JOIN USThe first impression Tata’s new Zest conveys — racy, young, waiting to be driven.
Tata Zest, the company’s first compact sedan to be launched soon, is a strong contender in the sedan class for overall design, speed, space, fuel efficiency and price.
The price is yet to be announced, and the sedan is expected to compete strongly with three others — the Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze and Swift Dzire, priced between Rs 5.3 lakh and Rs 8 lakh on average. Tata may look to price the Zest at between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh to shake the sedan market.
What does the Zest offer to be the chosen one? Tata cars have never really been sporty, but the Zest is. The first impression Zest conveys is that of a racy, young, macho car, imbued with a sense of urgency, waiting to be driven.
The new shoulder line and the bold stroke below on either side of the car lend muscle to the Zest. The lines are very similar to those of the Honda Amaze. The design from hood to boot space is one seamless flow, similar to the Swift Dzire, but less cramped than the latter.
The flow eliminates any onset of cramps. The curvature of the car culminates in the boot box. The body has to be seen as a single flow from front to back. The front grille has the typical smiley outline, like all Tata products, particularly the Vista. The Tata logo is attractive (now called the Humanity Line).
The front grill and the line beneath it is curvy and flows into the hood. The lights are LED, well positioned, with projectors accompanying them. The design sense of Zest is a break from Tata’s past and less of a continuity from the Vista. The bold flow built into the design aesthetic is noteworthy.
Sense of purpose
The back of the car has a chrome beam covering the entire back space, lending it a sense of purpose. The boot space could have been bigger, but for a city sedan, it’s just about enough. The back looks very much like the Swift Dzire.
As for the interiors, the material used conveys finesse, otherwise not a dominant quality in Tata vehicular products (not the Jaguar, of course).
The dashboard has a pleasant combination of black and beige material, both not heavy on the eye. The speedometer and other indicators are placed just behind and on the driving wheel. The music system is out of this world — the sound is powerful, well spread out across all corners of the car and comes across crystal clear.
Harman audio systems ensure this. And, the driving wheel features controls on it to operate the audio system, which also responds to voice commands.
The driving wheel operates smooth and easy. There is no pressure required to handle the steering on both the right and left. The car turns easy and the steering responds light and quick. The steering is sleek, easy to handle.
The fabric used for the seats has comfortable colours. There is adequate space between the back and front seats.
The car can do five passengers. The interiors are roomy and airy, similar to the Vista. While the doors are plush and have arm-rests, there is no space for a big water bottle to be placed inside.
The storage spaces in all the four doors are very small and a round bottle would not fit inside. The Zest comes in both diesel and petrol versions. The diesel has automatic gear transmission and packs power. The car is light and fast on the auto facility. People who get used to the diesel, which doesn’t have a clutch and makes city driving easier, may find it difficult to go in for the petrol version, which has manual gear transmission.
The petrol version has a contemporary engine though in the Revotron-2. While the petrol car also does high speeds, the diesel seems to have an edge in takeoff thrust, which may be due to the power packed in it.
The petrol, because of manual gears, starts off a bit sluggish before it speeds up. But the petrol version in the sport mode is a tearaway horse. The burst of speed in this mode is immediate, razor sharp and high speed, the car’s light steering enables easy control and good road grip. One cannot, however, make out the difference with the diesel version while in sport mode.
The car in general has enough ground clearance to tackle potholed roads.
There are two other modes in the Zest Eco and City, which help in economical driving and higher fuel efficiency. The Zest is expected to deliver good mileage.
Decent package
Compared to the Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze, and Swift Dzire, in terms of looks, speed, manoeuvrability and comfort and fuel efficiency, the Zest is certainly not wanting. Its USP seems to be a mix of high speed and good mileage.
The pricing of Zest may increase competition in the sedan category. The Xcent is a decent package even though it is not way above other cars. Its attractive price though may help it gain market share.
The Honda Amaze is perhaps the best entry level compact sedan for now. The Zest is intended to take on Amaze, pushing for entry-level leadership. For first-time buyers, these two will be hot picks.
The Swift DZire, a very practical compact sedan from the Maruti stables, packs in speed, space and comfort and enjoys the reliability brand value. The Zest has all this. The issue now is will an attractive price help Zest take on the other sedans?
(This correspondent was in Goa for a test drive at the invitation of the Tata Group)