[zavegur]

Its refreshing to see your emotional upgrade. Whatever said about the brand, Tata deserves hard core fans like you and honestly, they have lived up to your expectations. Congratulations on your purchase.

Solid car this; cant wait to see how Bolt carries the sales push for Tata.

[shashi63]

Originally Posted by zavegur

Tata deserves hard core fans like you

I am for one a die-hard Tata fan.Have owned a Tata Indica Turbo DLS earlier upgraded to the Club Class Manza and I am loving the car. Knowing the Quality and Build of the my Manza I, can predict that the Zest will surprise and exceed expectations!

I am sure there are a number of Loyal Tata Fans around but the bashing that Tata get's on the forum keeps most away from airing their opinion is what I feel.

I am probably the only one who has no problems and has no issues supporting Tata! The Truth is that I have had no problems in a cumulative ride of over 160000Kms in 7 years! Maybe I am lucky but hey I am sure there are others as lucky as me!

Great Choice by Arindam!

[BlackPearl]

Arindam congrats once again for the Zest and thanks for the detailed write-up. The Zest looks awesome in red and the paint quality is top notch. Hope the car can turn around the tides for Tata and wish you many miles of happiness.

[jasonbourne]

My Hearty Congratulations on your Purchase Arindam! The review was well compiled and written. Tata Zest is indeed a great VFM car. The Features offered at this class and in this price is unmatched by any other competitor.

The ergonomics of the entire Dashboard setup is fabulous. Everything falls in hand easily. I started falling in love with TATA Cars since my last car - Indica Vista. Which was again a very spacious and comfortable.

I too went through the same emotions when i parted ways with my Vista. It had been with me in some of the most memorable moments of my life including my marriage. I have driven it for over 60000 Kms and it has been a faithful partner throughout my journies and not even failed once. I never had any major issues with the car except for some small niggles here and there. When I compare the Zest with Vista, everything about Zest feels softer! be it the buttons or clutch or the gear lever or the stalks, etc..

Hence I named it Softie

[Arkesh]

Originally Posted by arindam_xeta

Good know fact Arkesh! But any logical reason why a sedan will not have a rear wash n wipe? Or is just by choice from the manufacturers, due to difficulty in design! What I noticed is the way Zest boot lid is designed its difficult to just plunk in a rear wash n wipe even if customer feedback is to include one! I think TML just completely ruled it out as you said!

Attachment 1316497

I too don't know why a rear wash and wipe is not provided in sedans, may be a design difficulty. But i don't see it as a reason strong enough for non provision of rear wiper. What is a mere wiper when they (car manufacturers) can build such advanced engines and what not. It was just my observation as i have never a sedan with a rear wiper.

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by Arkesh

I too don't know why a rear wash and wipe is not provided in sedans, may be a design difficulty. But i don't see it as a reason strong enough for non provision of rear wiper. What is a mere wiper when they (car manufacturers) can build such advanced engines and what not. It was just my observation as i have never a sedan with a rear wiper.

I think it's more a case of aerodynamics differences between the body styles due to which rear wash/wipe is necessity on a hatchback but doesn't add much value in a sedan.

[S.MJet]

Many Congratulations Arindam & thanks for detailed and beautifully narrated review. ZED looks stunning in RED.

One of my friends owns Manza, he has no complaints whatsoever with Tata A.S.S. His was the first batch and had niggling issues which were sorted promptly, he is happy & satisfied with his ownership.
Tatas are now catching up with competition & are surely going to win.

Wishing you may happy miles ahead.
Drive safe.

[anilmln]

Congratulations Arindam and wishing you and your family many miles of happiness with this great car. Red looks stunning on Zest and it must be quite a head turner on the roads. Looking forward for your regular updates on your experience with this beauty.

[swiftnfurious]

A very well written ownership report. Just the right flavor. I am happy that you have judged the car well based on your requirements and evaluated it well too. Looking forward to the long term review of this product.

[arindam_xeta]

Originally Posted by karzzexped

Congratulations Mr.Arindam on your ZED. The Zest looks nothing short of stunning and just gleams in the morning sun in its Venetian Red avatar and may well be the best color that suits the car. And a nicely put ownership review. Looking to see more pics of this flaming beauty.

Thanks a lot, karzzexped!

Originally Posted by Vinit Wakade

Congratulations Arindam on your new acquisition . The car surely looks great in its red color. Yours is the first ownership review that I have read about the Zest also probably one of the most well written reviews on the forum.
I agree Tata has come a long way from the rickety early Indica days. Hope the long term reliability demonstrated by the Zest changes the public perception regarding Tata motors.
Wishing you years of trouble-free and safe journey with the new baby!

Many thanks Vinit, for your kind wishes.

Originally Posted by justwheels

Many Congratulations @arindam_Xeta for the first ZEST of the forum. She looks stunning in red and I am sure the way Xeta was close to your heart, Zest will also win you over.
Tata Motors does need loyal customers like you and hope the company keeps up to the expectations of its customers.
Many happy miles on the Zest and keep us updated of the drive and experience as you crunch miles.

