Quick Drive: New Tata Zest
What is it?
The new Indica/Indigo. Except it is not called the Indica/Indigo anymore — for obvious reasons. The troubles facing Tata Motors and the fact that nobody is buying their cars in any serious numbers is common knowledge so we won’t ramble on about it here; this is a new beginning and the manufacturer that had the smarts to come up with the compact sedan formula in the first place is keen to begin their new innings on a clean slate. Best then, to shed the baggage of the past, positive or negative, including the name.
This is the Zest, a compact sedan (under four meters in length to take advantage of the reduced excise duties applicable on small cars) that will soon be followed by the mechanically identical Bolt hatchback. This is much like the Indica Vista / Manza formula except the Manza was over four meters in length. You can be sure that with the chopped boot the Zest will have killer pricing to take on the likes of the Dzire, Amaze and Xcent in a segment that’s witnessing rapid growth and delivering strong profits for the top players.
All-new?
Yes, if you consider that the X1 platform on which it is based (and shared with the Indica Vista) is 80 per cent new. Dubbed “X1 modified”, the wheelbase and track widths remain identical but the modifications are extensive including a new front end to meet offset frontal crash safety standards (yet to be introduced in India), zero pivot subframe, dual path front suspension and mountings, electric power steering, rear suspension geometry and a rear passenger protection bar (patent pending).
Will it turn heads?
“This is not a wus”, says Head of Design Pratap Bose. There is a confidence and maturity to the design while retaining a design link to the original (and path-breaking, let’s not forget) Indica. The smiley grille has now become the ‘humanity line’ (the lines above and below the grille that stretch into the headlamps) that supposedly reflects the humane approach and trust expected in the functioning of the Tata group of companies. These lines will be a feature that will run through all future Tata Motors cars. The rear has what is called a ‘slingshot line’ that starts at the T logo and stretches to the front to give dynamism to the three-quarter profile. What will be of more interest to you is the boot that is neatly integrated without looking like too much of an afterthought. It is better executed than the Dzire but the Amaze does look more proportional. Integrating the boot while not compromising on rear headroom was the biggest challenge in the design, says Bose.
When I first saw the Bolt/Zest prior to the Auto Expo, I commented that it still looked like an Indica. Bose was at pains to explain that the family link was deliberate, that the Zest had to look like a Tata car and not go completely overboard in another design direction. Considering that, and the maturity and modernity that has been wrought to the styling, it does look like a job well executed.
And, oh, the ungainly wheelarch gaps of yore have gone.
What else?
The interiors are completely new and the dials have moved back to behind the steering wheel. So we were not wrong when we heavily criticised the speedo and tacho sitting on top of the centre console when we first drove the Indica Vista.
It is all part of the engineers’ push to make the Zest more driver focused. So the steering wheel is now a smaller 360mm in diameter, the seats have more bolstering, the driving position is better (though there is still no dead pedal) and all the touch and feel points have been worked upon. Crucially, quality is massively improved and we had to poke around the bottom of the centre console to find an inappropriate panel gap. I wouldn’t go so far as to term the material finishes as “incredible” (particularly since the finish on the steering wheel is too coarse and rough to the touch) but you won’t have cause to complain and with the dual tone colours, piano black surround for the centre console and neatly integrated infotainment screen, it does look more upmarket than the Amaze.
The rational qualities of the Indica haven’t been messed with and space inside the cabin is fantastic — best-in-class both in roominess and comfort.
And then there’s the third pillar of Tata Motors’ revival strategy — connectivity. The infotainment system developed by Harman is almost as feature-rich as BMW’s iDrive or Audi’s MMI. Of course, there’s no iDrive controller, but the main menu buttons are neatly clustered around the screen and it is intuitive and quick to use — pairing the phone via Bluetooth was done quickly and without having to run through a plethora of menus. On the functionality front, there’s everything: Bluetooth audio streaming, parking sensors, voice control for audio tracks and aircon temperature (though the voice commands have to be in a specific format), audio readout for text messages and you can even reject calls with an SMS. There is no navigation for now but that, I suspect, is just a matter of adding a module into this system.
How quick?
Tata Motors isn’t shy of admitting that they had barely any play in small petrol engines and that’s what the Revotron engine family will address. First off the blocks is this — the 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol that makes 88.8bhp of power and 140Nm of torque from 1750 to 3500rpm. Keen petrol heads will notice that the power has gone up from the 84bhp announced at the Auto Expo, which is in response to customer clinics, but wouldn’t it have been nicer to have a full 100bhp?
The engine architecture is based on the old 1.2-litre Tata Motors petrol engine with similar bore and stroke but is so heavily revised that it deserves a new engine code. A cast iron block is used to maintain NVH levels (it’s harder to get good NVH in aluminium blocks though most modern engines do have it as there is a big weight saving) while the head is aluminium. The big talking point is the multiple modes for the ECU, done in partnership with Bosch, and endorsed by Narain Karthikeyan in those huge newspaper ads. Start the car and it defaults to City mode, that is claimed to be an ideal balance between efficiency and performance. In Eco mode, the throttle pedal responses are deadened, torque is knocked down to 100Nm and power dialed back to 63PS for the best efficiency — how much Tata Motors isn’t saying right now. And in Sport mode, you get the full 88.8bhp and 140Nm, though we suspect fuel efficiency will take a beating. We got 9.1kmpl on our drive (which, admittedly, was all pedal to metal) and that reminds me why many Japanese engineers are averse to turbo-charging — because turbo engines give great efficiency while cruising on highways but if not driven well in the city, can be very heavy on gas.
