Long Term Report 3

It has been a hectic few months and during so much of running around, our Tata Tiago Revotron XZ has stayed a constant companion through all our quests and editorial chores. Be it during those early morning and late afternoon shoots or even a motor sports period that we went through in March, it has delivered without much fuss. However, there have been some issues, which we shall address before going on to the good things that the car has shown us.

Two months after the car arrived in our garage, we found that the airbox for the air-conditioner had jammed up and the AC was pretty much functioning as a fan. While this was not an issue during the ‘cold’ winter months of Mumbai, we immediately sent off the car to Tata to rectify the issue in anticipation of summer which would set in post February.

As the odometer approaches the famed 10,000km mark, there were small rattles around the cabin. We had told you earlier that the right ORVM was slightly loose and now with further usage, the issue has become a bit more serious and eventually the entire mirror unit will need to be replaced. Finally, an extensive weekend of covering Valley Run 2017 saw the black and carpet-less interiors achieve a shade of light beige.

Now that we have got the negatives out of the way, here are some of the positives that have come out of the last few months with this little petrol hatchback. The rectifying of the AC issue has definitely improved cooling all around and this was a boon to us out on the highway where the sun bore down pretty strongly upon us despite the cooler temperatures.

One aspect where the Tiago has managed to score quite well in our books is the fun-to-drive factor.

Doing long city commutes have today become a big hassle, but this eased up quite a bit in the Tiago thanks to its diminutive proportions and zippy low-end response. The 1.2-litre petrol motor might only produce 83bhp and 114Nm but that is more than enough to have fun with the car. The gearbox is light and easy to use but tends to not sync properly for reverse gear prompting you to switch to neutral and then switch to reverse. It’s a problem that gets compounded when space is tight, traffic is impatient and usually stopped well inside your comfort zone. We hope that this will get addressed once the car goes for its first service.

On a lighter note, our Tiago, if you have seen by now has been painted in a shade of bright orange. Now having such a bright shade means you stand out pretty much everywhere and given that it’s a good looking car, the combination is surely an uplifting sight even on the most tiring days.

Tight schedules and heavy list of to-do tasks over the last few months has meant that the Tiago has not really had a chance to stretch its legs, something which we plan to address in our remaining time with the car. A lengthy road trip will give us an idea of this Spanish named hatchback’s highway manners, ability to swallow luggage, practicality and overall comfort factor when it comes to carting five people over long distances.

Vehicle stats

Variant- Revotron XZ

Odo reading- 9872

Negatives- small rattles and loose right front ORVM

Positives of the report- ease of use in city, AC now back to full strength

Fuel efficiency- 14kmpl

Photos: Kapil Angane & Omkar Thakur

Tata Tiago Road Test