Justwheels! Thanks so much for your wishes! I wish TML is able to re-invent themselves to produce better and better products and services.

Originally Posted by Burn_out

Congratulations on the new "Laal Gadi" of the family. Thanks for the very detailed review and figures. I was keen to get an owner's take on the 3 Drive modes of the engine. Good to know that the "Sports" mode is not just a gimmick and actually works.

Got to see a preview of the ZED in Samba's post on the recent Mukutmanipur trip. It definitely has road presence. Wish you many more happy miles ahead.

Hey Burn_Out! Many thanks, yes the transformation is instantaneous, the car is definitely keeping promises and claims so far!

Originally Posted by AshBabu

Congratulations Arindam on your new family member ZED. Great review in detail. Wish you happy mile crunching.

The interior looks mind blowing. Tata has come long way in providing rich interiors. I was looking for Zest ownership reviews to decide on Car of Year 2014 vote. Your review gave in depth detail and unbiased account of the vehicle.

Many thanks AshBabu! Yes interiors are way better, next thing to checkout is the service experience and customer connect. So far so good!

Originally Posted by arpit90

Congratulations! The car looks fabulous in red. Wish you many happy miles

Many thanks, Arpit!

Originally Posted by shashi63

Many congratulations on your new ride! She looks good and I am sure she will give you many miles of joy! Have a safe drive!

Thanks for you kind wishes Sashi, I have been reading all your posts in the new car review thread for Zest!

Originally Posted by Jude300

Congrats!!!

I have been waiting to see a ownership thread on the Revtron engine and your descriptive review is a good one. Its very detailed and I love the way you have put things here.

Enjoy the many miles in your new found love.

Thanks Jude! I'm happy that you like the review.

Originally Posted by NST440

Heartiest congratulations Arindam on your new wel thought of and worth every penny acquisition. It was nice to see how you have put your relationship with Tata in words. I guess you have just taken the right decision and i feel Zest would not disappoint you a bit.

Infact buying the Zest is actually buying the Tata's refined and fresh outlook towards the future and the color red compliments the car.Wish you miles of smiles and a great life with your Red hot Zest ahead.

Many thanks for reading through! Yes Xeta was a very prized possession for the family! So far Zest has been very much up to expectation!

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

Congratulations on being able to enjoy the ownership of the Team-BHP car of the year 2014! Well, almost!!!

First "made in India" Turbo petrol!! Please keep updating!!

Kindly post some more pictures of the boot.

All the best drive safe!!

Indeed Chetan, share your view about made in India! I'll surely post some pictures of the boot!

Originally Posted by maverickrider00

Congratulations Arindam,
A very pragmatic approach towards reviewing a car, for what it is and the experience it offers. Liked the car, loved the review. The Tata Zest is one car which pulls your heart strings of every Indian car enthusiast as it is one serious effort at offering quality at an international level, it is for me the Car of the Year. The ZED is stunning in its red avatar. Here is wishing you and your family lots of happiness with the new car.

Maverickrider, many thanks for your kind comments! I was really struggling to find time to jot down all the points worth mentioning! But, one doesn't write a car review every day. I think one aspect to look at it apart form the purely Automotive viewpoints is the instinct of a company to fight back! I think it's takes a great effort to take a hit like Tata Motors took due to obvious reasons of course and then come back with concepts like HorizonNext and ConnectNext and finally Zest and Bolt! Lets see once it turns full circle a bit.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Congratulation on the new purchase. I am sure you will enjoy it to the fullest. last week when i went to the showroom to check on the zest, i was told that the car has 3 years all services included. No cost whatsoever. Why did you buy an AMC?

Hello Gaurav, many thanks for your nice wishes!

What comes free for 3 years with Zest is called Silver AMC, which covers the following -

Regular scheduled service maintenance and replacement of service parts. You need not worry about the regular checks with the Silver value care.
Scheduled maintenance services – labour, parts & consumables.

I purchased the Gold AMC, just for piece of mind, since it was a brand new product with no reliability report yet!

Gold provides the following on top of Silver -

The value care Gold Plan extends your scheduled maintenance cover to include any normal wear and tear items identified during the scheduled service and other vehicle parts that need to replaced during the period of cover arising from proper and uniform usage.

Scheduled maintenance services – labour, parts & consumables

Unexpected repairs like clutch, brake pad, brake liner, suspension, belts, wiper, Wheel Alignment, Wheel Balancing and other wear and tear items.

The cover does not include damage arising from accidents, vandalism, abuse and other external factors.

All the above is for 3 years or 45,000 Km whichever earlier.

Originally Posted by kingofmyworld

Wonderful choice I must say. Congrtulations on the zest my friend.

Can you post more pics of the fuel meter? Is the fuel meter just 4 leds? :O

Many thanks! I'll surely post a picture of the fuel gauge! I presume it's 6 segmented. Up on low fuel it will display an amber icon just next to the E on the gauge. Upon very low fuel it will be blinking the red indicator and the icon!

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Hey! Hearty congratulations on the Zesty new ride and on the earliest review on tbhp.

