2017 Tata Tigor review, test drive

What’s it like on the inside?

The Tigor shares its smart dashboard with the Tiago hatchback and the ambience in the cabin is rather nice. There’s a nice textured finish to the dash top, the chunky steering is great to hold, the knitted roof lining looks premium and Tata has even put fabric inserts on the doors to add a bit of richness. But fit and finish is still not quite at Hyundai’s benchmark levels yet. The plastics low down on the dash feel hard and scratchy and panel fit is inconsistent at places such as the glovebox.

True to Tata’s DNA, the Tigor’s cabin is spacious. And comfort is good too. The front seats are large, and though cushioning is a touch soft, they do offer good support. Importantly, frontal visibility is also really nice, thanks in part to the dash being low set. Rear seat passengers will also like the view out from the large rear windows. Tata has lowered the position of the Tigor’s rear seat vis-à-vis the Tiago in the interest of freeing up headroom, and even six-foot tall occupants will be able to sit upright. Clever scoops on the front seatbacks have also helped carve out a good deal of knee room for passengers here. We did find the rear backrest a tad too reclined but on the whole you sit quite comfortably in the back. Interestingly, the backrest extends from door to door, allowing the entire width of the cabin to be used. Three adults can sit three abreast in more comfort than most other compact sedans, and what’s also nice is that there are sizeable fixed headrests for each of the rear passengers. You also have the option to fold down the well-positioned rear centre armrest when the middle seat is not in use.

Armrest aside, the Tigor also gets auto climate control, a reverse camera and a new touchscreen infotainment system over and above what’s on offer in the Tiago. The touchscreen is a development of the Harman-developed unit that you’ll also find on other Tatas. The screen isn’t the most responsive to touch inputs (you’ll find yourself relying on the control dial) and catches a lot of reflections, but the infotainment system does score for functionality. Tata has a suite of mobile apps that you can use with the system. For instance, the screen can display navigation maps and instructions from your phone app, and there’s another app that allows each passenger in the car to add songs from their device (via mobile hotspot) to a playlist on the phone paired with the audio player. Worth a mention is the really impressive sound quality from the four-speaker, four-tweeter setup. We also found the infotainment system quite responsive to voice commands especially for radio, audio and climate control settings.

As for space for small items, the Tigor offers plenty. Each door gets a bottleholder, there’s enough storage for mobile phones and even two cupholders on the new rear armrest.