Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   Tata Hexa : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/181903-tata-hexa-official-review-123.html)

Would strongly advice to go for "carpet" floor mats as it looks and feels premium. But please avoid the rubber ones that TATA gives as it looks horrible and degrades the interior looks and feel.
Ideally, the carpet mats are offered complementary.

The closest these come to (in terms of configuration) are the Tata Winger or the Force Traveler. I certainly won't compare them to something like the Hexa

First of all, thank you very much! According to Hyson Motors here, some 5-6 Hexa's have been delivered, with more pending.

I did try the manual gearbox static display model. I tried gearshifts on it, as well as clutch throws and of course, this is not indicative of how it behaves on the road but we decided to take the plunge anyway. To be honest, we did not even consider any other car once the Hexa was announced and I had test driven it, since we loved the comfort levels and the overall package so much. I familiarised myself with the Varicor 400 by flooring the autobox test drive model and seeing how it responded. :)

Choosing the manual, too, was the only option due to the relative lack of safety features on the auto. Finally, we chose the XT 4x2, since 4x4 would have been overkill for highway driving. Even the 4x2 can do good off-roading in the off-roads (broken highways :D) of Kerala. We needed a long distance cruiser and the slightly lower fuel efficiency of the AT also contributed to this decision.

I will post more photos in an ownership thread, which I'll write in detail after going for a few more trips in the coming months.

Thank you, sir! I'll compile a detailed ownership report once we undertake a few more trips in the car towards the end of next month/beginning of June.

Same for me. I bought S-Cross 18 months back and see only 4/5 a day in Gurgaon/Noida - including long commutes. As a proportion of total cars on road, this is how things work now. Older principles of spotting on road don't apply. Hexa - I spot one in 3/4 days.

And I LOVE my cars to be of rarer breed - not the types that you find 4/5 at every signal. Of course, budget permitting :D

My other ride is Manza - again something I don't spot many of ;)

I and my BIL went for a TD of Hexa and XUV 5OO with a lot of expectations, the vehicle looks flashy from outside, there are just too many shiny parts all over. The blue color vehicle which I saw just complimented the flashiness in daylight. The vehicle looks like a dust magnet inside with too much of glossy plastics. The dashboard is slightly raised at the top and has an unusual slope towards the windshield, it looks awkward. The A/C performance was only satisfactory with a noisy blower. The car feels heavy to drive compared to XUV 5OO, the clutch is hard and has a feel of free-fall kind of thing when pressed beyond a point. First time SUV drivers may take some time to get used to this vehicle, this can be a negative factor for Hexa.

Did you mean the ESP, Hydraulic Brake Assist and the traction control? Anything else? In a dilemma between XT 4*2 and XTA .

Experts!!! your view on these missing features in XTA ? The drives are going to be 50-50 in cities and Highways

Firstly, there is no denying the fact that ESP, TCS are extremely good safety features to have on a vehicle. I am not really sure on the hydraulic brake assist part as I do not know how that functions and what the real benefit is. Having said that, given that you are going to drive in the city for about 50% of the time, the automatic is probably what you need to putting your money on. If you are a sedate driver with good anticipatory skills (even for others' mistakes) and good knowledge about the vehicle's capabilities, the need for something like an ESP would be very very minimal. I personally feel that it's worth trading ESP and TCS for the convenience of an automatic - especially the highly rated Punch Powertrain unit here on the Hexa. (I am unsure if it is Punch Powerglide or Punch Powertrain, Owners please confirm the correct one).

I have apprehensions on the automatic transmission because I feel in certain scenarios like on a traffic signal or climbing a steep hill road the instant acceleration would be sorely missed(correct me on this one). The ability to downshift in a manual to a lower gear would be a plus. Since I am a novice regarding automatic transmission I feel manual would be better. But the convenience of a automatic transmission is a huge plus in our maddening traffic. I'm on the same boat of whether to choose the XT 4x2 or the XTA.

