Tata Zest launched in India for an introductory price of Rs 4.64 lakh

The Tata Zest launched in India for an introductory price of Rs 4.64 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Zest will be offered in nine variants- four petrol and five diesel with the latter getting the option of an AMT (automated manual transmission), a first in the compact sedan segment.

The Zest is underpinned by an enhanced version of the X1 platform, which is used in the Manza and Vista. The car has been styled with inputs from Tata’s design studios in Pune, Coventry in the UK and Turin in Italy and the influence of European styling in the front is evident.

It is available with two engine options- the tried and tested 1.3-litre Quadrajet diesel engine and Tata’s very 1.2-litre turbocharged Revotron engine which has been developed in-house. Over 3,00,000 hours of research and testing have gone into making the Revotron 1.2T powering the new Zest. The diesel unit will be available in two states of tune-75bhp/190Nm and 90bhp/200Nm while the new Revotron petrol mill produces 84bhp and 140Nm of torque.

The petrol is available only with a five-speed manual, the diesel also gets the option of an AMT (automated manual transmission) unit which Tata calls the F-Tronic gearbox and is similar to the one used by Maruti Suzuki in the new Celerio hatchback.

The variant nomenclature is new to this family of vehicles and runs common across both petrol and diesel engine options- XE, XM, XMS, XT and XMA , the last of which is specific to the diesel range and has been mated to the five-speed AMT.

The feature list is exhaustive with the top-spec XT (petrol and diesel) getting a touch screen infotainment system developed by Harmann for Tata, climate control, power windows, electrically adjustable OVRMs, rear parking sensors, dual-tone interiors, door-coordinated cabin lights and day night adjustable rear view mirror.

On the outside, all variants get alloy wheels, body coloured bumpers, LED tail lamps and a new Tata chrome grille. Above the base XE variant, projector head lamps, chrome weather strips on windows and OVRMs with LED indicators are standard. The top-spec XT variant also gets chrome garnish on the fog lamps, LED daytime running lights and LED guide rings on the head lamps.

On the safety front, ABS+EBD with CSC, fog lamps are available from the XM variant onwards, airbags and pre-tensioning seatbelts on the XMS and XT variant and finally perimetic alarm system will be seen only on the top-spec XT variant.

The government’s announcement of tax sops for cars measuring less than four metres back in 2012 saw Tata carve out a completely new segment with the Indigo CS. Despite being the pioneer of the segment, sales of the sedan gradually decreased as customers turned their attention towards more refined and modern cars like the Honda Amaze and Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.

Despite being given a facelift in the form of Indigo eCS, the car’s sales never really took off and now, Tata hopes to change all that with the Zest. While Tata has put in a lot of effort to change its perception in the minds of the customers, only the coming months will show how successful this strategy has been for the Mumbai-based manufacturer.

The Tata Zest competes with other sub-four metre sedans like the Honda Amaze, Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and the Hyundai Xcent. The booking amount for the Tata Zest is Rs 21,000 and can be done from across 160 dealers around the country from today.

Introductory prices for the Tata Zest (ex-showroom Delhi)

Petrol

Tata Zest XE-Rs 4.64 lakh

Tata Zest XM- Rs 5.25 lakh

Tata Zest XMS- Rs 5.43 lakh

Tata Zest XT- Rs 5.99 lakh

Diesel

Tata Zest XE-Rs 5.64 lakh

Tata Zest XM- Rs 6.27 lakh

Tata Zest XMS- Rs 6.45 lakh

Tata Zest XMA- Rs 6.99 lakh

Tata Zest XT- Rs 6.99 lakh