VERY GOOD CAR

IT IS A VERY GOOD CAR

In the beginning there was a dream. A dream by a man with the vision to give us Indians a car with the seating comfort of an Ambassador for five people and the running economy of an 800 at the price of a small car. This dream realized itself as the Indica. Then came the V2 with improvements, the Indicab, the turbodiesel, the DiCOR, and many more variants. All of a sudden, there were rumors of a new Indica and the spy photographers posted their finds on the web. India went crazy; after all, the Indica was the first car designed for Indians by an Indian company from the ground up. The new Indica was showcased at the Auto Expo in Delhi 2008, and everyone wanted to drive it. However, time passed and the hype died down. People found other cars to get excited about. Eight months after the Auto Expo, the Indica Vista has been launched and promises to upset more than a few apple-carts.

The Vista looks absolutely smashing at first glance, not just because were used to seeing old Indicas everywhere we look, but the paint quality is much better, the panel gaps are smaller, and the cars size lends it a little more character.

Tata has said that nothing except the smiling grille of the car has been carried over from the old Indica, and we believe them. The first thing that grabs your attention in the front are the large headlamps which make us think of the Peugeot 207 every time we look at them. Their front edge begins from a point just outside the registration plate edges and they sweep back over the wheel arch. Looked at head-on, they seem a little too large for the car. The new wipers have dual pivot points for the left blade, to help clean more glass area. The profile is very Palio-like, but with rounded corners. The wheel arches are flared ever so slightly, but even the optional 14-inch rims dont manage to fill them out well enough. The crease running along the door handles is a nice touch, but it is also prone to getting dinged in parking lots if someone opens a door against the car the rub strip may not save it. An interesting design element is the inclusion of the indicator at the rear of the base of the A-pillar. It helps keep the side of the car uncluttered. The rear of the car looks similar to the Indigo Marinas, largely due to its size and the bumper-to-roof tail-lamps. A large logo sits under the hatchs glass, and a continuation of the door-handle crease runs between the Telco logo and the Tata badge. The hatch itself feels light to shut, something that women will appreciate, along with the notch at the center of the bottom which you can use to pull the hatch down, instead of getting your hands dirty by holding the outside of the hatch.

The paint quality has improved by leaps and bounds weve seen the Vista in scarlet, blue and grey, and we prefer the blue the most, although the people from Tata tell us that the public prefers the scarlet version. Whatever the colour, the paint has a lot of depth to it. Some panel gaps remain inconsistent and the windscreen is curiously recessed, but its an enormous leap forward over the old Indica.

The old Indica has been many things to many people a first car for college-goers, a family car for those on a budget, even a taxicab for the people-movers. The Vista takes the Indica brand a notch higher but retains the qualities that made the Indica such a favorite with the masses good value for money, fuel efficiency, cheap spares and a wide after-sales network.

The old Indica had teething problems, but Tata has tested the Vista to eliminate the little issues that used to crop up over time. Theyve put their money where their mouth is with a 75000km/2-year warranty that can be extended by two more years. Says volumes about the manufacturers confidence in the product, doesnt it?