Tata Tiago

With the BS6 mandate, Tata Motors took the opportunity to not only improve on Tiago’s shortcomings but also spruce up its successful little hatchback. While the engineers cast the BS6-spell on its sole petrol motor, the Tiago also received a cosmetic makeover that’s inspired by the Altroz, plus, the cabin has been refreshed for the better. With a four-star NCAP rating and a starting price of Rs 5.85 lakh (OTR Mumbai), the Tiago certainly comes across as one of the most affordable yet safe cars to live with. In this review, we tell you all there is to know about this hatchback.

The nice thing about the Tiago is that it was already cute to look at. With that as a base, I don’t feel it wasn’t difficult for designers to brighten things up. But in its new form, the Tiago looks scintillating; which it has the Altroz to thank for. The newfound sportiness is all thanks to the new raked grille, sharpened headlamps, and edgy grooves on the front bumper. As for the profile and rear section, there’s little to distinguish it, other than the attractive alloys and the restyled bumper. Indeed, handsome it is! 

What’s new in the updated Tiago’s cabin is the nice seven-inch touchscreen that’s integrated with Tata’s ConnectNext interface (seen in the premium Tatas), and the contemporary all-digital instrument cluster with white illumination. What I appreciated though, is that the new steering design can now be conveniently adjusted for height. Other minute tweaks include the glossy inserts around the redesigned air-con controls on the centre console and the Tata-family gear lever.

Having said that, designers missed the chance to improve upon the quality of materials used in this cabin, and the cup holders on the centre console should have been able to at least swallow a 500ml bottle. Otherwise, since nothing has changed in terms of cabin space and ergonomics, the Tiago is as practical and usable as its predecessor.

As earlier, the front seats are supportive with generous head and shoulder room. But at the rear, tall occupants could brush their heads against the roof, and seating three isn’t advisable over long journeys, more so in the absence of the much-needed air-con vents. Finally, practicality takes a blow as there’s no split-folding bench to liberate any more than what the 242-litre boot enclosure offers.

This top-end XZ Plus offers 15-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, climate control, body-coloured inserts around the air vents, an eight-speaker Harman player with voice command, and AppleCarPlay/Android Auto connectivity. It also features keyless entry, electric ORVMs with auto-fold, and a rear-view camera with parking sensors. As for safety, the Tiago gets ABS with EBD, dual-front airbags, corner stability control, speed alert, seatbelt reminder, and speed-dependent door locks.

The updated Tiago uses a tweaked version of the outgoing model’s three-cylinder 1.2-litre Revotron petrol engine to make it BS6 compliant. This 84bhp/113Nm motor is offered with either a five-speed manual or an AMT auto gearbox; this being the manual. Although very little engine noise filters into the cabin at idle, this three-pot motor does allow some vibrations on the gear lever, foot pedals, and steering.

At city speeds, it remains fairly silent with only minute throttle inputs required to keep the Tiago running in the 1,500-1,750rpm range. However, the response isn’t as peppy as, say the Wagon R’s 1.2-litre. Now, since the Tiago is light at 980kg (kerb), there’s enough grunt for city runabouts and most highway runs. At the same time, what makes city driving so easy is that one can run in a higher gear almost always without it running out of breath or urging a downshift.

Even on the highway, there’s adequate power on tap to maintain triple-digit speeds, and also for that quick overtake by dropping a gear or two, which the light clutch makes easy. On the downside though, there is some clutch-pedal kickback and the notchy nature of the gearbox needs some getting used to. Above all, these are far from being deal-breakers.

Meanwhile, Tata hasn’t tweaked the chassis layout of the Tiago. So, like the earlier model, the taut suspension setup absorbs even the worst of bumps and irregularities with great composure (for hatchback standards). Surprisingly, while the ample ground clearance allows it to take on the worst of roads, it’s not at the cost of its rock-solid high-speed stability.On the contrary, there’s considerable body roll as one drives fast around bends. And what makes the experience worse, is that its steering is far from quick with about three turns from lock-to-lock. Apart from that though, the light steering makes it easy to manoeuvre the Tiago in tiny city lanes or into a little parking spot.