Wishing you and your family unlimited safe and happy miles with the car. Wonderful colour.

Enjoy the punchy petrol!

Many thanks Reinhard!

Originally Posted by Car-go-man

Congratulations on owning what might, in all likelihood, be crowned the T-BHP car of the year

Thanks for such a detailed review. Wishing you many happy and safe miles ahead.

Thanks mate! I'm still to cast my vote, no prizes in guessing it though


Thanks a lot to all fellow Bhpians for your comments and such lovely wishes!

The car just completed 2000 Kms today! Co-incidentally today I was invited to a customer meet at TC Motors salap! The dealer experience has been nice but it's not uniform across the dealers! It will take time but the uniformity of services offered at the dealer will play a significant role!

Customer meet at TC Motors (Salap). Events, Prizes, Gifts and Snacks for Customers, all good and well done as a gesture! I was expecting some TML officials to connect with the customers and get some live feedback from them! But did not see that happening during my presence!



Once again nice gestures from TCMotors, thanks for nice gift!



I feel the following are the immediate requirements that TML needs to focus on!

• Booking live status - I'm aware that a very detailed data is maintained for the vehicle status tracking! A part of that data has to be shared with the customer! I know a lot of potential customers moving elsewhere just out of frustration! Mostly dealer sales person play a spoil sport here, they keep over committing on dates and eventually frustrate out the customer!
  
• An Improved Service Experience - Just as the car reflects a new Tata Motors, the service centers also have to reflect the same! I still remember service guys putting black grease and dirt on my clean dash board of Indica V2 while replacing the Hazard button! All seats will be full of such stains when the car is returned back! It really will spoil the dual tone dashboard and fabric inserts of doors if such handling continues! This just one example, there are many such moment of horrifying truth, which needs a change! I'm least bothered about AC and Coffee if my prized possession is getting such treatment! I'm eagerly hoping we will see these change! It's tough, but if TML has come this far they should traverse till the end!

My first service is in Jan 2015!

[dr. sen]

Originally Posted by gomzi

I think it's more a case of aerodynamics differences between the body styles due to which rear wash/wipe is necessity on a hatchback but doesn't add much value in a sedan.

Hello.

Congrats to both Arindam and jason bourne for their new budddies, in their life. I would like to put the following about the interior. In my opinion as a designer, i would prefer a beige interior to enlighten the interior. Its too black. Like the swift. it gets too hot in the warmer months. Dust marks are too visible and irritating. I am sure, arindam da, has chosen the black for a good reeason (has gone mostly by his heart, i fea, than reaason or interior looks). The stitch marks can be blackened, if he choosees to. Coming to Tata Products. I had the previlege to own one Indica V2, 2003. driven 1,75,000 km over 11 years. Just bought a Nano and driven 15k. I think TATA makes VFM product. I am satisfied.

i have an , honda civic 2010, 45k, innova 2006, run 75k, honda city 2009, 25k, Wagon -R, 2004, 45k, Swift diesel, 2007, 1,51,000km, santro 2008, 36k, maruti 800, 1997, 1,10,000km, all driven by me, kept in different city of delhi, kolkata, jaipur and hydrabad. I feel safe only in my indica V2. I dont know why. Its the only vehicle, with which i can make, a sumo, a scorpio, a bolero, an ambassador taxi, a tata ace, an auto rickshaw give me A PROPER DUE RESPECT, ; be it be kolkata or in delhi. I am sure, arindam, jason and other fellow TATA brethren will vouch for that. The feeling is more like driving an armoured vehicle, with a 50mm cannon fitted to it. People have always given me a RIGHT OF WAY , whether i have been on their right or left.

Coming to a wiper on the rear of a sedan. My fellow brethren, you will find your answers in the following observation, in my opinion.

1. Drive ANY Hatchback, on any dirt / mud track or unpaved road for a few km, on a speed above normal. and see the collection of dirt on the rear glass.

2. now drive ANY sedan, over same type surface, and see the result.

3. Please observe the front wind shield and the space between the wind shield and the bonnet. Please observe the various types of drainage system, on offer from cars of the different era.

Try visualizing the same in the rear glass and try getting the drainage. No mattaer what you do, you cant get the drainage, without putting a grated gutter.

In a hatch all dirt and the water gets dripped on the dikki, and gets down to the road.

Hope people have got their answers. Its not required in sedan as dirt collection due to rear tyre is very minimal. The SUVs do have though for the same reason as the hatches.


Hello Arindam da,

Thats a very good observation. Tracking the booking status. Most of the car manufacturers give false status about booking nos. They ask the dealers to do bookings, incase, actual customers fall short. I have seen Hyundai, Maruti, honda, mahindra doing these tricks, on the hapless customers.

