Zippy Car, Zippy Weekend and Zippy Review

The Event

Flying over the Arabian coast

I remember some months back I confessed on my blog that I choose to not write about Goa or anything related to Goa, for I believed it is Goa after all – who has not been there? Guess what, the Kaynaat (universe) really wants to show me that even I have not explored it enough. So last week it was Goa calling me again for a #Fantastico experience, or well it was Tata Motors and Indibloger.in’s call to Goa. And frankly a call for a drive in a new car in Goa in Indi style - damn too many reasons to get set go to Goa in one line! And that is exactly what I did, as did 59 other bloggers across India.

The Mumbai Airport Selfie

So on 5^th of December, I managed to brave the crazy Mumbai traffic and reached Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji International/Domestic Airport where I met about 20 of the 59 other bloggers. Within an hour, courtesy the travel arrangements done by Indi team, Wizcraft people and Hotel Alila Diwa, I met the rest of them too at Alila Diwa, which by the way was where we were staying for the weekend! (People who haven’t heard about this place, review coming up very soon) At Alila Diwa were received a warm welcome by Naveen and Vineet from the Indi Team, the Tata Motors team and yes by lunch! Post which we got our luxurious rooms and off we went.

Some glimpses of Alila Diwa, rest in my next post!

We, Zainab Attari (my roommate) and I got a large suite at the back of the resort with a gorgeous view of the infinity pool and the rolling fields beyond it. But we had hardly spent any time in the room when we had to leave for the beach activities that Tata people had planned for us. Hey, not complaining at all because we went to Majorda Beach to play football and stayed there till a beautiful sunset.

Such was the football drama

After we returned to the resort it was finally time for some blogging action. Indi Team had organized a ‘Blogging 101’ session for us in a courtyard of the resort which was hosted by Anoop as always. Wondering where do Tata people come in all this now, are we? Well behold for the locker room session is here!

Own space in a locker room! Yay (says the footbal freak in me)

We were all pleasantly surprised by the ‘purpose build locker room’ which had sixty No 10 Messi jerseys and Tata kits in it. Have you seen the Tata Messi #madeofgreat ads on TV? Then you know which car we drove else wait for some more time for right now, as in then, was the coach’s hour and our coach for the weekend was the very witty and very tall MTV VJ Cyrus Sahukar! (Girls, you can breathe!) 

Football or Laughter Coach - still thinking...

Post the gyaan (knowledge) session from Cyrus we got some ‘Zica-ful’ information about the whole #MadeforGreat campaign from Ms. Delna Awari and Pratap Bose, who by the way is a brilliant singer, of the Tata team. And finally there it was, Zica, the new hatchback in the town shinning in all its glory in the bright sunset orange look. We did get a quick overview of the technology and technical aspects of the vehicle but it was the drive on the next day that allowed us to get to know the vehicle more. After the unveiling, we went back to the courtyard for cocktail and karaoke session but were totally waiting for the morning.

Night and Day - food's way

Rommie and Me all geared up for the drive

Then came the morning – Drive of the ZIppy CAr aka ZICA (Get it now?) just after the moon hid itself and the sun was still deciding to shine. Yes, again I woke up at 6 in Goa! Anyways the drive. A little bit shy of 80 kilometers, we drove the brand new Zica Diesel through the highs and low of the curvy roads of Goa. Goa roads may not be known for monstrous traffic jam, but they are notorious for their narrowness and sharp curves. But believe me, we did not have any issues maneuvering the vehicle.

Imagine the drive now

Okay, not jumping the gun yet. For the drive we were split in groups of three and we drove the lanes of South Goa till the Verna Industrial patch. This was my first ever Tata product test drive where I refrained from driving much cause I was so comfortably enjoying the seats, other features of the car and the view of Goa. But I am going to review the car honestly so don’t you guys worry, cause yes the drive was pretty much the end of the weekend and post a scrumptious lunch and Antakshari infused afternoon I came back to Mumbai.

