The subscription plans for other models like the Punch.ev, Nexon.ev, and Curvv.ev would be more expensive.

Tata Motors’ pure electric range of cars is available with connected car features as part of the ZConnect app. It’s a subscription-based service, and the carmaker has now introduced a new plan for Tiago.ev owners.

The new ‘Essential’ plan is priced at Rs 1,999 excluding GST. It is also the only option available for the Tiago.ev and is likely to be offered exclusively for owners of this model. The subscription plans for other models like the Punch.ev, Nexon.ev, and Curvv.ev would be more expensive as they have better infotainment systems and more connected car features.

The ZConnect app allows users to remotely lock or unlock the vehicle and activate the climate control system. It also monitors and analyses driving behaviour and provides remote diagnostics and alerts about the vehicle’s health and battery status.

The app provides navigation and weather updates and can also be used to find the nearest charging station. It has built-in safety features like instant crash notifications, emergency SOS, and panic notifications.

The ZConnect app is available on both the Google Play Store and App Store.

Thanks to BHPian thomahawk for sharing this information with other enthusiasts!

My main car is a BMW M340i which has clocked 26,000 km in 1.5 years.

BHPian krishnadevjs recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Just over a year done with the Tata Tiago EV.
While I bought this as a second car, the M340i is just so good to drive that I find myself almost always taking that.

So much so that the M340i has touched 26k km in 1.5 years and the Tiago has done 6.3k km!

Many folks had warned me of Tata, saying the quality is crap, the service is bad etc.
Well - they weren't entirely wrong.

The fit and finish of the car is actually quite nice. And it definitely feels solid compared to competition - say a Maruti Suzuki or a Hyundai even.
The car is put together decently well, and I haven't had any major panel gaps.

After the initial hiccup with the AC water pipe being left inside the cabin (leading to a soaking carpet), there wasn't any other issue in the way the car was delivered.

However, the service of Tata Motors has not been the best. I've been giving my car regularly to Trident Motors in Kurla, and they've scratched the car in multiple places after service.
I pointed it out to them, and they agreed to buff it out, but those scratches were too deep to be buffed out.
They did offer painting, but I was wary of the paint quality of these service centers and therefore let it be.
It was quite disheartening to see how badly they treated customer cars without proper care.

Given the bad experience there, I switched it up last month and gave the car to Keshva Motors in Mulund.
Well, they turned out to be equally bad - no damage to the car, but they did steal an IKEA cushion I had left in the car for my daughter to sit on!

In the midst of this, there was one instance of the dreaded, yet common HV Critical Error which creeped up on my car.
Tata Motors diagnosed it as a problem with the AC condenser, which was replaced under warranty promptly. This was 6 months into the ownership, and so far, there's been no other issue.

That is till today morning when I tried to drop my wife off at her college. The car would start but it simply wouldn't go into Drive or Reverse.
It stayed in Neutral and upon rotating the gear selector, it gave a ping like when you get when the Gear Selection is disallowed.

Tried a few times, switched off the car and restarted, all to no avail.

https://youtu.be/X9Ugw8OJ49w

Finally, I called up Tata Motors helpline and they promptly sent a tow truck to pick up the vehicle.

This time, they've taken it to Wellwisher Motors in Mhape. Hopefully, this service centre comes out better than the previous two.

Reliability-wise, I do not trust this car much now, given the 2 instances where the car was immobilized - that to in hardly a year and 6,000 km.

I still think Tata can do better - they need to fix these niggling issues as well as significantly improve their service centre standards.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

This festive offer is available only for a limited period, till October 31, 2024.

Tata Motors is offering benefits of up to Rs 3 lakh on its EV range this festive season. 

As part of its ‘Festival of Cars’ celebration, Tata Motors has announced a price cut of Rs 40,000 on the Tiago.ev. The electric hatchback is now available at a starting price of Rs 7,99,000 (ex-showroom).

The Punch.ev gets a price reduction of up to Rs 1.20 lakh. As a result, the new entry price is Rs 9,99,000. Tata is offering the highest benefits of up to Rs 3 lakh on the Nexon.ev. The revised starting price of the electric SUV is Rs 12,49,900.

Customers can additionally enjoy 6-month free-of-cost charging at any of the over 5,500 Tata Power charging stations across the country.

This festive offer is available only for a limited period, till October 31, 2024.

Should I claim insurance once again, considering its the same panel I painted 2 days ago?

BHPian mgastor2022grey recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey guys, hope everyone is doing good. I have not posted in a while, so some information might be new to people. Read on!

I have recently bought a Tiago EV to compliment my Astor for city duties. Both the cars are in ICICI Lombard insurance. Generally, I don't take my Astor within the city but due to some unavoidable circumstance, I had to take it.

I had actually received my car the day before the incident from the service center and had repainted my rear bumper. However, on the next day, while parking my car in the office, i misjudged the distance to the wall and banged it. Luckily, the tailgate was not damaged, but the bumper received some scratches, paint transfer and a dent.

