 1 & 2 position and did not feel the need to go to 3.

Will I buy it. Yes. My wife's upgrade from Nano would be the Tiago in some months.

[discoverwild]

Having been a Vista owner for 4 years and a tad more, I have noticed a few people complaining about the AC. One of the possible suspects have already been mentioned here, a clogged filter. The other could be the overall glasshouse area of the car.

I used to park my car out on the street for the whole day. By the evening, the car would be boiling inside and I would literally walk into an oven. At least 20 mins for the car to cool down, by which time I would almost be home. It used to be tiresome and for sure my filters are clogged with the dusty environment around.

Over the last month, I moved the car into the compound where I have a partial cover and a mango tree. The car now takes less than 5 minutes to cool down.

Demo cars tend to be left out in the open and if you are the first to drive after it's been parked out in the sun for a while, the AC will be ineffective. Glass tends to heat up quickly and retain heat for a longer time. One way to ensure it cools off faster is to let the windows roll down, switch from recirculate mode to allow air in from outside and run the AC at full blast for a few minutes. Switch back to recirculate mode and then roll up the windows.

The salesperson should be advised in this regard, to allow the AC to run for a few minutes before inviting a customer. Small things can make a big difference.

[damodar]

Since Tiago comes with an Eco mode the AC performance will be less than ideal when driven in that mode. For my Nano Genx XTA the owners manual advises to drive in sports mode to get the best out of the AC. So people test driving the car keep watch out for which mode the car is in before starting off.

[pallavi_sgi]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Vibrations: Spent 10-15 mins starting the car multiple time just to check the vibrations. On very minute inspections, there were some but nothing that would bother in day to day driving.

What we have noticed is that there are not much vibrations when you start the car. After that you accelerate a bit (on the spot) and leave it, let it settle. This is when you will notice the vibrations.

[rkg]

Just now test driven Tiago diesel. Car was under shade. AC was very good. Coming from Vista/Aria steering was light hold and nice.

Tiago also comes with lane change indicator like my ARIA. But it was not mentioned anywhere even in brochures also. Sales guy was not even aware of what's that feature is. I had to show it to him. He was new recruit.

[rdhawan15]

Originally Posted by Keynote

Will I buy it, definitely not at this point. I would rather buy a Grand i10 at similar price.

I believe that Grand i10 is definitely more expensive than Tiago on a product to product comparison. Or, are you getting a special deal on Grand i10 because the last I checked with Hyundai, the difference between Tiago and Grand i10 was in the range of 50,000-100,000?

I have test driven the Tiago Petrol with 4 people on board and Tiago Diesel with 5 people on board at Autovikas Delhi. I, or the people accompanying me did not experience any issues with AC cooling in temperatures north of 40 degrees in Delhi. It could be a perception issue since it is a Tata product.

In my opinion, Tiago has a robust built, nice interiors, very responsive steering, and a nice ride quality. For now, it is a good value for money buy.

[S.MJet]

Originally Posted by damodar

Since Tiago comes with an Eco mode the AC performance will be less than ideal when driven in that mode. For my Nano Genx XTA the owners manual advises to drive in sports mode to get the best out of the AC. So people test driving the car keep watch out for which mode the car is in before starting off.

Even if this is due to City/Eco mode, sales advisers should know this and inform prospective customers.
Or there could be issue in a particular batch of test vehicles. IMO dealers do a proper PDI on test cars as well, they should have noticed & corrected.

[landcruiser123]

A funny incident this morning:

Dad remarked that the Tiago is a modified Indica, just like the Vista and Bolt.

People realise that this new Tata is a smaller car, which seems very well built from outside when viewed in flesh.
Tata sure have been working on new desings, but I'm yet to see a revolutionary product like the Mahindra's XUV 500.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

People realise that this new Tata is a smaller car, which seems very well built from outside when viewed in flesh.
Tata sure have been working on new desings, but I'm yet to see a revolutionary product like the Mahindra's XUV 500.

Your definition of revolutionary seems to differ from mine (at least )
Making a good SUV for more than a million rupees is difficult.
Making a premium-feeling hatchback for less than half a million is much, much more difficult. To be honest, the quality of interior plastics is not very different in the Tata and Mahindra vehicles. In fact, the exterior finish of the recent TML products is far, far superior to that offered by Mahindra (a new Scorpio in the showroom had uneven paint on the cladding-I posted a picture on another thread).
So let us be fair to the manufacturer and approach the product without a bias.

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

Your definition of revolutionary seems to differ from mine (at least )
Making a good SUV for more than a million rupees is difficult.
Making a premium-feeling hatchback for less than half a million is much, much more difficult.

It doesn't matter which segment the revolutionary product comes in. The product has to set the sales chart on fire. To upset the competition, you need to have an USP which your competitors don't. Unfortunately, it's not happening in Tata's case.

The Zest, Bolt never really sold in good volumes. The Zest is a brilliant package, except for a few minor flaws.

Maybe it's the dealer network that's letting Tata down?
Even Mahindra cars have their share of niggles.