With all of its exterior updates, the BS6 Tata Tiago looks superior to its rivals- the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Hyundai’s Santro. Not to forget that it also drives reasonably well, thanks to its sound dynamics and the newfound refinement from its otherwise capable powertrain. Now, although the updated Tiago’s cabin feels better than before, the interior space and the quality of materials aren’t something to write home about. Interestingly, the Tiago certainly makes up for all that’s lost with its outstanding four-star GNCAP safety rating. What say?

Photos by Kaustubh Gandhi

It is finally time to bid adieu to the Tata Tiago Revotron XZ that entered the CarTrade long term garage last October. During this time, we have clocked over 8000km on the odometer, made quite a bit of money for all the petrol pumps near our office and on the whole, we had a lot of fun driving this bright, orange compact hatchback. Now to wrap up our experience with the car, here is our final long term report.

Practicality, storage and passenger space
Before I give you some philosophical reflection on my journey with the Tiago, we’ve to highlight practicality, storage and space for passengers, a trio that has not been addressed with the car so far. We start with practicality and storage in a single breath as they are quite linked. There are eight open storage spaces and one glove box in the cabin. Of these, four are in the door pockets and four in the centre console.

The open spaces are capable of holding only 500ml bottles or soda cans, but they are all easily accessible with everything falling to hand thanks to the angle in which the bottles can be slotted in. However, there is an issue with the storage space just behind the gear lever which is that if you have a tall bottle, you will hit it when you switch the gears to second, fourth or reverse. The glove box is nice and deep with a hidden button for opening and closing, as well as a vent to give you the option of cooling whatever you keep in the glove box.

At 242-litres, the boot is just marginally larger than that of the Maruti Suzuki Celerio, but it has a low and wide loading lip, thus making the process of hauling stuff in and out quite easy. As you can see from the snapshot, there is space for two big backpacks, a screen and for some reason, a safari hat too. In addition to that, there is also a parcel tray for added storage which could be used for common items like tissues boxes, teddy bears and sun shades. However, we do have a grouse with the parcel tray, which is that the hooks and rope are of low quality and are unlikely to survive for very long.

If you have been following my reports then you should, by now have an idea of what it is like to drive and get comfortable behind the wheel. So this time around, we are addressing passenger space. Despite my ‘extended’ length, it is actually quite comfortable in the front passenger seat though I still feel that the seat base could have been a bit longer to provide additional under-thigh support. It’s a better story with the rear seats as you get some decent leg room, even with the seat adjusted to my driving position.

The last 8 months
It has been eight months and over 8000kms under our belt with this petrol Tiago. In this time, it has done editorial duties, shopping cart duties, bumper-to-bumper crawling and also served as a weekend getaway machine. In each of these duties, we’ve hardly had any issues with car and it has managed to emerge out on top without losing much breath.

As a personal choice, I also think it’s a very good looking car. After all, when attention cannot be had due to size, then looks come into play. This is one department where the car has managed to score (sugar-free) brownie points with me. The things that really grabbed my attention were the head lamps, grille, shoulder line as well as the wedge-like wrap around tail lamps.
The all-important fuel efficiency figure over those many months has hovered between the 12kmpl and 14kmpl mark and on an average we were getting around 400km for every tank up that took place. However, a majority of the time was spent in City mode rather than Eco mode as the reduction in power delivery took just too much effort to wring some kind of performance out of the car. With a light right foot and optimum gear shifts, we believe that at least 16kmpl is easily achievable.
Finally, its diminutive proportions and light steering means that it´s easy to estimate distances from inside a Tiago while parking or even in heavy traffic, when you have to squeeze your way past other vehicles to get where you are going.

Highs and lows
Things we disliked: build quality, lack of top-end grunt, rubbery gearbox
Things that we can live with: non-lockable side AC vents, music system with glitches
Things we liked: seats, instrument cluster, fun-to-drive factor, looks

A future for the Tiago

We have now had two Tiagos in our CarWale Long term garage and both ownership periods point to a positive experience. There are obvious issues like build quality and some small ergonomic niggles, but otherwise the Tiago looks to be a solid entry-level product for the Indian automaker. We say this because we believe that the Nano will have a very niche future and that is pretty obvious as Tata (at the time of writing this report) was retailing 5400 Tiagos while it was able to move just 167 Nanos. There is expected to be a major shift to the next rung of cars as entry-level models, putting Tata in a good position with the Tiago and now the Tigor too.

Photos: Kapil Angane 

It has been a month of magical numbers for our Tata Tiago Revotron XZ. The number count includes breaching the six-month mark since the Tiago came into the CarTrade LongTerm garage and of course its odometer crossing over the magical 10,000km mark. These are important milestones for the hatchback, both for us and its usage in terms of it being a long term car.

It is only now, after regularly putting the car through its paces, that we have begun to experience some real signs of wear and tear. In the previous reports, we gave you the general highs and lows of owning the car. But this month, we have decided to focus on the cabin as well as the highway drive that we have been promising for so many months now.

The good

The cabin of the Tiago is a nice place to be in. It’s completely black with some glossy bits (also in black) on the dashboard and the cabin. You can add some personal touches to liven up the look, which in our case is an orange applique for the side air-con vents. They really brighten up the appearance of the dashboard.

Our high points for the cabin are the instrument cluster and the seats. The former is quite nice to look at, both in the day and at night, thanks to the large dials and clearly stenciled fonts. Of particular interest is the trip computer which offers a variety of information like instantaneous fuel consumption, dual trip computers and distance to empty at the push of a stalk behind the steering wheel. These might be small additions, but to the cost conscious buyer, who in all likeliness will make this his/her first car, these vital bits of information will enhance the overall driving experience. That being said, we should mention that it takes some effort to reach the stalk and Tata could have made it longer or put a button for the same in a different place.

The seats are our second high point for this little Tiago. They offer the right amount of support both in terms of lateral and under thigh support, even for an ‘expanded’ person like me. There is height adjustment for the driver’s seat as well as height adjustment for the steering wheel and this means you can set yourself up in just the right driving position, be it for the city or out on the highway.    

The bad

It has been just 11,500km and already there are signs of wear and tear in the cabin. The music system, while still providing excellent sound, keeps hanging from time to time and on quite a few occasions, I’ve had to pull over to side of the road and switch off and switch on the car again to reset the system. Another minor grouse is that there is no option to fast forward or rewind through a song, with either the controls on the dashboard or even the steering-mounted ones.

The corner AC vents, while looking flashy with their orange borders have no locking function. This means that there is no way to restrict air flow to the centre vents although it is possible to do the opposite as the centre vents do have a locking function.

Quality has become an issue in the cabin especially in the driver footwell where the pedals have taken a massive beating. The rubber covering on the clutch pedal is on its last legs while the brake pedal too looks like it will begin to wear out the same way within the next few months. The accelerator pedal has fared the best of the three, but given that they would be made on the same assembly line and to the same standard, we can expect that this too will take a beating.

The lack of floor mats has really started to affect the carpet and without regular cleaning and maintenance, it’s going to be a tough task to keep the floor looking tidy for sustained periods. Tata does offer floor mats for the Tiago and they can be specified with dealer at the time of purchase. Finally, most of the cabin is still intact but the plastic rim for the driver’s side internal door lock has come loose.  

Some highway fun

After many months of promising to head out on a lengthy journey with the Tiago, we finally did it! The destination was the seaside town of Dahanu on the way to Gujrat. We wanted a fully loaded car with luggage and five people patting their stomachs after a heavy meal of parsi-style fish curry and rice, but it was not mean to be. However, a road trip is a road trip and off we went and boy was it fun. For a small car, the Tiago likes to be hustled around, especially if you need to work your way around slow moving traffic in the right most lanes.

