The cheapest car in the world…???  even the ubiquitous corner panwala knows the answer to that question apart from your dad, your grand dad, your uncle and the likes, that’s the Nano effect for you. Not many know though that Tata has another first to its name, the World’s first sub four-meter sedan, The Tata Indigo CS (Compact Sedan). The car initially came with only one diesel, the TDi engine but recent strides by the competition especially the Maruti Dzire has made them think again. Sometime back Tata quietly slipped in the DICOR engine in CS’s engine bay and it’s the same car that we will be reviewing here.

Looks, Interiors and Engineering

Indigo CS is a clever move by Tata. Ironically work on it started when the engineers were working on the extended version, the Indigo XL! The car has exactly the same wheelbase as the Indigo sedan but for the chopped boot which results in an overall length which is just under the 4 meter mark at 3988 mm and takes advantage of further 8% duty waiver which Tata has generously passed on to the end consumer. This is the last iteration on the Indica platform from which Tata has spawned a whole gamut of vehicles which include the Indica Hatch, The Indigo Sedan, The Indigo CS, The Indigo XL and the Indigo Marina!

The Indigo CS took a years time in development and the maximum lead time went in developing dies which came from Ogihara in apan, which is among the world’s best die-makers, for the new shorter stubby boot and the side fenders which are the only new metal bits on the car. Rest of the car is exactly the same as the standard Indigo, including the rear glass. That said the car looks better than its bigger brother with its short stubby boot which looks well integrated compared to bigger boot on the Indigo which looks more like a slap-on job done in haste. The large overhangs due to bigger boot coupled with an almost horizontal boot line which against the rising roofline looked quite odd on the Indigo. The CS’s stylish new tail lamps with a trimmer rear bumper give it a smart new rear profile. The ’arrow’ styled outside rear view mirros look great and offer a nice view of the traffic behind.

 Viewed head on the front looks exactly like the Indica minus the side cladding which is bit of a disappointment. The Indigo front would have made it look a lot nicer but then we cannot ask for everything in life… this is a budget sedan after all and Tata would mind if it cannibalises its big brother’s sales.  The big question is by how much has the boot space been affected with 162mm reduction in length? Okay it won’t gobble up everything you can throw at it including your kitchen sink but its still a very respectable 380 litres, more than any hatchback in the country today. CS also offers flip down backseat which makes it even more practical.

The interiors are less convincing though with the same charcoal black dashboard as in the Indica. The interiors quality isn’t great either with ill fitting plastics and rubber pieces abound. The steering wheel fortunately doesn’t comes from a ship and is a lot smaller and has the same design as the Indigo sedan with center designed like a ‘T’, not something we like. The interior also feature a sun glass holder but its so pathetic quality that we doubt if you would ever want to keep your favourite Raybans in it. The panel gaps aren’t millimetre perfect but better none the less. Rest of the Indigo virtues remain like the nice and comfortable seats, lots of legroom front and back and roomy interiors. The door open wide making the ingress and egress easy and sliding onto high seats even for the aged wont be a concern.

Finding the perfect driving position is never going to be easy considering the odd steering rake angle and the almost horizontal and a little offset to the left pedals and you end up making a compromise. Replacement of the steering and pedals would greatly improve the car’s appeal. The door pads are lined with fabric trim which looks and feels really nice and so is the overall fabric quality which seems to have improved. The A/C though isn’t a chiller and takes its time to cool the cabin. The equipment list is sparse even for the top end model with no power windows or defogger though it comes with full wheel covers and front fog lamps but then again we need to remind ourselves that this is a budget sedan and aftermarket power windows can be fitted by any good accessory shop for as little as 10 thousand rupees.

Engine, Gearshift, Refinement and Performance

The engine is the familiar DICOR unit found doing duty in the Indica and the Indigo family. It’s a 1400cc unit with Delphi’s 1600-bar common-rail, direct injection intercooled turbo diesel with a DOHC head breathing through 4-valves per cylinder. The maximum power is 70bhp @ 4000 rpm while the maximum shove of 14.2 kgm comes in a wide 1400-2750 rpm. The engine has been worked upon a little with changes to the head and valve design which make it more refined. The engine starts with a gruff idle which smoothes out considerably as it warms up. The engine sounds muted, hushed and refined outside with little of the typical diesel clatter. The low end engine response is fantastic and doing impromptu wheel spins in first gear on surfaces with less than perfect traction is easy as long as you are above 1000 rpm.

