The car comes with ABS and 2 airbags as standard fitment while they’re also curtain airbags on offer in the top variants. The NVH level has been controlled quite well.

The success of Tata Hexa will strongly depend on the pricing and communicating the products’ features rightly. We think the pricing should be in the range of Rs 10 lakh to 16 lakh.

Being at right place at the right time is very important. Tata Motors is certainly right with the timing of the launch of its all-new premium sports utility vehicle Tata Hexa . The premium SUV, coming after the Indian automaker’s latest hit Tiago, ensures a rather improved environment for the brand in the market place.Tata Motors’ effort to break free from the old perception and accelerate the new image created after Tiago launch is seen clearly in the Hexa. The space where it is pitted doesn’t have much of promising products except XUV500 and Toyota Innova Crysta, though it can also have an impact on the sales of some compact SUVs like Renault Duster and Mahindra Scorpio. Toyota Innova Crysta may still score higher on some point, else for other rivals Hexa truly comes as a winner.The success of Tata Hexa will strongly depend on the pricing and the way the carmaker is communicating about product features. We think that the pricing should be in the range of Rs 10 lakh to 16 lakh. Hexa will also be crucial to see if Tata Motors has really graduated from ‘Horizon Next’ to the ‘Future Ready’.Tata Hexa certainly has a baggage of its predecessor - Aria, which was not so successful in the market to deal with. However, the SUV has used the same ladder chassis body frame but has been able to put together much improved overall construction of the vehicle which are enough to overcome the legacy. The new SUV is totally clear in its design from front grill to the rear. Hexa has been successful in almost completely doing away with any resemblance to Aria.Hexa’s tail light, bumper and front grill - all have gone for an overhaul and certainly for the positive when compared to Aria. In terms of handling and drive comfort, Hexa has by far higher number of pluses than minuses. The most notable parts of the new SUV from Tata are - elegant black interior with leather seats and much improved drive quality. The 6-speed automatic transmission is simply heart winning and cannot be ignored.The first impression of Tata Hexa successfully conveys the character of the vehicle. The muscular view of the front bumper gives a pre-notion of the power and strength that the SUV has. The hexagonal black grille and accentuated chrome humanity line makes the design more aggressive and desirable. The dual-colour bumper makes it look fiery. However, in case of repair it will be considered two parts thus could be a little pricey affair. The carmaker has used LED at the brake lights, and its beautifully boomerang-shaped reflectors that makes Hexa look prettier.The weather belt chrome insert gives a premium feel to the vehicle. The SUV has maintained very balanced curves and exterior design that doesn’t look overdone if not an extra ordinary design.Chromes spread aggressively till the rear, adds to the premiumness of the vehicle. The 4,788 mm long and 1,791 mm tall mammoth on the road will serve as a big ego pacifier for its owners.The 200 mm of ground clearance does a decent job in driving past potholes and broken roads that we find more often here, while 19-inch alloy wheels enhance the fun of driving.The most impressive part of Tata Hexa is its completely sober and elegant looking black interior. To break the monotony, Hexa has variation in black with decent use of leather-looking material at the dash and doors. In short, once you enter the cabin you wont believe you are inside a Tata car.The seats are well designed, however, a littler bulkier person may not have the same comfort as I had. The car really provides a commanding sitting position and the driver feels sitting tall.The quality of the leather and cushion of the seats is simply surprising. The white stitching on the black leather seats, the aluminum/chrome-effect around the air-conditioner vent and upmarket looking nobs spruces up the beauty of the SUV.The seat adjusting lever seems out of the world compared to the quality and fit and finish of the overall interior. If we go on the visibility side, the wide A-Pillar, which carmakers claim is meant for higher crash strength, is designed in such a manner that it doesn’t hinder the vision.The Hexa scores really decent when it comes to utility of space in the cabin. The glove box is divided into two sections - apart from having an open space on the top, The lower section can easily accommodate small diaries, bills, papers etc while the middle one has freezer where you can store water bottle and four small packets of juices.Apart from this there are large door pockets and enough cupholders for the second and third rows. The space in the door pockets is enough where you can accommodate at least 3 bottles of water.However, there’s only a single cupholder right up front and also no dedicated space to keep your mobile phone. In the accessorised car, they have made a space for mobile inside the arm rest between the two-front seats.The middle row seats also have enough space and are also adjustable. The carmaker has two-options to offer at the middle row – bench and captain chair, and