The steering responds well to directional changes but is let down by the lack of top-end grunt from the 1.2-litre petrol motor. To counter this, (especially in the event of a quick overtake) you need to row between fourth and fifth to access the power. The brakes too work excellently and even after a whole day of switching between high speed and low speed situations they hardly felt tired and offered up good stopping power. At the start of the year, we had an issue with the air filter of the AC, which was rectified and now even out on the highway the AC kept us cool. It was a bit noisy from second speed onwards, but cool nonetheless.

We are looking at more road trips with the Tiago, of course.  Besides, with Eid just around the corner, we are also looking forward to the Tiago become our chariot for some late night Haleem, biryani and kebab escapades to the legendary Mohammed Ali road in the south Mumbai

Photos : Kapil Angane

The last few months at the CarTrade Editorial have been a blur of assignments and in all this time our Tata Tiago in the Revotron XZ guise has been a faithful partner in our endeavours. We went through a heavy period of covering motorsports and early morning as well as late evening shoots, the Tiago gave us its best. However, it has not been all smooth sailing and we have decided to address some of the issues before going on to the good stuff.

Two months after the Tiago entered the arrived CT fleet, we found that the airbox for the air-conditioner had jammed up and the AC was pretty much functioning as a fan. While this was not an issue during the ‘cold’ winter months of Mumbai, we immediately sent off the car to Tata to rectify the issue in anticipationof a really hot summer which would set in post February.

Small rattles have begun to appear as the odometer approaches the famed 10,000km mark. We had told you earlier that the right ORVM was slightly loose and now with further usage, the issue has become a bit more serious and eventually the entire mirror unit will need to be replaced. Finally, an extensive weekend of covering Valley Run 2017 saw the black and carpet-less interiors achieve a shade of light beige.

Now that we have got the negatives out of the way, here are some of the positives that have come out of the last few months with this little petrol hatchback. The rectifying of the AC issue has definitely improved cooling all around and this was a boon to us out on the highway where the sun bore down pretty strongly upon us despite the cooler temperatures.

One aspect where the Tiago has managed to score quite well in our books is the fun-to-drive factor. Doing long city commutes have today become a big hassle, but this eased up quite a bit in the Tiago thanks to its diminutive proportions and zippy low-end response. The 1.2-litre petrol motor might only produce 83bhp and 114Nm but that is more than enough to have fun with the car. The gearbox is light and easy to use but tends to not sync properly for reverse gear prompting you to switch to neutral and then switch to reverse. It’s a problem that gets compounded when space is tight, traffic is impatient and usually stopped well inside your comfort zone. We hope that this will get addressed once the car goes for its first service.

On a lighter note, our Tiago, if you have seen by now has been painted in a shade of bright orange. Now having such a bright shade means you stand out pretty much everywhere and given that it’s a good looking car, the combination is surely an uplifting sight even on the most tiring days.   

Tight schedules and heavy list of to-do tasks over the last few months has meant that the Tiago has not really had a chance to stretch its legs, something which we plan to address in our remaining time with the car. A lengthy road trip will give us an idea of this Spanish named hatchback’s highway manners, ability to swallow luggage, practicality and overall comfort factor when it comes to carting five people over long distances.   

Vehicle stats

Variant- Revotron XZ

Odo reading- 9872

Negatives- small rattles and loose right front ORVM

Positives of the report- ease of use in city, AC now back to full strength

Fuel efficiency- 14kmpl

Photos By : Kapil Angane

Over the last year or so, we’ve had many cars come and go in our long term garage but one face has stayed familiar- the Tata Tiago. First, my colleague Santosh has a grey coloured diesel version and when his time was done, I become the next-in-line to get a Tiago. However, this time around my car is a petrol model and painted in a shade which can be best summed up in the sentence, “honey, our car is so bright we don’t need any more orange juice at home.” 

Since this our first report with the car, here are some of the stats to give you a perspective of what we are working with. Our car is a Tata Tiago Revotron XZ. The XZ badge indicates that this is a top-of-the-line model with all the bells, whistles and garnish Tata offers with this car. It is powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 84bhp and 110Nm of torque with power going to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

It has been close to two months since the car entered our fleet and in that time this little hatch has covered 3000kms both in the city and out on the highway. Its work experience now includes the standard stuff like tracking car, goods transporter and some non-standard like noble steed for a night out with the gang, family car as well donning the role of La Santa Maria in our exploration of South Mumbai.