Here comes my question: Should I claim insurance once again, considering its the same panel I painted 2 days ago? I'm little anxious about what the service center people would think about me (bruised ego ). Or should I leave it as such? Its not a minor one, anyone tailing me would know that it is damaged.

BHPians, need your help in this one. Thank you!

Here's what BHPian toiing had to say on the matter:

What i would suggest is to keep driving the car for a bit and get yourself comfortable with the dimensions of the car. Do that for a month (or two) and then get all the dings and scratches fixed once and for all.

Here's what BHPian pjbiju had to say on the matter:

Nothing wrong in making a claim again. In fact, if you do want to claim this later on, they may reject the claim, saying it is an old dent/scratch. So if you are planning to claim insurance, always get it done as soon as possible.

Some of the add-on covers or zero-depreciation etc. could become invalid after a certain number of claims in a year. You can check your current insurance policy terms to see if there is anything like that in your policy. You can make a decision based on that as well.

Here's what BHPian ashkamath had to say on the matter:

You can claim insurance any number of times during the validity of the policy.

As you mentioned that the damage is not a minor one (we take it that the damage is a major one), then you should go ahead and claim the insurance again.

Take some photos of the wall where the bumper hit and there must be some damage to the wall too. Speak with the insurance company official and explain them the incident and go ahead with the claim.

If you have taken the photo of the bumper after it was repainted, then it would be an additional plus point. Further the service center will vouch that the bumper was repainted and the work was done to your fullest satisfaction prior to your second incident.

So, please speak with the insurance official and lodge your claim.

Here's what BHPian Naetik30 had to say on the matter:

This happens to the best of us. Dont worry about it.

Just remember you have insurance for a reason. Not claiming insurance is NOT a badge of honour. And so is claiming it every other day.

I do not recall any use of insurance other than accidental claims. Would you buy a rain coat and not use it when it rains so the rain coat wont get wet? You get the drift.

But as other suggested do get used to the cars dimensions first.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The small electric vehicle has outperformed itself in every challenge I have thrown at it. It does have its limitations but those are more related to the current state of EV infrastructure.

BHPian piyush.bhandari recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

• Model: Tiago EV LR XZ+Tech Lux
• Purchased: June 2023
• City: Pune
• Odo: 7600 km

Intro:

We are a family of 3 and wanted a small city car. The main purpose of the car was to enable city commutes with our 1-year-old and occasional trips around the city. I did not want to pay anything over 10L as an expensive and/or bigger car just for city use did not make sense to me. This comes after 4 years of Tata Harrier ownership. Also, I did not want to go for a manual. I was inclined towards Tata products because I have had a major accident with the Harrier and the way it performed and saved us was something I can never be thankful enough for.

The Options:

It majorly boiled down to 2 options (both of which were slightly higher than my budget)

• Tata Altroz DCA
• Tiago AMT
• Tiago EV

There was a third option Nexon EV, which we loved. However, we loved the concept of the Harrier EV more, so we reduced our budget for the current car to make room for the Harrier/Safari EV purchase in the near future. Making the current car our city/errand car and the SUV more of an intercity car.

The Decision:

I liked the concept of an EV. Since the first launch, I have been following the progress and current scenario of the EV infrastructure. Needless to say, it did not give me a lot of confidence, especially for drives outside of the city. However, once I arranged a test drive for the Tiago EV, I immediately fell in love. The interiors were way better than the first-generation Harrier (which was surprising). The quiet cabin with a decent sound system was extremely pleasant. It included all the tech that you might need on a day-to-day basis.

The decision was clear - at almost the same price, the Tiago EV felt more like the car I needed compared to the Altroz.

Tiago AMT was also considered, and it would have cost about 3L less, but I went ahead with a risk on the EV as I was more inclined towards this tech and did not like AMT as a gearbox.

The Good:

Post delivery, the experience was amazing. We always looked for reasons to drive in the city while enjoying the onset of monsoons.

• City Handling - I cannot recommend a better city car than this. High-speed braking is a bit scary though.
• Quiet Cabin - The silence is amazing! It takes some time to get used to. However, since the cabin is silent and the road noise isolation is not that good, you hear a lot of noise which you normally won't in other cars.
• The power - You will never feel a lack of power, even in normal driving mode.
• The Sports mode - Amazing! I somehow feel the initial power in sports mode is even better than Harrier's sports mode. Need to test them back-to-back on highways to confirm though.

Though a bit sceptical, I took the car to Lonavala after a planning session on Plug Share. There are a couple of chargers in Lonavala, therefore I was confident enough that we would make it back home safely. Once we returned safely from the trip, we started going a bit further every next trip and have not been stranded anywhere... mostly (more on that later)

The Bad:

Of course, it's a Tata, it will have niggles. There were a lot of alignment issues with the body panels when I did the PDI along with other minor problems. I'm glad that I took the time out to do a thorough inspection. I spent 2 hours on the inspection and shared everything with the representatives in the WhatsApp group they created. Most of them were sorted before delivery. I was glad they tried to solve most of the issues and not give me any BS to not get the work done.

