Tata Bolt Review : Exterior Design

 
The Bolt designers have kept the overall profile and stance of the new hatchback similar to earlier models from the Tata stable. Some believe this has been done deliberately to maintain the identity of the car as a Tata product.

Whatever may be the case, the truth is that all the components including the interior-exterior panels, powertrain and underpinnings have been thoroughly re-engineered to make Bolt, in effect, an almost brand new product. So we will try to review the exterior design of Tata Bolt without bringing Vista into picture but for those who want to pit Bolt against Vista, here is our comparison.

Tata Bolt Front Profile Review
Front is dominated by smoked headlamp housings which forms a nice background for the segment first low beam halogen projectors.

Tata Bolt Headlamp Pictorial Review

There is a neat chrome-look ring around the projector bulb giving it an eye like effect. Also there are large boomerang shaped chrome elements at the top and bottom of the lamp which looks like LEDs though these are just reflectors.

Tata Bolt Front Grill Pictorial Review

The smiley-face grill has a stretched honeycomb pattern and gets Tata emblem in the middle, chrome stripe on the top, and the bottom gets outlined by piano black surrounds only unlike Zest which get a layer of chrome as well.

Tata Bolt Bonnet Pictorial Review

The bonnet rises at both ends before falling to seamlessly merge with side fenders and comes with a V-shaped crease at the center creating an impression of a power bulge in the middle. Above the bonnet, there is a black plastic cladding that houses the two spray nozzles of windshield washer.

Tata Bolt Front Bumper Foglight Pictorial Review

Front bumper looks big with wide air intake being sculpted in an inverted smile shape. It also houses the fog lamp console with chrome inserts unlike the DRLs in Zest on the bottom edge to balance out the chrome in the headlamps. Overall it adds to the agile look of the front.

Tata Bolt Antenna Pictorial Review

For reasons best known to Tata, the Bolt comes with an extra-long radio antenna on the front which does not really gel with the overall aesthetic of the design. The Zest wears its antenna at the rear which looks to be a more appropriate place.

Tata Bolt Side Profile Review
Bolt’s side profile is similar to the Vista (oops..) but thanks to the blackened B and C pillars creating a floating roof effect along with the prominent shoulder & character lines and a relatively small gap in the wheel arches adding up to give the new hatchback a fresh and trendy look.

Tata Bolt Side/Silhouette Pictorial Review

The C pillar gets a matt black finish with graphic design on it that has been made possible by applying vinyl wrap instead of using the usual body paint or plastic cladding like in new Hyundai i20. Overall Bolt’s side profile looks clean with no plastic strips or claddings anywhere.

Tata Bolt Rear Profile Review
Rear looks modest in comparison to the relatively stylish front-end. But still the design is unlike any of the previous generation Tata cars.

Tata Bolt Rear Pictorial Review

Gone are the Christmas tree like vertical tail lamps, rightfully replaced with fresh looking flame-shaped units that gel very well with the overall proportion of the car. But unlike Zest they are non LED. To maintain design uniformity, a glossy black plastic panel has been added between the C pillar and the rear windscreen and a small body colour insert is present just above the tail lights.

Tata Bolt Rear Bumper Foglight Pictorial Review

Just like the front, the back bumper also looks fat but the black plastic cladding at the bottom succeeds in hiding the visual bulkiness and comes with a fog lamp mounted in the center. Going with the general trend, Tata has not provided a handle or recess to lift the tailgate up. So one needs to hold on to the chrome garnish above the number plate while opening the hatch, which does not feels very convenient.

Tata Bolt Rear Wiper Washer Pictorial Review

Sporty looking rear spoiler houses the stop lamp and is neatly attached to the roof. The back windscreen gets its own wiper with a washer spray nozzle integrated on it. Also the exhaust pipe is designed to hide behind the rear bumper. The combined effect of all these elements result in a very neat looking back-end for Bolt.

Final Words : Tata Bolt Exterior Review
The Bolt design is said to be a result of best ideas from Tata‘s design studios at India, UK and Italy. This effort definitely shows on the overall exterior design along with fit & finish of the Bolt, which is way ahead of Tata’s past cars. Panel gaps are tight and consistently spaced; the integration of the various new elements looks clean, no apparent cost cutting is visible anywhere and unlike its competitors, Bolt manages to looks mature and sporty at the same time.

