[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

The difference between the 3 vehicles as far as my personal opinion goes -

Innova - Very reliable
XUV - Has problems but company is responsive
Aria - Has problems, but even company is not very responsive

No arguments. Not intending to hurt any one. I loved his unbiased comparison of the three.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Innova - Very reliable
XUV - Has problems but company is responsive
Aria - Has problems, but even company is not very responsive

Fair comparison, with a minor correction
Innova - Very reliable
XUV - Has lot of problems but company is responsive
Aria - Has less problems, but company is not very responsive. (Things are getting better day by day)

You are right about the parts. But they get the parts from their pune warehouse with in couple of days. That is one risk you take with a product that sells in smaller numbers. Then the benefit is you are driving a vehicle that is not so common on road, again a personal preference. Main reason, I went with a Nissan is, every one in my village drives Maruthi,Tata or Mahindra.

[GrammarNazi]

I've nowadays become a bit of a car enthusiast, and it saddens me when people choose a 100bhp car for 17L that has features provided by a 140bhp car available for 12-13L.

IMHO, the fun to drive factor of a 140bhp Aria IS FAR HIGHER than a 100bhp Innova. In terms of Engine, the 2.2L DiCOR is as much a gem as the 2.5L D-4D.

The Innova is a measly 176mm off the ground compared to the 200mm Aria provides. Consider how care-free you'll be on bad roads. TATA seems to have even managed to keep the footboard rather low (at 200mm IIRC).

From a peace of mind perspective, one can hire a Taxi/Self Drive. For sure, if we plan to cover ~1-1.5L kms over 4-5yrs its not even going to cost as much as the sum total cost per kilometer of Depreciation + Maintenance + Fuel Costs + Insurance/Minor Repairs.

Infact I'd get to drive a well serviced car every time. Whichever car I like even. Very Reliable.

Anyway, IMO currently the Innova is way too overpriced to claim superiority. Also, AFAIK, the service schedule of Innova is now at every 5000kms right?

Since prices & market conditions have changed, I think we need to re-review the 2013 Aria as an offering. Hope someone technically inclined would come up with a detailed comparo.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

I am not against the Aria, its a great car. Its more comfortable than the XUV and personally I like the way it looks. But I wont suggest it to anyone for the simple reason that now it does not make economical sense. Yes, for someone willing to take that risk and does not mind losing some money while re-selling it, its a great choice.

Hi Raj_5004,

I would like to mention that many a time, when it comes to Tata, it is the A.S.S more than the car itself that breaks the deal. So much so, even though I pick my car from the dealer, I always get it serviced from another A.S.S who purely do service alone. My city has one of the worst dealers in town (there are two dealers) who are totally disconnected from a customer's interest. The service center which I go from 1994-95 still renders the same level of service.

That apart, I did not recommend the Aria or any car for that matter. I implicitly mentioned the choice is his, and if it becomes the Aria, what he has to look out for. This is based purely on my experience.

Regarding resale value, it is purely based on what you presume it is. Why would I think about a car's resale value if I intend to keep it for a specific period of time? If resale value is all one is bothered about, he should not move out from the current hatchbacks in the 4-5 lakh range. Any car sold at over 10 lakhs today is definitely priced much more than its actual worth (including Tata for that matter). An Innova which cost 9-10L initially is now double that. How does it become VFM?? Try picking up an Audi or BMW or Merc off the showroom and put it out for resale right off the block. You will have to shoot the manufacturer and yourself if you hear the prices quoted.

If I am in the game to pick up a car which I need (not want), I look at keeping it for at least 6 years, or around 1.50-2 lakh kms, after which, I am really not bothered about how much it will fetch, because frankly, it does not matter. It has given me what I wanted. Also precisely why I am not in the market for anything that is priced the other side of 10L.

P.S: On a side note, a friend of mine bought a Bolero 4WD after paying in full and waiting 6 months. He only got the delivery after I contacted Vinod_Nookala in December last year. My friend had paid the company (not the dealer) in May. The Bolero has been to the service center innumerable times including one visit for over 21 days. So, please, let us all not call the kettle black over the pot. We have horror stories about every car manufacturer and every dealer in every town. End of the day, you can't do much about it.

[damodar]

I would also like to share my experiences with Aria since its launch. The car is absolutely built for touring with friends/family in total comfort. Our highway conditions keep changing every 50 km so with the excellent damping of the suspension the ride comfort has to be experienced first hand. Then there is the road presence which will help with oncoming traffic on two lane roads where even Tata Ace come head on while they are overtaking someone.

My grouse with innova is no doubt its a good car but why a car weighing 1700 kg can`t give a mielage of more than 11 kmpl in city and 13kmpl on highway where as a desi Tata gives the same miealge in a 2050 kg car with 140bhp. That after paying a premium i don`t get 4 disc breaks, any body tried braking an innova above 120kmph will know. Can anyone here recall the initial 18 months of Innova`s launch where discounts of even 50000 rupees were given! Strangly people are buying it now at double the price without discounts. Tata is partly to blame for the wrong positioning of the Aria. When Aria was launched it was 5Laks more expensive than the top end Innova then. Now you have killed a lot of people`s interest right at the launch so ultimately fewer vehicles on the road. This in turn less number of technicians who could handle the most sophisticated TATA vehicle quickly when it came to service. Now the since Storme is relatively better accepted by the market now it has the same engine/gearbox as the base Aria i don`t see any parts problem in future.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Dear John - I would suggest you to steer clear away from Aria. There are unsold 2012 Arias still lying in the open at dealership yards.

It is double whammy - Tata is not reliable and the customer care is equally imcompetent (stories from fellow BHPians). Stories of spares not easily being available are very common on ownership reviews. I do not claim XUV is bulletproof, but at least the company is making every effort to address any niggle to the customer's satisfaction and also going ahead with replacing things under warranty.

I see far many XUV5OOs on the road than Aria, for that matter even Prados even though we can buy 4 arias at the cost of a Prado.

Do consider Innova or XUV5OO and buy peace of mind.

Please don't guide people based on hearsay. If number of vehicles on road would be a measure of how robust it is, the Premier Padmini might have been India's best car until sometime back.
Penny for Penny the Aria offers far more stuff than the overpriced XUV. Tata motors take some time to order spares from Pune, but warranties are honored. I am a Safari owner myself, and went ahead and bought the car, in-spite of the scares given by posts such as yours, and thank god I didn't listen to such posts, I have zero niggles or complaints till now,and its been a blissful 2 years counting.
The Aria is a very good upgrade over the Safari, in terms of safety features, and makes a compelling case to test drive and buy.
I would advocate all to go and test drive all cars which suit your fancy before eliminating them, at least don't eliminate any car based on hear say.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Fair comparison, with a minor correction
Innova - Very reliable
XUV - Has lot of problems but company is responsive
Aria - Has less problems, but company is not very responsive. (Things are getting better day by day)

See, whether the XUV has more problems or the Aria, it is a very debatable topic. I know many cases of Aria breaking down, we have seen several cases on this very forum. Many owners have banged their heads in desperation and are totally fed up with the company's lack of interest. It took Tata a long time to sort out all the major issues in the Aria and stabilize the product.

Similarly, the XUV right now is what Aria was 2-3 years ago. It had a lot of teething issues initially, like the Aria when it was launched. M&M did some recalls, changed parts under warranty and now the product is stable, like the Aria.

So, both cars are not saints. They are definitely better than their respective first batches, but if one is looking for an extremely reliable 7 seater, Innova is the only answer sadly. Sadly because it is not at all value for money in my humble opinion.

The only difference according to me was the way the manufacturers responded when things went wrong. M&M openly admitted they made a faulty product and were ready to help their customers. TATA showed complete disregard. Yes, things are improving now in Tata, I agree... but I feel its too late now. Customers dont believe the "Aria" brand anymore. Otherwise, there is no reason a well engineered product like the Aria should not do well in the Indian market, especially after the price cut.

