Tata hexes its magic with new SUV

Tata Motors might be a star in the commercial vehicle and bus galaxy, but there’s no denying that it has tasted some sweet success in the SUV realm as well.

In the 1990s, Tata’s offering, the Sierra, offered much majesty to a market that was sans style and variety those days. The smart-looking Tata Sierra offered both, and could be claimed as one of the earliest home SUV designs in the country, yet was way ahead of its time.

Then came Tata’s rugged Safari, another magnificent beast, in the late 1990s, which added more panache to the then budding SUV space, and turned out juicy for those who wanted to drive a little on the wild side.

While the competition trudged on steadily, with SUV of all brands, prices and sizes flooding the market, Tata Motors quietly began to lose its ground. But with the company’s recent HORIZONEXT strategy aiming to restore the glory of one of India’s very few homegrown manufacturers, one can expect Tata Motors’ stable to come back with a bang, which it has.

Machismo moment

In a bid to retake a part of the SUV space, Tata has found substance in the Hexa. The big Tata logo on the front grill, aggressive front designs, and big radial tyres are the first eye-catching aspects of the company’s latest offering Hexa. Through the Hexa, Tata wants to offer a mixture of comfort, looks, performance, and innumerable features.

While the company had created a huge buzz with its earlier Safari range, which however began to fizzle out, the Hexa is going to break a few myths of Tata’s cars. The Hexa is the company’s big bet on the moving up-market segment, and is the most premium car in its portfolio yet.

The Tata Hexa, with a large stance (4,788 mm length X 1,903 mm width X 1,791 mm height), is a strong looking vehicle with a very aggressive front, and the side profile will remind one of Tata’s earlier premium large utility vehicle, the Aria. However, while the Aria faded out without noise, its eye-catching design is expected to help the Hexa gain some attention. An aggressive front design, dual-coloured bumper, projector headlamps, the tough jaw light, and LED tail-lights are other special features that any novice car buyer will spot and be attracted to while buying a premium car. The usage of traditional ladder-on-frame construction has resulted in the increase of ground clearance.

Immersive interiors

No doubt, the car is attractive on the outside, but it is more than enticing within. The interior cabin of the Hexa is a great welcome change from the traditional boxy minimalistic inside that one is familiar with Tata cars. And this is an apparent shift as can be seen in other models such as the Tiago and Tigor too.

The Hexa’s cabin is actually where the buyer will fall in love with the car. The well-finished dashboard with the usage of leather and soft plastic, the storage box, chiller, improved screen with less reflection, provides for a rich and premium feel. However, one little issue would be resolved had the company worked on providing more space in the centre area between the front two (driver + co-driver) seats.

Need for space

The Hexa is a premium car, but space does not so much come at a premium, it seems. The boot space provided is enough for just a couple of small bags. However, when one folds the last row of seats, enough space is created to place bigger baggage. One must take a moment to note that every carmaker tries to make his offering more delectable by stating that more boot space is created if the last row of seats is folded in the car (hatchback and utility vehicles), but if looked at logically, this effort would make sense only if two (or four to five in case of UVs) people were travelling in the car, occupying the front two seats.

This whole claim becomes useless if one were to plan a group or family trip, obviously with more baggage. Coming back to the Hexa, the cup-holders obstruct the folding of the last row of seats. It is also difficult to completely flatten the middle seats, creating an uneven surface to keep baggage. This could be termed as a major flaw in the vehicle. Getting into the third seat needs some muscle work as well. The traditional way of folding the seat and lifting up is still harder. After a tough start, making way for the third row is easy, but the leg room seems sufficient only for two medium-built adults. The head room is also less for tall passengers, where it will definitely be an issue while anticipating unexpected potholes and speed-breakers.

The second row is where actually one will feel the real comfort offered by the Tata Hexa. The spacious ergonomics, head room, well-cushioned seats, sun blinds, and centralised air-conditioner will make any long journey feel smooth on any kind of road. The passengers in the middle row will surely be impressed with the drive quality as the big radius tyres and shocks will smother everything in their path, which will not filter through to the rear passengers. And the tech-addicted passenger will feel comfortable, yet isolated, in the rear seat.

Off-roading definition

The Tata Hexa is powered by a 2.2-litre Varicor diesel engine. And as is the norm, the car sports a four-cylinder 2,197 cc BS IV engine, which churns out a maximum power of 156 PS @ 4,000 rpm, with a max torque of 400 Nm @ 1,700-2,700 rpm.

While the engine dishes out raw power for a superior drive, the six-speed manual transmission XM variant Hexa needs a very firm hand. Even with the power steering, the car seems to be hard especially at lower speeds, turning and parking. Once the speed picks up on empty roads, the nice torque and responsive engines will make you love your drive on the heavy machine. It will give a sense of security when driving around corners or even on a straight line. The tyres offer a good level of road grip at any speed. However, the driver, at least once, will definitely fight with the gear-box to slot it into reverse. The gear lever will many times slot into the sixth gear by mistake. Changing gears is not a smooth affair with the car.

Besides the normal road drive, the special features of the Hexa can be tried by switching it to the off-road drive mode. The ground clearance of 200 mm, complemented by a 2,850-mm wheelbase will ensure that the car powers up most terrain. The mode works really well when traction control is used, along with engine modulation to get out of sticky surfaces. However, one can hardly find any difference between the auto-comfort and dynamic modes. At prices starting from Rs 12,27,620 (ex-showroom Bengaluru), with six variants in tow, an Indian SUV with so much a promise is more than one could’ve asked for.

The Tata Hexa is actually loaded with equipment that isn’t even seen in high-end cars. With little compromise, this would be the best SUV deal that any Indian company could offer its customers at this segment and price, coupled with the practicality of seven seats and good ride quality.

Tata Hexa

Verdict: A great resurgence for one of India’s very few local carmakers.

Engine: 2.2-litre Varicor diesel BS-IV.

Power: 156 PS @ 4,000 rpm.

Torque: 400 Nm @ 1,700-2,700 rpm.

Ground clearance: 200 mm.

Price: Rs. 12,27,620 (ex-showroom Bengaluru).