Tata Tigor Styleback Pre-Launch First Drive Experience
Last weekend I was invited to Delhi by Tata Motors and
Indiblogger for driving and experiencing the brand new offering from the
carmaker- the Tata Tigor. Being marketed with the keyword ‘Styleback’, the
Tigor indeed has a stylish and modern look that would appeal to the youth.
 |
| The Tigors all standing at Andaz Delhi in the early morning hours. Photo: Tata Motors |
The Tigor is a compact sedan and as Mr Pratap Bose, the Head
of Design at Tata Motors, put it, ‘The
car is aimed at consumers who are looking at upgrading from their hatchbacks
but are not willing to go into the premium sedan category.’
The Styleback Studio Experience
30 bloggers from across India arrived at the 1AQ Gallery in
Mehrauli where the Tigor was unveiled. Amidst raps, dances, graffiti spray,
coffee brewing, food in trucks, a stylist made the bloggers make style
statements by giving them makeovers and a perfumologist custom-made perfumes
that went with their individual tastes. This, while the bloggers got their
first look of the car, interacted with each other and the Tata group, and got immersed
in the entire styleback experience.
Getting styled at the #TIGORStyleback studio with @TataMotors @indiblogger . The look works? 😂 pic.twitter.com/31PH4NDRb1— Antarik Anwesan (@antarik) March 18, 2017
 |
| Meeting fellow bloggers. Photo: Tata Motors |
 |
| Where's the car? Photo: Tata Motors |
 |
| A fun Indiblogger way to divide teams. Photo: Tata Motors |
The evening saw us all check-in to Hotel Andaz, Aerocity
before the official presentations began. The 5 star property in the vicinity of
the Delhi Airport is a true lifestyle hotel with art and design in every
corner. The presentation saw Mr Ashish Sahni, Head of Digital Marketing, Mr Vivek
Srivatsa, Head- Marketing for Passenger Vehicle Business Unit and Mr Pratap
Bose, Head of Design at Tata Motors take us through the journey of Tigor- from conceptualization
and design to the actual product being unveiled. Later the plan for the drive
the next morning was discussed and we were divided into groups of 3 for the
same.
The Tigor Styleback Drive Experience
Early next morning the cars were flagged off from Andaz
Delhi. The route took us through the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, Sohna Road and a
short hilly patch just before reaching the destination at the Heritage Transport
Museum, off-Jaipur Highway. We got to drive the petrol variant on the way there
and the diesel one on the way back to Andaz.
Usually it takes me a while to get used to the driver’s seat
in a new car. The Tigor felt unusually familiar although I do not have
experience of driving a Tata car except for test drives (The last being the SUV
Hexa). I had to adjust the height of the steering wheel and seat position and
then it was an absolutely comfortable ride.
The acceleration and braking was easy. The gear shaft took
me a few minutes to get used to and then it was an easy one hand on the wheel
drive. Change of gears, which usually becomes a problem for me at slower
speeds, didn’t shut the engine down and the transitions were smooth. The car
feels light but it handled speeds up to 100 kmph and sudden braking pretty
well. There are two drive modes in the car- Eco and City. The Eco mode optimises
engine performance for superior fuel economy while the default City mode optimizes
engine output for the best of both- a peppy driving experience and efficiency.
I got stuck while climbing an inclined stretch when the
engine decided to shut down and it took me a few seconds before I could get the
car moving again without sliding back. I can’t really say if it was the car’s
fault or my lack of experience.
The car comes with enough legroom and boasts of 24 utility
spaces for storage. I didn’t really like the dual-colour dashboard on the
petrol variant, but preferred the simple black dashboard on the diesel one.
The car comes with a comprehensive app suite designed for
user friendliness and can be accessed on the 5 inch touchscreen system. There are
8 Harman speakers in the car that give a truly rich music experience.
What truly stands out for the car is its exterior design and look. To quote from the press release- ‘The TIGOR flaunts a dual-coloured bumper with the Tata Signature Grille, which is accentuated with a striking chrome humanity line at the front, extending into the crystal-like, smoked projector headlamps to create the face of the car. The dynamic character lines integrate seamlessly with the signature split LED tail lamps and a stylishly integrated high mounted LED stop lamp, highlight the length of the car.’
What truly stands out for the car is its exterior design and look. To quote from the press release- ‘The TIGOR flaunts a dual-coloured bumper with the Tata Signature Grille, which is accentuated with a striking chrome humanity line at the front, extending into the crystal-like, smoked projector headlamps to create the face of the car. The dynamic character lines integrate seamlessly with the signature split LED tail lamps and a stylishly integrated high mounted LED stop lamp, highlight the length of the car.’
Another feature of the car that has been given strong voice
is the boot space. The Tigor boasts of a functional and effective boot space of
390 Litres, giving away the hinges that usually restrict the carrying capacity.
The makers do have a plan of launching an Automatic
Transmission variant of the car in a few months.
The Verdict
The over 100 kilometre drive we took in the Tigor was mostly
smooth and without a hiccup. The car took well to sudden turns and rough roads
and I got used to driving it pretty soon.
Now read:
Hands on the Wheel: Experiencing the Tata Hexa
Cool one!
ReplyDeleteIt is :)
DeleteLooks like you had a fair bit of fun ;)
ReplyDelete