Tata Prima Review by Expert

Tata Prima is an upcoming luxury sedan from Tata Motors. It was expected to be launched in last quarter of 2011 after it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009 and a subsequent unveil at the 2010 Auto Expo held in India. In both the Motor shows, Tata showcased the concept version and there was no information given as to the price or the specifications of the car. However, a close look at the exteriors and the size of the car a large number of specifications and the expected price of the Tata Prima can be deciphered.

Interestingly, Tata Prima shares its name with the series of Tata Prima world trucks. This global car is said to be in the development phase while some informed sources suggest that Tata has stopped working on this concept. The available information on the Tata Prima suggests that the car will be based on Tata’s sedan debut car Tata Indigo. The wheelbase will be long and it will have a total length of 2.7 meters. The car is expected to target European markets. Based on the design of the Italian Pininfarina, Tata Prima heavily derives its looks from Tata subsidiary Jaguar cars. Notably, Pininfarina has designed some of the most stunning cars such as Ferrari Mythos.

The luxury sedan Tata Prima is expected to be priced in the Rs 12 lakh onwards. This car will also be an addition to the sedan fleet that has only one car Tata Indigo in various variants. However, adding a Rs 12 lakh car to the segment that currently has its Rs 5.12 lakh Tata Indigo seems implausible. At this point of time what seems obvious is an offering above the Tata Indigo and not so above as Tata Prima. At this price tag, the Prima sedan will be competing with Mitsubishi Lancer, Chevrolet Cruze, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla Altis.

As per the currently available concrete information about Tata Prima, it will have 100 bhp power on petrol and 120 bhp on diesel. The traditional 5 speed manual gearbox is expected to deliver the power to the wheels in toto. A six speed automatic gearbox could also make its way into Prima. Believed to be developed in close association with Jaguar, the Prima will have world class sedan features as Tata will be launching the car in Europe and other countries as well besides India.

The concept version unveiled at the Auto Expo held in 2010 suggests that it will have a length of 2.7 meters and thus expect lot of space inside the new Tata sedan Prima. With looks greatly inspired from Jaguar cars, a large breathing space at the front, large bonnet and a streamlined design will all be the propositions of the car. With 1.6 L and 1.8 L engine options, there is also high performance in the offing. In addition to it, safety features such as Anti-lock Braking system, Brake Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and air bags will be part of the standard equipment. In addition to this audio control mounted steering, automatic air conditioning, tilt steering, driver seats auto adjustment modes and similar other features are all expected to make it to the Prima.