The dealer will claim 2-3 waiting period, though if you visit their ware houses, (which is usually far from their workshop, and a little out in the country side), you will find it full of stock. last year a tv channel busted a couple of delhi dealers.

regarding tata services, the less said better. I have stopped going to them, after coming to kolkata. both rd motors and topsel are worst offenders. over inflated bills. non return of changed or repaired items are quite frequent. Change of parts is ok. Repairing ia nightmare for tatas, toyotas (Kolkata), hondas (hydrabad). delhi workshop are best, in my opinion. cant say about mumbai and chennai. bangalore and hydrabad, are just "change" type. Give them a leaking tube, or fuel pump caliberation, a/c lek test, they go weak on their knees. The red zest looks best. in my opinion, a beige interior and a twin beige dash will look great, and pull more admirers.

Arindam da, and Jason ji, why opt for petrol. Any reason.

regards

dr. sen

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[arindam_xeta]

Originally Posted by rev_rohit

Congratulations!!! on your newly purchased Car Of The Year!

Very nicely written first review of the gorgeous compact sedan, and very nicely taken pictures.

Hope to see more reviews in future.

Wish you tonnes of safe and happy miles ahead!!!

Thanks Rohit, for all your kind wishes.

Originally Posted by autobahnjpr

Congratulations arindam on your "laal gaadi". ZEST is a very capable product going by the reviews and feedback. No wonder you see so many of these on the roads these days. Having 3 modes in a car of this range is something phenomenal and I hope your love affair with TML becomes stronger with Zest.

Many thanks Autobahnjpr for your wishes! Yes so far TML service has been good, I'll be sharing the details.

Originally Posted by Kn1ght1941

Congratulations on your new ride. Good to know there are people who like for the truly Indian car and are willing to step away from the traditionally preferred brands.

I hope Tata finds success with its new models, they look good and have new technology, but time will tell if they have overcome their niggles.

Many thanks for your kind words, indeed time will do all the judgement! So far they have been up to their task.

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Thank you so much for posting such an excellent review. Please keep updating it as you drive your red beauty further. Congratulations on your new acquisition. I myself drove an Indica Vista for about a year after I moved back to India and I loved that car.

A question regarding the extended warranty and AMC: you paid around 16k for this. Isn't a silver plan available for free for 3 years with the Zest and doesn't the Zest come with a 3 year warranty for free?

Many thanks Lobogris! I'm grateful that you liked my review. I'll try to update all relevant details from time to time.

Originally Posted by Rambler

Wishing you many, many happy miles with your newly acquired beauty. She is surely a head turner. I can relate to that as I have personally test driven Zest. Surely there is a room for improvement but its a giant leap for Tata to have designed and produce a car that looks and feels European.

Many thanks for your kind words! Indeed there is room for improvement, but as you said they have improved so much that we all want them to improve that final bit so that they may be on the same podium with other major players.

Originally Posted by D C

Congratulations on the ZED, Arindam! Thanks for taking time to share a detailed review. Wish you may more happy miles with your new ride.

I liked the interiors pretty much. Perhaps, the best interiors of any Tata, IMO. The seat covers add to the charm, nice choice!

DC

Thanks for your kind words, I'm happy you read my review. Yes the interiors together with the software and level of integration is really good!

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

Congrats Arindam, on your new baby. Even though I had read gushing review of Zest on team-bhp, I had forgotten just what all Tata has equipped the car with. Corona rings in this segment ! Very cool. Also, your focus and comfort with ride quality is re-assuring about the product.

p.s. Your timely review, coinciding with initiation of T-BHP Car of the Year Poll, alone must have swung 10 votes in favour of Zest

p.p.s. Your Xeta looked in absolutely mint condition in that pic. Well done !

Indeed Tata package has been good till now for Zest! Let's see their strategy in 2015.
Not only in Team BHP, Zest pulled off the car of the year award in few other automotive forums also.
Yes Vitalstatistiks, I really liked my Xeta, just due to lack of space I could not keep him. I still miss him!

Originally Posted by dhruv45in

Congrats on the new ride! It looks stunning in red colour. I was eagerly waiting for the first Zest owner review and it looks the car has met if not exceeded your expectations. Just curious about your last pic, were you driving without the number plate or took it off just for the picture? happy motoring!

Many thanks! Yes the car slowly unfolded itself, it's still giving me surprises every now and then, in good sense of-course.
Dhruv, my number plate was not yet done by then from the RTO. I was driving with the temporary registration number, displayed on the upper right corner of the wind screen.

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

Congratulations Arindam....

Finally a well deserved first ownership report on the forum for a deserved car.

It took lot of waiting, but the wait paid off with your well articulated ownership report.

Looks like the revotron is an engine for mileage. I read in some other websites as well that petrol Zest is giving ARAI + mileage (18.x).

ZED looks really stunning. I had watched one red Zest on road and it looks very good. The paint quality on Zest seems to be lot better than other cars that we are seeing around.

Happy Miles crunching Arindam and Thanks once again for sharing your thoughts.

I'm really happy you liked my review! Yes Mr.Baddy, Zest indeed is a mileage car. It does give very good numbers if one drives properly.

Originally Posted by JASMEET MATTOO

Congrats on buying the Zest - Arindam. I think you have made a good choice. Reading about zest in all the reviews on team bhp and elsewhere, I myself am loving this new vehicle. The same is being considered by a dear friend and am helping her come out of the negative Tata after sales fear that most of the people have since I honestly feel that its is just a perception now and not a reality.
Also, must say that Friends have done justice to the pictures. I only wish there were more.

