Sub-4m Segment: How Tata Is Looking To Reclaim Lost Ground With Tigor

Presently, the Maruti Swift DZire leads the pack by clocking 16,000 plus monthly sales

Watch our quick review to know about the Tigor in under 300 seconds. Scroll right down to the bottom for a more in-depth review.

Update 29/3/2017: Tata Tigor Launched at Rs 4.70 Lakh

Tata Motors is gearing up to launch something in which it can take pride, and in a segment in which it is a pioneer. Just before the sub-4m car law was passed in the 2006 Union Budget, Tata was ready with its first compact sedan – the Indigo CS. Some said that Tata knew the new rule beforehand and had prepared for it in advance in order to cash in on the reduced taxes, but that’s a different story. The carmaker slashed the extended boot of the Indigo and came up with a CS (Compact Sedan) version of the car. The surgery resulted in a price slash of up to Rs 50,000 at that time, which eventually set the sales charts on fire. The rest, as they say, is geometry.

Eleven years down the line, from being the leading player, the home-grown automaker’s share in the segment has shrunken to that of a mere spectator, thanks to the foray of potential cars in the segment. As a testament to it, the collective sales of the Indigo and the Manza for February 2017 read just 465 units, whereas the segment leader, the Maruti Swift Dzire’s numbers clock 16,613! The difference is only increasing with each passing day.

Tata went into hibernation for a few years and almost exited the passenger car realm with poor sales performance of its cars. However, it has come back strongly with the IMPACT design philosophy, which looks promising. The Tiago became the first car to boast this design language, while the Hexa was the second, and the upcoming Tigor, scheduled to launch on March 29, will be the third.

When asked which type of car succeeds in the sub-4m segment, you would say, the kind that has mesmerising looks, spacious interiors, a fuel-efficient engine, adequate boot space, strong after-sales network and aggressive pricing. Recently, buyers have started to show interest in the comfort and convenience features too. Ticking all these check boxes is the new Tata Tigor.

Once launched, the Tigor is likely to make life tough of its arch rival, the Dzire. However, it’ll take some time for the Tata notchback to really get going since, to build trust, the Tigor has to prove its mettle in the market. The carmaker is far more aggressive in its marketing and R&D techniques now, and is, therefore, more capable of taking on the competition, including the Maruti, now. The Tigor beats the Dzire in several areas and is likely to create panic in the Maruti camp. For the uninitiated, Maruti is also working on the facelift version of the Dzire, which will be launched soon.

Besides the Maruti sedan, other cars in the sub-4m segment are the Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent and the Ford Aspire, while in the compact SUV space, we have the Ford EcoSport and Maruti Vitara Brezza.

By offering substantial features in the Tigor, Tata Motors is looking to bite a large piece of the sub-4m segment pie. However, the pricing will be key and is expected to fall in the vicinity of Rs 4.20- 6.50 lakh. Whether it will be able to outperform its rivals, only the future can tell us.

Recommended Read:

Tata Tigor: First Drive Review

Tata Tigor: What It Offers Extra Over The Tiago

Tata Tigor: Complete Details Revealed