Additionally, there are 2 major instances which I can recall over the last year.

First

I went to pick up a guest at night. When I was putting their luggage in the boot, I realised that the boot wouldn't close. Thought it was due to the luggage, but it was not. Had to get the guests home with an open boot. Thankfully the pickup point was not too far away from my house, and it was late at night. Next day at the service centre we came to know that it was an actuator issue. I asked them to order a replacement and get it changed ASAP.

"How long can getting a Tiago actuator take, right? It should be easily available. It's not like it's a special part just for the EV." I thought to myself.

Well, Tata did not disappoint here, it took them 2 weeks to get an actuator and let me know that I can come and get it replaced, 2 God damned weeks!

I was questioning my decision to buy a Tata. A lot of owners had bad experiences with their service and products. Was I going to be another "case"?

Second

Couple of months down the line, I had to run a quick errand at night and thought of taking the car out. However, the car won't even unlock! I tried a couple of things, and recorded a video in case something was needed to be shown to the service guys. The previous thought again crept into my mind, and I was almost sure that my money had gone down the drain. I called the RSA, took me about 30 minutes to get them to understand my situation and provide a resolution. I asked them to send the RSA guy the next morning as I did not want any further stress that night as I had been exhausted talking to them over the phone.

Next morning the guy came, checked a couple of things, unplugged the aux battery and reset some fuses.

He jump-started the car and told me that the Aux battery was discharged. I need to let the car run for a couple of minutes for it to be charged again. I was shocked as my daily running is about 10 kms and the possibility of the aux battery being discharged was rare.

A couple of things to note:

• The RSA tried their best to provide a solution. I only feel that their best needs to be better.
• The above were one-off problems and have never occurred since.

Other than these, I don't really have any complaints about the product.

The Ugly:

I was not sure what to put in this section, but then I realised there's a thing called Z Connect. Let's talk about it.

In a recent event with Tata Representatives, I highlighted the same, and I say it again, the App is just bad! The app as a whole package just does not work! It is marketed as an amazing tool to help you with your day-to-day driving, but it fails to deliver. The network reception of the car is generally bad. I have had situations where the car when standing on the road, where there are no reception blockers have very little or no reception. In case when there is proper reception, it takes painfully long to execute even simple commands. I have had situations where it has taken me about 5 minutes to try and execute the desired command. I don't see any convenience to it.

Whenever you want to use it, the commands get executed only 5 out of 10 times. And don't even get me started on their smartwatch app. I'm not sure how they have been able to make it even more useless than the mobile app, but they have. Eg: When you open the watch app, it asks you to open the mobile app to sync the status. If I had to open the mobile app, why on earth would I use the watch app?!

The inbuilt sim, from what I've heard is one which supports slow speeds and is capped at 6 gb per year. The lack of faster-supported speeds shows while using the app and deteriorates the overall user experience.

After all these shortcomings Tata is charging ~3500 rupees a year for this app, which does not make sense at all! I can't wrap my head around the fact that people are renewing their subscriptions to this app.

There are only the following features which you would use on a day-to-day basis:

• Check SOC while charging/ checking the charging status.
• Lock/unlock the car in case you do not have access to the key and just need to fetch something from the car.
• Aircon controls. When it works, can be really helpful, especially in summers.

For me, the current state of the application does not bring a value which justifies this subscription fee. Therefore, I would not be renewing it. In case I have a long trip planned, maybe then I can go ahead and renew it because it's helpful on trips.

The Range:

Initially, when I got the car, I was getting something around 180kms on a charge in the city. However, where I lived, the traffic was relatively forgiving. This is when I was being extremely conservative with the car and not driving it like a normal car. I have shifted to a different part of the city now and am not that conservative with my driving. I am not driving it like a maniac with sudden acceleration or braking. I try to use the regen as much as possible.

The driving parameters have stayed almost the same - regen 3, AC always (at 26-27). Now I'm getting somewhere around 120-160 km per charge.

So yeah, not very convenient or even cost-friendly as of now. It is at par with what a Petrol Tiago would have cost per km.

I do not have a charger installed in my parking because the setup cost due to the parking location was costing me around 30k including a new electricity meter and a long distance from the central meter room. I knew I was not going to save this much money in a year and might have to shift the next year. So, it did not make economic sense to get the charger installed.

For the past year, my charging has mostly been DC Fast charging. I would assume the fast-to-slow split to be something about 80-20. However, slow charging also costs about the same price as fast charging if you're charging from an external charger.

So as of now, my running cost is about the same or higher than what a petrol automatic Tiago would have given me.

