Tata Aeris

You can call the Tata Aeris a facelifted Tigor or its replacement, but that's not important. What's important is how much Tata is offering in its subcompact sedan under the price point of Rs 10 lakh, so that you might consider it over its bigger rivals. Here is a detailed article so you can explore everything about the Aeris’ launch in brief.

The Aeris competes with the Hyundai Aura, Maruti Dzire, and the Honda Amaze. After driving it recently, among many things that we realised, one was that Tata has done much more than just changing a name.

Tata has given its sub-compact sedan a completely new identity: a car that looks modern and has a clean and minimalistic look. Unlike the Tata Tigor, which had started to age, the Aeris will look fresh even a couple of years from now (old vs new compared here). 

The front design has taken heavy inspiration from the facelifted Tata Tiago. It gets a clean look with a black strip running across the nose. This strip also houses the LED headlamps and the LED DRLs.

You get a slim grille, LED fog lamps towards the edges near the sleek bumper, and an overall subtle look.

The side profile has the silhouette of the outgoing Tiggo, and nothing much has changed. You get chrome accents on the door handles, a chrome window line, and 14-inch styled steel wheels with the top-spec CNG variant. But if you pick the petrol top-spec, you will get beautiful-looking 15-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.

The rear end gets an end-to-end connected red panel which houses the LED tail lamps. While the lighting elements aren't exactly connected, they do protrude inwards towards the Tata logo, which is placed in the middle of this panel. Check out how the Aeris looks from different angles in our in-depth image gallery. 

You also get a shark fin antenna, a roof-mounted spoiler, and a slightly chunkier bumper at the back. 

Tata has also made the Aeris a little more appealing by adding some colour options that you usually don't see in most cars. It gets 6 exterior colour options: Pristine White, Pure Grey, Daytona Grey, Nitro Crimson. Dune Glow, And Dandeli Drizzle. All these colours are also available in a dual-tone shade with a black roof.

But the one thing I did not like was the excessive amount of panel gaps and uneven panels we spotted on our test unit. There were massive gaps on the edges of the bonnet and the boot lip, and we also spotted that the door panels did not align properly.

Tata's approach towards the cabin of the Aeris is the same one it took with the Tiago. The dashboard design is clean. It has a minimal look, and the cabin theme has been kept light to give the cabin an airy feel. The seats are also covered in off-white semi-leatherette upholstery, and this cabin does have a premium look. 

But when it comes to quality, it is just average. You do get fabric padding on the dashboard and doors. There is leatherette padding on the seat and the centre armrest; you get a matte finish on the steering wheel; there is very little use of piano black elements, and the buttons on the steering wheel and the window up/down buttons do feel solid. 

However, the steering wheel does not have a leatherette finish. The rotary knobs for the climate control functions feel cheap and can be easily moved. And while you do get fabric on the dashboard and doors, it has some problems of its own. 

Firstly, and this is my opinion, the beige colour for this fabric does feel a little bland, and it just blends in with the rest of the cabin rather than being a little contrasting. Secondly, because it is fabric and has a light colour, it attracts a lot of dust and will easily get dirty. In a couple of months, you will start seeing some brown or black patches, and because it is fabric, it is not easy to clean at all. 

Lastly, we did spot a lot of panel gaps and a lot of uneven panels inside the cabin, around the glove box, the centre console, and on the door armrest. These will not hamper your daily experience in any significant way, but once you notice them, they become very hard to ignore. 

Front Seat Space

Before even sitting in the driver's seat, you first need to get inside the Tata Aeris, and it is as simple as it gets. Because it is not as low as you'd expect a sedan to be, you don't have to duck down a lot to get inside the Aeris. It's also not tall enough that you have to climb inside. You can simply open the door and slide into the driver's seat without making too much effort, and it is easier for the elderly and the family as well. 

Once you're in the driver's seat, you realise that the space is strictly average. I am 5'8" and for me the headroom was enough. The raised under-thigh support actually gave me a better seating position, and the side supports held me tightly. 

But the seat back is shorter than what you'd want it to be, so you don't get much support on your shoulders and the upper back. And while you do get a dead pedal even in the manual variant, which is good for your highway commutes, the wide centre armrest and the door armrest reduce the usable space, and they brush against your knees almost always. This becomes a little irritating after a while. 

What's good is that every button and control in the cabin is within arm's reach, and you get good visibility due to the shape of the bonnet and the size of the pillars. 