The wide variety of terrains has given us mixed results with the car and has shown us some good bits and bad bits. First the latter- The right ORVM is rattling and a combination of no carpets with black floor has resulted in a soiling that is quite hard to tackle on a regular basis.

The gear shifts tend to feel quite notchy especially with slotting into to reverse which at times requires a second glance to ensure that the cogs are in place. The bottle holders are only good for 500ml bottles which should not be an issue right now but will become a problem as summer rolls along. Also the parking sensor, despite being a boon, is overly sensitive and in tight spaces tends to affect your judgement. 

On the flipside though, it has been a blast to drive the car in heavy traffic thanks to the easily judge able proportions, light steering and meaty abundance of torque right from the second gear. The vintage rap/hip-hop fan in me has fallen in love with the music system as it one of the few times that a sound system in a budget vehicle has been able to bring out the undertones and subtle words that defined the lyrical themes of the music genre in the 1990s.

We have planned a couple of road trips for next month and so should be able to give you an idea of what the car is like out on the highways. These trips will also ensure that Tiago heads home for its first service since coming into our care and we will detail the costs involved in our next report. 

 We’ve been happy at the wheel of the Tiago for close to three months now. It’s clocked more than 4600km, but before we part with it, I’d like to glance back at my experience and reveal how it’s really been to live with. Tata Motors’ efforts have paid off, and this hatch has got some really pleasing lines with lots of character to show off. Build quality is something other car makers in the segment need to learn from. And while it comes equipped with impressive features like that eight-speaker Harman infotainment system, it is also quite spacious. With our Tiago traversing the majority of our monsoon-crippled roads, it displaced even the worst of potholes with a composure usually seen on bigger cars. Impressive, to say the least.

 While passengers had only good things to say about the air conditioning and ambience, the soft cushioned seats meant that longer stints did result in back aches. Our Tiago came with a rattle from the front end, and despite a workshop visit, it just didn’t stop. We also ran into some inconvenience with the boot lid only being able to shut with more than a regular shove. But these niggles weren’t enough to dampen my spirit. Driving this hatch in the city is a joy, especially when you have compact dimensions, brilliant visibility and the rear parking sensors which reflect information on the screen.

 With a diesel heart, our Tiago, with its 1.0-litre Revotorq motor has more than enough power for everyday commuting and some relaxed touring. It hardly makes a buzz, due to superior insulation, until you rev it to the red line. With most of the action happening around 2000rpm, this is where you’ll need to be if any sporty move is required. I’ve tried navigating through some really narrow roads and other than the slight slack around the straight ahead position, the light steering provides good confidence overall. It also consistently returned 15.48kpl in the city and 18.27kpl on the highway, even while doing the run-around amidst shoot errands. 

 I admit that I was sceptical about the Tiago way back in the beginning, but I stand corrected. Barring some issues that aren’t really deal breakers, I’d recommend car buyers around this segment to boldly opt for the diesel Tiago. It offers a great package of looks, features, build quality, space and driveability that really stands out more due to the competitive pricing. As for the team at CarTrade, we’ve all had our share of great moments with this hatch, and are sure that this is one car that has the essence to sell well.

Pictures: Kapil Angane and Santosh Nair

Over the two months that our long term Tata Tiago diesel has been serving us relentlessly, we have driven it for more than 2510km so far. While our previous long term report mentioned how it took to its city duties, this review will highlight the Tiago’s long distance capabilities and here’s our experience..

What we liked..

A well designed suspension coupled with a large profile tyres help this hatch soak up bumps on the highway with a poise seen on bigger cars. It is only the sharper undulations that filter through slightly. It needs to be mentioned that the suspension feels sturdy and silently goes about its job.

We downloaded the Connectnext app on our smartphone to test the navigation feature on the eight speaker Harman music system. As soon as the smartphone is connected via Bluetooth, voice prompts from the phones Map app is neatly amplified through the music system.