Read more >>>

Read more >>

Truth Be Revealed : Maruti Suzuki Alto vs Hyundai Eon Comparison

The Korean car maker Hyundai is known for sculpting beautiful shapes out of raw metal. But with launch of its new baby hatchback Eon, Hyundai has set a new benchmark in low cost car design. Now with the presence of Hyundai Eon in the Indian entry level car segment the other budget hatchbacks like Maruti Suzuki Alto, Alto k10, Maruti 800, Chevy Spark, Tata Nano etc suddenly seems to look boring and ancient in comparison. But does that mean all these cars will lose their market share overnight just because a smart looking car has been launched?

It is wake up time. In the Indian car market scene looks of a car is an important factor in its success but the deciding factors have always been: KKH- Kitne Ki Hai (Price), KDH – Kitna Deti Hai (Fuel economy/efficiency), product reliability plus ease and cost of maintenance and service. So no doubt Hyundai’s Eon can win fashion contests but can it crack the code of our unique small car space is yet to be seen.

Lots of reviewers are giving over importance to looks of new Eon as if it’s all that’s required. But as they say ‘looks don’t win battles’, here we will try and look at comparison between the ageless Maruti Suzuki Alto/Alto K10 versus new fluidic Hyundai Eon from a more practical, real life point of view.

Fuel Economy Comparison: Eon vs Alto: Kitna Deti Hai?

Mileage Comparison	Local (kmpl)	Highway (kmpl)	Overall (kmpl)	Fuel Tank (litre)
Hyundai Eon	15.6	24.3	17.7	32
Maruti Alto K10	16.3	26.3	18.8	35

All seem to be talking about how fuel efficient Hyundai Eon is, considering the official ARAI mileage figure of 21.1kmpl and Suzuki Alto K10’s 20.2kmpl. But as we all know ARAI gives only the ideal test condition figures and not the real world fuel efficiency numbers. So to know what average fuel consumption we can expect in our day to day driving, guys at Overdrive tested and found some actual figures which differs a lot from ARAI published mileage of Eon and Alto. Considering these figures (mentioned in above table) we note Alto has superior fuel efficiency over Eon in local as well as highway drive. Now taking into account the overall (local + highway) fuel economy and fuel tank size of both the cars we can get a usable result. In one tank full of petrol Eon can be driven 566.4 kilometers whereas Alto will keep running for 658 kilometers i.e. almost 91 km more that Eon.

Speed Test: Eon vs Alto: Who’s faster?

Performance Comparison	0-100 kmph (sec)	Top Speed (kmph)
Hyundai Eon	19.08	131
Maruti Suzuki Alto K10	15.2	153

Alto’s higher fuel efficiency has not been achieved by compromising on performance. In Overdrive’s 0 to 100 acceleration test Eon reached ton in a lazy 19.08 seconds whereas Alto reached 100 in just 15.2 seconds. Plus on an open highway run Hyundai’s small fluidic gives up on touching 131 kmph whereas Maruti’s old workhorse keep galloping till 153 kmph. In short Alto is more like a pocket rocket- small and fast.

Engine Comparison: Eon vs Alto: Who’s powerful?

Powertrain Comparison	Engine (CC)	Power (PS)	Torque (Nm)
Hyundai Eon	814	56	76.5
Maruti Suzuki Alto K10	998	68	90

Engine is said to be the soul of an automobile. Japanese have always been great at making amazing engines and Suzuki is no different. If you drive Eon and Alto back to back you’ll notice two prominent things immediately. One- Alto has way more powerful and refined engine and second- due to Eon’s narrower power-band you need change gears much more frequently than in Alto. Moreover in Alto you feel very less engine/transmission vibrations on control levers like accelerator, gear shift etc. than Eon. K10’s 998cc, 68bhp twin-cam engine is one of the best in this segment and goes on to show just how good a three-cylinder can be. Along with a precise-shifting gearbox it makes Alto an ideal car for people who love to drive.

Design and Ergonomics Comparison: Eon vs Alto.
Alto has been designed keeping in mind the practical needs and requirements for its user’s comfort whereas Eon’s shape has been crafted to make a style statement. Due to its rising shoulder line Eon has a small glass area at rear and thus limiting the amount of light coming in from the sides and making it claustrophobic. Further, the thick A-pillar decreases the overall frontal visibility. Also due to longer back seat base your legs may hit against the B-pillar while getting in and out of Eon. In contrast, Alto has much better all-round visibility with large window area, slimmer pillars and more ergonomic ingress & egress.

Price Comparison: Eon vs Alto: Kitne Ki Hai?

