Tata ZICA #madeOfGreat

Tata ZICA

Sometimes, good things come in small packages.

ZICA is a new car from TATA MOTORS. It will be released next year but a small preview of what's in store was given to 60 bloggers from across the country. I was one of them invited to share the experience along with the immensely talented bloggers. The meet was set in association with IndiBlogger, a blogging community and the location was GOA (I will give you a few seconds to let it sink in). It was a two day event which comprised of fabulous food, music, product intro - Tata ZICA of course and finally the driving experience. 

Before we proceed one might ponder over the question of what is Tata Motors #madeOfGreat. Tata Motors have acquired Lionel Messi as the Global Brand Ambassador. Delna Avari, Head of Global Marketing gives us the insight about why they choose Lionel Messi and why he is really #madeOfGreat. So, before you again drown into serious thinking, you, yes you reading this is also #madeOfGreat (ie if you survive this post till the end. Nah, just kidding. You are already #madeOfGreat.) Well, fasten your seat belt for the #Fantastico ride.

On the afternoon of 5th December, all the bloggers have slowly started pouring in at the Alila Diwa Resort and after a delicious lunch we were all set to head the beach. It would be a shame not to visit the beach when in Goa. The beach set us up with the Goan feeling and the beach football just gave the added kickstarter to the program. After heading back to the hotel, tired as we may be, we were all excited for the events that followed. After quickly getting refreshed, a podium was set for the bloggers intro which was followed by a locker room session.

The locker room is a typical replica of the Locker room we usually find in the Soccer stadiums, only that the lockers had awesome goodies - A Tata Motors - Messi Jersey, a sip up bottle, Messi's jersey replica Pendrive-Keychain combo, a notepad, a carryon bag and a file with the Product details. After admiring the goodies we had a surprise in store. Our coach for the day had arrived and it was none other than Cyrus Sahukar. Cyrus had a one on one with Delna Avari, Head of Global Marketing  who met Messi and got him to be the Brand Ambassador for Tata Motors. She explained how humble Lionel Messi was and how he was truly #madeOfGreat as a person in spite of his huge career achievements in Football.

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Cyrus then introduced Pratap Bose, Head of Design who gave a walkthrough on  the design aspects of Tata Zica. He explained the journey from the inception of the idea through the clay replica to the actual manufacturing of the car. 

The highlight of the presentation were the three Exs and three INs  : 

Expressive - Confident and agile stance, with the new multifaceted TATA emblem and signature hexagon grill.

Extraordinary - Next generation sharp, sculpted design language makes car rise above the crowd.

Exciting - 3 Dimensional headlamps with smoked lens and sporty black bezel Sharp Tail lamps accentuate a sporty stance

INviting - Layered design theme with a dual tone interior. Customizable air vents and premium graphics on fabric. Premium, height adjustable seating with body hugging bolsters.

INtouch - Premium finish with geometric texture, accented with chrome handles and premium knitted fabrics.

INtelligent- Next-Gen CONNECTNEXT Infotainment system by Harman, complemented by the sporty instrument cluster pods. Multiple storage space designed for easy access. All control within easy reach.

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It was then time for the technical aspects of the car. The backbone of any car lies on how efficiently can the car deliver and meet the user's expectation. The more economical, the more a person would prefer a car. Anand Kulkarni, Head of Engineer gave us the indepth walkthrough on the design features and the technology that has been used in the car, about how it is next generation. The key factors of which are :

a. Revotron Engine, with a 1199cc, 3 cylinder Pertol has the first in segment Multi Drive functionality namely City and Eco. It has a power of 85 PS and a torque of 114 NM. It has a superior fuel efficiency and is made of all light and efficient Aluminium.The maintenance cost of the car is significantly low and has lower emissions. 

b. Advanced Safety : Safety is a priority with the increasing cars on the road. Airbags on both sides is definitely a plus point. The energy absorbing body structure in case of crash will reduce it impact drastically for the passengers inside.

c. Comfort : Advanced dual path suspension for a comfortable drive and superior handling. ePas for Stress free maneuvering. The rea parking sensors will give the direct indication on the infotainment screen. And a passenger centric ac vents provide for quick cooling. Leg space - How people crib about the congested space. Thankfully, the scooped front seat provide for the much needed leg space.

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d. ConnectNext - An Infotainment exclusively developed for Zica by Harman which gives a  surround sound effect and a great bass. The steerings are mounted with controls for hassle free driivng. Bluetooth connectivity with smart phone integration.  First in segment smart phone enabled turn by tirn navigation app. Juke Car app. The app utilizes the mobile hotspot of a phone to create a virtual network. This enables multiple users to play their playlists.

Finally the curtains were raised and the much awaited car was finally revealed - Tata Zica. It takes the name after the advent feature of he car that it being Zippy - Zippy Car. There were counter set up describing each feature of the car. There will be six variants of the car in the following months. One of the best feature is the customizable air vents, the color of which can be user defined. After learning about the different aspects of the car, its features and breaking down the down part by part though photos, it was time for dinner.

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The evening settled in the slow music while the calm atmosphere gradually witnessed the clinking glasses and laughter of the people. The delicacies were set and the people mingled with each other over words, jokes and rap battles. The karaoke ended with a Hindi number while everyone joined the dance floor to shake a leg while the champagne followed the rhythm of the steps and beats.

