TATA Group's best so far in this segment; Competitors atleast try to catch up!

We recently (couple of months back) bought Tata (Indica) Vista Aura Safire model after quite a bit of search and research(!) and are extremely glad we did so. The car is elegant (makes everyone on the road turn towards it), has powerful and stylish headlamps, spacious (hats off to TATA motors for optimising the space inside without making it look like a giant from outside), smooth and noiseless (fantastic Fiat engine and great suspensions), loaded with features (AC, music System with CD/USB, power steering and all 4 power windows, steering wheel tilt, driver's seat height adjustment, rear wiper, 60:40 split rear seat, fog lamps, Immobiliser, spacious and lockable glove (rather Laptop) compartment, drawer tray below co-passenger's seat, mobile/laptop charging outlets at front and back, remote boot and fuel tank openers, large boot, manual ORVM mirrors, manual child-lock on rear doors, body colour bumpers, etc., etc. all for less than 4 Lakhs on road (how did you manage it Mr. Ratan Tata? You have made Vista really change everything including competitors' price line) and has a fantastic mileage on highway when driven mostly in 5th gear. To get equivalent features in competitor's models, one has to shell out close to a lakh or in some cases upto 2.5 lakhs more. The only features not provided in Vista are Airbags and ABS. The bonnet is pretty heavy and sturdy to give some protection.

Things to be improved are better finish rubber beading especially for front windscreen, a bit more sturdy bumpers, some more attention to interior plastic quality especially door levers for easy operation, etc.   

In city traffic it has excellent control and gives 13 to 14 km/ltr with AC on and on highway (driven only once by me for a distance of 250 kms) it gave 17.75 km/ltr again with AC on.

If it is really value for money, why aren't many Vistas on road even after one year of launch? I think it is because of "(Indica) Taxi syndrome". Many people seeing more indica (ordinary) taxis on road have a bias against that name for a family car. Taxis are driven harshly and not maintained well thereby end up with lots of dents and large emissions (both smoke and noise). This could amplify the bias against indica. Mr. Ratan Tata should have named it just TATA VISTA (like TATA NANO) and should not have named it Indica for, probably,  nostalgic reasons. Argument of having built on Indica platform is not exactly valid, as Vista is a far superior car (and costlier too) than ordinary indica in terms of engine quality, style, space, features, ....- Everything has changed for better in Vista from Indica while preserving the affordability and reliability factors.

If you do not suffer from any of the above mentioned bias go and get your Vista and make use of the low interest rates of SBI before Sep. 30. I case you can shell out more money, go for Tata Vista Aura Quadrajet, which was voted ahead of Swift, Ritz and Punto in "wharcar" magazine in July 2009 issue after detailed comparison. However, if you are biased and feel you can't drive a car with Indica written on it (as quite a lot of youngsters really do suffer from "Indica taxi" syndrome), shell out more money for same features and drive home some other brand. It is a choice between getting mentally cramped initially before buying the car or physically cramped always after buying and while driving.
Spacious, Loaded with features, Reasonable price, Fantastic Engine, Smooth and noiselessCan't take rough handling, Less fuel economy in city driving (no wonder no Vista taxis so far)