The Review

And here it is, finally - What I found out about the car during the drive:-

1.   Is the car the best looking one of Tata so far?

Yes! Tata revamped its design starting from Zest and it has been a constant up graph from there. The exteriors not only have a chick feel (yes I am a girl so I would say that) but it is more young appealing and fun in its look compared to all its contemporaries.

2.  Is it a comfortable car?

Very! The biggest issue with Tata bolt, Zica’s predecessor was its cramped up interiors. The issue was surely take into account while designing Zica. Zica has more leg space, more utility storage space (22 slots) and the seats – similar to Bolt and Zest (i.e. not the standard leather and plastic feel and hugging) but more hugging and had a luxurious feel to it. Also with 240 liters of boot space, makes a mark in along with some premium hatchbacks in the market. Not that it has anything to do with comfort, but guess what I fit into it – so felt like including the feature here.

That is my Team mates and me in the boot space of our car!

3.  Kitna Deti Hai? The mileage question!

I am not putting up a comparison here but just giving you stats. The petrol Variant averaged 14-16 kmpl whereas for the diesel variant, which has a 1.05 L diesel engine, it was 18-20 kmpl (as observed). I solemnly swear I am not lying so you can do the rest of the math. 

At its peak

4.  Engines?!?!

Tata has incorporated all-new engines in Zica – the Revotron & Revotorq which combined produce a peak power of 85PS and a torque of 114Nm. The Revotron is an 1199cc, three-cylinder petrol engine. While they are powerful and their performance is satisfactory, the engines produces relatively more sound than most other petrol engines which was a letdown given the fact that Bolt and Zest has considerable sound reduction with respect to the engines.

Engine View

5.  Need for speed?

While the car easily reached 80 kmph during our drive, reaching a 100 kmph seemed like a drag and the acceleration was not adequate. If you are a speed junky, this might frustrate you, but otherwise it is apt for Indian roads.

P.C. -Zainab Attari

6.  Music Mania?

Yes, with Harman Kardon Infotainment system with 8 speakers and steering mounted audio controls, they could not have gone wrong with the music mania setup. It is similar to that of Zest and bolt but with a slight upgrade. Now the ConnectNext system also comes with 'MapMyIndia' integration, conveying the turn-by-turn navigation data directly onto the screen. The system also have the first ever Juke-Car app which is integrated with infotainment system and allows people in the car to connect their mobiles to the audio system. Selected songs from any and all of the connected mobiles can be added to form a unified playlist which will then be played on the system in the order you choose from the app or in random – just like a juke box! The only let down here was the background running of the tracks and the sudden drop of volume, than the gradual drop, while instructions or calls are being played.

7.  Navigation –

Yes like all the horizonNext cars, Zica’s navigation system is a prompt one and pretty accurate when set. We did get lost a couple of times during our ride and I was tad bit annoyed with the system, but when I did figure out the glitch was by the preset navigation and not really the fault of the navigation system of the car all I could do was appreciate the constant assistance the navigation system tried to provide us with.

8.  Price – What about the pocket?

Frankly we don’t know. Despite of asking the Tata team again and again the price range of the variants, they refused to answer. But just from the features, looks and the genre, I would say Zica should fit comfortably in the 3.8-4.5 lakh slot and this is very reasonable considering Zica is an entry level hatchback that give you the feel of a compact sedan.

The commercial launch of the vehicle is somewhere around early January next year so till then you can consider these factors and finalize your choice. As for me, thank you Tata Motors team and Indi Team for this amazing weekend and experience. I loved connecting with some amazing people during the meet. And to my dear readers, wait for the car and wait for my review of Alila Diwa.

One of my favourite selfies of the weekend

P.S. - A Big Thank you to all my other Blogger friends Zainab Attari, Sid Balachandran, Dr. Roshan R, Ankit Chugh, Shifa Merchant, Shilpa Garg, Shivani Garg, Yogita Aggarwal, Upendra Swami, Anand Bhate, Ragini Puri, Avantika Chitlangia, Ajay Kontham, Anindya Sundar Basu, Ankita Bhatia, Uttpal K, Vinita Bahl, Ankita Singhal and Pooja Mahimkar who made this trip to Goa memorable.

Doc this shall continue!