You are right about the parts. But they get the parts from their pune warehouse with in couple of days.

You reminded me of my FIAT days!

When I buy a small hatch, I am ready to wait for a couple of days for the part to arrive. But when I buy your 18 Lac flagship product, please do not expect me to suffer because of your incompetence! The more money you put in, the more the expectations are.

For example, my XUV was in the A.S.S. and a certain part in the tensioner belt had to be replaced. Obviously it was not in stock as it is not a common things to be replaced. But without my intervention, the A.S.S. sourced and replaced it within a day. If they had taken more time, I would have blasted them left and right.

That is one risk you take with a product that sells in smaller numbers. Then the benefit is you are driving a vehicle that is not so common on road, again a personal preference. Main reason, I went with a Nissan is, every one in my village drives Maruthi,Tata or Mahindra.

Agreed. If exclusivity is what you want, then Aria is a good option. But at the cost of what? The cons are mentioned above. That is the reason I said above, if you can live with poor resale and lack of spares, the Aria is a good product at a great price.

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Hi Raj_5004,

I would like to mention that many a time, when it comes to Tata, it is the A.S.S more than the car itself that breaks the deal. So much so, even though I pick my car from the dealer, I always get it serviced from another A.S.S who purely do service alone. My city has one of the worst dealers in town (there are two dealers) who are totally disconnected from a customer's interest. The service center which I go from 1994-95 still renders the same level of service.

+100.

Regarding resale value, it is purely based on what you presume it is. Why would I think about a car's resale value if I intend to keep it for a specific period of time?

We normally keep our cars for 5-6 years. Normally our next car is always an upgrade from the current segment. But that is possible only if I get a considerable amount of my money back when I sell it.

If I plonk 16 Lacs today and after 3 years, I dont even get 50% of it, what would be my next car? Will it be an upgrade? If yes, think about the amount of money I will have to put in again.

If resale value is all one is bothered about, he should not move out from the current hatchbacks in the 4-5 lakh range. Any car sold at over 10 lakhs today is definitely priced much more than its actual worth (including Tata for that matter).

I dont think so. Yes, expensive vehicles have larger depriciation, but here we are talking comparatively.

For example, I bought my XUV for 15.8 Lacs. Its 1 year old and has run 25k kms. The market value for my car is approximately 13 Lacs. I lose about 3 Lacs. If I had an Aria Prestige (similar on road price with discounts) of similar year and odo reading, it would fetch no more than 9-10 Lacs. How much do I lose? A cool 6 Lacs.

An Innova which cost 9-10L initially is now double that. How does it become VFM?? Try picking up an Audi or BMW or Merc off the showroom and put it out for resale right off the block. You will have to shoot the manufacturer and yourself if you hear the prices quoted.

I agree about the Innova. I dont think its a VFM car anymore.

P.S: On a side note, a friend of mine bought a Bolero 4WD after paying in full and waiting 6 months. He only got the delivery after I contacted Vinod_Nookala in December last year. My friend had paid the company (not the dealer) in May. The Bolero has been to the service center innumerable times including one visit for over 21 days. So, please, let us all not call the kettle black over the pot. We have horror stories about every car manufacturer and every dealer in every town. End of the day, you can't do much about it.

I had put a disclaimer in my last post - "let's not go into individual cases!". Because each and every member of this forum may have his own stories about every product, including me and you. We can only share a generic opinion, which of course is an individual opinion and need not be a fact.

[Seran Manian]

Originally Posted by damodar

I would also like to share my experiences with Aria since its launch. The car is absolutely built for touring with friends/family in total comfort.

My grouse with innova is no doubt its a good car but why a car weighing 1700 kg can`t give a mielage of more than 11 kmpl in city and 13kmpl on highway where as a desi Tata gives the same miealge in a 2050 kg car with 140bhp.

