I had reviewed the Tata Tiago AMT a few months ago and was very impressed by the car after spending a weekend with it. You can read the detailed review here. So when Tata Motors offered me one as a long termer, I couldn’t refuse. Spending more time with it would, after all give more insights as to what it feels like as an everyday car. Its been a month that I have been driving the little Tata so time for a first report.
The moment you get into the Tiago, you appreciate the top notch quality of the interiors. There’s a feel good factor all over the cabin and the effort put in by Tata is clearly seen. It doesn’t give the feel that you are in an entry level hatchback. Looks like Tata’s tagline ‘More car per car’ made famous by the Indica has trickled down to the Tiago as well. But that’s where similarities with the Indica end. The seat fabric feels premium and the dashboard has a nice layout too. I love the body coloured side AC vents. The texture of the dash feels like its from cars a segment above. The piano black surfaces also feel nice to the touch. The Harman developed audio system is one of the best around and sound quality is fantastic.
The Tiago features Tata’s new 1.2 litre 3 cylinder motor that puts out 85 horses and 114 Nm of torque. The engine is quite smooth, doesn’t feel like a typical 3 cylinder and you don’t really feel the vibrations associated with it. The AMT is a 5 speed unit and there is that jerkiness felt in the initial gears. Once you get up to speed, the shifts are smooth all the way. The creep mode also helps when you are idling at signals or traffic jams. As of now I have only been driving in the city, and it is just the right size to navigate through Mumbai’s traffic infested roads. The AMT does struggle while going up inclines though. If you get stuck uphill on any of the flyovers on the Western Express Highway during peak hour traffic, like I do regularly, the Tiago takes an effort to get going. Ride quality is good and the little car soaks in all the road undulations with ease. A highway drive is certainly on the cards soon and it will be interesting to see how the car handles our monsoon roads once the rainy season sets in.
Fuel efficiency has been hovering between 10.5 to 11 kpl mainly because the Tiago is being driven mostly on the clogged Western Express Highway. Also these figures are after driving in City mode only. I’ve covered a 1000 km so far in the first month. More updates coming up next month. I’m totally enjoying the Tiago right now for the fantastic package that it is.
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