The morning started as usual, by me hitting the Snooze Button for 2 hours straight. Eventually I got up and put on the over sized Jersey. The breakfast section was swamped with a variety. I had a hard time deciding what to eat and ended up picking up everything one by one. I finally ate a months' lunch. My mom would have been very happy to know that. Just as then, it was time to head out and experience the Zica drive. After the rules had been set and the instuctions handed out, 20 Zica cars with 3 bloggers each headed on a 20km drive. The drive included challenges, of course and the winners would win vouchers. This was a pretty decent deal to win vouchers.

Gear up for great - Tata Zica - Blogger. #Blogger #TataMotorsZica #tatamotors #AlilaDiwaG… https://t.co/jttPYi635W pic.twitter.com/nn13MA6KNv

— ακ (@ajaykontham) December 5, 2015

The cars were lined up and waited with their engines roaring. The flag was waved off and the race began. It was course of roughly 50 kilometers accompanied with a few tasks that we were supposed to perform. We were pretty swift with following the map, despite the technical difficulties put forth by the voice navigation. We along another team were perfectly following the directions without getting lost. It was a pretty smooth ride, with the surround sound rocking the car. The car ride was more fun with occasional stops for the challenge. 

Here are some of the tasks via tweets :

The Team P3 :

Ekta & AK - You were great sports; we had an amazing #Zica drive with lots of laughs! Go #TeamP3 Thanks Naveen too! pic.twitter.com/dBPD53mIdb

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 9, 2015

Experiencing ZICA Drive :

Experiencing @zicaTatamotors for the first time. #TataMotorsZica #TataZica #zicaTataMotor… https://t.co/UefA0H3hef pic.twitter.com/VVcnNLrwi7

— ακ (@ajaykontham) December 7, 2015

Selfie Challenge:

@ZicaTataMotors @INTERNETmylife this tall hunk of a man was mighty impressed with the Zica @ajaykontham @ektz p3 pic.twitter.com/B2Xo1YqE8n

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 6, 2015

Sound System at its' best (plus the wind):

@ZicaTataMotors @minty_tweets @ajaykontham @ektz @pythoroshan dance dance to Dil se! Kickass sound system pic.twitter.com/vagPfVzkWu

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 6, 2015

#Fantastico to the power 3 :

@ZicaTataMotors @mansigokhale #fantastico x infinity. He loved the speakers @ajaykontham @ektz team p3 pic.twitter.com/UuyBkZlwyc

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 6, 2015

The Boot Space :

@ZicaTataMotors @stiryoursouls @ajaykontham team p3 challenge 6 @ektz #Fantastico pic.twitter.com/UT8kxJIzpZ

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 6, 2015

Singing a song :

@JaibalaRao @ajaykontham @ZicaTataMotors @ektz Here you go! A fantastic song challenge 9 team p3 pic.twitter.com/Fo1kZxYZRw

— Sid (@iwrotethose) December 6, 2015

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To summarize the #Fantastico Tata ZICA 

a. Design

Zica is definitely a new trend in the hatchback community. The exterior and interiors are perfected to not only catch the eye but also to provide the comfort, and will definitely give a run for the other variants in the hatchback community. It has been designed to meet most of the needs of the person handling the car and the passenger. The extra leg space for the second row passenger, the minor things such as the arrow shaped handles, the position of the hand brake closer to the driver providing more space for the cup holders and other commodities, the bottle holders on all the car doors, the AC vents, the speakers on the doors at the rear providing the surround effect. Every minuted detail meticulously done.

b. Driving Mode

Fuel efficiency is a striking feature for any car, and it varies from the terrain we are driving in. The heavily populated ( roads with more cars on the road ) and the hilly side where there is less vehicles will provide for a huge variance in the fuel consumption of the car. Zica has two modes - Eco and City. The ECO provides the conventional economical mode which helps in saving the fuel consumed. Both the variants ( Petrol and Diesel ) provide the two modes of driving. The City mode provides the freedom to travel faster and has better performance (in the long run).

c. Music 

Music is the best companion anyone can ever get. Whether it is with family or even if one is planning a solo trip, music tops the list of the people have. ZICA provides a surround system with eight speakers and has an excellent bass as well. ZICA comes with e ConnectNext Infotainment system providing the in-class music experience. The JukeCar app is a preinstalled software which enables the passengers to chose their favorite playlist by connecting it through their phone through the bluetooth. Another feature that stands out is that the music fades in volume to provide the turn-by-turn navigation to the driver.

d. Guide Me.

The MapMyIndia Navigation system is developed exclusively for the ZICA car and as mentioned earlier, it provides the turn by turn navigation. It is another feature of CONNECTNEXT, where the console provides the navigation updates. The rear parking sensors provide the information directly on the Infotainment system console. Though the navigation is mostly depended on the network connectivity, it still accounts for a good navigation.

e. How did it fare?

On a stretch or roughly 50 km, the Petrol variant which we were driving fared well in fuel efficiency and so did the Diesel. The driving was smooth and the power steering was a plus point as it could cut corner with ease. The hydraulics and the suspensions were in perfect sync with the car balance providing a smooth ride.

f. Huge luggage? No Problem.

With 240 litres, the boot space is quite huge for a hatchback model providing space for two people to perfect fit in. Yes, we did try that and no, no one was stuck. So, this must be enough to prove that even if you have that luggage and you are deciding whether to carry it or not, don't give a second thought and pack it.

g. So, how much ?

The price of the car has not yet been revealed since it wasn't a commercial launch. But one can estimate the price to be lining along with Hyundai i10 or Maruthi Celerio.

h. Final Verdict

To have experienced the ZICA first hand, I would say it is a go-to car in Hatchbacks.

The #fantastico captures : 

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This post is written for IndiBlogger in association with Tata Motors #madeOfGreat.