Tata Indigo Marina TDi

Estates cost more than their hatchback brothers and sisters

Published on Dec 08, 2009 08:00:00 AM

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Make : Tata

Model : Indigo Marina

As many of you would be aware, this is not Tata's first estate. That was the 207 pickup-based ‘Estate’, sold back in 1992. The third variant on the Indica platform, the Indigo Marina, is built on the same extended wheelbase as the Indigo sedan.
A variant that will be built on the same line as the Indica and Indigo, the Marina looks familiar from head-on as there is virtually nothing to distinguish it from its booted cousin. The roof-rails are new, but apart from that it's the same nose. The additional cost of a new chin would have been a touch too steep.
The mass of the car and its elongated but voluminous lines are obvious once you walk around. The high roof drops towards the rear of the car, the long roof is ribbed to provide strength, but the hatch is barely different to that of the Indica.
Still, the Marina looks striking, especially the ‘pillar-less’ tail, where the tail-lights and flush-mounted glass hide the structural metal, easily its prettiest angle.
The front suspension, with its improved lower arm, is carried forward from the Indigo, as is the three-link rear, but softer springs and stiffer dampers have been used to deal with the load better. Like the sedan, the Marina also gets improved brakes, with a larger servo for better braking performance. The numbers also tell us that the Marina is shorter and slightly heavier than its saloon-car cousin.