Tata Tiago: Mini Review + Newbie Guide


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Hi TAIgers, I am not an expert so would keep it simple and short.

Car History
------------------
Cars I had before Tiago - i10 Sportz (native), i20 my brother's. Before we had long term M800 which was good at its time. The i10 was my decision as I felt it much better than even Swift those times. It was my long term favorite car.
In Bangalore, I was doing with my Stunner for long time. In between I owned(used as my own car) BIL's Dzire vdi for 6 months and cousin's Grand i10 Sportz for 4 months. I was completely sold on Grand i10 and its one of my all time favorite cars.

Shall I buy a car?
---------------------------
I withdraw my pf from my previous company to prepay my home loan but the tempetation of owning a car with that money took over me :biggrin:. After all, I have been dreaming of buying my own car with my own money always.

Requirements
----------------------
- I wanted to buy petrol only as my running is around 600-700 per month only.
- I wanted to buy on cash preferably although was ready for small loans. Had around 7L cash for car + accessories.
Preferences-
- Decent FE
- Atleast 1.1L Petrol engine
- Airbags (never thought Abs would come in the budget so didn't think about)
- Safety features
- Good quality interiors - I hate traveling in a dustbin. I would any day prefer having a good quality and good design cockpit since thats the place we always sit and feel the car.
- Good music system - The second most entertaining factor in a car after driving feel. Can't ignore it.
- Feature loaded car - After market things are never as good as factory fitted, don't look as good, void warranty. I am looking at top models only. I Never like a Bare Bones car.
Good suspension - All comfort features are dependent on it.
- Reliable.
- True VFM - I am not letting any Manufacturer sell me x value car for 2x price just because of perceptions.
- Good looking - A must.

Options
-------------
Grand i10 Sportz but felt its overpriced and after already owning it I was apprehensive of its FE as we have all Hyundais in our family and we never got good FE. I was getting 45k discount but model is a bit old and new model coming in 2017. I thought of exploring other options. Went to Maruti Showroom although I never liked any Suzuki design in my life except Ciaz. Swift is plain ugly for me and its very long in the tooth. After coming to Maruti Showroom and feeling Suzuki cars I felt Hyundai cars are so much better overall and all Marutis are overrated, overpriced except Alto. Wagon R and below were tooooo small and even basic for me. Celerio was im the affordable range. I thought I will do a compromise and buy it. But it was low on features, even top end doesn't have rear parking sensors (yes I don't want it to be fitted afterwards for 5k as it looks ugly on bumper), too small compared to Grand i10, small engine, rear seat feel was pathetic, rear taken from Alto is plain ugly. Made up my mind I am not buying such an ugly car. I started looking at used cars but never liked buying used car.
Once while returning from Hospital, I saw Tata showroom with Tiago board. Now I remembered Tiago is Zica only. But come on I was never serious about a Tata hatchback. Nonetheless, thought of doing a good time pass since anyways I love cars. I was blown when saw the exterior and then interior (xz top model in red). Really Tata has made first time such sexy interiors and exteriors I felt. And when he played some songs, I was sold on 8 speaker Harman system. I always knew Harman makes music system for Benz etc so it was mind-blowing for me. But Tata and petrol didn't gel together for me. Diesel I have confidence on them as I have driven Indica Turbo Diesel multiple times and what an amazing engine it was and she sounded like a race car on hard revving. Anyways got TD of petrol. I was amazed, the car was so smooth even being 3cylinder engine. It was super easy to drive, my TD was like a driving test in narrow roads. Gearbox was smooth. Best part was clutch was so light and still beats an i10 when you drive only on clutch. My heart was sold on the Awesome MID, the instantaneous FE was a premium feature and I was enjoying watching it in action. Went for 2 more long TDs from different showrooms to convince myself and was completely sold on Tiago. For me car is much more than a commuter and I knew that I am in no way buying an inferior car in my budget just for people's perceptions. In between I got only 1800kms driven Tiago xz petrol and offered owner 5L but he said 5.2L minimum and next week it was sold. Anyways I didn't repent as I was ready to shell more for brand new car. Went through numerous Tiago ownership reviews and it was so encouraging.
Finally booked at KHT Motors xz petrol w/o alloys EB color and got the car after 35 days waiting. I have driven 950kms till date and am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Cons-
- Power/FE loss on AC is more than average. This is the biggest con in this car.
- Eco mode is very underpowered. I dare not use Eco mode with ac.
- Pickup is ok but not as good as its 4 cylinder cousins. Also at times I havr felt 1-2secs power delay even in city mode.
- Fog lamps/ boot lamp are dimmer to my liking
- mid is quite exaggerated for FE
- Slight dashboard rattling when ac is on at around 1500-1600 rpm but it's very minor snd unnoticable when music is on.
- Heavy traffic with AC gives very average FE and though not accurately measured, it would probably be lesser than K12 of Maruti in this condition.
- If not idled properly in the morning, car feels overpowered first time you put second gear. After that it becomes normal. But I need to brake hard to stop it. This might be accident prone for brand new drivers.
- First two gears have slight dieselish tone sometimes. From third gear onwards its very smooth. Not a real con though.
- Top model doesn't have electric folding orvms. I really miss this after driving Grand i10 for 4 months. Grand i10 also has auto folding orvms which is so convenient.

