Auto India, Car India

Tata, a corporation with Indian origin, is undoubtedly the leading vehicle manufacturers in India. Apart from Tata’s monopoly at the Indian heavy vehicle market, it has managed to move quite ahead in the car business. The latest center of attraction is of course, the Nano.

Besides this, Tata’s B+ segment launch, Indica V2, was successful in acquiring both expert’s appreciations and a huge market sale. It’s compactness in size and efficient price made it popular among the Indian buyers. Now Tata has come up with the next version of Indica V2, the “Indica Vista” (or Indica V3, as it was referred before its launching).

Highlighting Features :

Indica Vista is launched with seven variants both with petrol and diesel engine option. Here we write about Vista TDi Aqua. The car is built up with the new Fiat engines which are expected to boost Indica’s inherent performance.

With modification at the top shape and addition of new comfort features, the car is expected to continue the same sale success story by V2. Just take a glimpse the general statistics

General statistics -

• Name and Model : Tata Indica Vista TDi Aqua
• Ex showroom price (Mumbai) : Rs 4,58,000 (may vary)
• Body type : Hatchback
• Segment : B+
• Available colors :
  Gala Red
  Noble Blue,
  Arctic Siler,
  Cavern Grey,
  Solar Orange,
  Marine Silver
  Infinity Black
• Engine type : Diesel
• Maximum power : 70 Bhp @ 4500 rpm
• Maximum torque : 136 Nm @ 2500 rpm
• Steering : Power
• Brakes : Front Disk, Rear Drum
• Gears : 5 Manual
• Alloy Wheels? : No
• Fuel tank size : 37.4
• Top Speed : 154
• Fuel efficiency :
  13 kmpl (For highways)
  10 kmpl (For city)
• Seating Capacity : 5
• Seat adjustment : Manual
• AC / Non-AC : AC without Climate Control
• Music system : As per choice

Comments -

The base Indica shape is quite familiar for Indians. The space compactness and well designed hemispherical exterior earned lot popularity amongst the Indian car buyers. As mentioned above, being the next-Gen Indica, the base model and shape of Vista TDi is not changed, with certain exceptions. The roof of the hatchback is little flattened, which adds up a sedan feeling to it.

The car powering is taken care by a TDi diesel engine supported by 4 cylinders, with a max power capacity of 71 Bhp and a max torque of 135 Nm. For general use this powering scheme is suitable; however there is possibility wherein at top speeds the car may not find it sufficient due to its heavy body.

The front suspension is a lower wishbone and McPherson Strut with coil spring. A twisted beam with coil spring and a strong shock absorber are fitted as the rear suspension. Along with triangular head lamps, the new Indica is provided with two fog lamps, serving for both the climate beating and the car looks. The other highlighting objects are the body colored bumpers and the big ‘T’ logo.

Moving on to the interior side, we find a more spacious interior, improved from the Indica V2. The car has a seating capacity of 5 persons, with comfort. All the seats are fully fabricated and are accompanied by 3-ponit ELR seat belts. The front doors are provided with power windows, while the rear doors miss it out. The steering is a 3-spoke wheel and is a power steering.

The Other frontal highlights are the HVAC, central instrument control, front cup holder. The music system is an optional feature and is not totally integrated with the dashboard. Few variants offer single CD/MP3 player as default system.

The security measures are assigned a lesser priority in the designing of Indica Vista, in general. The possible reason for this may be the balancing between the features and the cost of the car. The car features neither the airbags nor the ABS. This car definitely misses out some score in security regards. A positive security point to mention is the child safety rear doors.

Pros :

• Same popular V2 exterior model
• The roof flattening producing distinction among rounded roof hatchbacks
• Powerful TDi engine with 4 cylinders
• Front suspension- lower wishbone and McPherson strut with coil spring
• Back suspension- a semi-independent twisted beam with coil spring and shock absorbers
• Fog lamp at the front
• In-shape, body colored bumper
• Fully Fabricated seats
• Provided with Central instrument control
• HVAC (heating, ventilating, air conditioning)
• Single CD/MP3 player
• Frontal cup holder
• Hydraulic Power Steering
• Front door power windows
• Light intensity controlling for instrument cluster
• Central Lock
• 3 Point, ELR Seat belts
• Child safety at the rear doors

Cons :

• Security concerns, No airbags, No ABS, No EBD
• Less powerful engine as compared to its body weight

Bottom Line :

The new avatar of the Indica V2 is quite impressive on its looks and performance. The customer base is already set-up by V2 and it seems that Vista would go beyond that through its qualities. There are some serious concerns however, like the underpowered engine, absence of security features and missing interior comforts. The rivals in these regards for Vista are the Maruti-Suzuki Swift, Hyundai Getz prime and Hyundai i10. But as is the case with all Tata vehicles, Tata emphasizes on lowering the price rather a putting a crowd of features. That’s how the short fallings can be justified.

In future, Tata is expected to come with next version of Indica, considering the above mentioned shortcomings. Till the time, Indica Vista TDi is surely a good deal.