New Tata Vista review: Business Line

New Tata Vista Refresh

The Tata Indica has evolved over the years to become what it is today. The Vista that was born in 2008 was a better car, but the new Indica Vista introduced earlier this year is a big step in the right direction. Compared to the predecessor, the changes to the new one finally arms it to take on the others in the premium hatch category.

The Design

The changes to the all new Vista are very evident, though the design is all-together very familiar. It is a classic example of what the right choice of trim can do a car's appeal. Inherently, the design lines are all carry forwards, but within that the changes help the new Indica Vista bloom and suddenly there is a lot of premiumness that radiates from the car.

At the front of the new Vista, the elongated, semi-circular headlamps now feature the same three-barrelled reflector design that the Tata Manza has. In fact, there are more borrowings from the Manza like the chrome-lipped, four-slatted bonnet grille. There are a lot of chrome elements all around, re-confirming that we Indians are still madly in love with this finish. The grille is entirely coated with chrome and there are chrome strips on the front bumper, the door protection rub-strips, on the door handles and surrounding the front fog lamps. At the rear, the most prominent new addition in the Indica Vista is a new black, mirror-polished tailgate garnish at the bottom of the rear glass. An intelligent rear wiper and demister and some minor alterations to the rear bumper are the other changes at the rear.

The shut lines in the new Indica Vista are tight as was the case with the predecessor too. Panel gaps are uniform and well within limits that are found amongst similar cars in the segment. Quality of materials used and the overall finish quality of the features in the new Vista take the exterior appeal to a new level never seen before in an Indica.

The Interiors

Step in and you will find the same goes for the interior of the new Indica Vista too. There is sea change in the quality of the interior, with much of the change evident in just the quality of the material used, for example in the dashboard plastic, the plusher seat fabric and the knobs and controls.

Steering mounted audio controls, under seat tray, electrically adjustable door mirrors, height adjustable driver's seat and an illuminated key-hole ring to make it easy to find in the dark are some of the features in the new Indica Vista.

The interior also gets soft-finished dashboard plastic and a new Sahara Beige and Ebony Black dual-tone colour theme. The instrument cluster continues to be centrally located on top of the centre stack on the dash. Previous users will be familiar and possibly even like the location of the dials, but new buyers might take a while to get used to it.

Electric HVAC controls and nicely shaped and bolstered seats were a treat in the new Vista. Rear seat comfort, including the shoulder space and legroom are still excellent compared to many cars in this segment. Safety also gets a leg up in the new Vista with dual front airbags and ABS with EBD being available in the top variants. Keyless entry and an engine immobiliser are the other additions.

The Drive

On the road, the new Indica Vista seems to behave with new found confidence. There is no hesitancy or delay in braking and at first the reasons are not apparent as much as the feeling of strength is. The previous Vista also felt like a lumbering hulk, with the power train sounding like it was straining hard to pull the car away quickly. The effect was very similar when you tried to stop in a hurry, with the car lurching and coming to a stop after a nose dive. But this is almost gone in the new Vista.

The change agents here are the larger brake booster and the much improved clutch. Braking performance has clearly improved and the new clutch that keeps the same power trains engaged has contributed significantly to improving the drivability of the new Vista.

More progressive in response, pliant during use and quick to engage, the new clutch in the Vista managed to leave me with a happy left foot. There is still room for improvement though.

I test drove the new Indica Vista Quadrajet, fitted with the same 4-cylinder, common rail diesel engine that is also offered with the Fiat Punto, Suzuki Swift DDiS and a couple of other cars from the three brands.

Developing a peak output of 75 PS and peak torque of 190Nm, this engine, like the other three on offer – the Safire 65 and Safire 90 petrol mills and the other Tata turbocharged intercooled TDI diesel engine – felt the same. All the engines have been carried forward and offer the same intrinsic performance.

The clutch has made the difference and changed the way the new Vista feels to drive. It is clearly more oriented towards its target audience – individual buyers. In cabin noise levels are also lower in the new Vista, though again there is room for further improvement.

Talking about comfort, Tata engineers also seem to have reworked the suspension of the new Vista, making it more pliant and softer. The ride quality is more accommodating over bad roads and there is a lot of that now after the monsoon. The ride is not exactly wallowy, but there is a lot that gets soaked up and only some really big potholes leave the Vista ruffled. However, some of the retuning to the suspension has meant that the driving dynamics have had to be compromised.

I felt a lot of body roll when I tested the new Vista on windy roads, quick overtakes and through tight corners, but it doesn't interfere much during city driving.

The new Indica Vista's claimed fuel efficiency continues to be 22.3 kmpl for the Quadrajet and 19.4 kmpl for the TDI (which is a BS3 version only) and for the petrol engines - Safire65 it is 16.7 kmpl and 13.7 kmpl for the Safire90.