Rear Seat Space

Behind my driving position, I get usable knee room. I can put my feet under the driver's seat even if it's at the lowest position, and I get adequate headroom and under-thigh support. But for somebody taller than me, headroom and knee room will become a concern. 

Also, since this platform doesn't allow the Aeris to be wider than it currently is, there is not enough space for three people to sit comfortably in the rear seat. While the middle passenger does get a headrest, they do have to sit with their knees up because of the raised floor, and they sit upright as well, which is not comfortable during long journeys. 

For three passengers in the back, the limited width results in a lot of shoulder overlap, and we would advise that you use this as a four-seater, not a five-seater. 

Storage Options

When it comes to storage options, there are plenty. You get bottle holders in all four doors. The front passengers get two cup holders, storage under the centre armrest, a decent-sized glove box, and the centre console has two trays to put their phones, one of which has a wireless phone charger. 

Rear passengers get seatback pockets and two cup holders in the centre armrest as well, so that the rear passengers don't have any struggle to keep their items. 

Charging Options

To charge your phones, you get a 12V socket along with two Type-C ports in the front, one of which is a 65W fast-charging port. The front passengers also get a wireless phone charger. The rear passengers also get a single 65 W fast-charging USB Type-C port.

Boot Space

If you buy the petrol version of the Aeris, you get 419 litres of boot space, which is enough to keep an entire suitcase set (small, medium and large) along with one or two small bags. Because there is no hinge inside the boot (as Tata has used struts on the outside), there is nothing that obstructs you from stacking suitcases. The height of the boot lid is also not that much, and this allows you to load or unload the boot without putting in much effort.

In the CNG variants, you get two CNG tanks placed in the boot, which reduces your boot space to 219 litres. This might seem low, but it is still enough that you can keep three cabin-size suitcases next to each other or two cabin-size suitcases and a couple of small bags. This much space is enough for your weekend getaway.

Tata has equipped the areas in such a way that it doesn't really leave you wanting for more.  The highlight of the feature list has to be the 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which has large icons; the user interface is easy-to-use and intuitive, and it supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, both of which run seamlessly. 

This touchscreen is paired with an 8-speaker non-branded sound system, which delivers good audio quality at medium volumes. But as soon as you increase the volume, the music does not feel as bass-y as it should be.

Next to the touchscreen is a 5-inch instrument cluster placed inside a 10-inch housing just to keep the design consistent. It has a black-and-white display with fixed gauges on the outside, the graphics are not special in any way, but it delivers all the information in a neat and clean manner, and that is exactly what you need for your drives. 

You also get a wireless phone charger, which charges your phone without heating it too much, and you get ventilated front seats, which cool you quickly without making a lot of noise. 

Other features include automatic climate control with rear AC vents, electrically adjustable and auto-folding ORVMs, cruise control (petrol-only), all-power windows, and push-button start/stop.

In my opinion, the only thing that is missing here is a single-pane sunroof, and given that its rival has it on offer, Tata should have added it too.

Safety and Tata Motors go hand in hand, as all of Tata's cars are well equipped with safety features and are known for their strong build quality. The Ares is no exception because it gets 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability program (ESP), front and rear parking sensors, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

You also get a 360-degree camera, which has clean and clear camera quality. You get multiple angles to choose from, and both 3D and 2D views. This setup also comes with a blind view monitor, which activates as soon as you indicate, and the feed from that particular camera gets displayed on the touchscreen infotainment system. 

Now, while this is actually a good and very useful feature, the execution could have been a little different. In other Tata cars which get a fully digital driver's display, the feed of that blind-view monitor is displayed on the driver's display so that the information on the touchscreen remains visible. 

In the case of the Aeris, since there is no digital driver display, the feed of the blind view monitor gets displayed on the touchscreen, and it can be a problem if you are using maps and are standing at an intersection. 

Instead of covering the entire screen, Tata can make it into a floating window, which I can move based on where I want it to be on my screen. But since that's not the case, Tata has given you the option to turn off the blind view monitor. 

Lastly, the Tata Aeris has not been crash-tested as of right now, but we know that the Tata Tigor had a 4-star safety rating from Global NCAP. With Tata's history and the ratings of the Tigor, we expect the Aeris to get a similar, if not better, crash test score.

The Tata Aeris is available with a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, and you can also opt for a factory-fitted CNG kit. Both these engine options are available with a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT. While Tata has made no changes to the powertrains (click here for more variant-wise availability), the one thing that has actually changed is how these engines behave. 