Indeed Jasmeet, TML is surely trying to meet up to the expectation people have from their service offerings. They still have a long way to go, what's good is that they seem to be moving in the right direction.

Originally Posted by karzzexped

Are you sure it is 36,000 KMs??

We booked a Zest Revotron XT and I remember the SE telling me that the warranty is for 3 years or 45,000 KMs. Any thing to do with the dealerships??

Hi karzzexped, 36,000 Kms or one year is the warranty on the Harman Kardon system, for Zest it is indeed 3 years or 45,000 Kms. It's all from TML nothing to do with dealer.

Originally Posted by condor

@Arindam, Congrats on the new Zest ! Wishing you a long happy ownership of the car.

A nicely written review too. Can feel the happiness & excitement there :-)

Many Thanks Condor, for you kind wishes. I'm happy you read my review and liked it.

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

An excellent review indeed! I was considering the Bolt, as a beater (LOL!) car.

: Could you refrain from using the exclaimation marks, so much? Hardly any full stops, can be seen.

You really need to improve on punctuations, don't you?

Hi FINTAIL, many thanks for reading my review. Bolt is a very good hatch as per the initial reviews, I'm yet see one live.
Yes, using exclamation has become a very bad habit off late for me, thanks for pointing out, it's an irritant while reading.

Originally Posted by isiv

Much awaited and thanks for the detailed review. If I'm not wrong, this is the first Zest ownership thread on tbhp. Do post updates as you go along.


I thought the days when people used to care for such things were long gone... Though not far from it, nice to know that breed isn't totally extinct

ISiv, I'm really happy you read my review and liked it.
I think the way this forum maintains quality, it's our responsibility to co-operate with them. I'm working on my bad habit, it became worse of late, otherwise I'm of the perfectionist type.

Originally Posted by zavegur

Its refreshing to see your emotional upgrade. Whatever said about the brand, Tata deserves hard core fans like you and honestly, they have lived up to your expectations. Congratulations on your purchase.

Solid car this; cant wait to see how Bolt carries the sales push for Tata.

Many thanks for your kind wishes! I try not to let my weakness on the brand overcome normal consumer sentiments. My Xeta played a very important role in building the trust I have on this brand. Also, I have always felt it's more challenging to support an under dog than a leader, of-course if the under dog is showing the intent to compete ethically. Till now, and off late I'm seeing TML is doing that.

Originally Posted by shashi63

I am for one a die-hard Tata fan.Have owned a Tata Indica Turbo DLS earlier upgraded to the Club Class Manza and I am loving the car. Knowing the Quality and Build of the my Manza I, can predict that the Zest will surprise and exceed expectations!

I am sure there are a number of Loyal Tata Fans around but the bashing that Tata get's on the forum keeps most away from airing their opinion is what I feel.

I am probably the only one who has no problems and has no issues supporting Tata! The Truth is that I have had no problems in a cumulative ride of over 160000Kms in 7 years! Maybe I am lucky but hey I am sure there are others as lucky as me!

Great Choice by Arindam!

Hey Sashi, I share very similar sentiments! A car is a pretty complicated assembly of various types of gadgets working together, obviously. So at any point in time I think no car in the world is having no issues at all, some niggle or the other, a nut, a bolt, a hinge, a fuse, something falls out of order, partially or fully. A little more or a little less they are bound to have issues specially on Indian roads. I never felt tata service is bad. My perception is that they have not been as good as others, and that's why they kept slipping down slowly. Also cars do come with a share of their luck. I wish you many many more miles with your dear Indica and hope Tata make all their consumers and themselves proud.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Arindam congrats once again for the Zest and thanks for the detailed write-up. The Zest looks awesome in red and the paint quality is top notch. Hope the car can turn around the tides for Tata and wish you many miles of happiness.

Many many thanks BlackPearl. I was not very sure about which color to choose. White was one of the choices but my son insisted on the Red color. We were all so obsessed with the Xeta that having to let go the car due to space constraints, we thought at least have the similar color. TML has improved on the paint job with each new car they brought out.

Originally Posted by jasonbourne

My Hearty Congratulations on your Purchase Arindam! The review was well compiled and written. Tata Zest is indeed a great VFM car. The Features offered at this class and in this price is unmatched by any other competitor.

The ergonomics of the entire Dashboard setup is fabulous. Everything falls in hand easily. I started falling in love with TATA Cars since my last car - Indica Vista. Which was again a very spacious and comfortable.

I too went through the same emotions when i parted ways with my Vista. It had been with me in some of the most memorable moments of my life including my marriage. I have driven it for over 60000 Kms and it has been a faithful partner throughout my journies and not even failed once. I never had any major issues with the car except for some small niggles here and there. When I compare the Zest with Vista, everything about Zest feels softer! be it the buttons or clutch or the gear lever or the stalks, etc..