Armed to be as loaded as, yet priced just lower than the Suzuki Swift, the new Tata Indica Vista wants to be seen as the better car. Surely, there is a lot going for it in the car itself. This new version just could be the image changer.

Source: The Hindu

New Tata Vista Test Drive and Review by Team-BHP

The Tata Indica Vista Refresh has been launched in India at a price of between Rs. 3.88 - 6.11 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

What you’ll like:

• Variety of engine options (Tdi, Quadrajet, Safire65, Safire90). Take your pick!
• Well-equipped from the second variant & over
• New interiors look and feel much better in terms of overall quality
• Improved gearbox, light clutch and light steering make for effortless city driving
• Spacious interiors. Roomiest in the segment; beats some sedans from 2 segments up
• Absorbent, comfortable ride quality


What you won’t:

• Fit and finish need improvement. Exterior panel gaps are inconsistent too
• Soft suspension setup. Best driven sedately
• Centrally-mounted instrument cluster takes some getting used to
• Niggling issues & irritants persist (as reported by existing Vista owners)
• Tata’s after-sales-service remains a gamble

This report will only focus on the changes vis-à-vis the older Vista.

The Exterior Changes:

The black strip appliqué improves the look of an otherwise bland rear

New headlamp cluster, straight from the Manza

New grille & larger logo on a mesh-net background

Fog-lamps also get a chrome contour

175/65 R14 tyres on dual-tone alloy wheels, standard on the GZX / ZX

Chrome garnish on window sills, door handles and rub-rails

Spacing between the letters of the TATA logo has increased

Expectedly, with the new branding, the Indica badge gets smaller now

Dark outline of the tail-lights matches the black strip nicely

The Interior Changes:

New dual-tone interior looks & feels good. Steering-mounted audio and bluetooth controls

New electric switches replace the regular sliders for HVAC air-circulation modes. Only on the top variant

Integrated audio system with Blue5 standard from the second variant (GLX / LX) onward

2-way adjustable lumbar support

Summary:

Tata Motors has usually provided their cars with minor / major modifications through the product life cycle, timed perfectly with intensifying competition. The Indica Vista has had a reasonable market run, thanks to the variety of engines that the hatchback is offered with. Still, too-similar-for-comfort looks to the 1st generation Indica, and the Indica branding, have kept high volumes away. With impending launches in the B-segment space (new Swift, Liva diesel, Brio etc.), Tata decided to give the Vista some enhancements, and boy they have played it well. Unlike Maruti which refreshes their cars by replacing frosted lamps with crystal clear ones and re-launches it (we buy them too!) as an "all-new" car, the engineers at Tata Motors actually seem to have put far greater effort into the revamp process.

Click on image to expand it

 The most significant change is the Manza look-alike front end. Although Tata engineers say that it was a design change due to the market response, I personally think that the Vista and Manza should have gotten the same front end from the time of launch itself; just like the last generation Indica and Indigo. Changes on the Vista’s face include triple-barrel headlamps, a new grille with a larger company logo over a mesh-net background and a new bumper with fog-lamps. The rear end has also been slightly played around with. A glossy, hard plastic black strip runs under the rear windscreen. At first glance, this strip looks delicate & brittle, but it actually isn’t. The tail-lights have been subtly smoked, providing a dark outline which goes well with the black plastic strip. The Indian customer loves chrome and Tata knows this well. Chrome runs all over the body of the face-lift Vista, including the bumpers, door rub-rails, door handles, window sills and fog light contours. Even though there is an ample amount of chrome usage, it does not look ostentatious. The top-end variant gets 14 inch, multi-spoke dual-tone alloy wheels. All these exterior changes make the Vista look that much more mature.

Tata has shelved the older variant badges of Terra, Aqua, Aura and Aura +. These have been replaced with LS, LX, VX and ZX for the diesel models, and GLS, GLX, GVX and GZX for the petrol cars.

On the technical side, there have been some changes too, albeit they are barely noticeable. The available engine options remain the same. All test cars in this case had the Quadrajet diesel engine that produces 73.5 BHP @ 4000 rpm & 190 Nm of torque starting at 1,750 rpm. The engine remains immensely sluggish upto 2000 rpm, at which point the turbo kicks in. For a family hatch-back, the diesel Vista has decent sprinting ability, thanks to the Fiat 1.3L engine. The car comfortably cruises at triple digit speeds, keeping itself stable all the time. On the flip side, the high turbo-lag negatively affects city driveability. The rack & pinion steering (which was light to begin with) has been worked upon to provide an even lighter steering feel. The rear suspension springs have been slightly tuned to provide a softer ride.