1.2-litre NA Petrol + CNG

This is the same engine that is available with the Tiago and was available with the outgoing Tigor. While nothing has changed in terms of power output, it does feel less noisy and has fewer vibrations. 

City Performance

There are two reasons why I'm talking about the CNG performance first. That's the first powertrain I drove, and if you are looking for a commuter, the CNG Aeris would be a better option.

Being a three-cylinder engine, there are some vibrations here, but only when you're idling the car. Once you start driving, they almost disappear, and whatever remains is hard to notice. The engine also feels a little less vocal, and the clutter that you get with CNG cars has been almost eliminated. You do feel noise when you're driving, but your brain will fade it out after some time, and it only becomes irritating when you're pushing the car. 

When it comes to city performance, there is nothing that will leave you wanting for more but first you have to accept that this is a commuter engine, which should not be driven in a fun or sporty manner. 

This engine builds speed gradually. You do struggle a little in bumper-to-bumper traffic and have to play with the clutch in the manual variant, but once you get past the speeds of 10 to 15 km/h, you can easily accelerate and get to comfortable cruising speeds.

There is nothing out of the ordinary in terms of performance. It gives you the ability to drive comfortably in the city in a relaxed manner, and when you have to perform an overtake quickly, you will be left with one option: Downshift and accelerate. 

But for a car of its size and with this commuter engine, the performance you get feels just enough. Yes, you do have to plan your overtakes, but other than that, this engine will not give you any issues in your city driving. 

Highway Performance

Once you are on the highway, you can comfortably get to cruising speeds of around 70 to 80 km/h without facing a lot of issues in terms of acceleration. But at those speeds, it becomes difficult to overtake without downshifting, and some planning is required here as well.

Also, if you want to go beyond your regular cruising speeds, you will have to be patient. Once you hit 80 km/h, the acceleration becomes a little dull, especially in the CNG version, and it does take some time for the engine to build up the required speed.

However, if you want to downshift quickly and overtake somebody around you, you get the option of an AMT in the CNG variants. That too with paddle shifters. Since there is no dedicated manual mode with the AMT, you cannot hold on to a certain gear, but with a paddle shifter you can downshift whenever you want. It doesn't take that long to respond to your input, and you can stay in the same gear for slightly longer. 

The AMT itself behaves exactly how a regular AMT would. It takes some time to change gears. When the gears change, you do feel a jerk with a head nod, and if you floor the accelerator, the gear will not change until you let off the throttle. 

Like any AMT in the market, this one also requires a learning curve, but once you pass the learning curve, it becomes easier to drive with an AMT, and it just adds more convenience to your regular drives.

1.2-litre NA Petrol

Compared to the CNG version, the standard petrol variant feels less noisy, has fewer vibrations, and in terms of performance it does just a little bit better. 

City Performance

When driving inside the city the engine feels less vocal when you're trying to push it. The acceleration and how it builds up speed are slightly better than what the CNG does but at the end of the day it still remains a commuter engine, which is best for a relaxed driving experience. 

Highway Performance

This is where the difference in performance compared to CNG is more apparent. While the difference in acceleration isn't that much, you do not get a dull experience when you have crossed 80 km/h. With the petrol engine, you can easily get to 100 km/h without having to struggle or wait for a long time.

However, overtaking somebody will still require you to downshift because once you have reached speeds of 100 km/h, quickly overtaking others is not an option you have. If you want to pass somebody, you have to downshift, and while the performance is better than the CNG, it still remains relaxed.

Ride Comfort

Driving any Tata car usually ensures a comfortable ride, but with CNG it becomes stiff, especially for the rear passenger. Thankfully, Tata tweaked the suspension in the CNG version enough to accommodate the additional weight, and it does remain comfortable.

All potholes and speed breakers are dealt with in a calm manner, and the car absorbs those level changes in a plush way. There are no sudden jerks, it doesn't bottom out easily, and you can do long drives knowing that the ride comfort will not be compromised.

In the top-spec petrol version, however, which sits on bigger 15-inch wheels, the ride comfort is slightly more on the stiffer side. The comfort is still there, but you do feel the road surface more, and the cabin movement is very slightly sharper.

Handling

Its light steering wheel and its compact size aid in easy manoeuvrability inside the city. On highways, the Aeris remains stable and planted at high speeds, and you don't have to worry about straight-line stability.

