Tata Manza CS/Falcon 5 compact sedan spied testing in India

Snapshot: Tata Motors has begun testing the Manza compact sedan, code-named the Falcon 5 on Indian roads. The car is likely to be showcased at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo in concept guise while the production version of the car will hit roads only by the end of this year. The Manza CS/Falcon 5 will feature Tata Motors’ new 1.2 liter turbo petrol engine and the 1.3 liter Fiat Multijet turbo diesel engines. In terms of price and positioning, the sub-4 meter car will sit above the Indigo eCS but below the full size Manza sedan. 

The compact sedan version of the Manza will measure under 4 meters in length, thereby allowing Tata Motors to take advantage of the lower excise duties that the Indian government levies on sub-4 meter compact cars. The engine line up with 1.2 liter petrol and 1.3 liter diesel options also reflect the Manza CS’ positioning to take advantage of duty benefits. In terms of design, the Tata Manza CS/Falcon 5 compact sedan will borrow styling bits from the Falcon 4 hatchback, which is the revamped Vista.

Apart from sharper design elements on the front end that reflect a more aggressive design that was first showcased through the Tata Manza Hybrid concept, the Manza CS’ rear end will have a stubby boot. Click here for CarToq’s exclusive render of the Tata Manza/Falcon 5 compact sedan’s derriere

Expect a long list of features and capacious innards, two Tata trademarks. Tata Motors’ engineers have been working on engineering more “feel” into the new line up of Tata cars. Better driving dynamics, a driver-centric dashboard design, optimized driving position, etc., are a few such improvements that will be seen on the Falcon range of cars. The Falcon 5/Manza CS will square off with other compact sedan offerings in the Indian car market including the best selling Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and the Honda Brio Amaze.

Click here to read a report on what Tata Motors plans to change with the Falcon 4 hatchback and the Falcon 5 compact sedan

Spyshots courtesy ZigWheels