SATURDAY, 10 OCTOBER, 2015
Like a Bolt out of the blue Tata stages its biggest launch outside India to bring its frugal A segment car to South Africa
Who could have thunk it — the Tata Bolt goes up against the gorgeous Ford Figo and not only lasts 12 rounds, but wins three of them and leaves the judges with a pensive look as they ponder reallife running costs and fuel consumption… But will South African buyers manage to look past the hardy little Indian’s bubbleonwheels design? PHOTOS: MOTORBEAM AND QUICKPIC ALWYN VILJOEN ACCORDIAN Investments — the Im perial Group subsidiary that imports and sells Tata in South Africa, this week launched the Tata Bolt sedan and hatch versions in Johannesburg. The event was hosted by Accordi on’s new CEO (and former CFO) Kyri Michael, and attended by the presi dent of Tata passenger vehicles, Ma yank Pareek. Pareek confirmed South Africa was a very important market for Tata, adding this was the first big launch of the Bolt outside India. Low consumption Now, a car launch in Jo’burg tells you two things: first that the manufacturer is not afraid of the roughly 29% power loss caused by Egoli’s thin air, and sec ond that there is probably going to be a turbo involved. My memories of Tata’s turbos are not good ones, but it turns out the turbo in the Bolt has no lag and keeps the 1,2 engine’s torque at 140 Nm between 1 500 and 4 000 rpm for a very enjoya ble drive. More air on the flames of course means the fuel burns quicker, and in India, where cars sell on centsper kilometre running costs, this would not do. So the Bolt also comes with an ecobutton. The ecobutton works like an off but ton for that turbo and ensures truly remarkable, reallife fuel consumption for the Bolt. For example, in a fuel challenge along highways and city roads on a 34°C day (which made Egoli’s air even thinner), Glen Hall of the Citizen achieved 4,1 l/100 and Stuart John ston, who writes Wheels’ karting re ports, he got 4,7 l/100. But these two wily old hacks only drove the Bolt us ing its gutless eco mode. I drove the Bolt with a combination of normal and eco mode, to record what Michael described as the Bolt’s normal consumption: 5,4 l/100. This means any careful driver will
get over 20 km from each litre of fuel in a Bolt, a claim that cannot be made by many of the Bolt’s competitors that sell for under R150 000. Fierce competition The competitors range from the top selling VW Polo to the lesserspotted Suzuki Dzire, but I expect Ford’s new Figo, which had a paper launch on Thursday, will give the Tata Bolt the stiffest competition. Like the Bolt, the allnew Figo has elegant looks, and it comes with ample legroom both front and rear, powerful airconditioning and the latest in air bags, ABS with EBD and corner stabil ity control. Both have fog lamps, power win dows and side mirrors, child locks, driveaway lock and comprehensive dashboard instrumentation, where the Bolt leads with a fiveinch touch screen. The Figo, however, totally trumps the Bolt in storage spaces and ups the game in connectivity. Ford kept the smooth diesel in the Figo, but Michael told Wheels the die sel Bolt with an autobox that is on sale in India can only come here when the rand looks a lot better than it does now. Figo walks the stowaway battle The Bolt’s stowage is limited to narrow door pockets, a single, shallow cup holder for the driver and a small glove box. If you are charging your phone from the USB point or playing an MP3 through AUX plug point, the units have to dangle on the floor. In the Figo, there is a nonslip tray above the plug points and 19 other nooks and crannies, including space for both a 1,5litre and a onelitre bot tle in the doors, a glove box that swal lows a laptop, and a clever antisnatch compartment in the driver’s side of the dashboard that is only accessible when the driver’s door is open. Soundwise, the Bolt comes with a
very good fourspeaker audiovisual system by Harman, which links easily to phones, memory sticks and laptops and uses voice prompts across the range. The Figo’s sees the Bolt’s Harman, and raises it with its own fourspeaker system that comes with Sync2 and “MyFord Dock”, which is basically a smart box that powers, links and stores out of sight any digital device that will fit into it. Where the Ford trails the Tata is in price and weight, with the Figo about R20k dearer and over 300 kg heavier. The extra kilos and bigger engine will always make the Figo a lot thirstier than the Bolt in city driving, leaving the Bolt owner with the bigger smile. And it should be said, after Wheels mentioned the Bolt’s lack of stowage spaces to Pareek, the boss jotted a quick note to his engineers. Which is where we can conclude:
“watch the spaces”. Elephant in the room Asked what Accordian is doing about Tata’s tattered car reputation, Michael admitted they had learned a lot from past mistakes. “We realise that a reliable parts sup ply is critical and have restructured and streamlined the logistics of our parts operation which is based at two warehouses, covering 3 000 m2, in Meadowdale. “Stockholding has been increased to more than R20 million and we have a first time pick rate of about 92% at present and aim to improve on that figure going forward. Properly trained people are key to effective customer care programme and we have con tracted the Imperial Training and Technical Academy to ensure we have knowledgeable staff at our dealers and in the head office,” said Michael.
