Long Term Review - Third Report

Our humble long term Tiago has been munching up miles ever since it’s gotten into our fleet. We’ve clocked over 2510km with it till date. Now with the majority of our last review covering its city repertoires, we decided to put it through the test of long distances for this review. We give you the gist..

We begin with what we liked..

Well-moderated springs and dampers, along with large profile tyres translate into a very flat ride on the highway. Even large undulations are overcome with only minimal shocks filtering through. The suspension goes about its duties without any noises whatsoever.

We tested the navigation function on the Harman music system. This requires you to download the Connectnext app on your smartphone. Once your phone is connected to the system through Bluetooth, voice directions from your Maps app is routed through the cars eight speakers.

Despite there being a reasonable amount of clatter that can be heard on the outside, decent insulation filters the majority of it from being audible in the cabin. Occupants can only hear the engine when it is revved to the limit.

Rear wipers kick into action as soon as the reverse gear is activated. Of course this happens when the front wipers are already activated, but it is really a nice touch.

A weekend family holiday trip was on the cards, so I loaded the boot with three brimmed backpacks and two medium-sized suitcases. With three adults and two children on board, it is appreciable that only a marginal drop in power was noted. All occupants had only nice things to say about the space and cabin-time spent in the Tiago.

And then to what we didn’t like..

Even though the steering is light and predictable overall, it does have some slack around the straight ahead position. This means that there’s a tendency for it to feel numb around the dead centre when the car picks up speed.

Furthermore, the absence of an external boot release button can bring some inconvenience. We also noticed that the boot lid needs more than usual force to have it shut, every time. At least two tries are required to get the boot shut.

With the onset of the monsoon season, the wipers have become the most important feature for me. However, a flimsy mechanical noise from the wiping operation at any speed over ‘intermediate’ has restricted me from using its entire potential.

Silly as it sounds, especially on a new car. One of the fog lamps is decidedly dimmer than the other one. At a time when the car maker is working hard to make their product attract attention, these aspects give away the wrong impression.

With a few shoots lined up outside Navi Mumbai, the little Tiago, had loads of chores to accomplish. On a lighter note, our Tiago had its hands full while playing catch up with the Audi R8 on a shoot errand! That same day our photographer: Kapil, shot the Kite5 alongside the R8, while driving from the open boot of our long term Tiago. We have spent some quality time in this hatch. In the end, all I can say is that it has the competence to make it big.

Now time for some of our stats..

Date acquired: 19th May 2016

Odometer reading when acquired: 540km

Current odometer reading: 3050km

Fuel efficiency: 15.48kmpl (City), 18.27kmpl (Highway)

Pictures: Kapil Angane and Santosh Nair

Long Term Review - First Report

Long Term Review - Second Report

Tata Tiago Road Test