The very name ‘Bolt’ struck an impressive chord with me when I first saw this bright splashy red hatch driven down the aisle at its preview before the 2014 Auto Expo. I must agree the absolute first impression of its design wasn’t too overwhelming as the overall shape still reminded me of the Tata Vista. It was only after every curious eye and being moved away that I took a closer look only to realise the meticulous efforts taken by the guys at Tata Design Centres in Coventry, Turin and Pune. Yes! They got international brains working on this one.
Their usual cars were solely meant to act purposeful which also reflected in the way the interiors were designed, dull and boring. Who can possibly forget the odd looking and placed in the middle instrumental cluster in the Vista. Step inside the Bolt and everything of the previously described gets blurred. The dashboard was brand new with subtle chrome detailing. The new premium steering wheel had controls for Bluetooth telephony and infotainment. Even the instrumental cluster got a heavy upgrade with a central multi information display screen, much like the premium offerings.
And if all of these weren’t enough, there was a touchscreen Harman infotainment system, which had features that many cars in its segment and even above didn’t have. So much had changed on this next generation Tata car that my fingers started to hurt as I kept tapping the keys of my phone to make a note of all the changes and features at the official preview.
While the world wants to move to diesel, with higher efficiency and lower fuel cost as prime focus, Tata Motors launched an all new turbocharged 1.2L petrol engine. The new motor made its way into the Zest earlier followed by in the Bolt and will also be seen in the upcoming Nexon compact SUV. The diesel variant is powered by a 1.3L Quadrajet engine sourced from Fiat and performs way better than that in Fiat cars. It makes lesser power than the 1.2T but is high on torque value at 190Nm. Even the claimed mileage for diesel is higher at 22.95 kmpl.
So a newer Tata hatch with more technology and better performance made a lot of sense for us to get it in our long term fleet. Firstly, to see if all the newness makes it an impressive daily car and most importantly, how well has Tata Motors worked on making it more reliable than before. We shall be posting regular updates on our experience.