Hence I named it Softie

jasonbourne, let me wish you many many happy miles with Softie! I'm sure you have been knowing the car with each day that you spend with it. This is one aspect of the car which made it a very interesting build up to the relationship. I can feel your sentiments, went through exact same feelings. Vista has also been a very good product from Tata. Probably the indica badge did it most harm than anything else. TML held on to Indica for a little too long I suppose.

Originally Posted by Arkesh

I too don't know why a rear wash and wipe is not provided in sedans, may be a design difficulty. But i don't see it as a reason strong enough for non provision of rear wiper. What is a mere wiper when they (car manufacturers) can build such advanced engines and what not. It was just my observation as i have never a sedan with a rear wiper.

Hi Arkesh, I read about it and your observation is correct. It's due to the design and airflow of a sedan that car manufacturers normally do away with the rear wiper. Add to that the little challenge of fixing it, it's not impossible but perhaps it's not worth it. I have driver the car in rain for 2 days up till now and faced no real issues till now, where I felt I wiper is a necessity. But I think I'll be only convinced after using it a little more in wet seasons.

Originally Posted by S.MJet

Many Congratulations Arindam & thanks for detailed and beautifully narrated review. ZED looks stunning in RED.

One of my friends owns Manza, he has no complaints whatsoever with Tata A.S.S. His was the first batch and had niggling issues which were sorted promptly, he is happy & satisfied with his ownership.
Tatas are now catching up with competition & are surely going to win.

Wishing you may happy miles ahead.
Drive safe.

Many thanks S.MJet for your kind words and confidence on TML. Feels good that you read through my review and liked it. My experience so far has been very similar. I'll share the details as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by anilmln

Congratulations Arindam and wishing you and your family many miles of happiness with this great car. Red looks stunning on Zest and it must be quite a head turner on the roads. Looking forward for your regular updates on your experience with this beauty.

anilmln, many thanks for your kind wishes. Yes I've been liking the color after seeing the car, but was really not sure when I booked it. Yes will sharing details as they unfold.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

A very well written ownership report. Just the right flavor. I am happy that you have judged the car well based on your requirements and evaluated it well too. Looking forward to the long term review of this product.

Thanks! swiftnfurious, Yes I've been impressed so far and in some aspects the car has exceeded my expectations. I'll share the details of problems I 've faced so far and how TML managed to provide service. Long term ownership is still far away but so far so good.

[arindam_xeta]

The last shot at Mukutmanipur was on 22nd Nov 2014. After that I have been mostly doing home and office. I had no serious issues with the car till now. A quick fast forward to the present day Zed has clocked close to 5.5 K kilometres and the car is doing really good in mileage front and overall stability. Any day on office trips returning 15+ KMPL , if I drive on ECO mode I have exceeded 17 KMPL too. My office commute route has no highways but fairly dense traffic with at least 3 big traffic stops.

Snapped a few weeks back when Zed clocked 5K Kms.



A postcard for my beloved Zed



So going good, well mostly I must say! Let me list down the issues I’ve faced so far.

Specific issues of ZED after delivery

1. Filling material exposed in interior “A” pillar panel - A black coloured filling material (a black spongy rubber with adhesive) was sticking out from the RHS A pillar top part on the inside. It's was a very obvious QA miss. I've carefully managed to slide it back in with a blunt knife its fine now. This is a QA issue hope this is reported back to the QA team. Resolved it myself.
   
2. Steering Column Noise - Very obvious rattling noise in the steering column, when on uneven roads.

   Reported to work shop on 31st Jan 2015, as of today this issue still persists.

3. Dashboard Noise - I feel like there are a bunch of loose coins inside the center console when the car is driven at pace over a broken road or small humps, which create a sudden bump/thud - very obvious looseness but not sure why or where, appears to originate right inside the Harman system! But I'm not sure.

   Reported on 29th Dec 2014, then reported on 31st Jan 2015, this was resolved on my next visit on 4th Feb 2015!

4. Instrument Cluster Smudge from inside – It appears due some reason there is a smudge on the inside on the upper part of the RPM meter.

   Reported just before my visit to the workshop on 31st Jan 2015. This issue has been promptly taken care of and was replaced with a brand new instrument cluster. The part was arranged and shipped in a very short time, really impressive!

5. Noise from the right OVRM/Door – A faint but noticeable vibration keeps happening on the driver side door, I’m not sure what is the source of it this issue still persists and is constant irritant in my right ear!

   Reported on 31st Jan 2015, the issue still persists as of today.

6. Mud in Engine bay kit – This known to me by the time of delivery. So I requested for this fitment on the day of first service and it was arranged very quickly, once again I was impressed! However, it took a long long time for the techs to install the same. Zed was the first car being fitted with the kit at this workshop, having said that this was a planned activity but they were not prepared for it.
   