Pros-
- XZ is fully loaded which can put expensive cars to shame.
- Beautiful interior design, doors can rival any premium mass market hatchback in India.
- Excellent ride quality
- Gears have good range
- Clutch is light
- Feels strong and nice safety features - ABS, Dual Airbags, parking sensors, CSC, EBD, Speed sensing autolock, clutch start, rear defogger and wash wipe etc
- Lot of useful features - one touch down PW, steering mounted controls, fog lamp, boot lamp.
- 22 storage spaces(as they claim) is so useful.
- 8 speaker Harman is the best I have ever heard in any car <15L. No amplifier, subwoofer needed.
-Highway FE is amazing. I did one highway drive and 24+ kmpl on mid is rather easy on good highways.
- Instantaneous FE is awesome feature and so is the whole mid display. Some cars like polo,kuv have it in red which is a pain in the eye.
- Decently spacious, boot space is decent.
- Seats are very comfortable with good under thigh support.
- AC is a chiller and very soothing.
- Its sheer VFM and nothing comes even close in this regard.
- This car loves cornering. CSC works well.

Newbie guide on Eco mode-
--------------------------------------------
Never use Eco mode in fast traffic.
Best use of Eco mode is n B2B traffic or while idling with ac at signals.
Car gives very good FE without ac.
Prabhagar has an excellent review on Tiago and is a must read.

I have gone for many accessories-
- Blaupunkt Artic series A-72 windshield sunfilm.
- Blaupunkt S-70 for other areas.
- Bergmann mobile holder - its so so.
- Bergmann Tornado car vaccum cleaner.
- Portronics car charger
- Artleather premium design seat cover. I like a Bentley seat look.
- Good Quality Rubber Noodle mats from Sachin's Autoshop, Bangalore.
 

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Congratulations Bro, on your first purchase. Wish you miles of happiness and reliability in your Tiago.
Take Care Bro...Drive Safe.
 
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Hi Abhisek,
Congrats on your Tiago and wish you millions of happy miles on it. I appreciate your truly unbiased review and I share the same views on almost all aspects. Please add more photos of your ride and accessories so we can drool over them [;)].
PS: Many thanks for quoting my ownership thread [:)].
 
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Thread Starter #6
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Hi Abhisek,
Congrats on your Tiago and wish you millions of happy miles on it. I appreciate your truly unbiased review and I share the same views on almost all aspects. Please add more photos of your ride and accessories so we can drool over them [;)].
PS: Many thanks for quoting my ownership thread [:)].
Prabhagar your ownership review was of a great help in selecting Tiago. Thanks for your appreciation [:)]
More pics will add soon. There was some issue uploading from my cell earlier.
 
