Tata Tiago Ownership Review - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home


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The story built-up

I never really had the attraction towards cars. Nor did I ever bother to learn car driving, as I was pretty contempt riding bikes and was actually obsessed with Bullets. My dad and everyone in my family did scold me for not learning to drive car, and was ridiculed by a many outside as well. I always told myself and my Mum-Dad - "I'll learn it on my own car. One that I have earned on my own"
And it followed with another banter of words from my dad :D May 2015 : My best friend's marriage at a marriage palace in city's outskirts and I don't have any conveyance to go there. I literally felt like a looser when I didn’t have a single friend who can take me to the venue on his car. Nor did I knew driving to borrow someone else's . All city cabbies had refused to go so far outside the city limits. This incident changed my opinion towards cars, and made me realize cars have become more of a necessity now than a luxury. And right in the next month, a late night medical urgency required me to take my wife to hospital and I was again looking for cabs which took more than 1 hours to reach my place. I, in fact, had convinced myself to buy a second hand car. But before that, I had to learn driving. For which I was too lazy a person to wake up early in the morning as that was the only available slot in my daily schedule. Nevertheless, I started looking for second cars within my shoe-string budget and negligible knowledge on cars.

Fast forward - September 2015:
The same best buddy Gaurav, called me up to ask me if I would like to take his 2004 make Standard Maruti 800 as he has now purchased a Verna. I agreed readily, as it was the vehicle which gave both of us some really awesome memories on our tours and on our commutes between Delhi and Ludhiana. My family also readily agreed as it was a steal at the cost he gave it to me and the great condition it was in. And now the funny situation built-up -"I own a car. But I can't bring it home because nither do I know how to drive it, nor do I have anyone in my family who knows driving as well"
Gaurav has started living in Noida and his 800 is parked in Ludhiana, having no one to drive it. All my friends are now living in other cities because of their jobs and I don't have anyone in my family who knows how to drive.
Somehow, I managed to bring it home begging an acquaintance to do me the favor. It was parked and I was relieved. Next day, I joined a driving learning school, and two days later I decided to take my 800 out. After initial hiccups, I was quick to learn and was not afraid to take it on crazy ludhiana roads (at par with Delhi and Bangalore crazy driving), highways or crazy bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The Hunt Begins & the Shortlist!
October 2015 - Now that I was confident of my driving skills, I wanted to buy a better drive. Lack of AC and my fear of maintenance costs for a 12 year old M800 were the main factors.
My requirements were - Safety (Highest Priority), Hassle free ownership, comfort for 5.
Petrol made most sense as my monthly driving stands at no more than 500 KMs

I started following forums like TAI and Team-BHP religiously. I am a fast learner and was learning about cars very fast.
Now, I had already a shortlist of options in my cars. Not because I knew things about cars. But because I didn't knew anything about cars. I just was going by the sales numbers and what Online reviews had to say.


My initial shortlist was:

• Alto K10: For the popularity. Never really drove it, but knew that you can't go wrong with Alto in terms of ownership experience. Didn't get to TD it as SA said, "Sir! It's such a popular car for some reason only. We don't offer TDs for Alto" Alto was out in the first round itself due to the lack of leg-space for the driver itself. I hate it when my legs are touching the steering.
• Celerio: I visited Maruti Suzuki showroom for the first time and Iiked Celerio very much - again not because I knew the car. But, Because I didn’t knew anything about the cars. This holds true for celerio in the best way. Celerio entered my shortlist. Didn’t get to TD for the same reason specified for Alto.
• Ford Figo 2015: Figo was a really good package. I visited showroom on the same day I visited Maruti guys, and the guys gave me Diesel variant to TD. I wanted a Petrol one, but they said, petrol variant is out for maintenance, hence only diesel variant is available. I realised a couple of months later, that they don’t offer petrol TDs at all in my city, thinking that they don’t really stand a chance when it comes to their petrol motor. However the diesel one was damn awesome. I instantly fell in love with its looks, overall packaging. So much so, that I made up my mind to go with Figo. I took the quote for mid variant (Trend, I guess) and it stood at 5,60,000 on-road.
• Baleno 2015: Drove the vehicle and again fell in love with it. The mid variant had everything I was looking for - Safety, Comfort, Hassle free maintenance. In fact, I loved the NVH levels so much, that I wasn't even able to differentiate if it was on or off.
However, there were three things standing tall between me and Baleno:
a. Over-budget: It was out of my budget by full one lakhs
b. Waiting period: I was quote a waiting period of over 4 months
c. Size: No matter what, Baleno is a big car when it comes to driving. I didn’t really feel comfortable taking it into tight spots and felt that could have been a problem with my relatively new driving skills.
• Tata Tiago : Tata revealed the Tiago in December 2015, and I was actually appealed by the car. It's looks, safety, comfort, features, and reviews - Everything seemed so just perfect! The reviews were so impressive, that I decided to hold on till the launch of this car. I was waiting for this car and was excited whenever there was a rumour about it's launch date, and whenever the launch was delayed.

