Tata Zica launch early next year

Update: Tata Zica leaked ahead of official unveil

 

Tata Motors has officially announced "Zica" as the name of its new hatchback.  This model was earlier known as Tata Kite. 

 

While the Zica is expected to be a hatchback, there is also going to be a compact sedan which will hit showrooms later. The new siblings, codenamed ‘Kite 4’ for the hatchback and ‘Kite 5’ for the compact sedan, will share their platform and certain components with the Indica though in essence the two will be completely new cars.

 

Both the Zica hatchback and compact sedan will use the original Indica’s X0 platform as a base, but apart from a few ‘hard points’ like the pedal box, engine firewall and wheelbase, there will be no carryover parts. The X0 platform itself will be greatly beefed up to improve torsional rigidity, refinement and dynamics. 

 

A lot of effort has gone into the styling of the Zica family which will come with Tata Motors new design language and will look quite different from anything in Tata model range. 

 

Underpinning the Zica's chassis will be an all-new suspension system. The fully-independent rear suspension of the first-generation Indica, which caused a lot of wheel geometry issues, has been replaced by a more conventional non-independent, twist beam axle seen in most hatchbacks today. The Tata Zica hatchback and compact sedan will feature a wider track than its predecessor and get the latest-generation Electric Power Steering (EPS) unit that has won praise in the Tata Bolt and Tata Zest.

 

The Zica hatchback and sedan will be powered by two new engines. One will be the 1.05-litre diesel, which made its public debut at the 2012 Auto Expo under the hood of the Manza Hybrid Concept. The motor, is essentially a three-cylinder version of the original 1,405cc, four-cylinder diesel which has been re-engineered with counterbalancing shafts, a stiffer block and reduced friction. The output is expected to be around 67bhp and 14kgm of torque with fuel efficiency upwards of 25kpl in the official test cycle. 

 

The second of the two motors is an all-new, in-house developed naturally-aspirated 1.2 petrol motor. The engine is a lightweight aluminium three-cylinder unit with four valves per cylinder, and is expected to produce around 84bhp and 11kgm of torque. It features tech like roller finger followers and hydraulic lash adjusters for noise reduction and lower maintenance.