This in turn less number of technicians who could handle the most sophisticated TATA vehicle quickly when it came to service. Now the since Storme is relatively better accepted by the market now it has the same engine/gearbox as the base Aria i don`t see any parts problem in future.

Oh Damodhar, All things put in right place. Wonderful explanation. Hope TATA listens to its loyal clients and improves it service.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

For example, I bought my XUV for 15.8 Lacs. Its 1 year old and has run 25k kms. The market value for my car is approximately 13 Lacs. I lose about 3 Lacs. If I had an Aria Prestige (similar on road price with discounts) of similar year and odo reading, it would fetch no more than 9-10 Lacs. How much do I lose? A cool 6 Lacs.

Raj,

If you think you will get 13L on your year old XUV, you will be disappointed. I am not sure of the model you have, but a one year old 13K run W8 model is available here in the classified section at 12L. There are others that have quoted your price and slightly more, but they haven't managed to sell it yet.

I stick to my guns, resale is what is on the buyer's mind, not the sellers. I would seriously not think about resale if I am going to buy a car and sell it at 6 years. It is going to end up giving a heartburn more than anything else. The more the number of models out on the road, the cumulative price of used cars take a hit.

[sajanjohn]

@lobster - Rajesh from concord brought the ARIA (4 * 2) for test drive today. He mentioned about your ARIA during the conversation and even asked me to check with you for feedback

Apparently, now TATA is providing post 3 year buy back option with 60% valuation for ARIA.

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Hi Raj_5004,

I would like to mention that many a time, when it comes to Tata, it is the A.S.S more than the car itself that breaks the deal.

In many a of the cases, people end up blaming the A.S.S but tell me what is a mechanic supposed to do when asked to fix double the problems in the same amount of time. To top that, the dwindling margins of slow mover products stretch the already thin workshop budget even further.. Truth be told - buying the car is an individual decision and the self refuses to accept a bad one but conveniently blames it on the A.S.S. Now I am not for a moment saying that all the A.S.S. teams are equal though.

An Innova which cost 9-10L initially is now double that. How does it become VFM??

It may not be VFM, but what else is at that price. I find it hard to understand that people see value in gizmos that can be had for a dime a dozen but take bulletproof engineering, developed through hundreds of small projects, ironing every small glitch one after another ....as granted. Like what's big deal in that. Well, it costs money, time and effort as you delay your project and thousands of crores of investment to ensure that you ship out a near perfect product. And people who really use their cars, see the big deal in that. Others, who are more after "features" will always find other options alluring.

If I am in the game to pick up a car which I need (not want), I look at keeping it for at least 6 years, or around 1.50-2 lakh kms, after which, I am really not bothered about how much it will fetch, because frankly, it does not matter. It has given me what I wanted. Also precisely why I am not in the market for anything that is priced the other side of 10L.

If the car is not RELIABLE, you will NOT be able to keep it for more than a few years and resale value will immediately weigh in. Also, in a lot of cases, resale value is based on a)How reliable a paticular model is and b) How expensive it is to maintain. Not to mention - how popular the model was when it was launched.

So, please, let us all not call the kettle black over the pot. We have horror stories about every car manufacturer and every dealer in every town. End of the day, you can't do much about it.

Very broad brush I say - do you have a 50 page thread running here about Innova niggles? Life is about chances and while there is a chance that we can survive a jumpoff from our hotel balcony to the swimming pool below, generally we would take the stairs..wouldnt we?

[Buffetfan]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Please don't guide people based on hearsay. If number of vehicles on road would be a measure of how robust it is, the Premier Padmini might have been India's best car until sometime back.

It well might be, but you forget one small detail - the Padmini was the product of License Raj where it was not a free market , and every product / capacity was approved by the government. This means that it was the only choice, apart from the Amby and that made it a bestseller in a zero competition market.. We are far from that now.

