In the above pic is the Tata indica made by an Indian company called tata motors. It is the first passenger car from Tata Motors and is also considered India's first indigenously developed passenger car. As of August 2008, more than 910,000 Indicas were produced. The annual sales of Indica has been as high as 144,690 units in 2006-07 .Current monthly sales of Indica is around 8000 units. In India, this car is very cheap in cost and is usually used as a taxi. Because of the poor maintainance of all taxis including indica taxis, the image of the indica has spoilt. Everybody call it 'dabba'. The non turbo 1.4 litre indica diesel pumps out 53 bhp of power and 85nm of torque. The turbocharged intercooled 1.4 litre indica diesel produces 68 bhp of power and 130nm of torque while the 1.4 litre indica dicor (common rail diesel) produces 70 bhp of power and 140 nm of torque. The 1.4 litre indica petrol produces 74 bhp of power and 110nm of torque while the 1.4 litre carborated indica petrol produces 60 bhp of power and 105nm of torque. The 1.4 litre indica xeta (petrol) produced 70 bhp of power and 122nm of torque and the 1.2 litre indica xeta(petrol) produces 68 bhp of power and 105 nm of torque. Tata motors are manufacturing tata indica since last 10 years. Tata indica vista has 4 engines. Out of them, SAFIRE(petrol 65HP and 90HP) and QUADRAJET (diesel) are fiat engines and TDI is the indian engine. There are two engines of Safire. The first produces 65 bhp of power and 96nm of torque while the second produces 89 bhp and 115 nm of torque and the quadrajet produces 75 bhp of power and 190nm of torque. (Power and torque of the tdi is given above). Some basic accesories of indica are:
Power steering
HVAC - Heater, ventilation, and air conditioning
Turbocharger and intercooler
Alloy wheels
Power windows
Central locking with remote key-less entry
Ventilated disc brakes
4 spoke steering wheel
Tinted windshields
Powerful fog lamps
Rear spoiler with integrated LED stop lamp (only on petrol versions)
Luxurious beige/black interiors
Night adjust rear view mirror
Chrome tip on silencer
chrome lining on grill and bonnet
Audio warnings—driver/passenger seat belt warning
door open warning
Tachometer (selected models)
child lock on rear doors (selected models)
alloy pedals
Tata indica was also sold in England and is still on sale in South Africa and Spain. The England spec Indica was named as City Rover.It produced 86 bhp of power. Here are the variants of the City Rover.
The tata indica was launched on 31-12-1998 in India in diesel and petrol variants. The cost of the base model of the Indica was 2.9 lakhs. The top model had 5 spoke steering wheel,body colored bumbers,power steering air conditioning system and electric windows. After the launch of the tata indica, tata motors recieved 1,15,000 bookings in the first week. The styling of the car was excellent at that time. It was designed it Italy. But because of the poor quality parts used in this car, it was not reliable. It gave lot of mechanical problems in the car. At that period, tata motors used to get a number of complaints of the indica. All the customers were tired of those problems. Here is the list of problems in the Indica V1-
1) Quality of bumbers, dashboard, suspension, gearshift, electricals, etc. was not good.
2) Indica diesel lacked performance.
3) The 1.4 litre 53 bhp engine was underpowered because the car was too heavy.
4) Steering height and pedals were placed akwardly.
5) Build quality was average.
6) Refinement levels were low.
Due to such problems, tata motors decided to launch an improved indica. So, they launched the improved indica called as indica V2. The diesel indica V2 was much better than the previous generation indica. Better quality parts were used in the indica V2. With this, tata motors stopped manufacturing carborated indica petrol and launched mpfi petrol indica and it was named as Indica 2000. The fuel economy of Indica 2000 was not good. So to improve the fuel economy of the car, tata motors launched the indica with a software which improved indica's fuel economy. After a few months, tata motors improved the handling and provided boosted brakes for the indica. In 2004, tata motors launched an indica with a nice face lift (the first picture on the web page) with clearlens headlamps and taillamps and some plastic cladding on the sides of the car. There was a minor face lift even in the interiors. Instrumentation was changed completely Bootlamp was added. Fog lamps were also added. After number of improvements in the indica petrol, tata motorsplanned to lauch an indica diesel with a turbocharged intercooled engine. So, tata motors lauched a turbocharged diesel indica with a new racy red color in 2005. It had 'turbo' badge on the boot. All the customers were happy with it. After, abot one and a half year, tata motors lauched the new indica xeta (petrol) with the same 1.4 litre petrol engine but with lowered power and increased torque. It had better paint finish quality. It offered with beige interiors. It had the 'XETA' badge on the boot. It was launched in GLE, GLS, GLX and GLG variants. Even the indica diesel was available in the GLG varient. In 2007, tata indica was launched with a minor face - lift. Design of headlights and tailights was changed. Design of front bumper was changed. On the GLX varient, fog lamps were available. In the early 2008, indica dicor was launched (common rail diesel injection). It is the fastest indica ever launched. It has 'DiCOR' badge on the boot. Later, ABS and airbags was also an option added for the indica.
