Only the Toyota Vitz and the Suzuki Celerio are more affordable on new car price list.
Unless you have been hiding in a cave, by now you must know that Tata are back in South Africa with several new vehicles. And we got to drive some of them.
The first of them being the Tata Tiago hatch that starts at only R184 900, which makes it the country’s third cheapest car behind the Toyota Vitz and Suzuki Celerio production siblings.
While some aspects will be good, others will be a little less so. But I must admit upfront, there was nothing glaringly wrong with the car.
Okay, granted, we did drive the one-up Tata Tiago 1.2 XT derivate, fitted with a manual transmission. Let’s start with the drive then before we get to the features because all derivatives offer the same engine.
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Powering ahead of its rivals
Under the bonnet is a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated, three-cylinder, engine that produces 63kW of power at 6 000rpm and 113Nm at 3 300rpm. You are never coming close to winning any performance shootouts with the Tata Tiago. The car preferred downhills and straight roads to inclines or uphills, and we had to row the somewhat notchy five-speed box to keep it on the boil.
This said, the Tata Tiago is the most powerful hatch in its price bracket, with the Toyota Vitz and Suzuki Celerio only churning out a mere 50 and 51kW respectively. The Suzuki S-Presso (50kW) and Swift (60kW), along with the Hyundai Grand i10 (49kW) and Renault Kwid (50kW) are all outgunned too. Disclaimer: I use the term outgun lightly.
Where a city car will score again is in fuel efficiency. The claim for the Tata Tiago is a mere five litres per 100km. This is a number that I believe you will get close to hitting during your everyday commute. The Citizen Motoring averaged 5.5L/100km on the media launch drive.
Solid set of specifications
The Tata Tiago rides on 14-inch wheels and an independent front suspension comprising of a lower wishbone and McPherson struts as well as rear twist beam with coil springs. Again, you are not winning any track day trophies, but you didn’t expect to, did you?
Moving inside, you are greeted by a fair amount of space and hard plastics everywhere, an illuminated steering wheel with controls, reverse camera, digital cluster, and 7-inch infotainment system that offers connected Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. I had no real complaints here.
Safety in the Tata Tiago is covered by dual airbags, hill-hold control, ABS with EBD and electronic stability programme. While the list is far from comprehensive, it does ensure that the car has a four-star Global NCAP safety rating and is a million times safer than public transport.
At the price, the Tata Tiago does exactly what it says it will on the box. It is an entry-level car that offers a fair amount of spec and drive for the money. And at face value, it deserves to be on your short list if you are shopping in this price range.
Tata Tiago pricing
- Tiago 1.2 XM MT – R184 900
- Tiago 1.2 XT MT – R209 900
- Tiago 1.2 XT AMT – R224 900
*Pricing includes two-year/30 000km service plan and five-year/125 000km warranty.
