TATA INDICA - BRILLIANT CAR

TATA INDICA - BRILLIANT CAR

Have covered more than 100000KM with INDICA DLS - bought in aug 2003. Had few problems: 1. Front wheels are not able to withstand pot holes at highway speeds Got struck near Tirupati once. 2. Failure to start with warm engine. But generally happy with the car. Getting good FE of 15 - 16 KM with AC ON in Chennai. With regular oil service, the engine seems to be going strong. Belive me, I changed the head light for the first time after nearly SIX YEARS! Exterior: Car looks decent. Body is prone to dents. Turn indicators & brake lights are bright & good. Interior: Good space for five. Rear seat doesn't have thigh support - so for long distance travel we feel little discomfort. Dash board meters are excellent. Plastic quality is very poor - you have most of them coming off / break even without usage. Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox: Pick up is poor with AC ON - but I have got used to it. I get a FE of 15 - 16 KM with AC ON in Chennai traffic. Ride Quality & Handling: Average. Be careful when you take right turn as visibility is obstructed. Final Words: I chose the car for fuel ecomnomy & space. Am fairly satisfied. Areas of improvement: Finishing & avoiding minor repeated mechanical problems. The car is really wonderful on highways with excellent stability ,vibration free inner environment and comfortable seating for 3 adults in the back. In a given situation 6 adults can sit with some adjustments ,though little uncomfortably. With AC switched on for 1300 km run to Shirdi at 42 degree temp it gave me an average of 19.5 km per litre diesel. What more you want for Rs.4,43,000 on road price with music system. I touched only up to 120 kmph some times and 110 kmph very often on high ways ; while driving you feel that the car is heavy and clutching on to the road with great grip. This is the reason Maruthi's and santros immediately give way to you when you give horn. Overtaking buses, trucks is not very difficult even with this low bhp of 53.5 ! You will run behind with same speed as bus or truck and when you get your way on small roads ,you downshift to 4th and overtake with ease and comfort. no problem. In city driving Indica is much easier because of high torque , I think. I never had performance problem except in peak summers when AC is on.But once the car is cooled by AC strangely Indica goes very well even in the city.Without AC however it is a real wonderful vehicle in city drive or in highway. I advice people to take Indica turbo with 62 bhp which is equalant to Palio in performance. But much better vehicle would be turbo DLG or DLX because they have 68 bhp , which shall be far better ! I enjoyed my car in City as well as on the highway. On the highway i reached 140 KM/hour max speed and once in a down stream 145 KM/ hour, It was excelent, i feel that for this class of vehichle, economy as well as top speed! - i saw only in Indica V2. The pickup of the vehicle from the delear specification looks to be less (25 sec to reach 100 KM/h), but in practical if i accelearate the vechicle on lower gears to shift the next higer gear - i am sure that my vehicle flys like anything. On highways i used to get 18 km/liter with AC, with intermediate AC once i got 22 km/ liter - I am happy with my vehicle. One problem i had, once some of the neighbour's kids climbed on the car bonet and the car bonet got badly dents i found that the steel is good but there is no proper support for the bonet - or i do not know how to express. It is very eassy to get small small dents if we are not carefull with the exterior. I hope that Indica V2 Turbo must be too good .....for its better power and torque. No problems so far with the car. Touchwood. Mileage 15kms in Mumbai. Dont believe it. Buts its true. This too passing through jam of Powai. Highway Mumbai-Pune i have got 18-19kms Spaciousness- Can sit 5 easily- 3behind can sit very comfortably. I am taking test drives of other car as tata Indica has now become old but can not fit myself in any other car mentally as no car can provide the space which Tata Indica gives. Some one may ask why not go again for Tata Indica a) Diesel driving is tough in city roads b) pathetic after sales service- tata dealers are horrible whether it was Bhandari or Pandit in Pune or Fortune Cars in Andheri. Once my car had a break down and Fortune cars, Powai refused to send their 24 hours service vehicle saying 24 hours is just in the name it is only during working hours. They can not set even basic things like RPM correctly. Due to this my mileage goes down to 12kms. They do not service all necessary parts in the car. I have to go all the way to George Auto in Thane, which is a good service center of Thane. When he does servicing, iget optimum mileage of 15 and above in city driving. I recommend all those using tata Indica to get cars serviced from George Auto in Thane. AVOID FORTUNE CARS, POWAI. THEY R BUNCH OF .......... So those looking to buy Tata Indica can buy if they have large family of 5, need fuel economy but have to compromise on Service quality.It is very good car for Indian roads. Well most people don't like it because of its TAXI image but otherwise it is very nice car to buy for less than 4 lakhs. It is the one diesel car that one can buy for that amount. Exteriors: Exteriors are good. Head lights are Powerful. Rear lights have provision for Fog Lamps. Rear wind screen is small. It's a challenge to back up the car in heavy traffic. Tyres bend inside after some time. Interiors: They are Old and need to be changed by the company. Steering wheel is big and driving position is awkward.The steering wheel just comes in front of the sight while driving. Very spacious and comfortable for long drives. AC is superb and chilly. No heater. Performance: Less power but enough for city and highway driving. Highly stable at high speed. Top speed around 135 kmph Mileage: (With AC on) In city: 12 kmpl On Highway: 18 kmpl (Without AC) In city: 13.5-14 kmpl On highway: 19.5+ kmpl Final Word:- If you like it go for it. Little bit problem with the service centers. If you have any problem with the car just tell the service guys clearly in detail bcoz they can't find the fault.