Is TATA Tiago worth buying?

Currently, Tata has three young products in its line-up — the Tiago, the Tigor and the Hexa. These vehicles are nothing like what Tata used to build before, and are a refreshing change. The new vehicles are also pushing Tata’s position higher in the market. But the question remains, are the comeback cars safe to buy? Let’s find out.

Tata Tiago

The Tiago is the highest selling Tata car at the moment. The hatchback currently clocks about 4,500 units/month on an average. What makes the Tiago special is the way it looks and the value-for-money price tag. While the Tiago targets vehicles like the Celerio and the WagonR in terms of pricing, it is much larger and offers features from a segment above.

Is it safe to buy?

In short, yes. The Tiago offers good build quality, finish and is highly popular in the market. Moreover, existing Tiago owners are quite happy with the car.

It has been six months since the Tiago has been in the market and the general perception about the vehicle is extremely good. Yes, a few niggles are still there in the vehicle, but most customers report that the niggles are being addressed by the service centres without any problem.

What are the common niggles?

As per reports by customers, the Tiago diesel suffers from a shaky gear knob when the AC is switched on. This problem is being solved by putting a counter weight on the gear knob. Other issues include dust accumulation under the fuel lid, which is being resolved by putting a new sealant, and the Harman Software bug for which an update is being rolled out.

Tata Tiago XZA is priced at Rs. 6.21 lakh while XTA variant is priced at Rs. 5.55 lakh on road Gurugram.

How does it look?

In terms of looks, Tata Tiago is based on new IMPACT design language which aimed at reaching out to the wider audience. In the front it gets Conventional Headlamps, Fog lamps and a nice piano black finished Honeycomb grill with Tata logo at the centre. On the side, there are many body lines running along giving it a nice look and helping with aerodynamics. On the rear, the design is cleverly kept simple which also makes it stand out on the roads.

Dimensions:

It has 3746mm length, 1647mm width, 1535mm height and 2400mm Wheelbase. It gets 170mm of Ground clearance which makes it very easy drive on bad patches. It weighs 1012 kgs. It rides on 175/65 R14 tires getting 10 spoke alloys.

What’s inside?

On the inside, plenty of elements are borrowed from its siblings, Bolt and Zest, including Instrumental Cluster, MID, Power Window controls, Steering.

Front seats are quite comfortable. It offers sufficient amount of Headroom, leg room, knee room and under-thigh support for tall passengers.

At the rear, leg room and under thigh support are decent enough and offers a good headroom. Rear armrest is not available which could have added to the convenience factor. Travelling three passengers at the rear is not much comfortable as transmission tunnel does peep into the cabin.

Comfort and Convenience:

Tiago offers many minor elements that add to the convenience factor. It offers a ticket holder on the windscreen which helps you keep the toll slips on long highway rides. It also gets a hook in front of the centre console and in the boot. Steering mounted controls are also present.

A.C should have been better as it becomes quite ineffective on hot summer days. Also, blower becomes very noisy at 3rd and 4th speed of A.C.

Performance:

Tata Tiago XZA gets Tata’s new 1.2l 3 cylinder Revotron petrol motor under the hood. This engine churns out 84 bhp of power @ 6000rpm and 114NM of torque @ 3500rpm and returns up to 23.84kmpl.

1.05L 3 cylinder Revotorq diesel motor is offered only with the manual gearbox. It churns out 69 bhp of power @ 4000rpm and 140NM of torque @ 1800rpm and returns up to 27.28kmpl.

Also in real-world conditions, Tiago XZA returns around 10‐12kmpl in city and 18‐21kmpl on highways. Both the engines are mated through 5-speed manual transmission/ automated manual transmission.

In the city traffic, the drive is very convenient thanks to creep function. In city mode, engine response is decent. However, sports mode makes engine and gearbox very responsive. The Tiptronic function is also available which allows you to manually control gear shifting.

Though being an AMT, it goes through hilly roads very smoothly without much effort except for pulling parking brake on the steep hill climb.

Ride and Handling:

Tiago offers a great balance of Ride quality and Handling. Ride quality is very nice. Very few bumps and potholes peep inside the cabin making the ride smooth, at the same time it also offers very good handling.

The balance of Ride quality and Handling is best amongst its rivals. Even at speeds in excess 100‐110 kph, Tiago feels planted on road.

Features:

Tiago offers all the features that one could find in cars of this segment including Fog lamps, Speed-sensing door locks, Speed Sensitive Volume, electrically adjustable ORVMs, Cooled glove box, Turn by Turn Navigation, rear parking sensors, follow me home headlamps, rear wiper with washer, rear defogger etc. It gets an integrated Harman Music system with Bluetooth connectivity that gives its output through 4 speakers and 4 tweeters which is very impressive.

Safety:

In terms of safety, Tiago XZA gets ABS, EBD, Corner Stability Program and Dual Front Airbags. Pre-tensioner and load limiter seatbelts are offered for added safety. Also, Tiago offers very nice built quality compared to its Japanese rivals. Most safety features are offered only on the top end variant which is disappointing.

Maintenance:

After 7500 km and 10 months, Service Center visited is only twice, as specified in the Owner’s Manual. Also, the Service cost is very nominal. Tata also offers AMC which gives you free service till 24Months/ 30k km at the nominal price.