THE LOOK :

The Tata Sedan in the very shop where it was created: the Body and Cab Design shop at the ERC in Pune. If you are thinking that the new car needed to be distinctive, then it is not. But on the other hand it is on par with a majority in its class. The Sedan though sits lower and is better planted than the Indica in the rear three-quarter position as our pic illustrates. The rakish shut lines of the boot and the large wraparound tail lamps add a bit of visual relief.

Before anyone complains and says the car is simple and not distinctive we confess that we concur with you wholeheartedly. The Sedan has a pleasing personality and given that the company had to basically use the same doors and architecture till the C-pillar meant that an entirely different or distinctive look would have cost a whole load of money. But this is what essentially emerges when a hatch sprouts a boot. Look at the Peugeot 306 in both hatch and saloon versions. In fact look at the 206 and the 309 which lived for a few fractious years on the Indian automotive firmament and you will get the drift.Generally speaking, in a nation like ours we are not supposed to, or rather not used to getting cars with a boot added on, period. We are more into getting a small hatch and a three-box saloon totally different in make-up and turnout. But these are signs of the times and one will see this line of thought proliferate all across the manufacturer smorgasbord.

The same smiley face greets you up front with the familiar pleasing A-pillar rake and the aligned-in-the-centre beltline. The boot added on is simplistically styled and non-fussy which is where it can be faulted. But to give the blandness some visual relief the wraparound tail lamps and the recessed number plate do help somewhat. The Tata Sedan is no stunner in the Aria mould but is meant as a functional and affordable mid-sized saloon. This could just end up as a virtue, taken with its mix of performance and pricing. One factor helping the Sedan (no name as yet and so we keep addressing it as such) display some poise whether at rest or on the move are the 14-inch wheels (shod with 175/65-R14 tyres) which will be standard fitment, a welcome move in our opinion.

GEAR ON BOARD :
To get the 14-inch wheels going on the Sedan, much work was done on the panel sheeting of the wheel wells. This required some major engineering work but as V Sumantran, the head honcho spearheading both the Passenger Car Business Unit as also the engineering side of the business informed us, "You haven't seen the last of this." One can safely say that if it requires a move to 15-inchers, the Sedan in its sportiest or upscale versions would wear these sizes. And more importantly it is not just a new or a larger set of shoes that this car sports but it also comes with a whole new fitness package that encompasses reworked suspension geometry and hardware plus some crucially new components. The front end remains faithful to the MacPherson strut all-independent layout but the lower arms have been beefed up, the steering knuckles have been revised and the braking system has been better optimised. Add a larger dia section anti roll bar and the front end is complete allied to a more positive rack and pinion steering gear.

The wheelbase which has been lengthened by almost 50mm to deliver extra room to the rear seat occupants brought with it its own compulsions, mostly on weight distribution and ride quality plus also the need to handle as flat or neutral as possible. The ERC boffins addressed this by penning an all-new three-link rear suspension layout employing MacPherson struts plus an anti-roll bar. Thanks to the enhanced wheelbase, the new front end suspension geometry (which has made for a slight reduction in the front track dimensions), the all-new rear end layout and the slightly wider rubber, the Tata Sedan has manners to surprise many.