Tata Tiago AMT Review

A hatchback that revolutionised the market and changed the business dynamics for Tata Motors had recently got a new transmission offering for this hatch. The Tata Tiago AMT is offered only on the petrol engine and comes only with the top-of-the-line variant. We recently got our hands on the new Tiago AMT and we took it for a spin. So, how does it perform? Does it have good enough performance? Read further to know more about it.

Design

The Tiago AMT has been introduced with a new colour “Berry Red”. This is colour is also available on other variants as well, but it got introduced with this new colour. The design elements are the same. The Tiago has a balanced and proportioned design. It doesn’t stand out in its styling and it doesn’t have out of the box design.

At the same time, the design is good enough and there isn’t a reason not to like how it looks.

The fascia is dominated by a honeycomb mesh front grille and sleek headlamps. The fog lamps are round and have chrome surrounds. The crowned hood is a part of the cab forward design. It gets 14-inch tyres and the AMT comes only in XZA variant, which even has alloy wheels. The rear styling is somewhat different from the current Tata cars and it looks different.

Interiors 

As this transmission comes only with the top-of-the-variant, it does have all the features one can get in the Tiago. To begin with, there is the Harman 2-DIN system with four speakers and four tweeters. The steering wheel is precise in size and chunky to hold.

The side AC vents continue to have body colour surrounds and then the air-con is manual. In terms of safety, there are dual airbags and ABS on offer on this variant.

The front row seats are highly comfortable and there is more than sufficient head room and leg room. The seats are designed to be supportive and they offer good cushioning too. Most of the cars in this price don’t offer good cushioning and even their support isn’t that great. The Tiago ensures there is more than sufficient support and comfort on the front seats. The rear appears to be compact, but it still offers good knee room and head room. Making three sit abreast will be tight, but a bit of squeeze and three can sit for long journeys. The boot space at 242 litres isn’t the largest, but can still gobble luggage for an entire weekend.

Engine and Transmission

A 1.2-litre petrol engine is plonked into the Tiago AMT. This mill comes mated to a five-speed AMT box. Initially we had complaints that the Tiago petrol engine is noisy. It seems now this has been fixed. We didn’t face any kind of noise in the Tiago AMT. At the same time, there was almost of vibration as well. So, the Tiago petrol has seen an improvement in its NVH levels.

There is the crawl function. The engine and AMT aren’t very peppy and one needs to press the pedal harder to extract performance. In the sporty mode, one can achieve some amount of spirited driving. But it is just fine. The AMT box is a tad lethargic but in manual mode, things are better.

Driving Dynamics

If you can an AMT, your first point of concern is brakes. You will use it the most as there is no clutch. Braking in city traffic can be a bit off. The bite of the brakes ins’t progressive and this could mean unaffordable driving in city traffic. The ride of the Tiago AMT is pliant. In fact it can be compared to cars that are a segment above.

The other bit about the Tiago thats worth a mention is its handling. This has agile handling if we compare it to its competition. They are all rolly-polly when pushed hard around corners. The Tiago does the job well. The steering wheel is also light in city and as the speeds go up it weighs up. The feedback is good enough from the steering wheel.

Should you buy it?

At a price of about INR 7 lakhs (on-road, Mumbai) the Tiago AMT is the best value for money product you can consider. It has decent performance and good mileage too. The plastic quality is good and even the music system is the best in its class. There is space, features and good driving dynamics.

Tata Tiago AMT Bookings

If you are looking at buying one in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bengaluru or Hyderabad? Leave your details below:

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