On 23-8-2008, the indica vista was launched. It is much bigger than the normal indica. The driving position is fully adjustable. This car is famous in India because of it's fiat engines. This is one of the luxirious hatches in India. Even this car is sold in England. In 2009, the tata indica crossed 10 years from the date of launch. So, it had lauched the limited edition indica vista which had new alloys, black roof and all golden coloured badges. After a few months, they even changed this variant and they added a golden colour with new upholstery with the same black roof.Now tata has also lauched the aura+ variant with the abs and airbags in 2010 and has also launched the tata indica vista drivetech4/euro 4 emissions norms. The electric tata indica vista known as the 'EV' is now also sold in spain and has received more than 500 orders in a very short period.
1.Supension gets clunky over bumps sometimes.
2.Pedals are a bit akwardly placed.
3.Air con takes a long time to cool the car when parked in bright sunlight.
4.Not very exciting to drive.
5.Interior quality needs to be upgraded.
Electric versions of the Indica (the Indica Vista EV) is scheduled to be launched in India in 2011. The electric will be based on the Indica Vista. Electrovaya’s batteries are expected to give 120 miles (190 km) on a single charge is undergoing testing. The electric version will utilize Lithium ion batteries for higher power. Once charged, the car can travel up to 200 kilometers. The car has started roll out in the end of 2008 and in Spain in 2010-08-15. The company has indicated that the electric Indica would be launched locally in India in about 2010, without disclosing the price. The vehicle would be launched in Norway in 2009 and also would go on sale in continental Europe and the UK. In 2009, the UK's government (Business Secretary Lord Mandelson) has announced a £10 (€11.09) million loan to Tata to support the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the UK. Tata Motors' UK subsidiary, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, has bought a 50.3% holding in electric vehicle technology firm Miljø Grenland/Innovasjon of Norway for US$1.93 M, which specialises in the development of innovative solutions for electric vehicles, and plans to launch the electric Indica hatchback in Europe in 2010. Electrovaya is partnering with Tata Motors and Miljø Grenland/Innovasjon to manufacture batteries and electric cars using Electrovaya’s Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology. It is expected to have a 200 km (120 miles) range on a full charge and a top speed of 105 kilometres per hour (65 mph). With 0 to 60 km/h in less than 10 seconds. To achieve this, TM4 Electrodynamic systems (a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec) provides an efficient MФTIVETM series electric motor. The Tata Indica Vista EV was withdrawn from the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, in the third round of four.
Tata has now launched a new version of the indica vista. This gets a 90 BHP safire engine from Fiat. This makes the car very powerful and has a drastically improved driveability. Overtaking on the highways is a breeze. When past 3000rpm, the exhaust note is quite pleasing! This car has a soft suspension setup with a comfortable ride quality and its the most spacious hatch in this segment in India. The handling is not suited for serious enthusiasts. It has lots of body roll but its quite safe but not sporty. Wider tyres may help in improving the handling. Gearshift quality has improved a lot and is much smoother than the old vista. The light clutch makes the car feel zippy. The Vista gets 14" alloys of those like the limited edition version. The interiors welcome you to sit inside the car. Quality and fit and finish has improved a lot by Tata standards compared to the previous versions but still not upto the mark. It has a totally new upholstery of black-yellow combination and nice instrumentation with bright light which is easy to read on the move and looks attractive. Boot space remains the same and 60:40 split rear seat is quite practical. The car gets new ocean-like blue and maroon colour. Top end variant gets ABS+EBD, driver and passenger airbag, keyless entry.