A pearl white Aria with signs of a good rain drive, splattered with road dirt, is not something most people love to look at. But then, most of us don’t belong to the category of “most people”, that which makes us a part of this forum. And thats how my last weekend came to a close.
A few weeks back, Lukeskywalker reached me to check on my willingness to be a part of a program that was being driven by Prerana Motors and Tata Motors. Huh, is that something you even have to ask?!! This lead to an invite asking me (and a bunch of others, whose reports you would have read by now, and more will spring up shortly, I guess) to attend a meeting with the mentioned stakeholders at Lalit Ashok on 7th July. Skipping exact details of what was discussed etc, moving on to the meat of the discussion, Prerana Motors MD, Premanad Shenoy, decided that all of us required to Experience the Aria over a couple of days, to get a better understanding of the capabilities of the vehicle. Thank You Mr Shenoy for the opportunity, it was and is a Pleasure.
Scene skip to last weekend (14th & 15th July). A Pearl White Aria Pure gets delivered to my place, with just 139kms on the odo (it even had the plastic covers on!). Pure is the base version for Aria. Let that not fool you though, included in the Pure is:
- ABS with EBD
- Engine Immobilizer and Perimetric Alarm System
- All Disc Brakes
- 2 DIN Music system with Aux In and USB; 6 speakers
- Driver Info System (which shows a whole load of info)
- Dual AC
- Rear Wash wipe and Demistifier
- Follow Me Home lights
- Electrically Adjustable ORVMs
- Dual barrel headlamp with projector beam
There are many more features, but these are some that stood out for me, even though it’s the base version.
Well, so we had the Aria to drive, a 7 seater, and just 3 of us (wife, kid and me). Time to call in a few resources to occupy some of the free seats, and in comes 2 friends! One travelled all the way to Bangalore from Trivandrum to join us for this two day drive!! It was decided that we would go to Coorg. Saturday morning was hurried. Picked up additions to the bunch and loaded up the Aria with luggage. Any one with a 3 year old or there abouts, would know how much luggage is needed even if it’s a 2 day trip.
Bangalore – Mysore – Madikeri was the route charted, and we started off with the NICE road to get out of Bangalore. The usual weekend rush onwards to Mysore helped me realize that even though I was driving the Aria for the first time, it did not feel huge. The vehicle in actual is long and wide, just like any other MUV, but on the move, the size is not a deterrent. Quick lane changes, shooting into gaps and some scare tactics are all handled well. The engine is a gem:
- Goes all the way up the rev range smooth, and quick.
- Acceleration/Pick Up feels great.
- Turbo lag, if in the right gear, is not a problem.
- Loved the turbo whoosh!
- Powerful at 140PS and 320Nm.
- NVH handled well. Engine noise in the cabin is never intrusive.
Tata has for sure worked some wonders with the gearbox. This is surer slotting, and smoother than the Safari one. Vibes on the gear lever was something of a bother though. By vibes, I am not referring to the gear lever shaking as in the Innova or Scorpio, but the vibes you feel when you rest your hand on the gear lever. A bad habit, but I do leave a hand on the gear, while the other steers, at least till I get to the top gear (but then we are talking about the Aria and the drive, rather than my driving habits here!!)
The drive till Coorg was pretty uneventful, except for some hard braking for the ever present unmarked-village-bumps. We didn’t have the ABS kick in any time on this stretch, even when braking from triple digit speeds, and the vehicle held its line. There was no tail wagging or nervousness what so ever. We had taken turns driving and, agree in unison that brakes are a high point for the Aria. I did manage to trigger the ABS once, when I had to brake for an elephant-trap of a pothole, and this was more so due to sand/gravel strewn on the road. We reached Coorg around lunch time. Even though initial plan was to settle down at Coorg, the weather, and the vehicle, egged us on. We took the Sampaje Ghat onwards to Kasargod, Kerala!!