Penny for Penny the Aria offers far more stuff than the overpriced XUV. Tata motors take some time to order spares from Pune, but warranties are honored. I am a Safari owner myself, and went ahead and bought the car, in-spite of the scares given by posts such as yours, and thank god I didn't listen to such posts, I have zero niggles or complaints till now,and its been a blissful 2 years counting.

It is good to hear that warranties are honored. Even better if warranties never need to be invoked in the first place. You say that you did not listen to the posts - well the posts are a result of cumulitive experience on a product in varying conditions. If you are just discounting hearsay it is fine but I would be very careful in brushing genuine feedback aside.

The Aria is a very good upgrade over the Safari, in terms of safety features, and makes a compelling case to test drive and buy.
I would advocate all to go and test drive all cars which suit your fancy before eliminating them, at least don't eliminate any car based on hear say.

We must test drive, however test drives do not provide one crucial input in its entirety - long term reliability. You cannot find out the minor wobble in the timebelt pulley that will lead to early replacement - nor can you understand the crankshaft vibratons that will lead to an earlier piston wear?

I understand that not everyone is after reliability and long life at the cost of presence, exclusivity and performance but one must still lend a patient ear.

This is where this website with its wealth of feedback comes in. I say hear it and take your own call after that...but hear you must!

[svdath]

I have had an Aria Pure for about 2 years and it has been niggle free [touchwood]. I have done about 35K ams with about 65% city and 35% highway driving. I have had no issues and like one of the posts mentioned, the lesser the electronics the better.

This is our 4 th Tata vehicle in the last 13 years [Indica, Indigo, Vista, Nano and Aria]. We have pretty much a very happy time with all of them. The Nano and Indica were from the bunch that was launched. There were some minor issues which was promptly attended by TASS [some by Prerana and some by Concorde].

I would really go for an Aria once again if given a chance.

[AAD]

I own an Aria Pride 4x4 since Oct 2011 that has done 85000 kms so far. I have taken my Aria to Coorg, Himachal & Kutch from Mumbai and regularly use it for Mumbai Nashik & Mumbai Pune runs, at least 4 times a month. The first set of tyres were replaced at 60000 kms & the current set look good for another 40000 kms. Have also made several trips to Goa including during monsoon and enjoyed the greater grip afforded by 4x4 drivetrain & the peace of mind with traction control & ESP, especially on the ghat sections.

While, I have had issues & problems, it has never stranded me in the middle of nowhere. The vehicle is completely rattle free & the noise insulation is superb. Before this I had an Innova that I drove for 1,40,000 kms over 5 years & I can safely say that the Aria is a far superior product than the Innova. Recently I had an opportunity to travel in a brand new innova & the ride quality, invasion of outside noise & the sheer lightness of the vehicle was in complete contrast to the settled & pliant ride that I get in my Aria.

My vehicle is serviced regularly at Concorde Motors, Worli, Mumbai & they have been pretty responsive & take special care to resolve issues. Frankly, issues should never arise in the first place but I guess that Tata is still on a steep learning curve & the most difficult part is the feedback of problems, taking the right lessons from it & improving the next iteration or model to make it bullet proof & reliable.

Perhaps it is also a cultural thing with us Indians with our Chalta Hai attitude as against the near perfection practiced at Japanese cos like Toyota & Honda. With my experience with the Aria, I am looking forward to the improved version that will be showcased in the Auto Expo 2014 next year & would certainly like to own it.

At the price it is offered, I believe no other vehicle in similar price range offeres a complete package in terms of safety, ruggedness, comfort, high speed cruising etc.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by AAD

...With my experience with the Aria, I am looking forward to the improved version that will be showcased in the Auto Expo 2014 next year & would certainly like to own it.

At the price it is offered, I believe no other vehicle in similar price range offeres a complete package in terms of safety, ruggedness, comfort, high speed cruising etc.

I think a lot of happy Aria owners are hiding somewhere and they need to step up and put their experiences for the benefit of others. Would you mind letting us know what are the issues you have faced too?

I seriously hope they iron out the issues in the next iteration and provide a much better product. Also hope they will rejig the variants are price it better.