Tata Motors has launched its much awaited new Tiago mid-sized hatchback at prices starting from Rs 3.39 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) for the base petrol variant.

The Tiago looks to replace the ageing Indica eV2 and achieve the sales volumes that the company desperately needs. The Bolt had the potential to bring in sales, but was launched at a price too high and was essentially a major revision of the Vista. The Tiago, however, has been priced competitively and Tata has ensured that it is virtually all new. Although the base floor plan comes from the Indica, the Tiago shares nothing else with the model.

The Tiago also marks the debut of two new in-house developed engines – a 1.2-litre three-cylinder naturally aspirated Revotron petrol engine that develops 85hp and 114Nm of torque, and a 1.05-litre three-cylinder Revotorq diesel unit capable of developing 70hp and 139Nm of torque. Both engines offer a choice of drive modes – a segment first – and come paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. The petrol motor gets an ARAI fuel efficiency figure of 23.84kpl while the diesel is rated at 27.28kpl.

A hallmark of Tata, the Tiago too gets a good amount of space on the inside, along with a generous 240-litre boot and numerous storage spaces scattered across the cabin. There is a dual-tone dashboard with colour-coordinated inserts available as an option. Available in five variants - XB, XE, XM, XT and XZ - the top-spec XZ trim is rather lavishly equipped with features such as airbags, cooled glovebox, and a Harman-sourced infotainment system with USB, Bluetooth and aux connectivity. Tata is also offering a safety pack on the XE, XM and XT trims at an additional cost of Rs 18,000.

The Tiago rivals the likes of the Maruti Celerio and the Hyundai i10, both of which are well-established players in the competitive mid-size hatchback segment.

The much delayed Tiago was earlier known as the Zica, but was renamed following the outbreak of an identical named virus.

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