Also, it is not a car meant to be driven in a sporty manner, and we'll advise against it as well. But if you take it around a corner carrying speeds of 50-60 kmph, it manages to stay predictable and only requires minor corrections.

Tata is offering the Aeris in five broad variants: Smart, Pure, Pure +, Creative, and Accomplished.

Tata Aeris Smart

• Gets both petrol and CNG powertrains but no AMT on offer.

• Comes with halogen headlamps, 14-inch steel wheels, and LED tail lamps.

• The cabin gets a light cabin theme, fabric seat upholstery, and soft-touch padding on the dashboard and doors.

• In terms of features, you get manual AC, manual windows, manually adjustable ORVMs, and a MID.

• The safety kit includes 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

• Explore more details about the Smart variant here.

Tata Aeris Pure

• Gets both manual and AMT with petrol and CNG variants.

• Exterior gets body coloured door handles and 14-inch steel wheels with covers.

• Cabin gets a height-adjustable driver seat and all power windows.

• Additional features include electrically adjustable ORVMs, steering-mounted controls, Bluetooth support, and 2 speakers.

• A day/night IRVM, rear defogger, and follow me home headlamps get added to the safety kit.

• Click here for more details on the Aeris Pure variant.

Tata Aeris Pure +

• Exterior gets a shark fin antenna and styled steel wheels: 14-inch for CNG and 15-inch for petrol.

• Cabin gets a rear centre armrest with cupholders and a front armrest with fabric finish.

• Feature additions include cruise control (Petrol only), rear AC vents, an 8-inch touchscreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 4 speakers, and a 65W type-C front charger.

• The safety kit gets electronic stability program (ESC), a rearview camera, hill hold control, and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

• There’s more that you must read before finalising the Pure Plus variant.

Tata Aeris Creative

• Exterior gets LED headlights, LED DRLs, connected LED tail lights, and 15-inch alloy wheels (petrol only).

• Cabin gets no changes save for a one-touch down driver window and chrome door handles.

• Additional features include a cooled glovebox, auto-folding ORVMs, auto headlamps, and automatic climate control.

• Infotainment package gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen with two additional tweeters.

• In terms of safety, you get a 360-degree camera, a blind view monitor, and rain-sensing wipers.

• Read more about the Creative variant here in our detailed story.

Tata Aeris Accomplished

• The exterior gets dual-tone colour options, LED fog lamps, and chrome on the window line.

• The cabin gets semi-leatherette seat upholstery, front adjustable headrests, slim window buttons, seat back pockets, and leatherette padding on the front armrest.

• A rear 65W type-C charger, a front wireless phone charger, connected car tech, and ventilated front seats get added to the feature list.

• The safety kit gets a digital dashcam.

• Here is a closer look at the Accomplished variant.

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• If you are on a budget, you can go for the Pure variant. You’ll get a neat design and cabin, but you’ll need additional budget for a touchscreen. Pick the Pure + if you want a factory-fitted infotainment package.

• For a better experience, you should consider the Creative variant as well. It offers a well-rounded package and only misses out on some flashy features. Pick the Accomplished variant if you want the full experience.

Rather than just changing the name and adding a few additional features, Tata has completely changed the identity of its subcompact sedan by launching the Tata Aeris.

It offers a modern design with a premium cabin, and you will not be left wanting for more by the feature list and the ride comfort. For a small family wanting a daily commuter, the Tata Aeris is a very well-packaged offering, even in its CNG version.

Tata has done a great job of almost eliminating the drawbacks of a CNG car, which come in the form of fewer features, stiffer ride, dull performance, and a compromised boot.

However, if you want more space, then the Aeris’ platform will become a hurdle, and you'll have to look at its rivals.

Other Options To Consider 

Maruti Dzire

Reasons To Consider 

• Better rear seat space

• More comfortable 

Reasons To Ignore 

• More expensive starting price 

• Less features 

Click here to explore Tata Aeris vs Maruti Dzire

Honda Amaze

Reasons To Consider 

• Better rear seat space

• Better safety package with ADAS

• Gets a proper CVT automatic 

Reasons To Ignore

• More expensive overall

• Decent features 

Here’s how Tata Aeris compares with Honda Amaze

Hyundai Aura

Reasons To Consider 

• More affordable top variant

• Decent features 

Reasons To Ignore 

• Less cabin space 

• No AMT with CNG

Click here to explore Aura vs Aeris in detail.