A compact sedan with endless possibilities

Where the B and B+ segments are concerned among cars in India, competition is heating up. The market is flooded with many a foreign player offering delectable motors much to the glee of the discerning customer.

Preferences are many. While style drives imagination, performance and practicality command attraction. In the end, the customer is spoilt for choice.

In this busy mixed bag of four-wheeled wonders, Indian carmakers have been unable to garner much interest. This trend, however, is being negated by Tata Motors, which has already seen a resurgence of sorts ever since it drove in with the smart Tiago.

The Tiago made Tata’s presence felt all over again in a market where its ‘ageing’ models were begun to be seen as boring. With the success of this impressive hatchback, using its proven platform all over again, Tata Motors has rolled out yet another gorgeous piece of machinery — the Indian market’s first ‘Style Back’ — with an equally fascinating name, the Tigor, which is waiting to roar.

The Tata Tigor is one of the nicest looking affordable cars out there, which also packs more than a punch in features, practicality, style and substance. It sets new paradigms in the design quotient and would succeed in garnering captivation from a wide spectrum of customers, encompassing different ages, job profiles, personalities, and so on.

Decoding Style Back

With its unique, break-free design conceived from the revolutionary ‘IMPACT’ design philosophy, the Tigor attempts to enthral a new generation of free-spirited individuals who express their individuality in a style of their own. It seamlessly blends design, aesthetics and functionality, creating an exciting, new space that breaks away from the monotonous and predictable. Hence, it reiterates an apt definition of style.

The Tigor with its contemporary looks, rewrites convention. It takes the Tiago appeal many steps further. Even if a customer is inclined to buy a car in the compact sedan segment, the Tigor would certainly be eye-catching.

As compact as the car looks, it speaks volumes of robustness and durability, a Tata hallmark.

At a length x width x height of 3,992 mm x 1,677 mm x 1,537 mm, the car is big enough to command enough road presence. The car’s exterior is sculpted gracefully with the lines on its side smoothly giving way to a trendy boot, thanks to a unique wraparound slingshot line that accentuates its dynamic stance.

The front is graced by crystal-like, smoked projector headlamps, with stylishly integrated high-mounted LED stop lamp. The dual-coloured bumper with the Tata Signature Grille embellished with a striking chrome humanity line, moves towards sporty 15-inch dual-tone alloy wheels (a truly impressive feature for a car of this segment). The rear is beautified with signature split LED tail lamps.

On the road too, the car outperforms many from the competition, thanks to its hot looks.

While the exterior of the Tiago was love at first sight, the feature-rich interior also made a lot of sense, all the time espousing degrees of style. It was like some of the affordable smartphones in the market today, which offer class-leading, and never-heard-of-before snazzy additions. Tata gave everything and more with the Tiago, and that same novel tradition is seen coming into the Tigor.
While the Tigor mirrors many exterior as well as interior elements of the Tiago, it doesn’t mean that its design isn’t unique. A point that ought to be observed here is that the Tiago, along with the ‘copied’ Tigor interior dash, seems far from dated. Its chic style feels more fresher and younger by the day, and reflects the assertive stance that Tata Motors has taken, way ahead of its familiarity as an auto provider for the country’s thriving cab segment.

With the Tigor, and its sibling the Tiago, Tata is entering a new growth phase in a new avatar with renewed zeal, which can also be seen with the kind of rigorous R&D that went into formulating its SUV sensation HEXA too.

Now coming to the Tigor, it must be observed that style means more when it is enriched with a heady dose of comfort. One can discover the luxury of a spacious cabin and unmatchable features.

The car’s interior boasts of exquisite dual-tone interiors with premium finishes, leading the way to an inviting cockpit with a layered design theme and fine textures, with luxurious patterned seats with bolsters, and a premium knitted roof-liner.

Seated in the car’s cabin, it’s nothing short of luxury, and affordable at that. The seats are comfy enough for a road trip, on the typically bad Indian roads. A smart scooped-out front seat backs make for a spacious rear seat experience, along with a convenient armrest with cup-holders. And with some of the best-in-class creature comforts such as fully automatic climate control with uniform cooling all around the cabin, a drive on the Tigor is closest to a glide.

For the driver too, Tata engineers have offered some treats. The height-adjustable driver’s seat and tilt adjustable steering allow for that perfect driving position, from where one can enjoy the convenience of electrically adjustable ORVMs.

Space speaks for itself with the Tigor, which has loads of it on board. An efficiently designed boot space of 419 litres with wide and clear opening uses an innovative 4 bar mechanism. The interior hides 24 intelligent utility spaces to carry everything one wants on the go.

In terms of futuristic fun features, no car in its class can beat the Tigor, just as none could the Tiago earlier. The car is full of technology. One can be enchanted by the intuitive and aesthetically designed gadgets and apps. The Tata Tigor’s exclusive ConnectNext touchscreen infotainment by HarmanTM, mated to eight High-Fidelity speakers designed to deliver true and natural sound, along with an app suite makes any drive turn encore. And yes, the audio and sound quality feels sublime.

For the careful driver, park assist with rear parking camera displays the reverse motion on the infotainment screen. Voice command recognition for automatic climate control, phone and media, seem straight out of a Jetsons episode. Steering mounted controls for infotainment system is a regular, relevant feature.

On the safety front, the car offers dual front airbags and latest ABS and EBD with CSC.

Powering a segment

The Tata Tigor offers quite a few frills even in the area of engine and drive. The car that is being tested is the XZ (O) Diesel variant, comprising of the Revotorq 1.05L 3-cylinder engine with MULTI-Drive: Eco, City mode, which offers great driving experience on urban roads, while it isn’t a bad idea to spin the car on the highway as noted earlier.

The 1,047 cc engine offers a maximum power of 70 PS @ 4,000 rpm, along with a peak torque of 140 Nm @ 1,800-3,000 rpm. The car might seem a tad bit slow initially, but gradually picks up pace and is quite fun to drive.

Can the car handle Indian roads? Definitely, it’s a Tata! With a ground clearance of 170 mm for the R15 set of wheels, along with a wheelbase of 2,450 mm, and turning radius of 5.1 metres, the car cruises effortlessly on puddles and potholes. What makes a drive on this car all the more carefree is its 35-litre fuel tank, best for long drives, owing to the great mileage that Tata’s diesel beasts dish out.

Available in eight variants (with two optional variants) XE 1.2 P, XT 1.2 P, XZ 1.2 P, XZ (O) 1.2 P, XE 1.05 D, XT 1.05 D, X Z 1.05 D and XZ (O) 1.05 D, the Tigor comes in six exciting colour options — Copper Dazzle, Espresso Brown, Pearlescent White, Platinum Silver, Striker Blue and Berry Red — which are all a die for.

The Tata Tigor’s prices start from Rs 4.85 lakh for the Revotron 1.2L (petrol) and Rs 5.77 lakh for the Revotorq 1.05L, (all prices ex-showroom Bengaluru). All that remains now is to have the joy of an AMT in the Tigor cockpit.