Tata Indica Xeta GLS BSIII Rocks!!!

Got delivery of my brand new Tata Indica Xeta GLS on 2nd Aug’08 and it was cavern grey in color & after the car was got from the stock yard and was getting cleaned, i observed that the paint from the rear door had chipped off, upon same dealer Prerna motors agreed to replace the entire door with the same model / color car and which they did the next day to my satisfaction. And now i was happy to plan my pleasure trip from Bangalore to waynad in Kerala & clocked my first 1000 kms.

I selected the GLs version since I did wanted power windows & rear demister. I did not select GLG since it was costing me around 30K more than GLs. as i did not have good feedback on power windows provided by Tata and moreover rear wiper/demister is of no good without a water spray option at the rear.

      
Before freezing on Xeta, i did consider cars like Swift, Wagon R, palio & Indigo CS, In case of swift there was a waiting period of 6 months, wagon R was costing 70K more with much lesser features, moreover its a 4 seater and a much lighter car, persobally prefer sturdy ones.yes palio was impressive but was coming at 5.20 lac which is 2 lacs more, which was not value for money. sme with the care of Indigo Cs Dicor and my family need does not demand a sedan as of now. did not want to pay up 2.5 lacs more for 100LTR of extra boot and diesel is not viable as my usage is 1000 KM PM.certainly in comparison with maruti, i would not want to pay a premium for the "brand" instead pay for the product.

         
In my first 1000kms, which was mainly on highway and ghat roads, Blore to Waynad and back with AC 50% of of times. The engine was surprisingly smooth with

almost no noise & best part it was extremely torquey, did not had to do frequent gear shifts even in ghat roads and car would pull off with ease in the third

gear with AC ON!! Trust me The AC is powerful and cools the cabin in no time.

         
Since i got my car registered on 2nd AUG i had to cough up 6K more as the road tax had gone up by 2.2% hence car costed me me around Rs. 3.20L on road

Bangalore. with discount of whopping 38K(30K as cash disc and 8K as corporate disc) Moreover as part of the deal dealer provided me with Central locking ,

sun-control film, one layer of polish and door mats etc. I got a new pioneer music system with JBL  speakers System just ROCKS!!! The music system costed me 11K including labour from a local dealer / Friend's ref. Excellent work done by Sachin Auto Shop, Koramangala bangalore.

In the first 1000K i ensured to follow the running in instructions judiciously always ensured that the peak RPM in any gear is kept under 2200 RPM.

         
Below tips are extremely helpul in ensuring good fuel efficiency and increasing engine life:-
1. Do not rave the engine unnecessary.
2. On highways, drive at around 60 - 80 kmpl @ 1800-2200 rpm.
3. Try to follow the gear change instructions mentioned on the windshielf - it will become a habit soon. It does help for better FE.
4. Drive your car in such a way that you have to apply lesser brake. The more you brake, the more you are lossing unnecessary power applied earlier.
5. On steap slopes, put the AC off as it reduces the load on the engine. Switch off the AC at red signal, and put it back on once in 3rd gear.
6. While driving downslope (eg. downslope of a flyover), get to the middle lane and reduce the accelerator. A car or 2 may overtake you, but this will help

improve the FE of your car.
7. In bumper-to-bumper traffic, avoid sudden pickup and braking. Use as little accelaration as you can since MPFI engines are designed to run even when the

accelerator is not pressed. Just de-clutch your vehicle slowly and the car will move a few meters easily.
8. Check all the oil levels atleast once a month. It takes you only 30mins to do so.
9. Service your vehicle every 6 months or 5000 kms, whichever is earlier.

This review would be incomplete without making a menton of Mileage i got during my first 1000KM, First 200KM car was mainly driven in Bangalore city traffic

with 100% AC and car delivered 13.5KMPL and on the Highway+ Ghats with 50% AC i got an amazing mileage of 18.5KMPL!!! what more could i ask from a 1.2 petrol car which weighs 1000 KGS and the driving experience on the highways is great, one fees really safe... thanks to the build..
         
All in all, I wouldn’t hesitate a bit to say that it is one of the best cars in hatchback category. I would certainly recommend Indica Xeta to anyone who is planning to buy a hatchback with a budget of 3.2 Lac.