Price Comparison (KKH)	Price (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Maruti Suzuki Alto	2,32,000
Hyundai Eon	2,70,000
Maruti Suzuki Alto K10	3,04,000

Hyundai Eon starts from base price of 2.7 lakhs and goes upto 3.75 lakhs whereas Alto can be bought for 2.32 lakhs and Alto K10 for 3.04 lakhs. So you need to cough up atleast 38,000 rupees more to buy Eon base over Alto base. Also since Alto is not a new launch so you can expect to get some discounts at dealer level as well. In contrast Hyundai has already announced that it’s going to increase car prices in a months’ time thereby further diluting Eon’s value for money image.

Sales Comparison: Eon vs Alto: Who sells more?

Car Sales Comparison	Sept. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011
Hyundai Eon	7188	6315	7418
Maruti Suzuki Alto	21198	15197	24422

A new car garners maximum sales in first 2-3 months of its launch after which the number of units being sold comes down to a comparatively lower but stable figure. Being a recent launch Hyundai has been managing to sell on average about 7000 units of Eon for the past three months which by any standard is a very health number till you compare it with Alto who has been getting 25,000 new customers month on month for past many years. Recent downfall in Alto’s sale has nothing to do with Eon but with production shutdowns and labour issues at Maruti’s factory for the past many months and it has been resolved now. Rather than making a dent in Maruti Alto’s market share, Eon has been eating into sales number of its elder sibling Santro Xing.

Another reason for Alto’s superstar performance all these year has been low cost of maintenance and service provided by Maruti throughout India. Even though Hyundai has been building a decent pan India dealer network but it pales in comparison to Maruti Suzuki's network. Also the average cost incurred on maintaining and servicing a Hyundai product in comparison to Maruti has always been higher.

Maruti Suzuki Alto/Alto K10 has been ruling the Indian automobile market for almost 11 years now and it’s no mean task to fulfill needs and meet expectations of generations of Indian masses. Ask Tata (‘Nano’) how difficult it is to earn trust of people no matter how good your product is. So it will never be easy for a new ‘fluidic’ boy to dethrone the King of Indian small car market in a hurry.

Disclaimer: This comparative analysis is done to remind and highlight the true positive aspects of Alto which seem to have be been ignored by one and all since the launch of Eon. It does not in any way intend to undermine the qualities and potential of Eon being a wonderful hatchback.

Read More On: Maruti-Suzuki | Hyundai

Read more >>

Tata Nano India Review: Secret Behind Peoples Car

No single car by the Tata Motors has been talked about as much as the Tata Nano. Classified as being part of the new breed of 21st century cars the Nano symbolizes the new age philosophy of smaller, lighter and cheaper cars. The project was initiated in the year 2003 to construct a small sized car in the range of one lakh rupees i.e about $2100. This was done after considering the fact that India had a considerable number of families that were being forced to drive around on two wheelers due to the lack of finance for a four wheeler.
Hundreds of reviewers who took Nano for a ride had a different take on it. But there was a lot that all agreed on. Nano is a ultra compact but looks bigger due to its height and wide stance. Its interior is unexpectedly roomy with decent quality material used for furnishing. The car is more than capable of accommodating four adults along with few small bags in its 130 litre boot volume. Fold down the rear seat and the parcel tray fixed to it and you can reach the luggage area.

Everything seemed almost normal till now but to make the cheapest car in the world there has to be few things outside the ordinary. Looking causally at the car inside-out you can feel that there is something different in Nano. Look carefully and you can see lot of cost-cuttings. Tata Nano has about one third of the usual number of parts which is made possible due to its centralised wiring; wheels mounted with three rather than four bolts, missing left hand side wing mirror and seats moulded in one single piece. These are just few of the innovative techniques used to cut price and weight to bare minimum resulting a 600kg car versus 683kg for its nearest competitor Maruti Suzuki 800.

The Nano is powered by a tiny 624cc engine big enough to drive it to a top speed of 106kph. The all-aluminium parallel-twin petrol engine makes 35ps of power at 5250rpm and a max torque of 48Nm. The fuel consumption is claimed to be 23.5km/l while emissions are very low. Nano meets all current regulatory requirements in India including full frontal crash, head impact on steering wheel, body block impact on steering and seat belt anchorage strength.

This rear wheel driven machine is a genuine car in every sense of the word and earns the well deserved honour of being the cheapest (most affordable) means of private transportation.

Read More On: Tata Nano

Photo Gallery: New Tata Nano Pictures.

Read more >>