7. Gear Shift Indicator logic (I’ll not call it a problem but it definitely is a little weird, until someone explains me otherwise) – This is just an observation which I did not find a logic behind. The instrument cluster generally shows the current gear number the car is in. In case on the higher or lower RPM band in the current gear it recommends an upshift or downshift respectively with an arrow sign. This behaviour is very nice and also adjusts itself pretty accurately with the throttle. Meaning, even if you are on the low end of the RPM band for the current gear, it will not recommend a down shift based on the throttle you are putting on. If you are light on the throttle you may not be recommended a down shift. All that is good. I love cruising in this car, since its damn smooth and really can cruise in neutral a long distance. But I see that the gear indicator does not show neutral, it stays blank, even that is good. But, this behaviour is not consistent, that’s where I feel the point is, being not consistent, why? If I’m cruising at about 70+ KMPH then it’s showing neutral (I like it that way N for neutral). But if the speed is at a lower one at around 50 KMPH then the gear indicator stays blank and a countdown happens from 5 to 1 or it stays at 5 as the speed decreases and the car comes to a halt it goes blank.
   I have reported this on face book owners forum but did not get too many conclusive responses to find the real depth/ spread of the behaviour. May be I’m being too nosy!

   Reported on 31st Jan 2015. I have demonstrated my point to the Workshop Manager. He even replicated the same issue in another Zest (XM, mine is XT) which came to work shop the same day. There was no logical explanation from anyone. I’ve been promised an explanation from Tata Motors

So those were mostly the problems I knew the car had and I kept looking forward to the first service which was due then at around Jan 2015. Completed the first service on 31st Jan. And now I’m waiting for the below issues to be taken care of -
Problem number 2 and 5 – Steering column noise and a faint but noticeable vibration on the driver side door are the problems I'm still living with!

So let’s rewind a bit back now to 22nd Nov 2014 to get into details of the issues and how the service experience has been so far! After getting back from Mukutmanipur, the next real drive was Vizag on the 25th of Dec. In this nearly one month, Zed was running fine. I enjoyed my every drive to office and back home and found nothing falling short of expectations (by now I was used to those noises and importantly nothing new came up)!

From around 1.8K Kilometers I kept having a peculiar stalling issue. While driving out from my office underground parking the car would stall in a rather awkward fashion. Initially I though probably I’ve been too lazy to down shift or I’m de-clutching too soon. But, soon I became conscious and I started feeling a little anxious. The issue would not happen frequently, but almost when I’m starting to think that it’s gone it would happen again. I normally adjust very minutely not to over rub the clutch than required. But this was not the usual stalling due to low power in traffic signal or while crossing the bumper, I never had these issues but for the first few drives, when I was adjusting to the new car! It was a bit different!

Issue Description:

I start from the underground parking lot (1st gear).....Take a steep ramp to reach the ground (2nd gear).....and immediately negotiate a speed breaker in 2nd gear.....take a rounded left turn ....continue straight for about 400-450 mtrs (moved from 2nd to 3rd gear and about 30-33 KMPH), now clutch while braking for the next oncoming speed breaker that's when the car would stall with beeps, no error code or any indicator. This is the exact sequence of events every time I faced this problem. In stalled condition the car is still around 15-20 KMPH, since I was fully clutched, I'll de-clutch and the engine cranks automatically, really and I take the speed breaker in 2nd gear. From then on it will not stall any more for the next 14 Kms to my home.
NOTE: This is not a usual stalling case over a speed breaker! The stalling happens when I'm about to reach the speed breaker in fully clutched condition (clutch pedal pressed completely) not when I'm actually negotiating it!

Service Centre Visited – Salap NH6 TC Motors – Visit 1

Date – 22nd Dec 2014 (carry in service provided along with a loaner car)
Running Kms. – 1900
Solution Provided: A clutch pedal adjustment and disassembling-assembling of differential cage as per the job sheet I was handed over. I have till now had no repeat of the issue.
Service Experience: I remember putting this issue in teambhp Zest review thread and also mailed about the same to a group of gentlemen from Tata Motors who helped me through the booking and purchase. I was a little worried and anxious since I feared it will be difficult to replicate the issue. However, in team bhp there were multiple zest owners having the issue. The service heads I spoke to, identified the issue as a most probable clutch height calibration issue. The Service centre called me to pick-up the car and set up a time. They arrived timely, along with a loner car. The job took one day and the car was returned back to me on 23rd Dec evening along with the job card.

I was already committed on a planned trip to Vizag starting on the 24th Dec night from Kolkata, hence the reliability of the resolution had to be good, risk was I had no time to dive the car for any reliability checks. I’m yet to face this issue again till now. So good job done!

I have noticed a sense of real urgency in resolving issues. I passed a lot of feedback so far through various medium – emails, social network and personally with various TML managers, I hope the same has reached appropriate corners of Tata Motors and will make some impact.

After the first visit narrated above I visited the workshop for three more occasions, will narrate the experiences in details as soon as possible.

The above issues are mostly as old as the car, I noticed no new issues creeping up till now. So standing at 5K + Kilometers and completing 3 months of ownership the car remains a strong recommendation for the car it self and the service, having said that I seriously hope this continues to improve since there are still miles to go on!

[arindam_xeta]

A mileage stunt from Zed on a typical office day.



