Tata Motors has placed the Tigor below the Zest in its portfolio and it is the most affordable compact sedan in the country. Currently, it doesn't have any rivals; however, Chevrolet will introduce the 2017 Beat-based sub-4m sedan, the Essentia, this year. Although both the 2017 Beat and the Essentia were showcased at the 2016 Indian Auto Expo, the specifications of the Essentia weren't revealed. However, it is likely to be offered with the same set of powertrains as the hatchback. As the Essentia is expected to be priced in the same range as the Tigor, let's compare both of them.
Design
Without a doubt, Tata has executed the integration of a boot into the Tiago’s silhouette tastefully with the Tigor. It is easily one of the best looking compact sedans out there, with relatively proportionate appearance, courtesy its coupe-ish roofline. Read our detailed report on the design of the Tigor here: Design Decode: Tata Tigor.
The Beat Essentia isn’t an odd-looking offering either. It is based on the upcoming 2017 Beat, which, in fact, is carved on the same platform as the outgoing hatchback, and it shares several body panels as well. Since these compact sedans are similar to their hatchback counterpart until the B-pillar, it was easy for Chevrolet to integrate a boot in restricted length considering this platform’s relatively shorter footprints. All in all, both the sedans score well in terms of looks, but the Tigor has an edge due to its flamboyant coupe-ish profile.
Engine
The Beat Essentia will borrow its powertrain options from the 2017 Beat, which is expected to carry forward the current set of engines. The petrol will be a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder motor (77.9PS/106.5Nm), while the diesel will be a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder unit (57.1PS/142.5Nm); both the engines will be mated to a standard five-speed manual.
Speaking of the Tigor, on paper, the Tata excels with its powerful set of engines as opposed to the Chevrolet. The petrol Tigor packs a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine (85PS/114Nm), while the diesel version is powered by a three-cylinder, 1.05-litre oil burner (70PS/140Nm). The Tigor also comes standard with a five-speed manual. Both the sedan are likely to get an AMT (automated manual transmission) at a later stage, especially the Tigor, if not the Essentia.
Features And Safety Options
Like the Tiago, the Tigor is a feature-loaded vehicle as well since both the cars share their features. The Tigor gets over-the-top features such as dual-barrel projector headlamps, tail lamps with LED graphics, width-spanning high-mounted LED stop lamp, 15-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels (only with the petrol), 8-speaker system, and others. The Beat Essentia in contrast doesn’t offer all these, save for the 15-inch wheels that it might get.
In terms of the infotainment system, the Beat Essentia’s latest Chevrolet MyLink unit (probably 6.0-inch) will outperform Tata’s swanky 5.0-inch Harman-powered ConnectNext unit with several app support for smartphone integration. The Essentia's MyLink supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (revealed at the Auto Expo), which are sorely missing in the Tata’s ConnectNext unit, which is also present in its flagship product – the Hexa.
As for the safety features, like the Tigor, the Beat Essentia is expected to offer dual front airbags along with ABS and EBD. It remains to be seen whether these features will be standard, which is not the case with the Tata, in the upcoming Chevrolet or not.
Source: CarDekho.com