Cars that never made to my shortlist (No offence to Anyone):
• Grand i10: It came at the price of Swift but had no security features. Somehow, this car was the epicenter of my hatred towards Japs and Koreans for taking security so lightly in the Indian market.
• Polo: No doubt it was never supposed to be my option for the cost factor. However, I loved the car very much. I was also concerned about the ownership experience as there's only own VW dealer in my city and hence, service and spares could have been an issue
• Kwid - For the interior quality. TD a two months old TD kwid, and it sounded and pulled like 14 year old car. Glovebox and AC controls were broken, gear lever not slotting properly and key refusing to go in the slot. Thanked to god for warning me.


Twist in the story -
My dad gave a wise suggestion, to
a. Save some money first
b. Gain some more experience with M800
c. Wrap up all existing EMIs that were scheduled to be up my April 2016


Nail in the Coffin - Final Decision:
Test drove the vehicle on 31 March and was mightily impressed by the vehicle. I felt like I was sitting in Polo, except for the ICE was DAMN awesome! Decided to go with it.
Brought my Dad for another round of TD on April 4, and he liked it too. Booked the vehicle on the same day. Was told that I'll be getting delivery by 15 April for Silver color.
Visited Showroom again next day, and the dealership helped me with the Loan Application. Got the loan applied with SBI without any issues and got it sanctioned too. In fact, was so much impressed by the SBI guys that it broke my myth about all the govt banks.
On the same day, I got confused between brown and silver and told them that I will confirm the color by evening. And I confirmed silver again by evening.

The Wait:
I realized that there were logistic charges worth 6900 added on the quote. I felt cheated on this and called up SA immediately. He told me that those are not applicable now. He said, I'll need to pay 3900 as document handling charges. I wasn't really satisfied with the clarification for document handling charges, but didn’t really wanted to create a fuss about it, as almost every single dealer charges these now a days.
Then, I was told that I'll be getting my car by 25th April now, as the silver has been sold away and Brown is only available. I didn’t really like the argument and felt as if they are trying to force the brown color on me as it doesn't sell off as easily as silver and white in Punjab.
For your information - I wanted the delivery desperately by 15 April as it's Navratri's in north India between April 8-15. And was actually pissed off at the delayed delivery.
I decided to raise it the Tiago's Facebook page, and got a call from Tata motors after 2 days. They had already passed on their info to their dealership GM in Ludhiana, Mr. Anil Thakur and he got in touch with me and ensured that I have a smooth experience there onwards.
In fact, I was actually appreciative of all the efforts and patience he had while dealing with me.
I went to the bank to collect loan sanction letter on April 18, got it by afternoon. But, then I was told that the car can't be registered as of now, as the RTO guys have not updated the taxes in the online registration portal. I was actually heartbroken, as my entire family was waiting for me to bring home our new prized possession. I went to the showroom, expressed my disappointment (rather anger). I asked to check my car to confirm if it is actually ready and that the reason is genuine. The car was actually ready, and I realised that there's not much that even Mr. Anil could have done. I went home with a heavy heart, knowing I'll have to wait another couple of days as it was a govt. off in my state on April 19.
However, I got a call from Mr Anil on Tuesday evening that I can come and take delivery today, as the taxes are updated on the portal. I felt elated, but couldn't go as I had to work in the evening. I confirmed him that I'll be taking my delivery on the next day.