The above snap is a more recent one. The mileage may further go up if I keep driving at a constant speed of around 75 - 80 KMPH and shift below 2000 rpm.

We track back a bit to end of December 2014. A planned trip from Kolkata to Vizag now that Zed crossed the recommended 1.8K running in distance. A flat 2000 odd KMs drive from Kolkata on 24th of Dec. For the onward journey to Vizag I got an average mileage of about 13.5 full AC ECON and driving fast. The max speed clocked was >141 KMPH. Overall drove on the high rev ranges after entering Andhra speeds rarely dropped below 110 KMPH.

The below mileage was approximately halfway of the drive.
Also the speed stunt snap, believe me it was easy snapping it at this speed and the car was really stable.



While returning I was much more sedate and the mileage improved. Zest suspension gives a very comfortable, cozy and safe feeling. The Harman Kardon ICE was awesome and added to the enjoyment of the drive. Overall very nice experience. The below picture shows the entire Vizag trip - 2015 Kms door to door.



Now onto some experience that was not all that nice

Emergency Braking - Please keep in mind and prepare to get used to it

While crossing the distance between Balasore and Bhadrak, there are roads which has worn out surface and lots of diversions with speed breakers due to ongoing constructions work and we were driving at night. The condition is such that you would at times end up reaching 3 digit speeds but will have to slow down fast. On one such situation I was late to spot a small sharp concrete speed breaker. The car was accelerating around 70 KMPH. By the time I realized that speed breaker it was late. So I slammed the brakes.

Just before the small sharp concrete hump there was a few meters of loose concrete fall offs, gravels, all in all loose surface. The car started slowing down really well. By the time I was really close to the bumper, it suddenly let go off the braking to some extent and made a "thuddering" sound. Such was the effect that I probably also lost the pressure on my feet a bit! I hit the bumper at a pretty high speed. For a moment I though I have broke the car! My wife was really tensed. Then I realized all looks good but I have lost the perfect steering alignment a bit. At this point I was a little anxious if it was some kind of braking system malfunction!

A similar situation happened in Vizag. Vizag has a very typical built of the speed breakers near the road junctions. These junctions are mostly look and go types. A smooth concrete slab takes you off the tar and bumps you back on it. Some are really smooth, dark, unpainted and gets camouflaged at times depending on the angle of approach, especially at night, since the roads are really up and down. So as a result I ended up just a little too fast on one of them. Slammed the brakes and a similar "thuddering" sound, the brakes just letting off a bit of the bite, lost a bit of pressure on my right foot, cause of the surprise. This time it was a little too close for comfort since I had to steer left instantly to avoid hitting a bike. The bike was crossing the road in a hurry.

I checked the braking numerous times after this. Found no real issue, but myself and my wife were a little worried, we still had more than half (> 1000 Kms) of the journey to make it back home. However I made it home without any further issues and straightaway booked a service call.

Issue Description: The above was the issue, "perceive" less than efficient braking with a "thuddering' sound.
Though I had the Dashboard Noise at this point and same was acknowledge by the technical head, but he insisted me not to open the dashboard as yet.

Service Centre Visited – Salap NH6 TC Motors – Visit 2
Date – 29th Dec 2014
Running Kms. – 4900+ Kms

Solution Provided - I was very impressed with the importance with which the service people responded to the issue. I called them from Vizag and they listened to the entire description with a lot of diligence. They consoled me and promised to solve it once I returned home. When I reached the workshop my first visit in person, last time my car was picked up for service, the service head took a drive with me. He examined the car for quite sometime. He also had his team to check for any visible defects. None was found all looked good. Then he questioned me on the surface where I was braking. I gave him the explanation above in detail. He demoed me the behavior on the workshop floor.

Due to ABS I experienced more than normal stopping distance while emergency braking in a couple of close encounters. Actually the system helped me steer past the obstacle which I had to do in the second situation. I knew the theory behind it but never experienced it practically. ABS may increase the braking distance since the system does not allow wheel lock. This may take people like me by surprise. I have been using non-abs system for a while. However, the consequences of it resulted in a few tensed moments with my family in the car! No damage done and all ended well! TC Motors Salap Technical heads were instrumental in reproducing the exact use case with me in the car - Re-assuring once again about the quality and stability of this product. The first incident resulted in a dis-aligned steering which was also taken care of promptly. So all in all very satisfying and confidence building experience! I felt this ain't really a disadvantage but as it was a surprise for me I lost a bit of pressure on my right foot in the heat of the moment. However my reflexes saw me through but had I been knowing it, I might have had more control over the situation. So do read about it to avoid being surprised and taken aback.

Some more expert info on the topic
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...on-thread.html

Once again Visit 2 Service experience was positive and so is the quality of technology and stability of the car!

[Nissan1180]

Thank you for sharing a wonderful ownership review. The experience that you have shared about driving over the speed breaker is an example of how well put together your car is. The Zest is a well executed product- in fact, it is one of the very few cars <10L that deserve to have a cult. Wishing you lots of happy kilometres ahead.
Isn't doing 140 on a new engine not recommended?