V KYRI MICHAEL CEO of Accordion Investments
Properly trained people are key for customer care”
Other specs at a glance Ford Figo
Tata Bolt
Engine: ....................1,5 Sigma, petrol Power: .............82 kW at 6300 rpm Torque: ..........136 Nm at 4250 rpm l/100km: .......................5,6 (claimed) Transmission: ..fivespeed manual Wheels: .......14inch (steel or alloy) Spare wheel: .........................Full size Boot volume: .....................256 litres Hatch weight ......................1 450 kg Warranties: ...4 years/120 000 km Service plans: 2 years/40 000 km Roadside: ............5 years unlimited.
1,2 Recotron turbo, petrol 66 kW at 5000 rpm 140 Nm at 1500 rpm 5,4 (personally tested) fivespeed manual 14inch (steel or alloy) Full size 210 litres 1 135 kg 5 years/100 000 km 2 years/30 000 km 5 years unlimited
Bolt vs Figo hatc Bolt 1,2 XMS R132 h pricing: Bolt 1,2 XT R142 9 995 Figo 1,4 Ambiente 95 Figo 1,4 Titanium R158 900 Figo 1,4 Titanium P R181 900 Figo 1,5 TDCi Ambiowershift R203 900 Figo 1,5 TDCi Tren ente R189 900 d R199 900
• Optional - Two-year/unlimited km warranty • 80-point mechanical check • Terms and conditions apply. E & OE • Ownership guaranteed • 7-day exchange plan • Mileage certified • Full service history PRICE COLOUR MILEAGE VW UP! 2015 Take UP! 1.0 55 kW White 6000 km R121 000 2015 Take UP! 1.0 55 kW Silver 4500 km R125 000 2015 Move UP! 1.0 55 kW Blue 5000 km R125 000 POLO VIVO 2014 Vivo 1.4 Trendline Sedan Silver 71 000 km R107 900 2014 Vivo 1.4 Trendline 5-Door White 26 000 km R129 900 2014 Vivo 1.4 Trendline Sedan Silver 20 000 km R129 900 2014 Vivo 1.6 Trendline 5-Door Blue 22 000 km R133 900 2014 Vivo 1.4 Sedan White 71 000 km R109 900 2012 Vivo 1.6 Trendline Silver 84 000 km R119 900 POLO 2015 Polo GP 1.2 Comfortline Sunrise Red 9 000 km R226 900 2013 Polo GP 1.6 Comfortline 5-Door Pepper Grey 57 000 km R169 900 2014 Polo 1.4 Trendline Sedan White 32 000 km R154 900 2014 Polo 1.4 Trendline Sedan Silver 16 000 km R159 900 2014 Polo GP 1.2 TSi Trendline White 34 000 km R169 900 2012 Polo 1.6 Comfortline 5-Door Red 31 000 km R165 900 GOLF 2015 Golf SV 2.0 TDi DSG Red 9 000 km R299 900 2015 Golf 7 1.4 TSi 90 kW Comfortline Silver 19 000 km R274 900 2014 Golf 7 1.2 TSi Trendline Tungsten 28 000 km R208 900 2014 Golf 7 1.4 TSi Comfortline While 19 800 km R254 900 2014 Golf R 2.0 TSi DSG Limestone 5 000 km R545 000 2013 Golf 7 1.4 TSi Comfortline DSG White 73 000 km R219 900 2011 Golf 6 1.4 TSi Comfortline White 86 000 km R139 900 JETTA 2012 Jetta 1.4 TSi Comfortline Silver 54 000 km R169 900 2012 Jetta 1.4 TSi Comfortline White 60 000 km R169 900 2012 Jetta 1.2 TSi Trendine White 79 000 km R155 900 OTHER VW 2011 VW Tiguan 1.4 TSi Trend Silver 90 000 km R189 900 2015 VW Tiguan 1.4 TSi Trend Silver 6 000 km R314 900 2011 VW Touran 2.0 TDi Comfortline Grey 78 000 km R204 900 OTHER 2010 BMW 118i Man Grey 105 000 km R129 900 2013 Toyota Corolla 1.6 Advanced A/T Blue 31 000 km R185 900 2013 Kia Sportage Blue 29 000 km R249 900 Mastercars warranty not included in advertised price.
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