Last week I had the pleasure of driving the latest offering
from the TATA stable – the ZX90.
I had her with me for 3 days during which I
took her to Karla, a distance of around 100kms from Mumbai.
Blogadda and TATAMOTORS loaned me the car so that I could review it from a traveler’s and a
travel photographer’s point of view. Hence, you might not find much of
technical details here.
Incidentally I have been owning an Tata Indica for the past
6 years and have been extremely happy with its performance yet when I got in to
this beauty, I was pleasantly surprised at all the little and not so little
modifications. Firstly the silence within, when I turned on the engine. Had to
rev to find out if the engine is on! And the minute I stepped on the pedal, she
surged forward showing her power generated with a 1.3L Quadrajet engine that
produces 90 hp (93 PS) of peak power and 209 Nm of peak torque! Drove to get
her fuelled and ready for the long drive to Karla, as the Driver Information
system showed that she would travel only 200kms with the existing fuel in the
tank! Loved that feature! She was tanked up courtesy TATA Motors and we were
ready to go. Just asked Anirudh from Tata Motors regarding the fuel efficiency
(FE) of the car. He just smiled and pointed to the Driver Information System
which showed the fuel efficiency on the
run and also the overall FE. A very
useful feature indeed to obtain optimum FE.
Off we drove to Karla on a not so early morning hence got
some traffic and soon were on the Mumbai Pune expressway. She performed
beautifully! No vibrations or any body roll. Climbing up the ghat was a breeze!
Did it in top gear! Touched 140 just to check how she handles. Perfect. No evidence
except on the speedo to show the speed. The overall average obtained was
19.2kmpl after driving a total distance of 200kms of which 100kms was on the
expressway and 100kms of driving in city traffic.
As far as the space inside is concerned well it is one of
the best amongst hatchbacks! Even the
boot seemed deeper than the older version.
The steering wheel and the driver’s seat are adjustable to
suit your comfort level. Both the Outer Rear View Mirrors are adjustable from
the driver’s seat. I also liked the fact that there is additional lumbar
support for the driver which can be adjusted with a lever. A very thoughtful
input for the traveler who does the driving him/herself.
The central console has the music system that has additional
controls on the steering wheel for convenience. I found it useful to change FM
channels on the go. It also has a Bluetooth that can be paired with five
mobiles. The microphone is discreetly placed above the rear view mirror and
your conversation can be heard by all the occupants in the car via the
stereophonic speakers, except for the traffic cop outside.
I wish there was a dead pedal to rest the foot on long
drives. Else for the price it is a steal with all bells and whistles!
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