The full road test is coming soon but for now we need our initial impression, and the first thing that confused me was the name. We have the Tata Indica Vista INI, and it also says safire on the boot but I don’t think that forms part of the name. Why the long name? Regardless of naming conventions the Vista isn’t the ugliest car in the world although the styling can be a bit ostentatious for some, well actually the wheels can. I rather like the wheels but they are rather expensive, more on that in the full road test.

Tata Indica Vista I.N.I mags

The Vista does come equipped with a few quirks, I expected nothing less from this sort of car, going over bumps in the road for instance will produce an amusing squeaking every time. The windscreen wiper blades are excessively noisy and most annoying is the sticky clutch. When you remove your foot after depressing the clutch pedal it sticks for a while instead of freely rising.

Okay so my first impression is quite poor but the road test isn’t over yet so we shall leave our concluding opinions for the full road test.

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We were at the launch of this latest Indica variant from Tata last week, and although pleasantly surprised by the ride, there were other elements which were less impressive…

Now sure, we understand that they’re going for the best value proposition possible, so they’ve stacked in features like P/S, A/C, front and rear fogs, adjustable positions on the seat and steering wheel, electric windows in the higher two of the three spec levels. But what they’ve left out entirely are safety features! The range-topping IGNIS even gets electric mirrors, a two-DIN audio system featuring Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, and an uprated engine, more on which later.

Now OK, so all the surveys say that “The Market” (we, the SA consumer) rate sunroofs and bling alloys as more crucial purchasing considerations than safety, but then again ask “The Market” how important they rate insurance and you’ll get a similar answer – not very. But buy a new car, drive it out the showroom, and have an accident, and you know why insurance is important! In fact, that’s why it’s simply a requirement if you’re buying on HP. Safety features should be treated similarly, and when the legislation on this matter is amended next year, it will be. So why not be ready now?In fact the IGNIS already has ABS with EBD and a pair of airbags installed…

Anyway, the car itself. Well, it’s a small engine naturally, but doesn’t really feel lacking that much even here at the Reef. Called the 1.4L Safire motor, it’s basically a Fiat 1400, developing 55kW at 6200rpm. However we had two different versions of tacho on the identical, mid-spec Aura models presented to the press to drive, one redlined at 6000, and another at a diesel-like 4000! This last one reportedly even had the hard rev limiter cutting in at 4500rpm…

Anyway, the IGNIS model gets a bit of a power hike as well, up 10kW and 2Nm for totals of 65kw and 116Nm.

We’ll publish full details of our drive in the new Indica Vista in the next issue of the magazine, which will be published in two weeks time. Immediate impressions are that the styling is quite fetching, especially on these optional alloy wheels pictured here. The interior is fairly spascious, even I could get comfortable behind the wheel, and although cheap plastics are the norm in here it doesn’t feel completely low-rent.

Ah and yes, the prices are what you really want to know…

Entry-level, INI, circa R120K.

Mid-range, AURA, circa R130K.

Top-spec, IGNIS, circa R140K.