Tata Indica Vista Quadrajet Aura

Tata set out to deliver even more car per car with the new Vista

Published on Sep 08, 2009 07:00:00 AM

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The front seats adjust for height along with the steering wheel, the front seats are large, and back and thigh support is good too. There is plenty of legroom for tall drivers and for once general ergonomics are pretty good as everything falls easily to hand. The rear seats offer sofa-like comfort, with just the right amount of firmness as well. The bench is placed at the perfect height, thigh support extends all the way to your calves and the bench is wide enough for three. The backrest, though very comfortable and supportive, feels a bit too reclined. The door pockets (careful, they have sharp edges) are strangely very shallow, there isn’t too much space below the central console and though there is a very large and lockable glovebox as well as an tray under the passenger seat, a cabin of this size could easily have had more.

What Tata has got, by and large, right is quality. Yes, you heard that right, the Vista now has plastics and other bits that feel well built. A clear improvement from the crude Indica interiors, the grain on the dashboard, the soft-feel plastic on the dash and the improved fit and finish are things that will go some way in delivering a feel-good factor not earlier attainable in a Tata car but there is more to do still. Parts like the door locks, the air con controls, the buttons across the dash and bits like the ones that adjust steering and seat height are still not upto scratch. Skoda Fabia-like interior quality is still some way off.

With its radical centrally- mounted instrument panel, similar to the Nano’s, the look of the Vista cabin is bright and airy. What impressed us probably the most was the relative lack of squeaks and rattles. Doorshut is nice and solid, nothing worked itself loose over the period of some rigorous testing and fingers crossed, things should stay that way.