Tata Bolt

The interiors of the Bolt truly show that Tata is heading in the right direction. The layout is identical to the Tata Zest and the quality levels have gone up significantly and the cabin is very welcoming with a nice dashboard and comfortable seats. It’s got a snazzy Java Black interior setup that is designed to give the Bolt a refined athletic look. There is a good amount of space in the car, even for rear seat passengers.

Bolt is the latest premium hatchback from Tata Motors that comes with a 5 speed manual transmission and is available in 2 engine variants – Revotron 1.2T (Petrol) &Quadrajet 1.3 (Diesel). Revotron 1.2T is an 1,193 cc turbocharged Petrol engine with multi-drive system and it has 89bhp of power. The diesel unit is a 1,248cc capacity engine with 75bhp.

The Tata Bolt is the first car in its segment to offer three drive modes – Eco, City and Sport. At the touch of a button, the ECU selects a different engine map, which alters the car’s performance. The default mode is City, which is great for urban driving conditions as it provides adequate power while, at the same time, ensuring fuel efficiency. Eco mode is when you want to conserve fuel, and power is limited. Sport mode is where the Tata Bolt springs to life, and if you want to drive fast and hard then this is mode you would prefer. But it’s good to have the luxury of choice to suit your mood. In terms of overall performance though the Bolt does a great job. The engine power is nice and the acceleration is peppy and linear with little lag, like other Tata hatches. The handling has also become more direct and the suspension is perfect for city as well as highway use. By no means is it the best performing hatch, but the levels of refinement have certainly improved for a Tata car.

The petrol variant gave us a mileage of 15kmpl, while the Quadrajet 1.3 diesel engine provided an impressive 19kmpl.

The Bolt gets power steering, power windows, and then it also has fully automatic air-conditioning that can be controlled on its touchscreen system. The same system also controls the music and other functions, and there are also steering mounted controls. The screen also has a video playback feature and you can connect your smartphone and view a navigation system as well.

Safety features include ABS and EBD, and then there are all dual front airbags, and it also gets a smart rear wiper.

Though it’s not the best in its segment in terms of quality, it certainly is up there with the best though. Tata have done a great job to make sure that the build quality and use of components is at par with the best. There still is some room for improvement, but overall it is quite nice. Tata although do seem to be well built cars, and although they might have a few nags, it’s not expensive or difficult to get parts.

The car is priced nicely and it does come with a lot of great stuff so it does carry a good value for money deal.

It’s a great attempt from Tata but they still need to improve in some areas. The driving modes are a good plus and the safety features are nice, but if you spend just a little more you could opt for better built and better performing machines. However, by no means is the Tata Bolt a bad car, its actually quite good.