Last month , my family back in Delhi finally booked a midsized diesel sedan after months of planning. We wanted a reliable , spacious and economical car to replace our aging Ford Ikon. We had a few options to choose from including the Tata Indigo , but my dad decided to chuck it out of the options list due to numerous reasons including quality and reliability in the long run plus of course the car’s escalating taxi image. However , after driving the new Manza for an entire day in and around Pune two weeks ago , how i wished we had waited for another month before making our decision. Hold on , so does this summarize my test report on the best product (barring the Nano) to have rolled out of the TATA plant in the firm’s history? Not exactly as there are a dozen aspects to be discussed about the car.

There is no running away from the fact that though the company’s products have always offered terrific value for money , there were various issues that needed to be addressed. Having driven various TATA products for years , I can surely say that in every new/refreshed variant , improvements have always been made. Unlike some other manufacturers out there , TATA took criticism from the owners of its vehicles as well as the experts in a positive manner. This has reflected in its recent products like the Indica Vista. With all these things in mind , I was more than eager to experience the all-new Manza and frankly had high expectations from it.

Those who consider the Manza to be a Vista with a boot need to take a hike. The front end is reminiscent of the hatch but look closely and you can make out the differences. For example , the grille is different and the classy triple barrel headlamps dominate the front. The raised hood imparts a muscular look to the vehicle especially when viewed from side on. The raised front helps gel the raised boot into the body design in a much better way as compared to some sedans we have seen in the past. The rear end of the Manza looks different from the Indigo and the tail lamps have been stacked in either corner to give a huge loading bay for the boot. The roof line isn’t sloping and this is intentional in order to liberate generous headroom on the inside. What I really missed on the Manza , however , were the gorgeous multi spoke alloy wheels that the car sports in various adverts. Chrome strips have been used in abundance all around and they go well with the polished and upmarket feel that the designers wanted the car to impart.

It is quite evident that the Manza is a long sedan , 36mm longer than even the Indigo XL. This brings us to One of the key features of the car – its overly generous and well equipped interiors. The usage of light coloured plastics and fabrics give a very airy feel on the inside. There is no dearth of leg space as well as headroom for the front and the rear passengers. You can sit stretched out in the driver’s seat without having to bother about the rear occupants. The design of the fascia looks neat without too many abruptions and the shift of the speedometer console to its conventional position as compared to the Vista is a welcome change. This console is dominated by two big pods , one each for the speedometer and tachometer. They are flanked on either side by a temperature and fuel gauge. The beefy steering wheel looks good and has controls for the audio system as well as the Bluetooth enabled system which allows you to hook upto five different mobiles. There has been a drastic improvement in the quality of plastics and panel gaps on the inside. The air-con vents work very well and shut off completely , the soft touch buttons for the music system feel nice and smooth plus operating the rotary knobs (actuated via servo motors now) for the air-con unit further lend an expensive touch. A very interesting feature in the Manza is the driver information system that shows the instantaneous as well as average fuel consumption , distance to empty and ambient temperature. To summarize , the interiors look and feel good with a long list of standard features. However , look closely at the panel gaps and you feel disappointed with the rough edges. For example , the poor finishing between the flowing top part of the fascia and the driver information display unit. When the company is working so hard to achieve perfection in various departments , these small but crucial mistakes can sometimes make a big difference in the minds of prospective customers.

The front seats are quite supportive and so are the rear ones. I made it a point to sit at the back for an hour while Sanjay drove the car in order to experience what most owners would go through in this car. The backrest angle of the rear seat is class leading and this in turn helps you relax on long journeys , though I would have personally preferred a softer seat compound. The legroom is again the best in its class but the only thing I missed were rear A/C controls. It may be asking for too much but if TATA is really positioning the Manza as the most comfortable and luxurious car in its segment , this feature on the top end model makes sense.

The ride quality of the Manza is biased towards comfort. The big 15-inch wheels help soak up bumps very well and in fact , at slow as well as high speeds , the car’s abilities to isolate the passengers from road undulations is pretty good. That said , the car still manages to handle quite well when pushed around a set of twisties. There is a lot of body roll and drama from the tyres , but once you get used to its nature , it’s easy to make fast progress on the hills. Since it is being positioned as a family car , it comes as no surprise that the steering wheel isn’t very precise but at the same time , it is light and well weighed for most owners’ driving habits. All the variants come fitted with 185/60 size tyres mounted on 15-inch wheels. They grip well even under hard braking and are further aided by ABS on the top end variant – a first for a TATA car.

The Manza is powered by FIAT’s Multijet diesel unit as well as the petrol FIRE (TATA calls this the SAFIRE unit) engine. The latter is a bored out version of the same petrol motor that is seen on the Indica Vista and FIAT’s models. In the Manza , it does duty as a 1368cc mill that develops 90PS of power along with 116Nm of torque – good figures for a car in this segment. On the move , the engine feels refined and pulls well across the range. Pedal to metal , it takes 15.63 seconds for the 0-100km/h run which should be satisfactory for most users. However , it is the diesel unit that we should be talking about here. Like the Fiat Linea , the Manza too gets a 90PS variant with a healthy 200Nm of torque that is on avail between 1750 to 3000rpm. The 16-valve DOHC mill also has a variable geometry turbocharger that helps the turbo to kick in pretty quickly. However , while driving in Pune traffic , turbo lag was evident and only when the tachometer needle went past the 2000rpm mark did the car make serious progress. Thus , roll on timings take a beating at low revs but the Manza is quite fast in out and out acceleration. A 14.07 second timing for the 0-100km/h sprint with a top speed of 167km/h not only makes it the quickest as well as the fastest in its segment but also makes it rival cars from a segment above it. The performance of the Manza , as compared to say the Linea which is powered by the same engine is relatively weak , but that is due to a reason. TATA has always tuned its cars for efficiency and the Manza is no exception. An overall fuel economy of over 17km to a litre will keep every single owner very happy. The five-speed gearbox is well spaced out and shift action is drastically improved over the earlier Indigo variants.

At the time of driving the Manza extensively for a day , I had no clue about its pricing. A week later , when the car was officially launched , I double checked with a few people to confirm its sticker price which frankly sets a new benchmark for a value for money midsized sedan in India. The base variants which come with goodies like a music system with four speakers , tachometer , immobilizer , central locking , et al start at just Rs 4.8 and Rs 5.7 lakh (ex-showroom , Delhi) for the petrol and diesel versions respectively. Add a lakh more and you get to buy the top end models which come with all the bells and whistles that none of the competitors can boast of. Needless to say , all the little shortcomings take a back seat when you consider the pricing of the Manza. It looks classy , is well spaced and feature laden on the inside as well as comes with a diesel engine that scores top marks on all points. This is a car that can not only take on rivals from its segment but also shake up cars from a segment above it on most counts. What we have here can truly qualify as an Indian middle class family’s first full sized sedan.

More photos: