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Tata Tiago long-term review including mileage, AC & aftersales service

27th July 2023, 17:45 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

I have driven it for 70,000 km & I would say it’s a nice car with great potential but there is a reason I am selling it now.

BHPian Singh09 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It’s been a long time since I have updated this thread. Tiago has completed 70k on the ODO and still going strong except for some tits and bits. So, I thought that it is a perfect time for a long-term ownership review as I have driven it extensively in the city, on highways, in the mountains and a few thousand kilometers at off-beat locations with no tarmac.

Engine & Transmission

Well, the 3-cylinder engine mated to a 5-speed manual transmission in Tiago has its own benefits and disadvantages. It produces enough low-end torque to keep you moving in the city with ease in 2nd or 3rd gear. If you just floor the pedal, it can literally fly like a rocket but it is totally a different story on highways. You have to plan your move if you want to overtake someone at speeds above 90 kmph. The turbo lag is evident under 1900-2000 rpm. But as soon as the turbo kicks in you can literally feel the kick.

Now driving in the mountains is something I never enjoyed in this car due to its low power and it does struggle on inclines and hairpin bends. It will do the job but not without any drama. I had to turn off the AC during the two trips I made to the mountains in this car and they were the only trips I have done on mountains with my Tiago. But it does feel great when you are driving it soberly on the highways in the plains.

Also, the vibrations from the engine bay are clearly noticeable from day 1. The engine shakes while turning ON and OFF on a higher side compared to other cars in the similar segment. Though the engine noise is on a medium pitch I would say and not something exceptional or to complain about considering it is a diesel engine.

But overall, the engine produces enough power may you drive it in the city or highway and I would like to add that this car is surely a better highway cruiser than the competitors in this segment and is very well planted even at higher speeds.

Suspension

Well, this is another brownie point of Tiago as the suspension of this car is very well tuned and handles potholes or uneven roads very nicely. It does not feel bouncy and makes the ride quality really nice and comforting. You can literally drive it over potholes and it just glides over them. Small undulations are not even felt sometimes inside the cabin. You can take corners easily and the suspension does it work perfectly. Small speed breakers are a piece of cake and it just swallows them.

Ground Clearance

I think I have hardly scraped this car in the last 6 years. It has a very decent ground clearance. Even with 5 people and luggage, I have never scraped my car. Just have to be a little careful on those enormous speed breakers and you will be just fine and this is when you are 5 people in the car with luggage. And if you are alone then you don’t have to even worry about it. And just because of the same reason it has good water wading capacity.

Build Quality

It has a strong and robust build quality I would say. The overall quality of body parts is very good even though you have gaps in the body panels but the parts themselves are there to stay and very robust. Small dings from other vehicles don’t even scare her LOL. The material used for the interior is also good and everything is in order after 6 years and 70k km.

Space and Comfort

It is best for 4 adults only or maybe 3 adults and 2 small children would be just okay. You put 3 adults in the rear seat and you will be sentenced to a glorified punishment. But besides that, you have enough space and legroom for 4 adults in the car and can do those long-distance trips if required. The boot space is also sufficient for those long weekend trips and I have never felt any issues regarding space. I would say it’s sufficient enough to do the chores if not to the likes of a sedan as we all know it’s a hatchback.

Lighting

Well, it’s something I was never satisfied with until I changed the headlight bulbs to 90/100-Watt halogen bulbs which increased the visibility to a good extent but still not up to my liking. Even the fog lamps feel as if they are there to add a feature to their top model and do not help in night highway driving. The stock headlights do justice only for the city purpose.

Fuel Economy

Another brownie point for Tiago. I usually get around 16-18 kmpl in the city and the highway mileage depends purely on your driving style and speed. If I drive the car very sedately around 80-90 kmpl the MID easily shows 25-26 kmpl which my dad usually gets when he is driving on highways. On the other side, I get approx. 20-22 kmpl with speeds varying from 100-120 kmph. So, no complaints regarding the fuel efficiency of this car.

AC

Now this is the biggest drawback in this car and I have been dealing with this since the initial days of my ownership and with time it has only become worse. The AC only cools the car after taking its own sweet time and it’s not like it will chill your car, it will only cool your car. During my trips to Delhi NCR if it’s daytime and I get stuck in the traffic then the cooling capacity will just fall down drastically and I even start sweating sometimes if I get caught up in a traffic jam for a long interval. So, there was a rating chart I would give like 5/10. I got the AC checked a couple of times and from a couple of different dealers but same story. But it does work fine once the sun is gone and during night drives.

Convenience & ICE

Well, this is one of my favourite parts of this car. The 8-speaker Harmon Kardon music system is just flawless and can give competition to almost all its competitors and also to cars in the segment above. The Bluetooth connectivity is really good and has a very good range. Also, you can control things with the buttons on the steering wheel. It’s like a blessing in disguise for someone like me who love music while driving.

Aftersales Service

Like it is said many times on this forum that it’s either a HIT or MISS case. And in my case, it was never been HIT and personally I never liked the service. I had a XUV and I never had a single complaint regarding the ASS but it’s entirely a different story with TATA. Period!

When I bought my car, I asked them if they provide pick and drop service for routine maintenance of the cars and they agreed to it. But they never got my car picked up for the annual service. Also, I always had to wait for a long period when I used to go to pick up my vehicle after service. And this was when I used to call and confirm from the service centre prior to leaving my house whether my car is ready or not. They used to say YES and still had to wait for hours.

Also want to share an incident that happened to me I guess during my 30k service. I had specially told the service manager to rotate my tires and when I went to pick up my car, they had billed me for tire rotation but actually didn’t do it. And I literally gave them HELL for this.

Secondly, the availability of parts. One of my engine mounts went kaput and they took forever to get the part as the part was out of stock when I visited the service Centre to get it replaced. I kept calling them for a month and a half regarding the availability of the part but all I used to hear was sir 3-4 days more. Finally, they came to their senses when I told the store manager that if they can not arrange it, I’ll get the part and if they could replace it. It is then the order was placed because I got an SMS that day that a part has been ordered for my car.

Then right after I got my engine mount replaced my axle boot went kaput and it made a hole of 14k in my pocket. So yes, there are parts availability issues and the prices are on the higher side.

And recently my AC has been acting abnormally and might require some attention and with the 70k service approaching I was looking at another dent in my pocket. So I have decided to make an upgrade and let my Tiago go to its next owner. It's up for sale and should be gone in a couple of more days.

Verdict

I would say it’s a nice car and has great potential and it’s a mix of both city and highway cruiser. Long term reliability is something TATA needs to work on and definitely needs to improve its ASS. As buying the car is just a couple of hours of business but maintaining it is a long-term relationship with the Company.

Now in my case if someone asks me, will I ever buy a Mahindra vehicle again, I would say “ANYDAY” and if somebody asks me the same question regarding Tata, well this was my first and last purchase. But still, I like the vehicle itself very much but buying another TATA vehicle is not something I would like to do.

Sharing some recent pictures: