The Bolt and the Beautiful



After creating a massive sensation with Tata Nano, a 1600$ city car ,and an even more successful Tata Zest in 2014 ,  Tata Motors seemed to be back with a bang this new year , with a brand new Hatchback called ‘The Bolt’. 


Quite aptly named Bolt, Tata Motors seemed to have got everything right in their new launch, straight from the design, features, fuel efficiency and technical specifications making it a sure shot winner straightway.


Post launching an immensely successful Tata Zest in the Sedan class that crossed 10,000 bookings in 2014 itself, has given the clear direction for Tata to launch this premium hatchback at the right time. The time has come for Tata to clearly reinvent the Indian Market in this category, making a direct bold statement with a vastly different approach .

This is a car that can possibly upscale and design the future of Tata Motors. A car that appeals to anyone who’s passionate about driving.A car that makes you feel like owning a 12 Lakh car, yet having paid only one third of the price 

The Design 

After seeing this beauty, I’d probably categorize it as a Premium Sedan-Hatchback Hybrid though the company settles for a Premium Hatchback mid 4Lakh car tag. A clearly thought out strategy and a well etched design, Bolt really warrants a second look, with its hatch at the end of car eliminating a protruding boot, wrap-around headlamps and a curvaceous body. The car aided by its classy yet futuristic design clearly outpaces its competitors in every aspect of this category , namely the Maruti Suzuki Swift and the Hyundai i10



The interiors are spacious , plush black seats comfortable with a big leg space and comes with a rich black or a funky design in beige colors. The rear seats have a 60:40 split which can be easily folded to improve the boot volume ,which is an additional plus to the already impressive car

  





The Rugby Shoulder seats offers additional comfort to those tall guys who otherwise find it a harrowing experience to drive small cars for longer journeys , making it felt how much of thought has gone into each of the specs while designing.


So it leaves room for no other option when one is considering a car with a lot of leg space , comfort seating , splashy interiors and yet retails lower than the industry average of a hatchback car price.


Engine


Source : carwale.com

Bolt boasts of a one of a kind multi-mode drive that allows a driver to set the engine response depending on driving needs like in-city, economy or sports (faster)

The Tata Bolt houses a 90PS, 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol motor and a 75PS, 1.3-litre diesel engine, both coming with a 5-speed manual gearbox.As the naming goes, the sports mode is far a burst of power  , Eco Mode for a fuel efficient driving and In-City driving for a balanced driving with speed and fuel efficiency

Below is a tabulation of the engine specs

Engine Type Revotron 1.2T 1.3L Quadrajet
Displacement (CC) 1200 1300
Maximum Power (ps/rpm) 85 @ 5000 75 @ 4000
Maximum Torque (nm/rpm) 140 @ 1750 190 @ 1750

With a 140Nm Torque, Tata has tweaked the gearbox to provide quicker acceleration , higher ratios and thereby gets you a much better Vroooom quotient.

Steering 

Tata seemed to have most of a sedan class car features in the Bolt Hatchback and one of them being the Electronic power assist feature. This allows for stricter yet smoother turning assists in the narrow roads in  cities and villages, offering a seamless driving experience throughout. Hopefully making a sharp U-Turn should be a piece of cake henceforth 



Safety

More than design, performance and comfort, Bolt seems to have taken the safety feature to be the most important highlight of this car, in sync with the Tata Brand Image which always resonates with Quality and safety

Bolt doesn’t comprise on quality when it comes to safety and comes inbuilt with 9th Gen ABS by BOSCH, a powerful corner stability control option and dual airbags that potentially saves lives. Airbags are something thats normally available only in a premium sedan which usually costs around 12-15 L on road. So it comes as a complete game changer find 9th Gen ABs and Airbags in a hatchback segment, which Tata is definitely trying to redefine

A Smart Dashboard

One word to describe the dashboard is “Stylish” . Another first to Indian hatchbacks ,is a touch enabled media system that is quite responsive and easy to use. Apart from the USB port, Aux-in Port and Bluetooth,  it can transfer the navigation screen from an Android smartphone with MapmyIndia app installed, through an USB cord which makes it a live navigation device wherever you go.

                                                            Source : tatamotorsbolt.com


Price : 

What could be the most important USP of the Tata Bolt could be its Price. Highly anticipated  to be sold at around mid 4 Lakhs, this could be the most crucial factor when it comes to Awareness – Consideration  – Purchase selection by a potential car buyer, this will lead way higher than its competitors such as i10,Swift, i10 Grand etc with a 50K price point difference

Key Features:

  • Anti Lock Braking System
  • Electronic Brake-force Distribution
  • Engine immobilizer
  • Central Locking System with Child Safety Lock
  • Rear Parking Sensors
  • Option of Vinyl & Fabric Seat Upholstery ( Depending on the model ) 
  • Tubeless Tyres
  • Integrated In Music Display System with Bluetooth Functionality
 

Technical Specifications




Summary

Bolt is definitely one of the boldest, most innovative car from the Tata Motors in this segment, packing a powerhorse and a sedan class features in a hatchback.With a enviable portfolio of Nano, Indica, Vista, Sumo ,Safari, Indigo and the likes, Bolt sits right on top and could just fuel the momentum in car sales which is already up due to the low 50$ crude oil prices.This one’s a winner!!

Don’t complain if it get sold out making it a waiting time of several months.
Go do your prebooking today, at just a minimum cost of 11,000 and set the roads on fire !

This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda
 
My Experience

Below i have created a short video on my Bolt experience with a Collage of Pictures from the Bolt Launch event at Forum Vijaya Mall, Chennai. Hope you like it 🙂


 and here are some selfies with the Bolt




 
Hope one day I get to own this baby



 


This post is a part of the Get. Set. Bolt. activity at BlogAdda
   

Check out my review of the recently launched Tata Hexa and Tata Tigor

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