To summarise:

• In Bumper-to-Bumper traffic: ~140 kms
• In the medium to high traffic: ~170 kms
• On Highway: 200+ kms (easily 200). However, I would suggest plan your charging stops at about 170 kms given the current state of charging infra.

The range prediction on the dashboard though is way off! I've had situations where the car predicted more than the claimed range post driving on the highway, at speeds about 80kmph and with always AC on.

Please ignore my cat's hair.

And at moments it has predicted more than the claimed range when the AEC is close to 200

So yes, you cannot rely on the predictions because this vehicle will not give you anything over 220 on highways with normal use, AC on, with people and luggage in the car.

The Trip:

So, I recently completed a trip from Pune to Kota, which is around 1000 km one side. Obviously, I had to plan the trip in advance and along with backup chargers. I was not entirely sure that I would be able to make it without any hiccups. However, I was able to complete my return journey without any issues other than the one time on return, I was stranded at Hotel Meghadoot in Ujjain (the whole ordeal can be found on Plug share and JioBP). I had to wait 2 hrs over there and would have had to stay in Ujjain just because of it (I had a stay booked in Indore). Thankfully I found an HP charger just opposite to hotel Meghadoot (added to Plug share) where I charged and left for Indore.

There were a few more trade-offs due to the small battery and the lack of infrastructure. Instead of taking the normal route of Indore -> Agar -> Jhalawar, I had to take a detour of Indore -> Jaora -> Jhalawar because there was no charger for about 200 kms on the prior route. Even the new route had one charger at a distance of 180kms till the next one in Jhalawar. Due to this I had to drive at 65 kmph on the Mumbai Delhi Expressway (speed limit 120 kmph) without AC. When you are travelling with family and have to make such compromises, it's a bit inconvenient, especially during the summers. Although I'm sure the infra would get much better in the next year itself as it's been growing rapidly YOY.

Just for reference, I've done the same drive multiple times with our Harrier. One thing I realised was that even though I was on the road longer compared to an ICE vehicle, I was less tired because of the automatic transmission (or lack thereof), the lack of vibrations, and regular frequent breaks to stretch and take a breather. This was something entirely unexpected as I assumed I would be more tired due to spending more time driving.

After an almost entirely successful trip, I'm confident that in the coming years, this car will be capable of doing even longer distances and not be limited to just the hustle and bustle of the city.

Final Thoughts:

Post this short span of ownership I couldn't have been happier with the car. It has outperformed itself, in every challenge I throw at it. It does have its limitations but those are more related to the current state of infrastructure around EVs. The drivability of the car, the comfort, the air conditioner, the music system, everything is as good as it gets in this segment.

Would I have wanted ventilated seats? Yes.

Would I have wanted wireless CarPlay and Android Auto? Obviously!

Would I have wanted better confidence while braking at high speeds? Hell yes!

Maybe the future iterations of the car would address these things. But currently, for what I paid for this car, and expected out of it... It has always outperformed.

I wholeheartedly recommend this car to the people around me looking for a car in this budget. As a city car, there would be only a few (if any) which come close to the experience you get with Tiago EV. If you can charge at your own place, then I don't think anything can even come close to the complete package that this car is!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I think Tata Motors is really serious about electric vehicles and making them a success. I find their intentions pure and they are honestly trying to bring a change.

BHPian ferrarirules recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Tata EV owners were hosted by Tata for a breakfast drive on 5th May 2024. All EV owners in the Delhi-NCR region were welcome to join the event. The owners could register by going on the Tata Motors Evolve website.

A bit of background on the Evolve initiative from Tata Motors

Tata is not only selling electric cars, it is also trying to create a community of people who want to drive a change. So they came up with the EVOLVE platform in December 2023 along with the launch of their exclusive EV stores.

The platform is for Tata EV owners and it has three types of events that are organized from time to time in multiple cities.

• Community events like Breakfast Drives, Evening Meetups, Drive-in cinema and more.
• Sustainability events like Zero waste cooking, Yoga workshops, Sustainable fashion workshops with cloth collection by an NGO, Beach cleanup and much more.
• Curations like complimentary tickets to Tata WPL, Discounts at Taj hotels, Discounts and reservations at premium restaurants and more

All of this is at no additional cost for the EV owners.

Now coming back to the breakfast drive

It was one of the community events organized on 5th May 2024 from both the Tata.EV stores in Gurugram. It was a drive to Westin Spa and Resort, Sohna Road, Gurugram followed by breakfast and community connect at the resort.

We were asked to reach the showroom at 9 AM. Once we reached there, people who wanted to top up were given an opportunity to top up at the showroom. In the meanwhile, the rest of the folks helped themselves to freshly brewed coffee.

After that a small briefing was done and walkie-talkies were provided for the group to stay in touch. My kid loved the experience of relaying info over walkie-talkie to the lead car.

Then cars were assigned numbers and they were flagged off in order. There were 20 cars from the Sec 14 showroom and 15-16 cars from the Sohna road showroom.