Final Delivery
Went to showroom at 10 AM with my Dad. Mr. Anil, again, was courteous enough to send someone to pick us from our place. The billing and registration process was rather long as Mr. Anil had cautioned me on Tuesday, but it was all taken care off by his team. I got the number registered at around 3:30 PM and opted for 4440. And then got the delivery with celebrations done by 4:00 PM
However, I didn’t get the invoice, EW papers, AMC papers, Second key and Accessories on the same day. I was promised it will be delivered to my place within next couple of days. I realized this was a safeguard against, any loan issues or if my cheque bounced. I am still waitig for it 3 days post the delivery but hopefully I'll get them by next couple of days. The Accessories, including seat cover will be given, once they receive it from Tata Motors.

Overall, a pretty good experience!


Initial Observations:
• Solid Build Quality - At par with European brands
• Excellent Paint Quality - Really hard to find any glitches there
• Interiors - Damn. Awesome, though you can find 2-3 rally minor things if you look with a magnifying glass.
• NVH Levels: Good, but not awesome if you compare to 4 pot cylinder cars. I don’t really go with all that fuss about high noise and vibrations. It's pretty awesome for a 3 Pot 1.2 litre engine
• Ride Quality: Damn Awesome
• Performance: Revv Happy Engine. Really eager to take off after furn few hundred km's of running-in
• Mileage: Already had 20 KMs on ODO when I took delivery. Driven close to 300 KMs in 4 days and have achieved an average of about staggering 20 KMPL with mixed around 180 KM Highway and 120 KM City Ride. It's a detailed story given below regarding performance and mileage explained below
• Comfort: Again Damn Awesome! Didn’t feel tired after 200 Kms of almost continuous motoring
• ICE : The world is already abuzz about it. It's that awesome!
 

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Thread Starter #2
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Detailed Ownership Experience:

I didn't really get to take out my Tia for first couple of days except for a few requisites like Pooja, Pollution Certificate, Number Plate and Refuelling.However, I was just waiting for the weekend to take her out on Saturday for her first outing. I requested my family to come along on a 200 KM road trip to which they agreed.We left on a bright Saturday morning at around 7 AM for Mansa Devi, Panchkula. The drive is about 220 KM and is only a 3 lane road without a divider, and is used as the highway.

As expected of any early morning drive, the traffic was pretty low and hence I was able to maintain almost consistent speed of about 70-80 KMPH. However, Chandigarh did receive me with usual day time traffic, but without major jams. The city traffic forced my average speed to about 40 KMPH. The return was usual day time traffic and I was able to maintain about 70 KMPH.

Here are my detailed observations:

• Power: When I started from my place, the power delivery was moderately good. It felt smooth and was revv-happy. However, as I reached at the entrance of chandigarh (90 KMs from Ludhiana), I felt as if the car is seriously under-powered. For some reason, it was refusing to pull-off over-takes and was making a lot of noise. But, I stopped somewhere for a quick 10 minutes break, and when I started again - I felt like I'm driving a totally different car. It was absolutely smooth now, awesome power delivery. And the best part was - forget being under-powered, I felt I was driving a car from segment above - like a swift or a bolt. It was that great after that short break. I realized the reason for this when my dad asked me about the Fuel station where I got the first refuelling done. He told me that guy is a famous cheat and I should have avoided. I realized that it was the first 7 liters worth of 120 KMs which was problematic. And then, it was VRRRROOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!
• NVH Levels: Again, for the same bad quality fuel's reason, the NVH was quite bad when I reached Chandigarh. But after that, I've been in absolute love with my Tia. It's far from Baleno's NVH. But, let me tell you one thing - An enthusiast will actually love the "VRROOOM" rather than a absolutely silent cabin.
• Vibrations et all: Like any other 3 pot engine, it does vibrate when you start it up, but settles into a nice vrrooom very quickly. You can't really say that the gear lever vibrates, but it does gives you a feel that the car is moving. It's very very minimal. So, everyone- Please don’t bad-mouth about the vibrations thingy!
• Mileage: We Indians care the most about "Kitna Deti Hai". FYI - My on-display average and Tank-Full average are coming out to be exactly same. Hold your nerves - As I managed to take out staggering 25 KMPL during first 130 KMs with free traffic, @ 70 KMPH and ~2000 RPMs with 4 adults and AC always on! There onwards, after the total trip, the overall average was 21.5 KMPL. In crazy city traffic at peak load, its giving about 16-17 KMPL. I have driven a total of 310 KMs with an average of about astonishing 20 KMPL with AC always on. And all this during run-in period!
• ICE: I don’t really have words for it. Enough said. Haha!
• Steering: It's gem of a steering. I have taken sharp curves with this steering at the speed of 50 KMPH, and at no point it made me feel nervous. And Parking is a cake walk with it's dominant seating position, remote sensors and light steering.
• Ride Quality: Awesome again. As I said earlier, I was not tired at all after 220 KM long drive. The suspension is at spot-on and feels to be awesome for Indian roads both in city traffic and at highways as well.
• Space: One thing I want to highlight is - I'm 5'11" and my wife 5' 6". I am used to driving with me seat to almost maximum leg-space for myself. Even then, my wife was able to almost stretch her legs and said, she has never been as comfortable in any hatch as of my Tia!
• Interiors: I just fall in love everytime I step in. The seat quality, the materials used, fit and finish, everything is just so awesome! I fact, the utility spaces are actually well designed and they take on their Korean counterparts run-for-their-money!
• Headlight Throw: With the option to adjust the light throw, I felt it to be good enough for highway rides! It can't really compete with the projector headlamps, but is definitely better than its competitors

Conclusion:

What a master-stroke by Tata! This car can even beat the competetion at 30K higher price as well.The car is far ahead of its competition in terms of:
• Overall Build Quality
• Safety
• Stability at high speeds
• Ease of driving in city conditions
• Comfort for all passengers

And if you consider the Value for Money packaging - I don’t think there's any other brand in India that can beat Tata on that.

My overall rating - 4.5 Stars out of 5!
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

@pardeep Congratulations man and a very to the point review.I LIKED IT.

PLEASE upload some more pictures such as instrument cluster in night when backlit.
 
Thread Starter #4
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

The console view is taken at night only. Just that my cam for some reason was not able to focus and I had to turn on the cam. Will try again when I take it out at night. The wait might be longer as I have a night shift
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congratulations !

Awesome car and awesome write up. I can relate to each emotions you went through during your buying period. Nicely written.

Wishing you millions of happy miles with your new love "Tia". I hope your wife is not jealous of her.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congratulations on acquiring a beautiful new car & boy, your review is just bang on. Loved reading it.
Hope to see more pictures of the car and a regular update.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congratulations Pradeep sir for your new ride 'TIA'. You many kilometres to munch. Awesome review [clap], I guess many people (including me) were waiting for this review. And you answered my question of headlight throw. Thanks a lot sir. [:)]
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

What trim did you buy ? Please share what accessories were provided. And more photos please.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Nice detailed report. Impressed with FE. Keep adding your findings/discoveries here to keep us up to date. Enjoy your ride.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Hearty congratulations to you Pardeep on your TIAGO! Just curious you gave 4.5 rating out of 5, where did the car lose that .5 ?
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congrats Pradeep, enjoy your time. I am still waiting for the vehicle to be delivered.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Amazing review and Congratulations for the nu Tia[:D]

Please share the engine noise (vroom) video if possible.

What's the waiting period in Ludhiana if you have any idea?
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congratulations brother. Awesome initial review of this piece of art by or very own TATA MOTORS. Wish you all the best with many more happy kilometres to come.
 
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Re: Tata Tiago - My Beloved Tia(Go) Finally Comes Home

Congrats Pradeep for your new aquisition. Wish you many happy miles ahead.

How has been the AC performing as many have said it is not adequate but I didn't feel so
 
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