I have a tata indigo LX diesel model, without DICOR, bought in nov 2006. I paid 598000 for the vehicle. It has so far done 18800 km (as of Jan 12, 2008), of which about 12000 is on the highways.
MILEAGE:
I am very happy with the car. It gives me about 14 km per litre in bangalore city driving conditions (AC on 30% of the time), and about 17 km per litre on the highways. The best mileage I have got on highway is 19 km per litre on my ride from Bangalore to Coimbatore. The fuel tank of 42 litres mean I drive from Bangalore to Cochin without refuelling and with about 10 litres left in the tank. Very economical if you are driving with four folks.
I have been hearing folks report 17-18 km per litre in city conditions on the indigo. I think they are poets or arch-liars. Many folks have the habit of exaggerating the mileage they get. I did a study yesterday and found that from november 2006 to jan 2008, I have got a cumulative mileage of 15.08 km per litre. I derive this figure by doing a basic calculation - total distance driven by total amount of fuel consumed. I meticulously keep track of every single drop of fuel put into the car as well as other maintenance expenses encountered. Again, the above mileage figure is due to the fact that 50% or more driving has been on highways. IF I used the car to get to work everyday in Bangalore, this figure will surely go down.
Other stuff:
The huge boot is a big plus for me, since I carry a lot of stuff on my long drives. There is more than enough space for the luggage of four people.
The suspension is superb. You dont feel too much of the bumpy roads.
The fact that it does not have a ABS does not bother me much... I love the headlight adjustment feature to compensate for more weight in the rear of the car. LX comes with a standard fog lamp too.
The biggest bone of contention is the noise the diesel engine makes. The turbo diesel makes a fair amount of noise even on highway cruising. The noise level is the cabin is decidedly higher than the older tata indica DLS models without turbo.
The fact that the turbo gets turned on only after 2000 rpm makes city driving a little harsher. But it is only a question of getting used to. So if you are driving a diesel car for the first time, dont think you will be impressed.
The interiors are neat looking and does not feel of cheap plastic... All my friends who have been in the car has been impressed with the overall space, interior finish. Only put down was the engine noise. Though autocar claims it can go from 0 to 100 in 17.5 seconds, I have never tried any of those feats. 0-100 speed tests are something you would like to do on a rental car, not your "own" car! :) At any rate, 0-100kmph time is not even a factor for me when I consider buying a car. Those are figures to pep up the automotive journals - for under 20 somethings to read and drool on the acceleration of cars.
Most of my highway driving is between 90 and 110kmph. The steering feels adequate for me at all speeds. I really dont have a clue of what they mean by understeer and oversteer in some auto magazines.
I fill the front wheels with 34 psi and rear with 32 psi, higher than the company recommendation. First oil change was done at 7200 km.
Second oil change at 15800. They added some additives also, makes engine smooth. Cost 400 rs more than regular oil change.
*Issues faced:
*1)Front power windows malfunctioning. The rubber beading was not proper and hence glass would get stuck in between sometimes... Got fixed in two hours.
2)AC broke down after about 7000 km of running. Got fixed in less than a day.
3)AC drain pipe was not proper. Water used to leak very slightly inside the driver space, typically 2-3 drops in an hour when you drive. This was fixed by fitting a new pipe that leads the water under the car, instead of into the driver cabin!
4) Front wheel got punctured at exactly 10000km. It was not some nail in the road, but the appollo tube had a split where the rubber is joined together... seems like a poor quality tube to put in such a car.
*Dislikes:
*1. AC is too strong. Temperature adjustment in the Air conditioner does not work well - it seems to be "digitally motivated". It is either cold or hot, the latter never of any use in out tropical weather.
Feedback from friends:
1) Brake pedal too hard.
2) Clutch too hard.
3) Man, diesel car is tough to drive!!
4) Why did you buy a diesel car?
Other vehicles driven:
Although briefly, I have driven the Hyundai accent crdi and the Toyota Innova 2.5L V model. Both of them have very refined engines that cannot even be compared with the Tata Indigo diesel motor. However, the accent is at least 2 lakhs more costly and the Innova model I drove was 5 lakhs more costly.
I call my car lovingly as "the truck".
Also, the indica non-turbo model is a lot less noisier than the indigo on highways.
Snobs and their view:
The taxi cab issue is the major one - people dont want to buy a car used by cab folks. For me, that is precisely why I would buy a car - because it indicates the car is trouble free and easy to maintain. You dont see palios running as taxi on the road.
Indigo fortunately is not seen with that much revulsion, thankfully.
So if someone wants to buy a car and impresses the Joneses, keep away from any Tata car.
Safety:
Veeresh Malik, the automotive writer in Outlook money magazine, says tata cars are very safe and it seems they are the only manufacturer in India to have their own independent crash test facility. Of course, safety is not a big concern for most Indians, except the ones buying the D-segment cars. Just check with any dealer on the number of Swift ZXi models sold and you will know what I am talking about.
*MAINTENANCE COSTS:
*1st oil change and other minor changes: April 2007 - 1376 rs
2nd free service: 905 rs
3rd free service: oil change + rear mirror change + 2 wheel caps new: 3809 rs. Only the rear view mirror costs 1200 for the full assembly.
Currently odometer reads 18800 as on 12th Jan, 2008 ( 1 yr 2 months of use)
*MY VIEWS:
*I will update this page as time progresses. Will see how the indigo fares. I will update the section above on maintenance costs also.
Comments from indigo lovers and indigo haters are welcome!