To highlight the Revotron engine the hood even has a slight power bulge that is a design element that kept getting mentioned in the technical presentation. Does it all make the Zest a fire cracker? No. Compared to other cars in its segment, the Dzire for instance, it is quicker and will do 0–100kmph in under 16 seconds. More importantly, it has better drivability and mid-range poke. But then again the Dzire’s 1.2 is naturally aspirated, so it isn’t an apples to apples comparison. Compared with the turbo-petrols currently available — the Polo TSI’s 1.2 and the EcoSport’s 1.0 EcoBoost — the Revotron clearly lacks the zing and fizz to plaster a stupid grin on your face when you cane it. There’s no turbo lag to speak of but neither is there a turbo wastegate whoosh when you lift off; in fact, there’s a supercharger-like whine when the engine is revved, which should have been dialed out. The Revotron also has a strangely heavy flywheel effect that engineers called runaway — basically you lift off the throttle and the revs linger for a fraction before dropping. And when you flat shift from first to second the revs die for a fraction before picking up — all things you don’t want from a sporty engine.
The gearbox is a five-speed unit that is heavily revised from what was in the earlier Indica with new ratios and a much better shift action. It still isn’t, to use that terrible cliché, hot-knife-through-butter slick and does feel a tad notchy compared to the Japanese ‘boxes. No AMT on the petrol for now; we suspect that has been saved for the mid-cycle refresh.
And the all-important diesel?
This is the familiar 1.3-litre Multijet made by Fiat but with revised calibration and noticeable improvements in NVH. It puts out 88.8bhp thanks to a VGT turbo and makes 200Nm of torque from 1750–3000rpm. This engine is mated to an Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) developed with Fiat and their supplier Magnetti Marelli (which also supplies the AMT for the Celerio). And on the road, this engine-tranny package is even more impressive than the Revotron, feeling almost as quick, refined and more torquey too. AMTs will never have the refinement of a normal automatic but that’s okay when you consider that the fuel efficiency is almost on par with a manual, and the price is not that much more. It’s an ideal solution to our conditions and requirements and if you can time a slight lift of the throttle during upshifts, the shifts can be almost as smooth as a slush box.
This AMT even has a sport mode that delivers quicker up- and downshifts and is particularly enjoyable to use. Unless Tata Motors goes completely wrong with the pricing (which is rather unlikely) the diesel AMT Zest will thoroughly shake up the segment.
Braking is via discs up front and drums at the rear, mated to 9th generation Bosch ABS that also has functions such as cornering stability control and engine drag torque control, but no ESP. Braking was strong and fade free, and ABS did not kick in too early in the wet, but pedal feel is disappointingly spongy.
Fun to drive?
It begs repeating — Tata Motors went all out to make the Zest a more involving car to drive. Along with design and connectivity, driving pleasure is one of the three pillars of this new car and is a marked departure from the past, where Tata cars were lovely to be driven in but not much fun behind the wheel. To that extent, a slew of upgrades have been made to the chassis and big-name engineering consultants brought on board to upgrade the driving experience, like UK-based Randall that cured the steering wheel wobble at high speeds via the zero pivot subframe. The electric power steering is all-new with an active return function and 98 per cent auto-returnability. The dampers are dual path shock absorbers with soft mounts to aid secondary ride. And torsional rigidity has gone up.
Proof of the pudding is in the eating though. We hit the Goan roads at 7 in the morning on a wet monsoon day and immediately the driving position felt right, the steering well weighted, the clutch light and precise and gears slotted in nice and easy. Over the first speedbreaker you feel far less that you expect and then as you hit a few potholes, you realize that while the ride quality is fantastic, it doesn’t result in pitch and wallow in the suspension. Stability at speed is very good and you can really carry good pace over all kinds of roads.
The handling is well tied down and there is good front-end bite. But push it hard and there’s significant body roll, the 15-inch tyres squeal heavily as it descends into an armful of understeer and you wish the steering delivered more feel and feedback. Despite a Sport mode this is not a sporty car to drive, but it does strike a fine balance between ride and handling.
Easy on the pocket?
Should be! Prices haven’t been announced but expect it to undercut the competition. And then there’s the USP of the AMT transmission mated to the diesel engine that will be both efficient and hassle free. A winning combination, if you ask me.
Competition check
Not lacking for competition is this segment. There’s the Swift Dzire, the market leader with typically sweet and efficient engines, a fun-to-drive chassis, great interiors, unimpeachable quality and reliability and that vast service network. Honda is a big player here with the Amaze that has even better space (but a so-so dash), that all-important (though a tad noisy) diesel and that Honda badge. And the newest entrant — Hyundai with the Xcent that takes all the attributes that makes the Grand i10 such a success and slaps a boot on it.
It’s not going to be easy, especially getting over the (lack of) quality perception, but what The Zest clearly has going for it is space, comfort, nice interiors, good engines, value for money (we hope!) and, lest you’ve forgotten, a diesel that shifts gears on its own.
TOD rating
4.0/5
Safe to say that Tata Motors’ health and share price hinges heavily on the Zest. Tata hasn’t had a block buster in years, not since the Nano was first launched. But the Zest and the Bolt that will follow in quick succession, do point to a strong revival for the manufacturer that, we must note, was the first to give us a car with the space of an Ambassador in the footprint of a Zen.
In the larger scheme of things, the Zest does point to far better cars from Tata Motors’ stables. The Bolt hatchback being one, of course. Early next year, we’ll see the production version of the Nexon compact SUV shown at the Auto Expo that will be even more stylish, and hopefully even better to drive. And isn’t it high time for an all-new Safari? Lets hope long-term quality and reliability have been addressed, because the Zest can now hold its own against established rivals.
