Tata Zest: A Game Changer for Tata Motors?

It's quite disheartening to see Tata Motors - a home-grown automaker - losing its ground to comparatively new entrants in the Indian market. But who is to blame than Tata itself, who shifted its focus to developing 'affordable cars' instead of capable cars. Design was the one area, which, I think, Tata never took seriously. Almost all their cars, from the Indica eV2 to Aria, share Tata's same old signature style despite having different platforms and dimensions. This has led Indian buyers to opt for newer brands even though most of Tata's competitors struggle with after-sales services. Just so you know, Tata has the second largest service network in India after Maruti Suzuki India.

But when I first saw the Tata Zest and Bolt at their unveiling right ahead of the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, my first thought was "Tata finally has winners in its hands". I will not go as far to say that these two are the best looking cars in the market, but both of them are easily amongst the better looking lot. The Zest, specially, is quite a handsome compact sedan with some competent engine options, class-leading features and an impressive cabin.

Also Read: First Drive Report - Tata Zest

Has Tata Zest have what it takes to become a really successful sub-compact sedan?

Though it's early to comment if the Zest will bring Tata Motors back in the game or not, but after driving this car we can safely say that it has everything one expects from a car that will cost almost as much as the Swift Dzire, Hyundai Xcent and Honda Amaze.

The 1.2-litre Revtron petrol engine

The 1.2-litre Revtron is Tata's all-new turbocharged small sized engine that has been 'designed to deliver superior performance, power, torque and mileage'. Though the engine might not be as good as Honda Amaze's 1.2-litre i-VTEC petrol that, despite being a naturally-aspirated engine, delivers an almost equal amount of power and is fun-to-drive, but the engine is quite rev-happy. Except for the fact that the Revtron has initial turbo-lag till about 2,000rpm, it runs quite smoothly post that. Interestingly, this engine offers first-in-class multi-drive modes i.e. Sports, Economy and City, giving it a competitive edge over its rivals. It churns out a maximum power output of 89bhp and 140Nm of torque.

AMT equipped diesel model

While the diesel engine is the same as Vista's 1.3-litre multijet, what makes it special is the addition of the Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). For people not in the know, an automated-manual transmission is essentially a manual gearbox with an electro-hydraulic mechanism that makes it work like an automatic gearbox.

So the people who want a car that does not cost as much as a typical automatic transmission powered model, the Zest is just the car for them. One ought to know that the Zest will become the first diesel AMT car in India upon its launch.

Exterior

It is obvious that Tata's focus on the design of its new cars is much stronger now, perhaps in the hope to woo back customers who are fed up of the same design that most Tata cars have sported till now. Tata Zest is the first car to adorn the company's new design language. Quick fact: The car has been designed with inputs from the three Tata Motors' design studios in Pune, Coventry (UK) and Turin (Italy).

The new design semantics include the new Tata signature grille with the new 'Humanity Line', that flows in to the head-lamps. The projector head-lamps complemented by chrome accents, the rear treatment of LED lamps, a new set of 15-inch alloy wheels among other changes add that much needed flavour to the exterior styling.

Eye-soothing and comfortable interiors

The new design language gives the Zest a character that makes it one of the best-looking cars in its segment.

The Zest's interior design also looks much better than the Vista, thanks to substantial changes like the black and optional colour combination shade, silver trim inserts, a newly designed steering wheel, redesigned instrument cluster with integrated multi-information display, updated AC vent design, etc.. The instrument cluster and the central AC vents are connected with single wing-shaped graphics.

Loaded with features

With a handful of exclusive features in its kitty, the Zest is among the most feature-loaded cars in its segment. One such feature is the new 5-inch infotainment system. While Harman/Kardon has designed the infotainment and audio acoustics system, MapmyIndia has designed the next-generation navigation & location based services for the new cars. Other key features include drive by wire technology for better engine response, improved suspension coupled with a zero pivot subframe to ensure smooth and comfortable ride, and ABS among other features.

Mileage

Like I said before, the company's new-found strategy includes increased focus on not only power, but also mileage. So, expect both the engines to deliver a mileage that is at par with their respective competitors.

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