The turbo lag isn’t much and the engine is very linear in its power delivery with the typical turbo diesel surge coming at around 2000 to 2400 rpm. The surge isn’t as pronounced as the 1.3 JTD in Fiat Palio or the Swift which makes it feel slow, which we must tell you, it isn’t. The third gear is especially strong and can move the car from a virtual standstill. In spite of a brand new engine, 4 passengers in the car and the A/C on at full blast, the CS pulled admirably in city traffic even in high gear at slow speeds which is a good thing because the gearshift, even though it slots fine, is imprecise and rubbery and sorely lacks feel. Flat out the car does 0-100 kph in 15 seconds which will surely improve as the engine opens up. The in-gear acceleration is impressive too given plenty of bottom end poke from the engine. The engine is free-revving but takes time moving up to the higher reaches of its rev band.
The performance is impressive on the highway too with the engine coasting at 100 kph in 5th gear at 2400 rpm which is bang in the middle of the torque band. Overtaking no longer requires careful planning, with a mere flex of the right foot doing the job just fine. The Indigo is quite a mile muncher with the engine singing lustily at 100-110 kph which it can do all day without breaking into a sweat and plenty in reserve for overtaking. The acceleration upto 140 kmph is a breeze after which it’s a bit of a struggle and even the engine lets you know that you are asking a bit too much out of it. The engine is very muted at cruising speeds and you wont have to pump up the volume on the radio, though it’s a little noisy and sounds coarse taken above 3000 rpm. Overall the engine is a major step up compared to the TDi unit and the DICOR is a lot more civil and refined. The clutch on our test car was jerky and progressive feel was sorely lacking which meant that we stalled it a couple of times before we got the hang of it. We will reserve our judgement on it as it might be a problem with our car… Why don’t you tell us more?

Ride & Handling

The Indigo CS shares the same suspension as the standard Indigo which is a good thing. The front is a standard fare with independent MacPherson struts, lower wishbone with anti roll bars and a sophisticated 3 link suspension at the rear. The suspension is a little stiff and as a result the ride is a little choppy at slow speed. Things improve tremendously as speeds build and the suspension smoothers out ruts and potholes at high speeds like they never existed. The Indigo CS is a star traversing the pothole infested Indian highways and the suspension can take a lot of abuse without a murmur or protest. The suspension works unobtrusively and remains fairly silent but it’s still not in the league of its competitors. The CS with its chopped boot and less of an overhang at the rear feels tauter and handles a wee bit better than the standard Indigo.The stability is nice too with the car feeling perfectly planted at normal highway speeds and an odd bump or two doesnt upset its composure. It takes the corners confidently but tyres give up before the car does, better quality rubber would surely help matters here. The steering is reasonably direct and precise and isn’t overtly light. There’s reasonable amount of feedback coming through to the palms but it’s a bit vague in the straight ahead position. The brakes are confidence inspiring but need getting used to. Its easy to lock up front under hard braking and ABS isn’t even an option on any of the models, to its credit though it tracks true and straight and rear doesn’t steps out of the line much.

Verdict

Indigo CS is a very competent car and at the price which it is sold at, its easy to forgive some of its shortcomings. It does everything well, it rides and handles well, its reasonably refined, has lots of space and has a decent sized boot, driving and parking in crowded places is a breeze but there are some limitations too. The overall quality is still way off compared to the competition, some of the bits and pieces are just apalling quality like the sun glass holder, even the high end models dont have power windows or defogger, engine though refined is still a few notches below the competition. At Rs. 4,86,000 Ex-Showroom Delhi, it is still the cheapest sedan with a common rail turbocharged diesel engine, but at the sametime its a whopping Rs. 51,000 more than the Indigo CS with the TDi engine, which I am afraid is its biggest competitor.

TDi is reasonably fast and refined and driveability in the city isnt too bad either and at 51k’s lesser (even more on-road) it makes a lot more sense. For someone in the market looking for a cheap diesel sedan, Rs. 51,000 is a lot of money and the difference cannot be ignored. As for Indigo CS the higher price tag Tata’s is asking for the engine has blunted its value for money appeal a lot, still it costs 30k’s less than the Maruti Swift Diesel VDi and a few thousands more than the fully loaded Palio 1.3 MJD SDX and a full 70k’s cheaper than the Swift Dzire LDi … take your pick.