Comparison: Tata Bolt Vs Indica Vista - 3 Mistakes

 
Bolt along with Zest is Tata’s make-or-break product. None of its hatchbacks like Indica Vista or sedans have been able to stand against the competition and the sales figure also tell the same story.

When a company faces such a critical situation it either gives up or fights back. Bolt is Tata’s fight back product. A product that Tata hopes will revive its fortunes in the automobile segment. Click here to read Tata Bolt Review

Front 3-Quarter: Tata Bolt vs Vista

Rear 3-Quarter: Tata Bolt vs Vista

Side Profile: Tata Bolt vs Indica Vista

Front: Tata Bolt vs Indica Vista

Dashboard: Tata Bolt vs Indica Vista

We expected that a car model carrying the whole burden of a company’s success would be built ground up to take it a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors. No doubt Tata has worked very hard to create a great product and to a large extent they have succeeded. But the first spontaneous reaction on seeing Bolt is ‘it looks to be a better Indica’ instead of ‘it’s better than Indica’. Bolt could have been a stronger product with a more individual identity had Tata done ’3 things’ differently. Things that would have helped them completely break away from the Indica image. We call them as “3 Mistakes”.

Mistake 1: Tata Bolt is built on the Indica Vista’s X1 platform. And yes, Tata has spent lot of time and effort to thoroughly re-engineer it before using it for Bolt (and Zest). But X1 is not a modular or a very flexible architecture. So using it as a base for the new car to ride on has vastly limited the possibilities for Tata designers to come up with a completely fresh design that would have given Bolt a radically new look. That’s the reason why we see a reflection of Vista in Bolt.

Mistake 2: Looking at the comparison photos specially the side profile, you will clearly notice that Bolt carries the same Vista glasshouse without any change. Sharing the same glasshouse means that the top half of both the cars will look the same. Glasshouse includes the windshield, rear and side windows, the pillars separating them (A, B & C) and the car's roof. So even though comprehensive sheet-metal changes have been made and new body panels added but still Bolt has that unmistakable Indica in it.

Mistake 3: The new 1.2-litre Revotron petrol engine uses only two-valves-per-cylinder instead of the usual four. This will make it difficult for the engine to breathe under hard driving. Moreover this is not a completely new motor since it is based on the 1.2 Xeta engine that was used in petrol Indica. Tata aims to attract the youth with the aggressive looks of Bolt, the same segment that never felt attracted to the Indica range of vehicles. But this engine is not sophisticated enough to deliver an enthusiastic drive and may thus become another reasons for the intended segment of customers to move to the high powered competition.

Its always easier to point out mistakes in something new than fixing them. But still in the current situation Tata can’t afford to make any mistakes as they may not get another chance if Bolt fails to do well. Tata Motors could have made a better use of this opportunity to completely redefine what they stand for. Bolt has all the ingredients to be a great success in the hatchback segment if only it doesn’t get dragged by its makers past, Indica image.

Read More >>