Joined
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HUBLI
Hey abhisheik

The review is good ,glad that you included Pro's and Con's which would be helpful to new buyers[clap]

I am buying tiago this sunday .Haven't got any accessories as of now. How are showrooms Seat covers(with orange lining),mats and mud Flaps shall i buy them from showroom??
what about the car cover provided in showroom ?? It costs around 1900 for it(with antenna) .I am badly in need of a car cover[frustration]
 
Thread Starter #8
Joined
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Hey abhisheik

The review is good ,glad that you included Pro's and Con's which would be helpful to new buyers[clap]

I am buying tiago this sunday .Haven't got any accessories as of now. How are showrooms Seat covers(with orange lining),mats and mud Flaps shall i buy them from showroom??
what about the car cover provided in showroom ?? It costs around 1900 for it(with antenna) .I am badly in need of a car cover[frustration]
Thanks Veeresh. Car cover is too good from Tata. I am not getting it as dealer nearby always says stock not there. Seat cover is ok but not tight fit. I found external shop seat cover very good. Will post pic soon.
 
Thread Starter #9
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Attached 2 pics. This is my Bentley inspired seat cover. Another pic is my first calculation of FE via tankful method. FE is decent but not great. MID accuracy is 79% only as per this calculation. Only City ride is involved, no highways. AC - 80%, City mode - 90%.
 

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Location
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Hi TAIgers, I am not an expert so would keep it simple and short.

Car History
------------------
Cars I had before Tiago - i10 Sportz (native), i20 my brother's. Before we had long term M800 which was good at its time. The i10 was my decision as I felt it much better than even Swift those times. It was my long term favorite car.
In Bangalore, I was doing with my Stunner for long time. In between I owned(used as my own car) BIL's Dzire vdi for 6 months and cousin's Grand i10 Sportz for 4 months. I was completely sold on Grand i10 and its one of my all time favorite cars.

Shall I buy a car?
---------------------------
I withdraw my pf from my previous company to prepay my home loan but the tempetation of owning a car with that money took over me :biggrin:. After all, I have been dreaming of buying my own car with my own money always.

Requirements
----------------------
- I wanted to buy petrol only as my running is around 600-700 per month only.
- I wanted to buy on cash preferably although was ready for small loans. Had around 7L cash for car + accessories.
Preferences-
- Decent FE
- Atleast 1.1L Petrol engine
- Airbags (never thought Abs would come in the budget so didn't think about)
- Safety features
- Good quality interiors - I hate traveling in a dustbin. I would any day prefer having a good quality and good design cockpit since thats the place we always sit and feel the car.
- Good music system - The second most entertaining factor in a car after driving feel. Can't ignore it.
- Feature loaded car - After market things are never as good as factory fitted, don't look as good, void warranty. I am looking at top models only. I Never like a Bare Bones car.
Good suspension - All comfort features are dependent on it.
- Reliable.
- True VFM - I am not letting any Manufacturer sell me x value car for 2x price just because of perceptions.
- Good looking - A must.

