In a bid to regain its lost market share in the Indian car market, Tata Motors has announced to launch the new Bolt hatchback. The Tata Bolt is directly pitched against the likes of Maruti Swift, Hyundai Grand i10 and others in the segment. Here we bring a quick camparo between the country’s top selling hatchback Maruti Swift and upcoming Tata Bolt. The later was unveiled on February 3 a couple of days before the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. While Swift hatchback has already been doing tremendous business for its parent company, the Bolt will be launched to provide their parent companies a chance to further strengthen their market share in the hatchback segment.
Exteriors
At the front, the Tata Bolt looks aggressive with new large grille, sharp headlights that stretch from the middle of the bonnet to the grille. The bumper gets wide airdam and accommodates a pair of fog lamps. Coming on the side, the vehicle gets aerodynamic line running across the length, while the flared wheel arches have been fitted to 15-inch alloy wheels. It is slightly longer than the Vista and in my opinion it is the best looking Tata hatchback. The company has ditched the Christmas tree tail lamp assembly, while fog lamps are positioned on the bumper. The rear gets rounded edges and curves which offers a more youthful and premium look.
In simple words, I prefer Maruti Swift over Bolt hatchback when it comes to exterior design. This hatchback has muscular and sporty shape. The broad stance, sporty front fascia and its large swept back headlamps add to its aggressiveness. Maruti is also working on a facelifted version of Swift with LED daytime running lamps, which is scheduled to be launched by the mid-2014.
Interiors
Inside the cabin, the Tata Bolt surprises me with the design and quality. Simply, it is the best interiors you would imagine from Tata Motors. The material quality and fit & finish is top notch, while the dashboard design is quite unique. With the increase in size, it offers spacious cabin and is loaded with lot of gizmos such as touchscreen developed by Harmann, Sat-Nav, Bluetooth, voice recognition system and power steering with controls mounted on it.
This is where Swift lacks. It has the familiar sporty black cabin, while the fit & finish, and plastic quality is good. This hatchback misses out on features and space for rear passengers. The top spec model is equipped with features like climate control, sterring with audio controls, audio system and USB for connectivity.
Safety features
Tata Bolt is loaded with several high end safety and security features. This hatchback gets EPAS with active return function and speed sensitive power steering which has been developed by ZF. The other features include dual airbags, ABS (Anti-Lock Braking system) with Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist, child safety lock, central locking, engine immobilizer and many more.
The top spec Maruti Swift is blessed with safety equipment such as ABS with EBD and brake assist, driver and its co-occupant airbags, Engine immobilizer, central locking and others.
Engine & Transmission
The Tata Bolt will be made available in both petrol and diesel guise. Its petrol model will feature a turbocharged intercooled Multi-point Fuel-Injected (MPFi) petrol engine. The 1.2L Revotron churns out a maximum power output of 85PS at 5000rpm and a peak torque of 140Nm @1750-3500rpm. The oil burner is powered by the 1.3 L Multi-Jet (Quadrajet) diesel engine that produce 75PS @4000rpm and 190Nm of torque at 1750-3000rpm. Both the engines will be coupled to a five-speed manual transmission gearbox, while the diesel model is expected to get the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) gearbox.
The Swift hatchback is powered by the same 1.2-litre petrol engine producing 85bhp and 114Nm of torque. Its diesel model gets the 1.3-litre Multi-Jet engine that churns out a max power output of 74bhp and 190Nm of torque. –
Price
The exact pricing details for the Bolt hatchback is yet to be announced, but we expect it to start around Rs. 4 lakh for the base petrol and Rs. 6.5 lakh for the top spec diesel model. On the other hand, the base spec Maruti Swift hatchback starts at Rs. 4.42 lakh and goes all the way to Rs. 6.71 lakh for top end model.