certainly the latter seating arrangement gives more pleasure than the former but may compress the vehicle into a six seater. However, the middle row bench on the seven-seat version is also decent in terms of comfort but three persons with extra kilos may ruin the fun in long hours.The access to the last row of seat is not the best – the captain chairs don’t fold fully while the 60:40 split bench is not an easy task to tumble.The carmaker has put an extra effort in making the third row comfortable and they seemed to have succeeded in it with decent leg space.But if you are going on long-drives and have too many luggage then be sure that you take along only four persons including the driver. As you will have to fold the third row, and that too they don’t become completely flat, they remain slightly upward.Coming back to the front, the gear knob is just rightly sized while the hand rest cum box is well crafted. However, the space could have been much better utilized for keeping mobiles.In the front of the seat, at the driver side, though there is only clutch peddle and brake and no dead peddle has been given, the space doesn’t look much. Hexa has AC vent in the third row as well.The car comes with ABS and two-airbags as standard fitment while there are also curtain airbags on offer in the top variants. The NVH level has been controlled quite well but still vibration could have been win over a little more.The infotainment system, climate control buttons and each section uses gloss black trim and chrome detailing that suits the overall elegance of the cabin. The automaker has offered huge set of features including downloadable mobile apps for offline navigation, jukebox (songs from multiple phones can be added to a playlist on a primary synced phone), remote control for the audio system, vehicle service and the owner’s manual. So, even if someone is sitting at the third, he can also select or change the song.Tata Hexa has exclusively designed 10-speaker JBL system that produces music that suits all the moods. The eight-ambience light further adds the fun. Cruise control, auto headlamps and wipers and reverse camera with dynamic guidelines are also standard.For the Indian automaker, this is probably the toughest department to make an impression. Hexa, has really done a lot of good work in this department too and it is equipped to give tough competition to its rivals.The moment we get behind the wheels, the first few things we notice are clutch, steering, gear, accelerator and brake. While clutch is soft and comfortable on the feet, brake is also responsive, however, the gear box needs improvement as the driver struggles to choose the gears in H-type 6-speed gear box; especially first and second gears are quite inconvenient. Steering is much more lighter in the automatic variants compared to the manual 4X4 model.On the road at lower speed, the heaviness of the Hexa is clearly felt and that gets further accentuated during sharp turns. The braking has scope of improvement but it has quite a good response, as it worked precisely when applied at a speed of 90kmph.Hexa spots Tata’s new Varicor400 2.2L diesel engine, which was first used in the Safari Storme. Hexa has both automatic and manual transmissions tuned to the same engine. Tata Motors has focused more on producing higher torque than power to make Hexa a really rough terrain vehicle.The 2,179cc engine produces 156 ps of power and 400Nm of torque, which returns much more power and ease in driving than expected. The engine pulls the heavy structure of the vehicle quite smoothly.The engine is mated to a new six-speed manual gearbox offered in 4x2 and 4x4 versions, as well as with a six-speed automatic transmission. The 4X4 variant is only available in the manual variant.The engine doesn’t disappoint at any stage and offers even power spread at all RPM. At the initial to mid-range it is impressive however, on the higher range (going above 170 kmph) it doesn’t sprint so fast. Hexa goes from 0 -100 km/hr in decent 13.2 seconds. However, it is slightly faster in the automatic variants. The 4-wheel-drive Hexa is equipped with four drive modes that can be selected via a rotary controller at the base of the centre console. The modes, namely Comfort, Dynamic, Rough and Auto have different settings for the engine.The 4X4 variants has ESP which has more precise and immediate braking in the rough mode, and better control and stability in the auto and comfort modes. The hill descent and accent also works quite well.After driving the manual, the automatic variant comes as a reward. Automatic gearshifts are quick, smooth like water flowing from the stream. The automatic variant also has a race mode, which works fine till 165kmph but after that it did not show much of response.The suspension is extremely good; you don’t feel much of the jerk while crossing potholes. Hexa is perfect vehicle both on road and off-road. However, it offers extreme pleasure on the highways.Looking at the trend, the next upgrade of the Hexa must have a key-less entry. While a 4X4 variant in the automatic transmission will certainly have an additional set of customers coming to the fold. An improved gearbox will enhance the acceptability and a factory fitted sunroof will really add value to its premiumness. While on the dash it will be nice to have a bigger display in the infotainment system.