Tata Tiago Review, First Drive

Tata’s new Tiago is an all-new offering in the true sense of the term and has all the hallmarks to pave the way forward for new models from the brand.

It’s the small car that has really taken Tata places in the Indian passenger car market. The Indica was once the only diesel hatchback on the market at a time when petrol prices began to soar. But the fact that the Indica despite its flaws was a good value proposition in its time as an affordable, practical and spacious car made it quite the success story for Tata.

Now after close to two decades, Tata finally plans to phase out the Indica and replace it with the all new Tiago. And from our initial impressions of the new Tata hatchback, we have to say that the Tiago truly takes the game forward, not just for its predecessor but for the Tata brand itself.

Inside out the new Tata Tiago looks like a truly modern offering and is positioned to look its rivals eye to eye and makes its presence felt. The overall profile of the Tiago is a very well crafted one that gives it a nice stance. All the design details are blended together well. The front grille is a wide frameless unit that is flanked by headlamps with a three dimensional look on either side. The A-pillars flow onto the bonnet nicely. The car gets blacked out B-pillars and raked C-pillars to add a bit of design flair. A sharp beltline makes its presence felt on the side profile. While at the back, wrap around tail lamps, a well contoured hatch while the bumper houses a black plastic section at the lower centre section, lending a nice visual break.

And if the exteriors of the Tiago look modern, the interiors feel downright premium for a car in its category. Textured soft touch materials, nice headliner fabric, body coloured air con vent surrounds at the corners (for orange and red cars, piano black for others), chunky chrome door handles, supportive seats and a premium Harman sound system makes this quite a special place to be in considering the market positioning for the Tiago. Of course, the Tata trademark of having a spacious cabin is something that Tiago boasts of too.

Well then, the new Tiago has been fairly impressive so far. This car breaks free from norms that have traditionally been clasped to Tata cars that saw evaluators say – “It’s okay for a Tata”, be it in terms of ergonomics, fit and finish or performance.

In this regard, the engines for the Tata Tiago come into play. Tata will be offering the Tiago with an equally all-new set of petrol and diesel engines. The petrol unit in question falls under Tata’s new Revotron petrol engine family. It is a three cylinder, 12 valve, 1.2 litre, naturally aspirated unit developing 83bhp of max power @ 6,000 rpm and 114Nm of peak torque @ 3,500 rpm. The diesel unit has been badged as the Revotorq and is a 1.05 litre, three cylinder oil burner with four valves per cylinder, developing 69bhp @ 4,000rpm and 140Nm @ 1,800-3,000rpm.

Both engines feature dual overhead camshafts and two driving modes – Eco and City. The petrol engine gets variable camshaft timing while the diesel gets a balancer shaft to reduce vibrations. Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

During our initial drive we happened to sample both engines and have come back fairly impressed. Neither motor has the thrum of a three cylinder engine, the petrol unit was quick to rev while the diesel had a strong mid range, felt very smooth and had very low NVH levels. Room for improvement lies in a wider powerband for the diesel engine and a more free revving nature for the petrol engine. The gearbox too can have more precise shifts and shorter throws. The steering rack too can be more direct and quicker.

Having said that, the rest is all in place as the controls including the clutch are light and in the true nature of a Tata, the Tiago too has good road manners with predictable and balanced ride and handling traits. On the safety front, the car gets ABS with EBD and dual front airbags.

On the whole, the new Tiago from Tata Motors truly feels like a modern offering and ready to take on its current rivals which the ageing Indica could no longer.

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