There are some improvements on the inside too. The top two variants get electric HVAC (in simpler words, this means that instead of a regular slider for the air-circulation, there are two switches performing exactly the task), adjustable lumbar support and "intelligent" rear wiper (which activates as soon as you put the car in reverse gear + when the front wipers are on) and tilt-steering. What comes as a nice surprise is that Tata now offers a 2 DIN Music System with FM / MP3/ CD with 4-speakers and 2 tweeters, AUX and USB port, Blue5 Bluetooth Connectivity, steering mounted audio-controls and keyless entry right from the LX / GLX variants. Definitely, a first in its class! The top variant ZX / GZX get driver and passenger airbags, ABS with EBD (also available in the VX / GVX) and 14 inch alloys wheels.

Two important things that I think Tata Motors should have added are a dead pedal and height adjustable seat belts. Secondly, the lumbar support just doesn't make the cut, and lacks the expected support to your lower back.

Source: Team-BHP Official Car Reviews
 

Video Reviews of new Tata Vista

Below are the few video reviews of new Tata Vista - Sedan Class.

1. Firstly check the review by Bala GT from Sulekha.com

2. Check the new Tata Vista review by Bunny Punia from Gaadi.com

3. Now check the new Tata Vista Review by Rachit Hirani from Carwale.com

4. Lastly check the video review by Rohit Paradkar from Oncars.in

New Tata Vista Vx Video Review: DwsAuto

If you have never liked the Vista, you are about to change your mind! Well, its possible. The new Vista is vastly improved from its ancestor, with much improved ride and handling and a choice of two petrol and two diesel engines. In fact, this car is so value for money and feature-rich that you might be willing to consider it even if your mind is set on cars like the Swift or i20. Watch the video for a full review of the just launched Tata Indica Vista VX.

2012 Tata Indica Vista Test Drive Review : MotorBeam

 

Tata Motors unveiled the Indica Vista for the first time at the 2008 Auto Expo. Since then, alot has changed and new competitors have emerged in the competitive hatchback segment. The Vista has received a much needed facelift to keep it fresh amongst new rivals. The company has not done drastic changes on the Indica Vista, but subtle ones, which have been done after factoring in feedback from existing customers. With the new India Vista, Tata Motors’ expects sales to rise by 20-22% and feels that the LX and VX variant will be the most popular one. With 4 engines on offer across 4 variants, we find out if the Vista is a worthy hatchback amongst global alternatives.

Exteriors 

One look at the new Indica Vista and you immediately realize the generous addition of chrome on the car. The front is very reminiscent of the Indigo Manza and has been done intentionally. The company wants people to associate the Vista with the Manza, rather then with the Indica. The new three barrel headlamps and chrome grille go along well on the new Vista. Chrome has been added to the side as well, along with the addition of new 14-inch alloy wheels. The rear gets a pearl black finish strip, along with changes in font size for the TATA and Indica Vista logo. Overall, the design of the Indica Vista remains very similar to the old model, with slight changes to keep things looking fresh. The company is offering the new Vista with two new colours – yellow (from the Indica Sport at the Auto Expo) and blue.

Interiors  

Step inside the new Indica Vista and the first thing you realize is the sahara beige interiors. The doors too have been modified to be easy to open and close. The center console has been carried over from the Manza and the steering wheel now sports audio controls. Addition of features on the new Vista has been done to offer value to buyers and thus the new Vista now sports dual airbags, ABS, Blue 5 (BlueTooth system), electrically operated outside rear view mirrors, 2-way adjustable lumbar support and the likes. The good thing though is, that some of the features of the top end ZX model are being offered on the lower variants as well. For instance, the rear wiper is now called intelligent, because it automatically switches on (if the fronts are on), when you put the car in reverse.

The Indica Vista has excellent space and thus the company has given the new car the tagline – Sedan Class. Interior room is one of the best in the segment and the driver as well as co-passengers will have no issues in stretching out in the new Vista. However, this has led to a slightly compromise in boot space, which although is 232-liters, appears to be less due to the hump on both sides from the wheel arch. However, the rear seats have split folding function. Seats are comfortable and the quality has improved significantly. The switches feel a tad heavy to operate, while the buttons on the steering wheel are molded inside the steering, rather than on it, makes getting used to. The centrally mounted instrument cluster is not something we liked, and is quite distracting to say the least. Overall, one of the foremost reason for buying the Indica Vista would be the space it offers and it does it in abundance.


