I got to know about Tata Tigor when i was researching for the first car of my life (you can definitely relate when you would have had the chance to buy your first car). There were not much compact sedans in the market, and I was not having a budget of buying a Compact SUV (I made sure not to take money from my family for this one, like I did for my Thunderbird). After taking test rides of the Dzire, Amaze, Polo and Aspire, I could find a mix-up of all the features, in the Tigor, and went ahead and booked one. It was almost just about a week when i got the delivery and I was damn excited to take it of a spin.
The car, as the name suggest, is definitely a styleback, and looks damn cool, specially from the rear. The front still reminds you of the old Tata cars, but I don't mind that since you believe it or not, Indica/Indigo actually used to be one of the world's most heavy duty durable cars (not in terms of comfort, but in terms of their life). I would rather breakdown the review in the Pros and Cons now (I am sure you already got bored and are about to move on to the next review...):
Let's start with the Pros first:
- Riding: I have driven a lot of cars, and trust me, you won't be disappointed when you drive this one. It undoubtedly has the best in class riding quality, thanks to Tata's superb suspension system. You rarely feel indian potholes and the irritating rumble strips installed almost at every corners of the roads.
- Handling: I used to drive Maruti Ciaz prior to this, now even though Ciaz is more of a premium car than the styleback, Tigor takes the lead in terms of handling as well. It has an amazing steering control with a low turning radius.
- Infotainment System: This one's definitely the best feature Tigor has. Just imagine an 8 speaker Harman Infotainment System in a compact sedan! Trust me when i say this, it has already been almost an year with Tigor, but i still haven't been able to test the full volume of the stereo system. It has a 5 inch touchscreen with reverse camera.
- Safety: Tata is know for its heavy duty care, and Tigor is no less an exception. Tigor weighs almost 1130kgs, which is almost 150kgs heavier than Dzire, which ensures a durable chassis and C-pillar and the dual airbags, ABS and EBD adds up to the safety.
- Price: It is certainly the most reasonable and fully loaded compact sedan you get under this budget. And with the facelift it recently got, the car even comes with a 7 inch Infotainment system with Android auto and Apple carplay support.
Here are the cons now:
- Mileage: Since the car is much heavier than it's competitors, the mileage is comparatively less. On highways, i have experienced mileage of almost 22-23, however, in city traffic, the car disappoints. I have seen an average of almost 10-12kmpl in city rides, which is definitely less than the what we expect from a sedan.
- Servicing and Maintenance: Although Tata has definitely improved exponentially in its after sales support, but there's still a great deal of scope of improvement. The service centers die for a good rating post service and do their level best in resolving your issues but in 3 services, I had to visit the service center almost 8 times, which in itself is an embarrassment.
Verdict - Tigor is definitely the best match of pricre, features, safety and comfort in the current Indian market. Hopefully Tata will improve their sales support with time, considering Harrier and 45X is in the making.