The top selling passenger cars in India are dominated by Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda and this new offering from Tata Motors has taken the Auto pundits by surprise and a pleasant one.
The potential in the less than 4 meter segment is what probably would have tempted the Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer a food for thought. In my reasonably realistic drive through the city and a few sharp bend roads in South Goa I tested both the Diesel ATM & the top end Petrol version. Without revealing which one was my favourite here are a few things that are noteworthy:
Contrary to what a lot of people would think this car will cause that little stir in the segment and is a genuinely competent product in the segment.
The design which according to the team is a huge step forward to add the sculpt and speed that the consumer is looking forward to. I was reminded of the good old Manza with a few added features which are probably the first in the segment like the LED lamps and grille. The ground clearance is what you can’t miss with a stumpy rear section. The 15 inch wheel adds to the balance and the need for speed the designers so want to showcase.
Coming to the interiors the 2 tone scheme and a few rough and sharp edges did want me feeling that they needs to up their games with their interiors.
The all new ConnectNext infotainment system by Harman Kardon! The touch response failed to impress me with a slow response and random selection. It got me and my co drivers switching to manual and knob style controls. We tried really hard to get the correct radio station in the voice command function but it’s going to be a while till we memorize the exact syntax for it to work. If you are wondering what’s the fuss then well yes it does have a voice control system that can actually tune to your favourite radio station, temperature controls, sms readouts and more.
It is a great step forward by integrating the system from Harman Kardon and providing 8 in built speakers. The diesel variant has an AMT( Auto mated Manual transmission) to get rid of that constant clutch break doing. Life is made simple with the shifting of gears.
We weren’t completely insulated from the noise of the engine and after a bumpy speedbreaker it did take time to get back to the current speed.
The petrol version comes with three driving modes – City, Economy and Sports. The ‘City’ mode is good for obviously driving around the city while Eco one is for fuel efficiency. The difference between the the Eco & City is hard to judge but Sport did make a wee bit of difference and added that much needed Zest in this petrol version of the car.
Two things that took me by surprise were the gears and the steering wheel. Â With a steering mounted with controls it did seem a lot lighter, more responsive and ready to deliver. The horn needed me to use both my hands which is clearly not what I would like to do.
The Tata Zest is hard to dislike. You could have a wishlist you would like them to address but the AMT in the diesel feels like a clear value driver in the segment while the petrol will lure you to make obvious comparisons with its worthy peers. The Tata’s definitely have a trump card up its sleeve with the diesel auto, However, where Tata has really got a woows both from the Auto pundits and the blogger community is with a large amount of firsts in the segment and making it an all equipped car. The effort, design and research gone in making this product for the last 3 years shows and that it has taken a step forward in the right direction. What will be a challenge in my mind is to break people’s perception, image and make it a car you would love and be proud to own.
KSP Team
Anisha Bajaj
Janani S Koushik
Gopika Kapoor