Ride, Handling and Braking 

Tata Motors’ engineers have improved the handling of the new Indica Vista. Earlier there was alot of body roll, but now the Vista corners with new found confidence. Steering feel too has improved significantly but high speed stability still remains alot to be desired from. Braking is good and the ABS works well. However the weight of the car becomes very apparent during braking. The company is working on reducing the weight of its cars in the near future. The foot well is very cramped and there is no dead pedal. Ride quality of the Indica has never been an issue and the new Vista continues with this trend. The suspension absorbs most bumps and rarely do you feel the terrible condition of our cratered roads.


Performance 

Tata Motors’ offers four engines on the new Vista range. The 1.2-liter Safire 65, 1.4-liter Safire 90, 1.4-liter TDi and 1.4-liter Quadrajet. Both the petrol engines are not segment leaders, neither in performance, nor in fuel economy. The 1.4-TDi is best opted for if your on a serious budget or want to run your car as a Taxi. We drove the new Vista with the Quadrajet engine and find it to be well suited for the car. Infact the Quadrajet motor is easily the engine of choice for the Vista and excels at its duty.

The Quadrajet (don’t be fooled by the name) is nothing but a 1.3-liter Fiat Multijet engine. Producing 75 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 190 Nm of torque at 1750-3000 RPM, the Quadrajet motor has very good performance and will easily revv to 5000 RPM should you please. Driving in the city is a breeze and the engine is tuned for driveabilty. Turbo lag has been minimized but not absent. The Indica Vista will easily do 150 kmph with this engine and returns a mileage of 22.3 kmpl (ARAI figures). The clutch is light and the gearbox is relatively smooth and easy to operate. NVH levels are very good and engine noise has been suppressed to quite an extent.

Conclusion 

Tata Motors has given the Vista a mild makeover to ensure it continues to sell decent numbers every month. The Vista had some minor niggling issues which seem to have been sorted now. This makes the new Vista easier to live with. Furthermore, the new Vista now gets new features which make it an attractive option for those who look at space and value for money. The quality has been improved as well and the rough edges of the old Vista have been addressed to a large extent. With prices set to be very competitive, the new Vista indeed offers more car per car. 

Whats Cool

* Space
* Value for money
* Features across variants
* Improvement in quality

Whats Not So Cool

* Petrol engines not the most fuel efficient
* High speed stability
* Centrally mounted instrument cluster

Source: 2012 Tata Indica Vista Test Drive Review

Tata Vista Refresh Review : Carwale

Introduction

 

Tata Motors has been expanding its current offerings and at the same time even giving facelift to its existing models. The Pimpri-based automaker launched the Aria 4x2 this month to fill in the price gap between the already existing Safari and the 4x4 version of the Aria. Now, they have facelifted the Vista gets a lot of gadgets from the Manza, giving it sedan-like features.

Highlights:

-The Vista is the only hatchback in the segment to get an in-dash music system and steering mounted audio controls across the range expect the base model. Other hatchbacks get this feature only in the top-of-the-line variant.

- Tata engineers claim that the clutch pedal is now lighter by 20% than before.

- The Vista will be available in six shades of which the Summer Sparkle and Brilliant Blue are new colours.

Looks & Interiors

 

The Vista now gets a Manza-like front grille as it sports the chrome grille with the triple barrel headlamps and the front fog lamps get chrome surrounds. A lot of chrome bits have been added to the side of the car, alloys and it now even comes with smoked tail-lamps.

 

On the inside, the Vista gets the dual black and Sahara beige interior shade, electric ORVMs and steering mounted audio controls. The quality of interiors on the Vista has been improved further and now it gets the soft-feel touch dashboard. The effort to open and close the doors has reduced, as the door handle and lever have become lighter than before.

Drive

 

  The Vista will be available with the same four powertrains and they remain untouched as Tata had recently upgraded them to meet the Bharat Stage IV norms. We drove the 1.3-litre Quadrajet engine. There’s not much to say about the Fiat powerplant – we simply love the engine! The turbo lag on the Indica Vista isn’t too much and the engine cleanly pulls from even low almost –walking speeds even in the second gear. Engineers at Tata have reduced the driving effort as the clutch and the steering wheel have become lighter reducing driver fatigue. 

 

The Vista has pretty good ride quality and Tata have really managed to get the Vista to ride even better well without compromising too much on the handling front. The suspension is well composed even broken tarmac road and as the suspension absorbs most of the road shocks. 

Verdict

Tata has gone about renaming its variants and included a lot of features in the lower variants. This will be the biggest advantage that Tata can boast of, as the second base model will come loaded with features like in-dash music system, steering mounted controls and Bluetooth, which are features normally made available in top-of-the-line variants of all the hatchback sold in India. So, with improved quality and addition of more frills makes the Vista even a better value for money hatchback that one can procure.

Features, Styling, space, ride quality

Resale value

Source: Tata Vista first drive : Hasta la Vista!