The drive was 37 kms long. We drove in a convoy without violating any traffic rules. The event team took videos and pictures on the way.

My daughter and I creating an "EV" sign

Fellow owners sharing their experiences/tips. There were many new owners who had just bought an EV. They were really thrilled to see such a community connect and the support available.

After having a sumptuous brunch and sharing experiences, it was time to say goodbye.

My thoughts

Tata is really serious about EVs and making them a success. Be it dedicated showrooms/service center or wide charging networks or community connect. They are doing it all.

Are their cars perfect? - No, Is the charging network foolproof? - No. But then there is a famous saying "Rome wasn't built in a day". It is true for Tata's EV journey as well. I find their intentions pure and they are honestly trying to bring a change. They respect the early owners and support them in every single way.

Disclaimer - I am not associated with Tata or the dealership in any way.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The Tiago EV has been doing its duties well, but I do regret not waiting for the Punch EV.

BHPian Mr.Perera recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

1 Year and 25,000 km with the Tiago EV

So, it has been one year of living with the Tiago EV. The Tiago EV has become my daily driver and touchwood, it hasn't had any major issues to date. I must say, getting the Tiago EV last year was a fantastic decision, mainly due to two reasons. One is definitely the savings on fuel costs, and the second is how fun it is as a city car. Out of the 25,000 kms I covered, I think around 90% were city drives, mainly home- office-work sites-gym and back home. These drives normally range between 40 to 150 kms per day, depending on my work schedule. I have also done a few highway runs. Mostly the day before the drive, I plan to take the Karoq or Thar, but when I think of the cost of filling fuel, I check for EV charging stations en route and then take the Tiago EV. It turns out that 95% of my driving is now on the Tiago EV, and the other cars are taken very rarely. I have done some 5 to 6-long drives on the EV, ranging from 200 to 500 km per trip. The good thing is that the number of public charging stations has been increasing rapidly, and mostly within every 50 kms on most major roads here in Kerala, there is a charging station. Last weekend we went to Thekkady from Trivandrum. Initially, we planned to take the Karoq, but while calculating, I realized I would need to spend around Rs 4,500 on fuel for the 500 km trip. So, the miser in me decided to take the EV. I started at 100% charge from home and stopped at 3 DC charging stations throughout the entire trip. I planned it in such a way that the charging stops were at restaurants so that I could charge while having my meal break. Also, I paid just 450 Rs in total for charging. So, that's just 10% of the cost of what it would have been in the Karoq. This is how my life has been in the past year, and somehow or the other, I find a reason to take the EV every time.

In the past year, these are my major observations on the Tiago EV:

The Good

1. Running cost: The Tiago EV has been bringing big savings for me on fuel costs. Previously, I used to spend around Rs 25,000 per month on fuel. Now, it has become literally zero! Since my house has a 5KW solar-power plant and mostly the generation is more than the consumption, my electricity bills are negligible. Every time when I come back home after work if the battery is below 50%, I plug the car for overnight charging. I have the slow 3.3 kW charger, and it normally takes around 10 hours to charge from 10% to 100%. So, if I plug in at night, the next day morning the car will be fully charged. If I had driven the Karoq for the past 25,000 kms, I would have spent around 2.75 lakhs on fuel in the past year.
2. Fun: The Tiago EV is massive fun to drive around. It's like a pocket rocket, so small and nimble with tons of torque. The lack of any gearbox means at any speed, put the foot down, and the car just leaps forward.
3. Comfortable suspension: The suspension of the Tiago is tuned more to the comfort side. It absorbs most of the small potholes and gives a very plush ride.
4. Less service cost: The services are at 7500 kms and most were mere checkups. The bill amounts were between Rs 1,000 and 3,000. Also, the service experience is getting better as well.
5. Range: The car has been giving a consistent range between 180 and 240 kms on a full charge. Even after 1 year of consistent use, that figure is almost the same.

