Tata Motors’ most ambitious project yet, the Zest compact sedan has been launched with a highly competitive starting price of Rs. 4.64 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Zest is the company’s newest product after a gap of 5 years and is all set to make its mark in the sub 4-metre sedan space. The new compact sedan is based on the Manza platform that has been heavily re-engineered with inputs coming from ace Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan for improved ride and handling, while the car was designed at Tata Motors’ design centres in Pune, Coventry (UK) and Turin (Italy).
The Zest measures 3995 mm in length, 1695 mm in width and 1570 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2470 mm. In terms of design, the Tata Zest looks miles ahead in comparison with existing vehicles from the automaker and looks fresh, young and vibrant. The front fascia is familiar, but pleases with the bold grille and sweptback headlamps that get projector headlamps. LED DRLs feature on the bumper. The shoulder line takes a prominent appearance on the side profile, while a belt line on the door adds depth to the design. The rear profile looks well proportioned with LED tail lights, while the black cladding on the rear bumper adds a sporty touch reducing the visual bulk. The Zest also gets 15-inch alloy wheels on top trims.
On the inside, Tata has gone the Hyundai way and has made sure to add a lot of features and tech wizardry on the Zest to make it a value for money proposition. The car comes loaded with features like multi-function Electrically Assisted Power Steering (EPAS) with active return function, Harman infotainment system and MapMyIndia navigation. The centre console is done up in piano black finish and houses the 5-inch touchscreen display unit that controls the multimedia system that gets USB, AUX and Bluetooth connectivity, smart voice recognition, advanced smartphone integration and reverse parking sensors.
The instrument console is new and accommodates a MID screen in the centre that displays all the vital information related to the car including fuel economy, distance to empty, two tripmeters, gear shift indicator, driving mode and much more. The Zest comes with cubby storage spaces throughout the cabin that improves the overall ergonomics of the vehicle. Tata has also given special emphasis to safety and the Zest comes loaded with dual front airbags, ABS, EBD and Corner Stability Control on the higher variants.
Engine options include the home-grown 1.2-litre turbocharged Revotron petrol motor that produces 90 PS of power at 5000 RPM and 140 Nm of torque between 1750-3000 RPM, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. The Revotron motor comes with 3 driving modes namely ECO, CITY and SPORT that customers can choose from and is the only car in the segment to offer this feature. Diesel duties on the other hand is performed by the 1.3-litre QuadraJet motor that produces 90 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 200 Nm of torque between 1750-3000 RPM, paired to a 5-speed manual and a F-Tronic AMT unit. This also makes the Zest, India’s most affordable diesel automatic on currently on sale.
The automaker has certainly made the most of its time in developing the Zest and it seems the car might just revive Tata’s fortunes back in the market. The compact sedan will be competing with the likes of Maruti Suzuki DZire, Hyundai Xcent and Honda Amaze in the segment and left us mighty impressed as well. Make sure to check out our comprehensive review of the Tata Zest HERE and also the shootout between the Tata Zest and Maruti DZire HERE.
There are six colours and five variants on offer – XE, XM, XMA, XMS and XT. ABS is standard on all the variants of the Tata Zest apart from the base XE variant. Airbags are available on the XMS and XT variants. XE variant gets 75 PS diesel engine tune while the others get 90 PS of power. Tata Motors is offering 3 years, 1 lakh kms standard warranty, 3 years/45,000 km maintenance plan and 3 years 24×7 free roadside assistance. They have also redesigned their dealerships and service centres with a new look. Tata Motors has introduced VTABS for service centres that optimise tracking of your car and emails the job card. Service technicians and customer advisors are equipped with tabs for better efficiency and transparency.
The Tata Zest Revotron petrol engine returns an ARAI claimed mileage of 17.6 km/l while the 90 PS diesel is rated at 23 km/l.
2014 Tata Zest Petrol Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* Zest 1.2 XE – Rs. 4.64 lakhs
* Zest 1.2 XM – Rs. 5.25 lakhs
* Zest 1.2 XMS – Rs. 5.43 lakhs
* Zest 1.2 XT – Rs. 5.99 lakhs
2014 Tata Zest Diesel Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* Zest 1.3 XE – Rs. 5.64 lakhs
* Zest 1.3 XM – Rs. 6.27 lakhs
* Zest 1.3 XMS – Rs. 6.45 lakhs
* Zest 1.3 XMA(AMT) – Rs. 6.99 lakhs
* Zest 1.3 XT – Rs. 6.99 lakhs
* prices are introductory.
