Tata Zica: What to Expect?

Tata Zica aka Tiago will fill the space between Nano and Bolt which is currently occupied by a decade and half old Indica (now known as Indica eV2). The vehicle was internally codenamed Kite.

It will not get the Indica moniker, if Indica had a fan following, Tata would have happily named it Indica! But this is also fine in a way that Zica is a completely new product from ground up. And unlike Zest and Bolt, which slightly resemble the Vista, Zica has no resemblance to any Tata cars till date; so it is a completely new design from the scratch! What we can make out from the teaser images, Zica's silhouette looks similar to new Ford Figo, which is interesting as this model is not even in its segment.

An interesting fact about Tata Tiago  is that it will be placed between two hatches which certainly are not delivering desired results for Tata Motors - Bolt and Nano. So, we'll have to wait and see how Zica will do in the market after the launch. The vehicle will be revealed in the first week of December while an official launch is expected in January 2016. Zica will compete with cars like Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Chevrolet Beat, Hyundai i10, Nissan Micra Active and others.

Design

Looking at the teaser images and the videos, the design of the vehicle looks an iteration of the Tata's DesignNext design language. The grille is undoubtedly Tata’s but it is subtly sleeker and unlike Zest/Bolt’s slantier one, the grille in Zica is vertically placed making the nose dip a little bit. This adds more character to the vehicle compared to its siblings. The headlamps are swept back, while the rear gets a wrap-around taillamps merging with the vehicle’s character as seen in the teaser images.

Also Read: Tata Kite Teased for the First time; TVC Features Lionel Messi

Engines

Though there has been no official confirmation from Tata Motors, however, a word in the market indicates that this  vehicle will be pulled by a new set of petrol and diesel motors. The diesel is 1.05-liter 3-cylinder unit expected to generate power in between 65-70 bhp with a torque below 150 Nm. It doesn’t look underpowered when compared to Celerio’s puny 800 cc 2-cylinder diesel unit and it is expected to give good efficiency figures. The petrol is a 1.2-liter unit and is most likely to generate power similar to the other 1.2-liter units in the country - over 80 bhp and nearly 110 Nm of torque. It is expected that Tata will also offer AMT auto option along with a 5-Speed MT.

Features

After the Zest and Bolt, expectations are high that this new vehicle will be decently loaded keeping in mind the competition in the segment. To start with, there will be a Harman powered infotainment system similar to that of the Zest and Bolt probably with tweeters which is not a segment norm. In terms of safety, it will get dual front airbags along with ABS and EBD, while it may also feature the CSC - Corner Stability Control like the Zest/Bolt.

Watch First Drive of Tata Zica

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