Options
-------------
Grand i10 Sportz but felt its overpriced and after already owning it I was apprehensive of its FE as we have all Hyundais in our family and we never got good FE. I was getting 45k discount but model is a bit old and new model coming in 2017. I thought of exploring other options. Went to Maruti Showroom although I never liked any Suzuki design in my life except Ciaz. Swift is plain ugly for me and its very long in the tooth. After coming to Maruti Showroom and feeling Suzuki cars I felt Hyundai cars are so much better overall and all Marutis are overrated, overpriced except Alto. Wagon R and below were tooooo small and even basic for me. Celerio was im the affordable range. I thought I will do a compromise and buy it. But it was low on features, even top end doesn't have rear parking sensors (yes I don't want it to be fitted afterwards for 5k as it looks ugly on bumper), too small compared to Grand i10, small engine, rear seat feel was pathetic, rear taken from Alto is plain ugly. Made up my mind I am not buying such an ugly car. I started looking at used cars but never liked buying used car.
Once while returning from Hospital, I saw Tata showroom with Tiago board. Now I remembered Tiago is Zica only. But come on I was never serious about a Tata hatchback. Nonetheless, thought of doing a good time pass since anyways I love cars. I was blown when saw the exterior and then interior (xz top model in red). Really Tata has made first time such sexy interiors and exteriors I felt. And when he played some songs, I was sold on 8 speaker Harman system. I always knew Harman makes music system for Benz etc so it was mind-blowing for me. But Tata and petrol didn't gel together for me. Diesel I have confidence on them as I have driven Indica Turbo Diesel multiple times and what an amazing engine it was and she sounded like a race car on hard revving. Anyways got TD of petrol. I was amazed, the car was so smooth even being 3cylinder engine. It was super easy to drive, my TD was like a driving test in narrow roads. Gearbox was smooth. Best part was clutch was so light and still beats an i10 when you drive only on clutch. My heart was sold on the Awesome MID, the instantaneous FE was a premium feature and I was enjoying watching it in action. Went for 2 more long TDs from different showrooms to convince myself and was completely sold on Tiago. For me car is much more than a commuter and I knew that I am in no way buying an inferior car in my budget just for people's perceptions. In between I got only 1800kms driven Tiago xz petrol and offered owner 5L but he said 5.2L minimum and next week it was sold. Anyways I didn't repent as I was ready to shell more for brand new car. Went through numerous Tiago ownership reviews and it was so encouraging.
Finally booked at KHT Motors xz petrol w/o alloys EB color and got the car after 35 days waiting. I have driven 950kms till date and am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Cons-
- Power/FE loss on AC is more than average. This is the biggest con in this car.
- Eco mode is very underpowered. I dare not use Eco mode with ac.
- Pickup is ok but not as good as its 4 cylinder cousins. Also at times I havr felt 1-2secs power delay even in city mode.
- Fog lamps/ boot lamp are dimmer to my liking
- mid is quite exaggerated for FE
- Slight dashboard rattling when ac is on at around 1500-1600 rpm but it's very minor snd unnoticable when music is on.
- Heavy traffic with AC gives very average FE and though not accurately measured, it would probably be lesser than K12 of Maruti in this condition.
- If not idled properly in the morning, car feels overpowered first time you put second gear. After that it becomes normal. But I need to brake hard to stop it. This might be accident prone for brand new drivers.
- First two gears have slight dieselish tone sometimes. From third gear onwards its very smooth. Not a real con though.
- Top model doesn't have electric folding orvms. I really miss this after driving Grand i10 for 4 months. Grand i10 also has auto folding orvms which is so convenient.

Pros-
- XZ is fully loaded which can put expensive cars to shame.
- Beautiful interior design, doors can rival any premium mass market hatchback in India.
- Excellent ride quality
- Gears have good range
- Clutch is light
- Feels strong and nice safety features - ABS, Dual Airbags, parking sensors, CSC, EBD, Speed sensing autolock, clutch start, rear defogger and wash wipe etc
- Lot of useful features - one touch down PW, steering mounted controls, fog lamp, boot lamp.
- 22 storage spaces(as they claim) is so useful.
- 8 speaker Harman is the best I have ever heard in any car <15L. No amplifier, subwoofer needed.
-Highway FE is amazing. I did one highway drive and 24+ kmpl on mid is rather easy on good highways.
- Instantaneous FE is awesome feature and so is the whole mid display. Some cars like polo,kuv have it in red which is a pain in the eye.
- Decently spacious, boot space is decent.
- Seats are very comfortable with good under thigh support.
- AC is a chiller and very soothing.
- Its sheer VFM and nothing comes even close in this regard.
- This car loves cornering. CSC works well.

Newbie guide on Eco mode-
--------------------------------------------
Never use Eco mode in fast traffic.
Best use of Eco mode is n B2B traffic or while idling with ac at signals.
Car gives very good FE without ac.
Prabhagar has an excellent review on Tiago and is a must read.