For a vehicle this size, the Aria took the ghat section without any issues. Body roll though present was well under control. There was none of the going-to-tip-over feeling that a few SUVs exhibit to be seen on the Aria. The suspension is well sorted, and is evident in the way it takes wavy undulations of the highway to pothole ridden ghat/forest roads. It feels stable, and when ever there were smaller (unfortunate?!) vehicles taking a dip in one of the water filled potholes, I would put two wheel off the tarmac and move one. The passengers did not have any complaints about comfort over any of the varied terrains that we drove through, and we did have our fair share of real bad roads & pot holes. The ghat sections that we drove on the way to and from Kasargod (different routes to and fro) brought to the forefront the engines capability to keep pulling. A missed down shift wont make you stall (unless in extreme conditions and you are being lazy), and the engine will keep humming along, pulling all of approximately 3tonnes without a fuss. Drivability is great, and I guess the VTT (Variable Turbine Technology) has a role to play here. Even though lag is minimal, the surge in power once the engine hits 1800-2000 RPM is addictive! I used to love the mHawk engine for the way it revs up and gives you power. Now, I have a new favorite! You really wouldn’t expect a vehicle this big to be this agile.
Steering is responsive, though a bit heavy at parking speeds. No complaints here, since I prefer heavy steering over the over-servoed light ones. I did miss the audio controls on the steering wheel though, which is not present in the Pure variant. Now that we are on the topic of Audio, the music player and speakers are pretty capable. They sound good, and hold bass well for something that’s a default fit from a manufacturer. The menu keys on the fascia are not intuitive. For example, the Mute button is in between 2-3 buttons, instead of being placed at a corner/prominently!
Interiors are a step up from the Safari, as is expected of a vehicle from a higher price bracket, however, the plastics and finish does not look/feel nice. My first gen Fiesta, has better switch gear and interior plastic. Sharp corners and gaps are seen all over the interior. What did I love about the interiors? Well, you have enough cubby holes and roof utility bins to stuff all your and your neighbors’ knick knacks!!! There are three 12v points across the car, which came into use when I had a GPS unit running off one and a mobile charging off another. Small things, but good ones! All this shows that a lot of thought has gone into creating the interiors. The door opening lever on the inside is classy, and feels good to use. Door locks are placed at a weird place. Tata needs to understand that we have moved away from having door locks placed near our armpits (ok, I am exaggerating, this happens only for front passenger and driver, and it auto-locks once the vehicle crosses 20kmph, still). If only they had used better plastics, and done the extra bit to give it a premium feel.
AC is powerful, and for most we just had the front unit working with fan speed at 1. Only once did we use the middle row AC controls, and that was when the Aria was parked under hot after noon sun for a while during lunch stop. The AC controls feel nice to operate, and are smooth. On that note, I did find a bit of heat creeping into the footwell from the firewall. Maybe more cladding is required to keep the 2.2’s heat away. Or like one of the others told, it’s nice to have some warmth on a rainy drive!
I was introduced to the world of puddle lamps when we got into KFC for dinner after Mysore, on the way back. It had rained, and the place was muddy. Well, voila, all you need is to swing your door open and puddle lamps do their job. Show you the puddle that is! Another of those little, but meaningful things. Aria has a bunch of them.
One thing we noticed was the amount of eyes on the Aria where ever it went. Especially in the color we had, it looks imposing and covers a lot of acreage!!
End of the drive:
I didn’t expect the Aria to be this good. After all this was a Tata Motors product and, all of us here on the forum have heard of the horror stories that Safari, Indigo and Indica owners have had to face. Aria was a surprise, and a very pleasant one at that.
- Would I pick up an Aria if I had the money to: Yes. A Big YES. I have not been in any other vehicle till date, which looks and feels this capable of handling bad roads, ghats and highways at a go. Tata has indeed created a Cross Over, as some of the earlier advts used to show, an amalgamation of SUV and Sedan. Good Job Tata Motors.
- One of the most comfortable vehicles I have travelled in.
- Pricey. All things said and done, it’s a Tata. XUV 500 is eating into what ever market share it has.
- There are small things that could have been done better. Nothing that you cant live with.
Huge thanks to Lukeskywalker and Mr Shenoy, for organizing such an event. It did, truly live up to its name, Experience the Aria. We did. Thank you.