Aria is one crossover which does have a lot of interest but it completely fails in turning it into final sales. Nonetheless, after a lot of wait, Tata is ready to launch the 2014 Aria facelift in India on 12th of March 2014.
We sit back and analyse what the new Aria facelift has on offer and what changes, small or big, Tata has incorporated to make it a more compelling buy.
Upfront, as we see, Tata has tried to simplify things by reducing the number of variants on offer along with the technical and cosmetic changes that are listed below.
Here is a list of all changes:
- Only 3 variants – New Aria is available only in 3 variants – base Pure LX, mid Pleasure & top of the line Pride. This means there is no ‘Pure’ or ‘Prestige’ on offer. A few features from these two variants have made it to the corresponding lesser variants.
- Only 1 4X4 Variant: The middle Pleasure variant is only available in 4×2 now. It was offered with an optional 4×4 on the outgoing Aria. This means that there is only the Pride that is offered with the 4X4 drive system.
- Follow-Me headlamps: Base Pure LX gets follow me home headlamps from the outgoing Pure variant. These were not present earlier.
- Chilled Glove Box: Pleasure gets Glove box chiller from the axed Prestige trim.
- Chrome Grille: Pleasure also gets full-chrome grille from the Prestige trim which was only ‘Chrome surround’ till now.
Apart from these feature changes in variants here is what Tata Aria facelift gets in terms of cosmetic changes
- Clear stylized tail-lamps: So, the clear-lens restyled tail lamps that we first spotted last year have made their way onto the new Aria facelift. They are available on all the variants
- New decals: Aria facelift also gets new decals on the body which we are not really fans of. This again is available on all variants
- Smoked Headlamps: Back in February 2013, we spotted an Aria mule with smoked headlamps. And a year later, they are making their way onto the Aria facelift. Tata calls them black bezel headlamps and they will be limited to the top of the line Pride variant. We are unsure if this is applicable to the clear-lens side blinkers as well!
Engine Changes –
Upfront, it appears as if Tata has carried over the same engine with some minor niptuck jobs. However, a closer inspection reveals some interesting bits.
- More power: Aria facelift gets 2179cc VARICOR diesel engine which produces 150PS, 10PS more than the outgoing model. However, the increased power is produced at the same 4000rpm.
- Wider Torque Band: Though the torque figures remain identical at 320Nm, new Aria has a wider torque band which starts 200rpm earlier and ends 300rpm later! The torque peaks at 1500rpm (as compared to 1700) and dips at 3000rpm (compared to 2700) which should give the Aria facelift a much better and easier drive!
- Increased Mileage: Aria facelift gets an important 1.55kmpl increase in fuel efficiency ratings. The new Aria is rated at 15.05kmpl as compared to 13.5kmpl for the outgoing model which brings it just a wee bit lesser than XUV500 (15.1kmpl). These are ARAI certified ratings.
- Increased Gross Weight: However, what these additions have meant is the increase in the Gross Weight of 2014 Aria. The new Aria weighs 2850kgs as compared to 2720 kgs of the current model.
Colour Options & Music System:
Tata has also done some changes to the entertainment features of the new Aria. It gets new integrated Harman Kardon music system with 6 speakers and 4 tweeters but is limited to only the top of the line Pride variant.
Only 3 Colour options: Tata has also simplified the colour options on 2014 Aria and it is available only in the following shades:
- Pearl White
- Quartz Black
- Arctic Silver
This means that there is no Night shade black, Sardinia Red and Castelle Gray on offer!
Many would neglect the updated Aria as a very minor niptuck job to bring it to highlights again, but we believe this is a sincere effort and big enough to do a world of good to the already-competent product. Through our sources, we have also come to know that Tata has worked a lot on bettering the quality of the interiors of the new Aria.
And mind you, Aria Automatic is also around the corner!
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I think there should have been one more change, ie to have a Pride 4×2 variant. If we see a large number of XUV500 sales come from the W8 variant rather than the W8 AWD variant. Not everybody looking to buy an Aria would want a AWD system, but will want all the bells and whistles of the top of the line variant at a lower price.
The Aria is probably the best product from the Tata stable, excellent built quality and top notch features. It is way superior in every aspect as compared to the Innova, pity that the pricing is a shade too high for a Tata vehicle.