I have gone for many accessories-
- Blaupunkt Artic series A-72 windshield sunfilm.
- Blaupunkt S-70 for other areas.
- Bergmann mobile holder - its so so.
- Bergmann Tornado car vaccum cleaner.
- Portronics car charger
- Artleather premium design seat cover. I like a Bentley seat look.
- Good Quality Rubber Noodle mats from Sachin's Autoshop, Bangalore.
Congratulations Abhishek. Your Pros and Cons really helps me to take a decision. also please provide the review of your first service. I hope, I am not bothering you with same question in this thread also. [gun]
 
Thread Starter #12
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Congratulations Abhishek. Your Pros and Cons really helps me to take a decision. also please provide the review of your first service. I hope, I am not bothering you with same question in this thread also. [gun]
Thanks Deepak I was able to help. First service was a bad experience from KHT Service and won't recommend that service center. While I checked with other Bangalore Tiago owners, they had paid maximum 20rs for their service in Concorde Dairy Circle or Classic motors, KHT argued and made me pay 150rs on the name of Shampoo and Grease which is unethical. Also they misinformed me about discounts on P2P and extended warranty. Anyways I had to buy so bought it from them. Also being Saturday huge number of cars are expected but they didn't had any extra water stock and I had to wait for 2hours more. Also first pickup was free but I didn't avail it but still they mentioned it in the bill.

Have heard good feedback from Bangalore Tiago owners about Concorde Dairy Circle and Classic motors service and would recomment you to try these two only. Even have not heard good stories about Prerna Kudlu Gate service also. Hope this helps.

Wish you miles of happiness. Tiago is a gamechanger for Tata. This color looks stunning!!
Thanks Arjun for your wishes :)
 
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Thanks Deepak I was able to help. First service was a bad experience from KHT Service and won't recommend that service center. While I checked with other Bangalore Tiago owners, they had paid maximum 20rs for their service in Concorde Dairy Circle or Classic motors, KHT argued and made me pay 150rs on the name of Shampoo and Grease which is unethical. Also they misinformed me about discounts on P2P and extended warranty. Anyways I had to buy so bought it from them. Also being Saturday huge number of cars are expected but they didn't had any extra water stock and I had to wait for 2hours more. Also first pickup was free but I didn't avail it but still they mentioned it in the bill.

Have heard good feedback from Bangalore Tiago owners about Concorde Dairy Circle and Classic motors service and would recomment you to try these two only. Even have not heard good stories about Prerna Kudlu Gate service also. Hope this helps.
Hello Abhiskhek, thanks for the inputs. Can you please let me know how can i be part of bangalore owners group? Is there any group in whatsapp or fb?
Also can you guide me where you made the seat covers. They looks good.
 
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Thanks Veeresh. Car cover is too good from Tata. I am not getting it as dealer nearby always says stock not there. Seat cover is ok but not tight fit. I found external shop seat cover very good. Will post pic soon.
So got my car today[:)]
the cost of car cover with antenna compatible is 1900 odd and the cover which do not have antenna compatible costs 1130
Which cover should i buy?? compatible or non compatible ??
Feel free to shoot me because of the stupid question:stupid: can we remove the antenna every single time if we select the non compatible version???
 
Thread Starter #15
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Hello Abhiskhek, thanks for the inputs. Can you please let me know how can i be part of bangalore owners group? Is there any group in whatsapp or fb?
Also can you guide me where you made the seat covers. They looks good.
PM me your watsapp number will send to admin. I made the seat covers at Sachin's Autoshop Koramangala. They are very reputed in Bangalore. Go for the nylon backed ones for better fit.

So got my car today[:)]
the cost of car cover with antenna compatible is 1900 odd and the cover which do not have antenna compatible costs 1130
Which cover should i buy?? compatible or non compatible ??
Feel free to shoot me because of the stupid question:stupid: can we remove the antenna every single time if we select the non compatible version???
Is the 1130 one from Tata? The Tata cover is really good with glowing strips at nght, driver side chain, orvm pockets, elastics at bottom (very imp), antenna pocket. I would suggest Tata one 1900.
Yes in modern cars you can remove antenna just by rotating it. But I found it more of a hassle and without antenna radio sound is poor even in the city.
 

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