Opening
The Aria was launched amidst much Expectation and Anticipation and Discussion. Right from the concept to the official unveiling at the 2010 Auto Expo that was held in Delhi, the Aria was always in the news. Expected to be Tata’s most Expensive offering and their attempt to enter into the luxury segment, many had a keen eye on the Aria project. The Aria is packed with almost all features one could expect from an MUV Crossover, and this is probably what Tata had in mind as the Aria’s USP. But can the Aria overcome its biggest perceived challenge, that it is after all a TATA product?
They say a picture can say a 1000 words, so before we give you our usual in-depth review, we decided to give a pictorial overview of the car, just to find out our readers’ thoughts and assumptions about the car. So enjoy the pictures and let us know what you feel about the car and we shall let you know our thoughts in a detailed write up about the Tata Aria in a couple of days’time.
Bold front end with 3 Slat Front Grill. Styling is undoubtedly a 'Tata' product.
Blacked out B & C Pillars and Tapering Rear Quarter Glass to hide all the Bulk and provide a slightly Sedan like appearance.
Pretty Straight Rear End with TATA Engraved on the Chrome Strip.
Large electrically adjustable OVRMs with Turn indicators. The Mirrors also have an Electrical Auto Fold function.
Front as well as Rear Fog lamps comes standard across all Variants.
Ultrasonic Reverse Sensors Standard on the Pleasure and Prestige Trims. The Top of the Line Pride gets a Reverse Guide Camera.
Dashboard has a simple No-Nonsense layout. Our Press Car had Black and Plum Interiors.
Large Steering Wheel with audio Controls. However the Buttons are small and stick out from the steering wheel which means that you unintentionally keep pressing them. Plenty of Lights on the speedometer console for all possible things that could go wrong.
LCD Screen displays the Date, Time and Radio / Track details. It also has separate Day and Night modes. Stereo sound is quite good although the system is a bit complex to operate.
The top of the line Pride Variant gets a larger screen with Satellite Navigation.
Automatic Climate Control AC for the Middle and Top Variants with Buttons to Activate / De-Activate the Parktronics and to switch between 4x4 and 4x2 modes.
USB and Aux Input for the Stereo. Also the 12V socket is provided inside the flap which means you obviously can't use the cup holders below while it is open.
Using the Cup holders now makes the storage in front of the Gear Lever Redundant. Bit of a design flaw.
Aircraft Style Passenger Airbag ON / OFF display with switch to activate either located near the Front Passenger Door.
Aircraft style overhead storage bins. A bit too many in my opinion and they have 3 Sunglass Compartments, apart from the one above the Drivers head.
Lighted Passenger Vanity Mirror. Both Sun Visors get extensions. Neat!!
European Style Headlight Switch. (Note that it is currently on Auto Headlight mode)
All 4 Power windows have an Auto down function, although not even the Drivers Side has an Auto Up. No button to Lock / Unlock the doors either.
Smallish Glove box and Lighted chiller compartment. Unfortunately, the Chiller was not working on our Press car.
Leather peeling of the Gear Lever. Gear lever has longish throws and requires a bit of an effort to slot into the correct gear.
Darkness and Rain Sensor. Cover came off on our way home from the Showroom.
Even the Middle 2nd Row passenger gets his separate Air Vent, Cup Holder and 112V accessory point.
Last row is a place strictly for Children and not a place an adult wants to be in. The seats are straight and do not recline, there is almost no leg room for an adult and it starts to feel quite claustrophobic once both the 2nd row seats are pushed up.
Tilt Adjustable Steering Column
Smallish Foot well and the pedal and located quite high.
This is actually the Chrome Door Skirts. We tried hard but could not get the plastic covering off it.
Quite a lot of boot space (Wish some of it was used for 3rd Row Passenger Leg room) which can be further increased by folding the 3rd and 2nd Row Seats too.
Provision in the Rear door for a Sub-Woofer.
Spare 16” Presses Steel wheel located at the back.
Powerful 2.2 litre DICOR engine (the same one which is used on the Safari) which produces 140 PS of Power and 320 NM of Torque. Adequate to pull the 2720 Kgs of the Aria.
Large 17” Wheels with 4x4 Torque On Demand system means that you can push the Aria to its limits on any road.
The Aria makes a mockery of Speed Breakers and the occupants can barely feel the bad roads. ESP (Electronic Stability Program) and TCS (Traction Control System) make sure you are always in control.
The Aria is 200mm Longer and 125mm Wider than the Innova. It also has a 100 mm Longer Wheelbase. Coupled with 200mm Ground Clearance means that most roads will cause no concern to the Aria.
Central Locking with Keyless Entry. The lights can be switched On and Off directly from the Remote. An excellent thought. The remote has quite a long range too.
6 Airbags (Front Side and Curtain) to protect the occupant. However the panel gaps are quite an eye sore. Finishing in Certain areas is also seriously lacking.
Conclusion
So is it worth going in for? Does it justify its steep price tag? Do the abundant Features make it a good Proposition and is it a worthy competitor to the Innova?
Let us know what you feel and we shall give you our view in a few days time.
