Tata moves into family-sedan market
Tata’s range ends where most of its rivals begin
ATA’S first venture into the entry-level family sedan segment, the Indigo Manza – released this week in South Africa in two very aggressively priced variants – comes to the market from a different angle than its competitors.
The Toyota Etios, the VW Polo Vivo and the slightly more upmarket Ford Ikon sedan are true base models; each is at the bottom of its maker’s price list, whereas the Indigo Manza is Tata’s flagship passenger car and thus carries different expectations.
The Manza is built on an entirely new platform, says Tata, with an overall length of 4.4 metres which makes it slightly longer than a Polo sedan and considerably larger than the Polo Vivo.
The styling is distinctive but not outrageous. The rear deck is high, short and decisively chopped off, encapsulating a 460-litre boot, which can be extended by folding the one-piece rear seat back. The range-topping Ignis derivative – the only one available at the South African media launch – runs on neat 15” alloy rims, which draw attention to a design feature that emphasises the car’s thirdworld roots.
It has noticeably more ground clearance than its competitors – which means it will do well on South Africa’s less-than-perfect rural back roads, where a large percentage of its
Ttarget market lives.
The body exudes an aura of robustness; the doors require a firm push to shut, then do so with a solid thunk rather than a tinny clang; the boot lid, frankly, needs to be slammed before the catch will hold. Fit and finish inside the car, unfortunately, is not quite up to the same standard. Soft-touch material for the attractively curved fascia moulding lends a superficial air of opulence, but the fit of the plastic centre-stack insert is poor, the switchgear (including the satellite controls on the steering wheel) is plasticky and low-rent, and the mouldings around the steering column fit where they touch – which isn’t very often.
Which is a pity, because the Manza is very well specced, with classically neat analogue speedometer and rev-counter in the driver’s binnacle, audio and aircon (with USB port and Bluetooth) in the centre stack and a trip computer display.
By making the front seats rather more upright than Westerners are used to, Tata has gained an astonishing amount of rear legroom. Even with the front seats adjusted as far back as they will go, a 1.78m rear-seat passenger still has 50mm of clearance between his knees and the back of the front seats. The one-piece rear seat-back is considerably more inclined, forcing rear passengers into a slightly awkward slouch until they discover a superbly padded folding rear centre armrest, complete with two neat cup holders, that supports the inside elbow at just the right height.
The Manza is available at launch with only one engine option, the familiar 1368cc petrol engine with multiport fuel-injection, built by Fiat in South America and sourced, complete with five-speed manual gearbox, via a Fiat/Tata industrial joint venture in India. It’s tuned in this application for 66kW at a buzzy 6 000rpm and 116Nm at 4 750; Tata quotes 0-100km/h in 14 seconds and a top speed of 165km/h, allied to combined-cycle fuel consumption of 6.4 litres per 100km and CO2 emissions of 151g/km. While we weren’t able to do any performance testing, we did return an average of 7.2 litres per 100km over the varied launch drive. A 1248cc commonrail diesel, also sourced from Fiat, is in the pipeline.
With the exception of the crisp, positive gearbox, all the controls are overlight and lacking in feel; the power steering in particular has a distinct centre dead spot. The Manza’s best feature, however, is its superb ride quality. At 80km/h on a bumpy back road the ride was serene, with no bumps or knocks. Cruising on the open road at 120140km/h, the ride was a little choppier but the cabin remained a quiet and comfortable place.
Tata’s flagship sedan doesn’t try to be anything it isn’t; it’s a spacious, comfortable, well-specced (anti-lock braking and dual front airbags are standard) family sedan of modest performance, at a very tempting price.