The Bad and the Ugly

1. Lack of Hill Hold feature: The omission of the Hill Hold feature is a big bummer. Most of the time while on a slope, I press the brake pedal while stopping, and the moment I take my foot off the brake to press the throttle, the car rolls back. It is very irritating at times. Now, every time I pull the handbrake lever while stopping on an incline and modulate the throttle handbrake while starting off.
2. Lack of traction control: With such high levels of instant torque, the front wheel easily loses traction when we push the throttle fully. If there is some loose gravel mid-corner and you are on full throttle, the wheels lose traction easily. I feel this is a bit dangerous and wish it had traction control.
3. Improper ABS calibration: There is a noticeable delay between brake engagement when the ABS kicks in. For example, if there is a patch of dirt and I brake hard and the wheel tends to lock, the ABS releases the brake, but in most other cars that delay is so small you won't notice, but in the Tiago, that time is a bit longer and only after a few milliseconds, the brake engages back.
4. Charging Lid: The locking mechanism in the charging lid is very flimsy. After a few rounds of opening and closing, the metal part inside bends, and I have to manually pull it back for the lid to close. Also, I wish the lid could have been opened from the outside by just pressing it like how it's there in other cars now. Most of the time I take the charging cable from the boot, plug it onto the wall, and turn back and see the charging lid is not opened. I need to go back to the driver's door and pull the lever below to open it. If it was just pushing the lid to open, it would have been very convenient.
5. The central lock bug: I mentioned this in my first post as well. There have been times when I switch off the car and come out of the car, while the key is still inside the car and the car locks automatically. A few times I have faced this, and I had to bring my second key to open the car. During the last service, I had mentioned this again, and they seemed to have fixed it. But I'm still scared of the scenario where my kids may get locked inside the car like that sometimes so every time I make sure I keep the key in my pocket itself. Also, if at you switch on the car and get out of the car with the key, the car just honks rapidly 5 times. Which is very disturbing, yes it is a reminder that the car is still on, but one small honk was understandable but why 5 honks? There have been instances where I get out to open my gate with the car on and key in my pocket and the car honks so rapidly that all my neighbours know that I have arrived.
6. The good-for-nothing Z connect App: Tata boasts about its connected car features like starting the car remotely, geo-fencing, switching on the AC, turning on the lights, etc., but the app NEVER works! It's such a waste. When my car had locked itself with the key inside, I tried the app a hundred times to unlock the car. But it never worked. If Tata can't make something that works properly, then why take the pain of developing it? Such a waste of resources. Also, all this while I was thinking it was a free app. After one year, I got a message from Tata that the first-year free service was over, and now I need to pay Rs 3528 for an annual subscription. I am never going to pay for something that doesn't work in the first place. Also, Tata seems to be so desperate for us to take the package that they had literally sent me around 15 SMS reminders to renew my subscription.
7. Dirty seats: The Tiago EV XZ+ Tech Lux variant comes with light beige leatherette seats, and they get really dirty! One lesson I learned is NEVER getting light-coloured seats on a daily driver's car, especially if you have small kids in your family.
8. Lack of rear parking sensors: Fun fact, while you are in reverse gear in the Tiago EV, the music sound reduces, so that you can hear the parking sensor beeps. But there are no parking sensors in the Tiago EV! Only a camera. How much would it cost Tata to just add two sensors in the rear boot, especially when the ICE variant comes with them? That's another pointless omission.

Summary

Keeping aside all these minor issues, the Tiago EV has been doing the daily runaround and beater duties so well. I have reached a point in my life where an electric small car has become an absolute necessity considering my daily running. Any regrets? Yes, I feel I should have waited for the Punch EV. At just 2 lakhs extra the Punch has a better motor and more range and is an overall better-made car than the Tiago. If I was in the market today to buy a small EV, I would have got the Punch EV.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

It felt like a premium electric vehicle but I was overwhelmed by the number of buttons. My Tata Tiago EV felt simple in a subtle way.

BHPian thomahawk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

MG ZS EV

The very next day I got the service done, I took my family for a test drive of MG ZS EV since I had to get that thought out of my system. I knew this would be a financial blunder, but I needed my peace of mind. On my way to the MG showroom, I visited the service center again to get a tentative date for the taillamp assembly replacement. The service manager asked me if I could drop the car again to check out the charging issue – told him would do it once the tail lamp replacement is approved.

Next stop was the MG showroom and there wasn’t anyone but us. The ZS EV felt like a premium car and the entire switch gear felt very European and I loved the tactility of the buttons. The rear seat ergonomics was compromised due to the raised floor – but can live with it. The car had a spare wheel and a lot of boot space – something that we missed in our tiny Tiago. But hey, we could get two of those for the price of the ZS model on display.

The sales advisor offered a test drive, and I got in the front seat. I loved the visibility and the seat comfort. Tiago’s seats are one size small for me. The car felt very comfortable – although I needed some time to get used to things.

To be honest, I felt overwhelmed – there were too many buttons. The Tiago felt simple in a subtle way. I slotted the car in reverse and the poor camera quality was a big turn-off (I thought the Jimny had the most pathetic camera). The car had a lot of errors (Radar and some system malfunctions) for a car that has only run 20k. Felt sorry for the car – sure everyone abuses it.

I could feel the rough road and I thought the ZS was tuned for comfort – I thought the car might be overinflated, but the sales advisor showed me 37 vs. the recommended 35psi. Tata should really have provided a proper TPMS instead of the iTPMS. The MID wasn’t well designed and some info like driving mode was a tiny piece of info in the MID. The drive helped in easing my mind – I won’t be happy with the ZS EV either.

I wished Tata paid a bit more attention to things like how charging is done. With ZS it is as simple as unlocking the car. In the Tiago, the charging port is on the passenger side, and one must open the lid from the driver's side after unlocking the car – a push to open the lid would have made things a lot easier. Also, the charging gun can be released by just unlocking the car – no need to press a button inside the car.

Living with Niggles

I also called up a relative who had a Harrier. He had mentioned that a friend of his has a Nexon EV which was having a lot of issues and found ways to sort the issues. So, we got into a conference call which became more like a support group meeting. We lamented about the issues our cars had and how inept Tata was to sort these out. The owner of Nexon EV was in the same boat as me – the car was lovely but there were far too many issues (he had his AC and battery already replaced within 2 years). We couldn’t find another car that we liked in the respective budget. We both didn’t want another ICE car either. The suggestion I got was to keep ignoring issues till the car breaks down or till service is due – getting every issue fixed as soon as it appears will only waste your time. Looks like that is the only way to remain sane.

Tail Lamp Replacement

The next week the ASM (service manager) confirmed that my tail lamp could be replaced if I drove in. Decided to get it replaced and continue assessing the charging issue. They plugged the car into an AC fast charger, but the radiator fan didn’t have to be ON and the charging started immediately. The technician said the fan would come in after around 30 minutes. I volunteered to wait beside the car and let others go on with their jobs. I spent the time checking out other cars that came in for service.

Wonder why some owners continue to keep the plastic covers:

The dealer also runs Toyota dealerships, and the car belonged to someone in the group:

The fan didn’t turn ON after even an hour and a half and I asked the technician to try taking the car for a spin. We drove around town for some time and came back. It was scorching hot so I thought the fan would turn ON if we plugged in after a drive. The fan didn’t turn ON after even the 30-minute drive. The technician didn’t have any more suggestions and we decided to call it a day and get the tail lamp fixed. I was planning to take the car for a long drive the next day – so we thought would test the car again if I could drive into the service center directly after the drive. There was a mix-up, so the job took more than an hour (somebody picked up the ICE Tiago part once and one of the lamps had a broken clip).

I plugged the car in at night and this time the fan turned on and the car started charging immediately. I was clueless as to what was happening. Took the car for a long drive the next day but couldn’t drive back to the service center as I had to attend a funeral later in the day. Put the car to charge and the issue cropped up again. Left a message to the ASM and shared a video of this – this time with the bonnet open. I had a short vacation and damping planned so didn’t want to keep the car in the service center.

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I am worried about the fact that I could miss out on a Tiago EV just because of the space constraint that we have.

BHPian RohanMahantesh recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Should I Buy The MG Comet?

Hello!

This is my first post on TeamBHP!

My family is in a very confused state about buying a comet and I would like to get the views of the various comet owners and other TeamBHP members for the same.

Well, here is my situation: We have a Honda City at home, which is usually used for short trips and highway drives. My sibling commutes to her college using an auto or the public bus. But these modes are completely unreliable and the nearest bus stop is 1.8km from my home. The bus frequency is pathetic too. And some days she might have to end up staying late in college (She's pursuing medicine) and might have night shifts. The college is about 9km away and our family is planning to get her a 4-wheeler. She is a first-time driver (She obtained her license just a month ago, but is still not confident about driving a 2-wheeler, hence had to rule it out).

The parking space available is very little (3.2m in length) as the other car takes up most of the space. This narrowed down our search to only Nano Automatics (Again, we couldn't make up our mind due to it being discontinued, spares, and Tata service as a whole). As a result of this, we are now looking to buy a comet.

The comet just fits in right, is close to the charging point, and ticks all the boxes needed. The mid variant also has all the features we're looking for. But, my concern is, that the Tiago EV also looks promising and is priced similarly, and it comes with a fast charging option, along with a big boot and comfortable 5 seats.

I am worried about the fact that I could miss out on a Tiago EV just because of the space constraint that we have. Is it justified for us to spend about 8.5L for an MG Comet just because it fits right in the space available instead of the Tiago EV considering the aftermarket servicing, fear of the product being discontinued, and the lack of spares in the future? (The Comet will majorly be used for urban driving only, and the Honda City will be used for long trips).

I would love to know all of your thoughts on this.

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The tail lamps have hairline cracks everywhere. They are as bad as the ones on my 8-year-old Maruti Brezza.

BHPian thomahawk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Got my car back from its 6-month service. Transmission oil change and general checkup was to be done and it cost me 1714/-.

I had a list of complaints:

• Erratic charging when the fan is required to start charging.
• Folded/Torn beading on passenger side rear window.
• Loose 12v socket (after the wiring was fixed a couple of days after delivery).
• Jittery motion of the driver-side mirror.
• Window rattle on the driver's side (had to keep the door panel pressed with my elbow to stop it).
• Metallic clanking sound from the rear.
• Front passenger side door was hard to close.

The service advisor was helpful and he got all my complaints noted and told me the car would be delivered by evening. I told him that I do not want them to fix the beading with a double sided tape - and he nodded. I also told him not to wash the car since I didn't want swirl marks all around. He tried to push interior cleaning and I refused since I had made it a habit to clean the white upholstery every now and then. I told him about the technician I met a couple of days back and asked If I could meet him before I left for home. The technician came after some time and he told me that he had checked the service history and it seems they might have skipped flashing the VCU and HVAC software after the replacement of the sensor. I decided to go back and not hang around till evening.

Got a call around evening and the service advisor asked if I could wait for another day. I said it was fine as long as they fixed all the issues. I was expecting it anyway since I was checking the Z-connect app from time to time. One can see stats like doors open, charge left, car utilization etc. I knew the car had not been tested for the charging issue - because the car was never put to charge. I decided to not make a big deal out of it since I overheard advisors talking to customers about another service center shutting shop and all the additional workload they have now.

I continued checking the Z-connect app the next day and finally found some activities going on. The car was never put to charge though - I had delivered the car with 41% charge as advised and the car now had about 39% left. Around noon I got a call from the advisor and he said the charging socket had cracks. He said they couldn't claim a warranty on the repair since it had cracks. I was puzzled since I did all the charging duties myself - and did it by the book. Thought it might be another QC issue. He told me it would cost around 700/- and I told them to carry out the replacement as long as it fixed my issue. Was a bit relieved that the part didn't cost a lot to replace. Since I had a meeting scheduled late in the evening - I followed up with the advisor multiple times and finally he told me the car was almost ready. I told him I'd pick it up in an hour and left home to get the car back.

Since I couldn't find the car in the delivery area, I went inside and met with the advisor. He said the car was now in the wash - I reminded him that I told him not to wash the car. He grinned and said it would just be over now and asked me to wait. After some time my car was brought in and I decided to check the work done.

• Erratic Charging when the Fan is required to start charging - Couldn't check as it was getting late for my meeting.
• Folded/Torn beading on passenger side rear window - fixed with 3M tape.
• Loose 12v socket - replaced with one from Tigor.
• Jittery motion of the driver-side mirror - didn't fix.
• Window rattle on driver side - couldn't check but they had clearly opened the panel.
• Metallic clanking sound from the rear - I couldn't reproduce it myself as I drove in. Think it went away on its own after I refilled the tires. They didn't find anything wrong with suspension or underbody.
• Front passenger side door was hard to close - they grinded some parts of the latch area - have some exposed metal now. Wonder if it'll rust without a paint job.

Since I couldn't find the replaced charging socket in the boot, I told the advisor that I need to see the part. He said he will get it and went to the service area. I decided to look for scratches and dings since the car seemed to easily get those, unlike the other Tata cars I knew. While looking at the inside (think they soiled the driver seat and never cared to clean it up after the job), I found the replaced 12V socket. Now I started to wonder if this is what the advisor was talking about. Looking around I found the tail lamps had hairline cracks everywhere. Did not think I noticed it before. I washed the car to take some snaps for my Team-BHP review thread a couple of weeks back. It is as bad as the ones on my 8-year-old Brezza. Could it be because they washed the car while it was still hot from being parked in an open parking area? They clearly had too many cars there.

My car is always parked in covered parking - and is still quite new to crack like this:

The advisor came in and I asked him about the socket - and he clarified that he was talking about the one inside. I told him about the repair done at the same dealer's service center a couple of days after delivery - and that I'm not going to pay for it. Also pointed out the cracks and he said they appear to be cracks from being exposed to harsh sunlight. He agreed that the car was still new and the cracks might be a defect. He said he will get the ASM (service manager) and had me wait more.

I messaged my colleague to push the meeting and decided to get things sorted. The ASM came in after some time and I called up the sales team to talk about the repair done post delivery. The service guys started talking and it seemed nobody wanted to own it. I got annoyed and told them that the car has far too many issues and I have already escalated the issues to their managers - and not to expect me to pay anything. The ASM agreed to get that crossed out from the bill and he got someone to take pictures of the taillamp clusters for a replacement under warranty.

He didn't say much about the jerky motion of the mirror or the beading - guess that is expected in a Tata. Since it was getting late for everyone, I paid the bill for the periodic service and left for home. I couldn't test charging but I hoped it would work since I believed the technician had found the root cause. Once I was done with my meetings, I put the car to charge only to find that the issue was still there. Took a video and sent it to the advisor. Sent another email to the regional manager and the service managers in the loop. I think there is something wrong with electricals and that is what killed my AC the first time. I remember that the car didn't charge for a few hours and I had to re-do the charging ritual to get it to charge - the AC malfunctioned on the same week.

I have asked for someone from Tata's technical team to figure this out. I have run out of patience running behind service technicians who clearly don't understand the issue. And I'm getting the car serviced at the dealer who is supposed to be the best of the lot - the golden child with Toyota genes. Tata clearly needs a better process for handling EV niggles. My patience is running out dealing with all the niggles which doesn't seem to stop. It is like a hydra - guess that is what I'm calling my car - Hydra!

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