Contrary to what you said, the automatic would be easier to drive away on an incline from standstill when compared to a manual. It's good that manual in Hexa has hill hold. Else, it is the automatic which is easier. Would like to add that the automatic in Hexa is always eager to jump down a gear or two if you go hard on the gas. So you do get good response. By the time you downshift in the manual, the automatic would have covered more ground without losing much speed during downshift.

Also, in terms of acceleration, it is mentioned in this very thread a couple of pages back that the automatic is quicker with better 0-100 timings.

Firstly, I am not an expert. This is just my 2 bits.
The following safety features are present in the XT 4x2 and absent in the XTA:
1) Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with Roll-over Mitigation
2) Traction Control
3) Hill Descent Control (HDC)
4) Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)
As per my understanding:
1) Electronic Stability Program (ESP) is a kind of advanced version of Anti-skid Brake system (ABS). Sudden hard braking often locks the wheels which causes skidding of the car. ABS prevents this locking. However, ABS doesn’t compensate for the sideways skidding which results in the vehicle turning and sliding. ESP takes care of this.
2) Traction control takes care of lack of grip for the wheels when accelerating.
3) Hill Descent Control (HDC) is used often while descending a hill during off-roading.
4) Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) predicts emergency braking and decreases the braking distance.
These features though very important, may be required very rarely; only if one is a rough driver or the drive is in rough terrain and bad weather. The drive in the automatic version is way better than in the manual. Considering my driving style and the very remote chance of my going truly offroad, I personally feel that the driving experience of the XTA outweighs the requirement of these features and would go for the XTA any day.

To add to what abhi7013 posted, the automatic also has hill hold. The automatic has a sports mode where the engine feels like a thoroughbred race horse straining on the reins raring to go. There would be very few cars that would be able to beat the automatic at the starting line. Overtaking also is a breeze with the sports mode on. The engine growl itself makes many cars make way :)

My suggestion will be XTA. Whatever be the circumstances XTA will perform better in all cases. It would have been a different case if you were looking between XT 4x4 and XTA. Since you are not intetested in 4x4 the best option is XTA.

I test drove XT 4x4 and XTA back to back and trust me they are in different league. If you are not a big MT fan you will never ever go for XT once you test drive XTA. :thumbs up

Thank you all for your excellent points on the advantage of the automatic transmission. One more thing that bothers me is wear and tear of the brake pads on the automatic variant. Hexa weighs in 2.2 tons and there's bound to be wear and tear isn't it? Being automatic adds to that I feel.
How is the NVH levels on the automatic compared to the manual variant? I'm sold on the xta variant hope my dad gets convinced.

I hope you do not do an accelerator-or-brake driving. AT or manual, driving would be a combination of accelerator + coasting in gear + braking. And you will figure it out.

These are the primary safety features that are present in the XT over the XTA, yes. We chose the manual XT for the precise reason that our driving scenarios would be 10-15% in the city and 90-85% in the highway. We try our best not to take the Hexa out onto the streets of Thrissur because of how busy they are and how narrow the roads are constructed. For the highways, we felt that these electronic aids should be a must, when you're doing 90-100 kmph.

In your case sir, I would recommend the XTA in an instant. The automatic gearbox is an absolute gem, and you will not feel any stress or strain in the car at all. It will be like riding a Honda Activa, only in much more comfort. :)

I have test driven the automatic extensively, and even we had a minor dilemma about choosing the XT or XTA, but ultimately went with the manual only because our primary use was not in the cities. In the cities, I will admit the manual is a bit of a pain compared to the auto. But we're used to driving manual boxes for so long, and came from a Fiat Punto (which admittedly does not have the best manual box in the business), and so we did not find any trouble adjusting the the one in the Hexa.

My update on 4000+ Kms coming soon. Meanwhile, wanted some details on the "Side Step". Any owner feedback on its robustness and durability? Also the price charged by the dealer for the same.

Need to get it installed in a day or two, so would really appreciate some quick feedback from the owners who have it installed on their Hexa.