Refreshed Tata Indica Vista prices start at Rs. 3.88 lakh

Tata has given the Indica Vista a much-needed facelift, by taking a lot of features present in the Tata Manza and adding it to the Vista. It has also tweaked the ride and handling of the car. All this has resulted in a marginal increase in prices of the Vista, though the prices are still competitive.

Prices for the base petrol starting at Rs. 3.88 lakh ex-showroom Delhi, and the base diesel model at Rs. 4.30 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. Prices go up to Rs. 6.06 lakh for the top-end diesel (ZX) and Rs. 6.11 lakh for the top-end petrol (GZX). Read more: First drive of the new Tata Indica Vista

Indica Vista Variants

The Tata Indica Vista is offered in 12 variants, with four engine choices – two petrol and two diesel. Sifting through the Tata Vista range can be a bit tricky, so let’s try and put the variants in perspective for you first.

Variants: Tata has given the Vista four trim-levels (difference in features) – these are the LS, LX, VX and ZX among the diesel engine range and the GLS, GLX, GVX and GZX among the petrol engine range.

Petrol engines: There are two options among petrol engines – the Safire 65, which is a 1.2 litre, 65 bhp engine that puts out 96 Nm of torque is offered on the GLS, GLX and GVX variants only. The Safire 90, 1.4-litre petrol engine, puts out 89 bhp of power and 116 Nm of torque. This engine is offered in the GLX, GVX and GZX variants.

Desiel engines: Among the diesel options, there are two engines – the 1.4-litre TDI, turbo-diesel engine puts out 70 bhp of power and 135 Nm of torque. It’s offered on the LS and LX variants only, as this is not a Bharat Stage 4 (BS 4) compliant engine. The other engine is the 1.3-litre, Quadrajet sourced from Fiat which is offered on all four diesel trims, the LS, LX, VX and ZX.

The only way you can differentiate, which engine is in which variant, is by the badging on the left fender of the Vista.

The base versions in the range are the LS and GLS. These variants get only basic features, which include hydraulic power-steering and air-conditioning. They also have dual-tone fabric and rexine upholstery and a single power socket for mobile phone charging.

The second trim level in the range is the LX and GLX variants. These get suitably loaded with features, which include besides the features in the base variant, dual body-colored mirrors, a fully-integrated stereo with Bluetooth phone and steering audio controls, as well as USB and Aux-in. They also get two-front power windows.

The third trim, the VX and GVX are the variants which are probably what buyers will find most value for money. These variants include antilock braking (ABS), front and rear fog lamps, four power windows, electric mirrors, two power outlets and full-fabric upholstery among others.

The ZX and GZX variants include all the above features and add dual front airbags and alloy wheels to the car.

Now that we’ve put the variants in perspective, here’s how Tata has priced the new Vista

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Price comparison

The Tata Vista lists the Ford Figo, Maruti Swift, Toyota Etios Liva and Hyundai I20 as its main rivals. The Ford Figo is still cheaper than the base petrol Tata Indica Vista. The base Figo petrol variant is priced at Rs. 3.60 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), about Rs. 28,000 lower than the Tata Indica Vista.

Tata has a unique issue with its choices of engines. The 1.2-litre petrol engine in the Vista puts out only 65 bhp of power compared to 70 bhp in the Figo, 80 bhp in the Toyota Liva and 86 bhp in the Maruti Swift. The Vista with the 65 bhp petrol engine therefore seems a little underpowered when compared to the other cars. Even in terms of mileage, it gives a claimed 16.7 kmpl which is comparable to the Figo, but lower than the claimed mileage of the Liva (18 kmpl) and Swift (18.6 kmpl).

The petrol Indica Vista that can compete in the power stakes with the Swift is the Vista powered by the Safire 90 (89 bhp) engine. But because this is a 1.4-litre engine, it does not qualify for small-car excise benefits and hence is priced higher, starting at Rs. 5.14 lakh. The Swift starts at Rs. 4.2 lakh, and the Liva starts at Rs. 3.99 lakh.

Where the Tata Indica Vista can really fight back with the competition is in the pricing of its diesel variants. We won’t consider the two TDI models as they are for non-metro markets. But among the Quadrajet diesel range, the Vista’s price starts at Rs. 4.79 lakh, which is very competitive. It’s close to the Ford Figo diesel’s base model price, which is at Rs. 4.60 lakh, but the Quadrajet offers far more power and torque. The Maruti Swift, which uses the same diesel engine, has its base LDI variant priced at Rs. 5.17 lakh, which is Rs. 38,000 more than the Indica Vista. The top-end Swift diesel, which offers the same features as the Indica Vista ZX Quadrajet is priced at Rs. 6.38 lakh, while the Vista is priced at Rs. 6.06 lakh.

In Summary

The petrol variants of the Tata Indica Vista do not offer huge value. But the diesel variants of the Vista, especially the ones with the Quadrajet engine, are the best value for money diesel hatchbacks among all the hatchbacks in India today, if you consider performance and price.