The Indian conglomerate Tata Motors is responsible for some of the coolest Jaguars, Land Rovers and Range Rovers at the minute. Consider the new Range Rover, the Evoque, the Jaguar XJ saloon and the brash XKR-S if you will. It’s like a bizarre form of colonialism that’s somehow shoved itself into reverse. The Indians are helping out the centre of the world and inventors of modernity, the British, to build their cars.
When Tata Motors aren’t busy funding awesome, revolutionary British cars, they actually do quite a basic line in small budget cars for mass markets and heavy duty buses, trucks and other machinery. The world’s most inexpensive car, the Tata Nano is one project they can proudly hang their hat on.
The Tata Indica hatchback we have knocking around South Africa is another. The car I drove for a day yesterday in Cape Town is the sedan version of the Indica. It’s called the Manza and Tata are quite proud of it because it’s only the second car they’re selling in South Africa.
To give the car I drove its full name, it’s actually called the Tata Indica Manza Safire Ignis. I know, a bit of mouthful right? Indica is the model; Manza means it’s the sedan version; Safire is the engine, although they only offer one in the range and it’s sourced from Fiat; and Ignis is the specification level.
A car like the Manza is possible because of cost cutting. By using less steel, less complicated design, less materials and the small, Fiat-borrowed, 4-cylinder engine, Tata are able to keep the retail price down to R134 995. On the face of it, it’s probably not a bad buying prospect when you consider what you get on the top spec ‘Ignis’ model.
Standard equipment includes: a Radio/CD/MP3-player; a USB and AUX-In ports; steering wheel mounted audio controls; 15-inch alloy wheels, ABS/EBD; electrically adjustable side mirrors; electrically operated windows; two airbags and air conditioning. It’s quite a sizable car too, so anyone looking for space in the back seats for the family, or in the 460-litre boot, will be well catered for.
Under the bonnet the Tata Manza has a 1.6-litre engine with 66 kW and 116 Nm of torque. The fuel consumption is rated at 6.4 L/100 km and it comes with a 3-year/100 000km warranty and 4-year/100 000 km service plan.
Snout through the buyer’s guide though and you’ll see pricing-wise that the Tata Manza works out to be almost R9 000 more expensive than the equivalent top spec Toyota Etios 1.5 Xs Sedan. The Toyota Etios Sedan costs R126 600 and comes with the same amount of standard kit, it’s 1 kW down in the power stakes, but offers more torque from its smaller and more fuel efficient 1.5-litre engine.
Sure, the entry level Manza ‘Ini’ will retail for only R119 995, but that’s just R1 800 shy of the entry level Toyota Etios 1.5 Xi Sedan at a R121 800. You should keep in mind that the Manza ‘Ini’ doesn’t come with any airbags or ABS brakes. That’s a bit of a no-no as far as we’re concerned when it comes to budget cars. No car should be without these two essential safety items these days.
The Tata Indica Manza Safire Ignis simply doesn’t offer the value for money it should compared to the Toyota Etios 1.5 Xs Sedan. The Tata Manza should be at least R10 000 cheaper and even then I would still recommend a buyer in the market for a budget car choose the Toyota Etios Sedan instead.
The Toyota is far more comfortable, has a better engine, has a better badge, is quieter on the road, uses less fuel, feels better built and at Tata’s current pricing, costs substantially less. It’s a no brainer.
