Tata Indica eV2 Road Test Review

[Akash]

Nice write up Akash! Was informative and enjoyed reading it! Kudos!

Nice review Akash! This car is old-school from the word go. I am sure they are targeting the section currently ruled by the Alto. But seriously they must change the interiors atleast. It looks just like Old Wine in New Bottle.
And yes as HolySatan said one can go for Vista instead of this.

Good review Akash!

old looks minus the the wheel arches is a good move.
Better drivability than the prev gen indica's
good torque and power. compared to old gen.
Good report.

A very good review Akash. Good to see that even new Indica was reviewed on TAI.

Thank you all.

But on the pricing front, I do not find it that much VFM as a car of its class is expected to be. I could easily opt for Indica Vista base model at the rate of middle variant in eV2 without stretching my budget much!

Exactly, and imo going for the base Vista would be any day be the best bet over the mid eV2 variant. However Vista wont return the kind of fuel efficiency which the CR4 engine would.

This car can be a sure hit among the cabbies as the diesel engine has got more fuel efficient and also more refined at the same time. That is why i feel TATA has not given much importance to the Petrol variant! The placing of power window switch is really weird , they could have atleast placed it above the handbrake lever like how it used to be in TATA Sierra.

The switches have been there from the old gen Indica to modern Indigo CS. The eV2 is just an attempt to keep the car alive, nothing else. They have not bothered to alter the design or anything else. I guess with the discontinuation of the Turbomax engine owing to the Euro4 emission norms, the sole aim of Tata motors was to bring back the Indica with BS4 engine.

A very good review Akash. Good to see that even new Indica was reviewed on TAI.

At The Automotive India, we try our level best to bring in the road tests of all the cars which may be of interest of the prospective buyers.

Any confirmation on the fuel efficiency that is claimed? There are few ads in newspapers where owners are claiming FE of 41 kmpl !!!

The 25kmpl FE was achieved during the ARAI test, so i am not surprised if the real time efficiency is going beyond this mark.
For eg, the claimed FE figure of Alto(0.8L) was about 18.9kmpl (for k10, its 20.XX), while i have been able to go 23-24km with a liter quite a number of times.

 

[vijay]

nothing impressive then better drivebility compared to older V2 indicas i guess, else remains same wine in older bottle now, without wheel arches, new indica eV2 looks like two generation older, the ones like newly introduced V2 ones, without those arches.No change in interiors, yet no provision of power window switches which i feel is mainly targetted for taxi segments which would surely sell hot cakes.But then pricing is at par with newest indica Vista so lets see how that affects its sales.
Akash good review mate, as always.

 

[Akash]

nothing impressive then better drivebility compared to older V2 indicas i guess, else remains same wine in older bottle now, without wheel arches, new indica eV2 looks like two generation older, the ones like newly introduced V2 ones, without those arches.No change in interiors, yet no provision of power window switches which i feel is mainly targetted for taxi segments which would surely sell hot cakes.But then pricing is at par with newest indica Vista so lets see how that affects its sales.
Akash good review mate, as always.

Thanks Vijay. Like always, i feel even if this car doesnt appeal the masses, it will definitely achieve decent scores among the cabbies, just for its fuel efficiency.

 

[vijay]

yeah i do agree that this car is targetted for cabbies as well as families who want to own diesel hatchback which is roomy and have better FE, but pricing is very close to vista quadrajet so lets see how market make their choices.

 

[point_city96]

Indica ev2 diesel is steal for taxi owners.The dream of taxi drivers has come true!

 

[Akash]

yeah i do agree that this car is targetted for cabbies as well as families who want to own diesel hatchback which is roomy and have better FE, but pricing is very close to vista quadrajet so lets see how market make their choices.

Indica ev2 diesel is steal for taxi owners.The dream of taxi drivers has come true!

Definitely with some users reporting the fuel efficiency above the ARAI figure, eV2 will definiteky enjoy good sales even with the old design.

 

[Knightrider]

New petrol sibling of eV2 - The Indica eXeta

All of a sudden, there is a long list of variants under same name 'Indica'. Tatas have suddenly launched the petrol version of the eV2, called Indica eXeta.

The feature list remains almost the same as that of eV2, same wooden console, bluetooth, alloys, black & beige interiors, remote keyless entry, Music player with USB port etc.

This fuel efficiency for this petrol version is also interesting like the eV2. They claim it to be 17.2 kmpl.

Following are the ex-showroom prices of Delhi:

Engine: BS IV

GL: 295,568.00
GLE: 319,754.00
GLS: 334,821.00
GLX: 358,814.00

The colours available are not known as the website only shows single colour (light bright green).

Have a look:

The New Indica eXETA Petrol | Anything Else is a Compromise

All in all, looks as a good package in that price range & good option for the petrol buyers.

 

[CORTINA]

Re: New petrol sibling of eV2 - The Indica eXeta

The Indica is becoming too old now.Tata should have refreshed entire car with new panels and a fresh look instead of continuing this cosmetic lifts which is tarnishing the brand badly.The Car is overpriced in my opinion and there are better products out there.

 

[Akash]

Both, Petrol as well as Diesel version of Indica eV2 have been tested. Please continue all the discussions related to it in this thread.

Threads Merged.

 

[K K Datta]

Nice write up Akash.

Diesel variant FE needs to be checked.

Is the engine of ecs & ev2 the same ??

 

[Thetraveller]

@Akash - very nice review! I am sure this new version will be lapped up by Cabbies. Not sure how many consumers will go for it.

@Kaushik - I believe the diesel engines are different but petrol is same as eCS.

 

[amiti]

@Akash-- Now which one would you recommend. Indica cr4 or vista qjd?

In terms of
1. Easy to drive
2. Easy on pocket (diesel costs)
3. Easy on maintainability

 

[Akash]

In terms of
1. Easy to drive

I would anyday recommend Vista qjd over the Indica CR4. The former is much refined and fun to drive. And the fuel efficiency of multijet engines is known to all. So imo go for Vista if you are buying one. Although eV2 has that "25kmpl" efficiency, but overall the car lacks the basic safety features which imo should not be overlooked.

2. Easy on pocket (diesel costs)

Both Vista and Indica eV2 will deliver good fe figures. eV2 might deliver 2-3kmpl more than qjd, but still dwhen it comes to driving pleasure, vista is ahead of Indica ev2.

3. Easy on maintainability

Being diesel, i feel the service costs would be similar if not the same. Definitely it would be costlier to maintain the Vista, but the difference is too small.

PS: Sorry for late reply, i completely missed out this thread.

 

[amiti]

Thanks Akash.

Indica EV2 lx is out of my list as it makes lots of noise and brakes are non existant. However on positive side felt pickup better than Vista qjd. Vista on other side has good feel and many features(mainly ABS and ebd) and the difference is @ 1lac only.

 

[Surfer]

positive side felt pickup better than Vista qjd

Thanks strange. I don't think so