Vista of Value
Tata Motors has souped up its workhorse Indica. Drive takes a look
Using a higher-end die makes sense, if you get the drift. For one, it's cheaper to do. For another, it upgrades an existing car.
Tata Motors did just that to roll out the new Vista. One look at its front-on visage, and it has Manza written all over it, with the same chrome treatment, grille, fog lamps and triple-headlight cluster design. Smoked tails and a nice black cladding with spaced out Tata monogram make for a far classier-looking rear. The door-riblines and chrome trims on windows are, what else, straight from the Manza.
Interior
Peer inside, and it's more or less the previous 90 BHP Vista, albeit with richer accents. The car feels — and is — roomy, accentuated by the beige trims and large daylight. The black plastics are a lot better on the sandwich dash, with a neat centre-mounted central console. This one's a lot better-looking than a similar set-up in the Toyota Liva, but there are many who swear by the Manza dash which has the odo and rev needles behind the steering rather than on the central console.
The new Vista's steering-mounted controls are much better than those on the Manza and the Aria as the buttons are positioned correctly this time — a little down, away from where the fingers or palms wrap, so you are unlikely to accidentally dial your boss, or set off the radio.
The electrical rearview mirror toggle is nice, but there are no turning lights on the mirrors.
The seats are very comfortable, there's ample legroom in the front and the back, and adequate cubbyholes, pockets and sockets for them knick-knacks. The rear bench can take three easily due to its nearly flat floor, while thigh and back support are excellent. But the boot space is narrow.
The Blue5 entertainment system, including an Aux, USB, Bluetooth and CD player, can also pair with up to five cellphones in the higher variants. The system works well, but the plastics could have been better — they feel tacky.
And lurking behind the steering set-up is a design shock: a strip of rubber flap that, when pushed, opens towards the steering column. Now, what kind of designing is that, which leaves an inch-high gap between the dash and the steering unit cover? How much does it take to adjust the injection-moulding die an inch more to get the dash cut-outs right? That's disappointing coming from a global carmaker.
Under the hood
The new Vista has the same heart as the old one - a 1.3 litre Quadrajet that maxes out around 75 PS, delivering 175 NMs of torque at 1750-3000 revolutions a minute. It can touch 100 kmph from a standing start in about 17 seconds. The engine is beautifully smooth at over 2000 revs when you indulge in some fourth-gear cruising. The car roared past 130 kmph without much trouble, but the ground and engine noise could have been damped better.
The clutch pedal is softer, much improved than before and easy to use in slow-moving traffic. The car delivers good traction whenever one needs to pull ahead and the Macpherson struts in the front and semi-independent twist beams in the rear did their job well on Mumbai's pot-holed roads. I suspect this car can do better on speedier long stretches such as expressways. The overall dynamics has improved but rivals are quite ahead in those terms.
Value for money
The Indica Vista was always a value-for-money car. The 2011 edition looks and feels better than its predecessor. The petrol variants start around `4.5 lakh on road in Mumbai, while the top-end diesel ones surge ahead of the Ford Figo and the new Maruti Swift since they are priced at `6.5-7 lakh. Not exactly value for money territory.
Tata Motors has souped up its workhorse Indica. Drive takes a look
Using a higher-end die makes sense, if you get the drift. For one, it's cheaper to do. For another, it upgrades an existing car.
Tata Motors did just that to roll out the new Vista. One look at its front-on visage, and it has Manza written all over it, with the same chrome treatment, grille, fog lamps and triple-headlight cluster design. Smoked tails and a nice black cladding with spaced out Tata monogram make for a far classier-looking rear. The door-riblines and chrome trims on windows are, what else, straight from the Manza.
Interior
Peer inside, and it's more or less the previous 90 BHP Vista, albeit with richer accents. The car feels — and is — roomy, accentuated by the beige trims and large daylight. The black plastics are a lot better on the sandwich dash, with a neat centre-mounted central console. This one's a lot better-looking than a similar set-up in the Toyota Liva, but there are many who swear by the Manza dash which has the odo and rev needles behind the steering rather than on the central console.
The electrical rearview mirror toggle is nice, but there are no turning lights on the mirrors.
The seats are very comfortable, there's ample legroom in the front and the back, and adequate cubbyholes, pockets and sockets for them knick-knacks. The rear bench can take three easily due to its nearly flat floor, while thigh and back support are excellent. But the boot space is narrow.
The Blue5 entertainment system, including an Aux, USB, Bluetooth and CD player, can also pair with up to five cellphones in the higher variants. The system works well, but the plastics could have been better — they feel tacky.
And lurking behind the steering set-up is a design shock: a strip of rubber flap that, when pushed, opens towards the steering column. Now, what kind of designing is that, which leaves an inch-high gap between the dash and the steering unit cover? How much does it take to adjust the injection-moulding die an inch more to get the dash cut-outs right? That's disappointing coming from a global carmaker.
Under the hood
The new Vista has the same heart as the old one - a 1.3 litre Quadrajet that maxes out around 75 PS, delivering 175 NMs of torque at 1750-3000 revolutions a minute. It can touch 100 kmph from a standing start in about 17 seconds. The engine is beautifully smooth at over 2000 revs when you indulge in some fourth-gear cruising. The car roared past 130 kmph without much trouble, but the ground and engine noise could have been damped better.
The clutch pedal is softer, much improved than before and easy to use in slow-moving traffic. The car delivers good traction whenever one needs to pull ahead and the Macpherson struts in the front and semi-independent twist beams in the rear did their job well on Mumbai's pot-holed roads. I suspect this car can do better on speedier long stretches such as expressways. The overall dynamics has improved but rivals are quite ahead in those terms.
Value for money
The Indica Vista was always a value-for-money car. The 2011 edition looks and feels better than its predecessor. The petrol variants start around `4.5 lakh on road in Mumbai, while the top-end diesel ones surge ahead of the Ford Figo and the new Maruti Swift since they are priced at `6.5-7 lakh. Not exactly value for money territory.
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