Though the Tiago Revotorq emits a reasonable amount of diesel engine clatter that is audible on the outside, superior insulation strains it and only an acceptable amount of clatter can be heard in the cabin. In fact, it is only when the motor is worked to its limit that passengers can hear the diesel motor vividly.

We really liked it when the rear wipers started functioning on their own when the reverse gear is actuated. This happens only when the front wipers are already in use.

We loaded the boot to the gills with three backpacks and two suitcases before heading out on the highway with three adults and two children on board. We used the City mode throughout and only a slight drop in power was experienced.

What we didn’t like..

Despite the light and predictable steering, there is some vagueness around the straight ahead position. Due to this the car tends to feel numb around the dead centre, especially when you pick up the pace.

We learnt that the boot always needs more force and at least two irritating tries to have it shut successfully. Also, there’s no external boot release, and that can bring some inconvenience as one has to keep reaching out for the release lever within the cabin.

With the monsoon season in full swing, the wipers are of prime importance to maintain visibility. However, a rickety noise from the wiping operation has limited the use of any speed over ‘intermediate’.

One of the fog lamps is decidedly dimmer than the other and manages to focus elsewhere. These characteristics give away the wrong impression and is definitely avoidable.

With a number of photo shoots outside the city, the Tiago kept being busy with its designated chores. In fact, on one such shoot, our Tiago had to play catch up with the Audi R8 to fulfil its duties! On that day, our photographer: Kapil, shot the upcoming Kite5 alongside the R8 while the driver was enjoying the sight of Kapil seated in the open boot of the moving Tiago. We have spent some quality time in this hatchback, and can easily say that it has the competence to make it big.

Now time for some of our stats..

Date acquired: 19th May 2016 Odometer reading when acquired: 540km Current odometer reading: 3050km Fuel efficiency: 15.48kmpl (City), 18.27kmpl (Highway)

Photo Courtesy By : Kapil Angane and Santosh Nair

Tata’s little Tiago has a lot going for it. It’s the brand’s best effort to give the market a seasoned package with a reasonable price tag. There’s an unmistakable deviation from the regular design lines this car maker has stuck to over the years. In our endeavour to measure the conduct of this bright contender, we welcomed the diesel Tiago last month to our fleet of long termers. In its diesel formula, the Tiago gets a 1.0-litre Revotorq engine which produces 69bhp and 140Nm of torque.

Now the Tiago has been predominantly my drive since its arrival. Having been driven within city limits this month, we would like to give out some useful bits on the usage experience. We’ll start with what we liked the most…

I’ve covered more than 1,000km at the wheel of the Tiago this month. The compact dimensions and visibility of this car makes driving it in the city stress-free. As the steering is direct, parking is easy and is also helped by the rear parking sensors which beeps and depicts distances to objects on the screen.

Being equipped with a talented Harman infotainment system with eight speakers and a variety of inputs like usb, aux and iPod capability definitely has its pluses. Music is served with impressive clarity and can instantly lighten up the mood in the cabin.

With every instance of using the Tiago, I appreciate the quality and design of the interiors even more. It grows on me and makes me feel like I’m driving a more expensive set of wheels. The centre console and door pads have enough space to pack my knick knacks, bottles and cups.

Some concerns we spotted…

A rattle has become audible on the outside front right. It happens every time the car is driven over an uneven surface. Though the service centre was notified of the problem when the Tiago went in for the first service, the sound persists.

We noticed that the seats, though well contoured, are just too soft to provide prolonged comfort. While shorter stints were dismissed in reasonable comfort, longer durations on these seats landed me up with slight body aches.

Performance from this motor is felt from above 2000rpm. This means that you have to constantly work the gearshift to stay in the rpm range and derive the performance required for any driving requirement. Gear shift quality could have been smoother.

After the Tiago joined our long term fleet, it has also been actively supporting our shoots and testing errands. With a mileage of 15kmpl on an average within city limits, it keeps me happy. Now, in the coming month, we will be putting its long distance abilities to test. More on that in the next report…

Photo Courtesy By : Kapil Angane and Santosh Nair