This is why major car makers in India have already launched a compact sedan, are working towards launching one. The one’s who have already launched are – Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Honda Amaze, Hyundai Xcent and Chevrolet Sail. And the one’s who are working towards launching an under four meter sedan are, Tata Motors, Nissan, Datsun, Renault, etc.
Tata did launch an under 4 meter sedan, in the form of Indigo eCS last year. But, as it was just another product which was modified and not built ground-up, it failed to attract buyers. With the Zest, Tata is going to offer a completely new product.
At the Delhi Auto Expo earlier this year, Tata Motors showcased their Zest compact sedan. Designed by Tata Motors design studios in India, Italy and the UK, the Zest is expected to be launched in India by July 2014, with an aggressive starting price of about Rs 5 lakhs for petrol and Rs 6 lakhs for the diesel.
New Tata Zest will be offered in a choice of diesel and petrol engine options. For diesel, Tata Motors will continue to use Fiat’s 1.3l MultiJet which offers 90 PS peak power at 4,000 rpm and 200 Nm peak torque for as low as 1,750 rpm. The diesel Zest will also be offered with AMT option. This not only makes Tata Zest the only automatic diesel sedan under Rs 10 lakhs, but also the most affordable and fuel efficient automatic sedan in the country.
As far as petrol engine options are concerned, Tata will offer their new 1.2l Revotron engine on the Zest. This engine is capable of generating 85 PS peak power at 5,000 rpm and 140 Nm peak torque at 1,750 rpm.
The spy shots of Tata Zest you see in this post, were clicked by Rush Lane reader Mayur Kulkarni. Not only did Mayur manage to spot the Zest, but he also managed to capture both Zest and Amaze in the same frame. He added that the “Zest in the images here was a diesel AMT variant. The gear shifts were easily noticeable, but there was hardly any engine noise. The engine sound is not similar to Indica or Indigo diesel. This one is very low. I followed the Zest in my Maruti Swift VDi, but was not able to keep up, especially on the steep roads. The Zest looked more stylish than the Honda Amaze on the road.”
