Tata Indigo eCS VX

Tata Indigo eCS VX

Tata Motors has rolled up its sleeves and is playing the fuel efficiency card yet again. Wasting no time after the launch of the Indica eV2, Tata has launched the Indigo e-CS VX - a sedan that claims to be the most fuel efficient in its class. How fuel efficient, exactly? 25 kpl is the ARAI-certified magic number. Powering the e-CS VX is the 1396cc CR4 common rail diesel motor which produces 69 bhp at 4000 rpm and 14.2 kgm at 1800-3000 rpm. The overall weight of the car has been reduced by around 10 kg and improvements have been made to the gear ratios all of which result in the e-CS' astounding mileage figure.The 1.4 litre turbo-diesel power plant is a noisy one, but thankfully the cabin has been well insulated and the sound doesn’t intrude into it. Starting off the line, the engine feels a little sluggish until the turbo kicks in at 1800 rpm, after which performance is quite sprightly. When on the move, passing manoeuvres and such need a require a little patience while the turbo spools up or a quick downshift on the 5-speed manual gearbox to keep the engine on the boil. The car makes for a fantastic city car though, it’s effortless to drive, with a light clutch action and a clever gradient start feature that prevents the engine from stalling even while starting with only the clutch while going uphill - a boon for new drivers. Don’t think that since it’s great in the city, it might not work all that well on the highway. It’s a great cruiser and comes into its own on wide open highways; engine humming along at around 2000 rpm, speedo hovering near the 120 km/h mark and the fuel gauge rock steady, where ever it is. I didn’t get to carry out a proper fuel economy test, but with rigorous driving in the city and a few high speed runs on the highway resulted in an average fuel consumption of 18-20 kmpl — and I wasn’t even trying to drive economically. There are a few small issues with the car, however. The power steering, for instance, works great most of the time, but at very low speeds, the power assist is not uniform, so sometimes it takes a lot of effort to turn the wheel and at other times it moves effortlessly. Changes have also been made to the ECU, which is now optimised for fuel efficiency. Apart from the mechanical changes, some cosmetic changes in the form of redesigned wheel arches, a satin finish front grille and ORVMs with blinkers sum up the changes made to the e-CS. Lastly, the e-CS has 14" alloy wheels with low rolling resistance tyres for that extra bit of efficiency. The e-CS is also available with the fuel injected petrol motor (both engines being BS4 compliant) being priced at Rs. 497,727 lakhs while the CR4 diesel is priced at Rs. 580,339 lakhs (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).