Tata Aeris First Look

The Tata Aeris brings a proper boot and a feature-rich cabin to a price that usually buys a hatchback. It gets six airbags as standard, a 10.25-inch touchscreen and a 70-litre CNG tank with decent boot space. The connected LED tail lamps stand out in this segment. Rear knee room is a little tight and CNG automatics miss out on cruise control. For personal buyers, it is a strong first impression.

Price and Variants

The Aeris starts at Rs 5.30 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.30 lakh for the CNG. Both prices are ex-showroom. That is the kind of money people usually spend on a premium hatchback and here Tata is offering a sedan instead.

There are five variants: Smart, Pure, Pure Plus, Creative and Accomplished. The manual gearbox is available in all of them, in both petrol and CNG. The AMT is offered in every variant except Smart and it costs Rs 55,000 more.

The Pure Plus is the middle variant and looks like the value pick. The automatics for petrol is priced at Rs 6.70 lakh and the CNG at Rs 7.70 lakh.

Exterior

The front looks like a mix of the Tiago and the Altroz, mainly because of the headlamp and grille design. The Pure Plus gets halogen headlamps, LED turn indicators and a piano black grille. There are no fog lamps in this variant.

The side profile is clean and sharp. CNG versions run on 14-inch wheels with covers, while the petrol gets 15-inch alloys. Ground clearance is 170 mm. From the Pure Plus onwards, you also get a shark fin antenna and body-coloured door handles.

At the back, the notchback shape gives the car a bit of Tigor-like feel. The connected LED tail lamps are a highlight and come from the Creative variant. The Pure Plus has a part LED setup, along with an integrated spoiler, a rear defogger and a high-mounted stop lamp. Higher variants also get a black roof.

Boot Space

This is where the Aeris makes the most of being a sedan. Even with the CNG tank, the boot is useful. The CNG tank holds 70 litres, which is large for this segment and there is still room for two small cabin trolleys and a bag.

Tata also uses hydraulic struts, so the hinges stay out of the boot space. A spare tyre is included in the CNG version too. One small miss is the lack of a boot release button, so the boot has to be opened from the front.

Interior

The dashboard is new, with a hard fabric-like finish on the dash and door panels. The Pure Plus has a layout close to the Tiago and it has soft-touch armrests and four speakers.

Higher variants add more. The top model gets seat ventilation, which is a first in this segment. It also gets leather with fabric on the seats and Italian-style finish on the AC vents.

Storage is mixed. The cooled glove box is large and there are two cup holders, a 12V socket and a spot for a wireless charger and a phone. However, the door pockets are narrow and do not hold water bottles well.

Technology and Features

The Pure Plus comes with an 8-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also has an HD reverse camera, a 65W Type-C fast charger, rear parking sensors and cruise control. Cruise control is not available on the CNG AMT.

Higher variants get a 10.25-inch touchscreen and a full digital driver display. The Car Junction team also saw a surround view camera with DVR support. It works like a dash cam and can record and save videos.

In the CNG AMT, the usual gear lever is replaced by a rotary dial, which frees up space on the centre console. Tata also offers paddle shifters in the CNG AMT, which is a rare thing. You can still start the car directly in CNG mode, even with no petrol in the tank.

Space and Comfort

In the front, a 6-foot person gets around 2 to 3 inches of headroom, even with the seat set low. Taller people should also be fine, as the car works for people close to 5 feet 10 inches even with a turban. The seats have decent under-thigh support.

The rear seat is fine for two adults and a child. With the front seat set for a 5 feet 11 inches driver, a 6-foot passenger gets around 1 inch of knee room. Some rivals offer more space here. Headroom is good at around 2 inches, even with the sloping roofline.

The rear seat gets AC vents, a 65W fast charger, seat pockets and a centre armrest with cup holders. The headrests are fixed and cannot be adjusted, which is a miss.

Engine and Mileage

The Aeris uses the familiar 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine. It makes about 86 bhp and 113 Nm on petrol and about 75 bhp on CNG. The gearbox options are a 5-speed manual and a 5-speed AMT.

This engine has been in the Tiago and Tigor for years and Tata has made it much smoother over time. We believe the AMT should suit city use well. The CNG version is said to return around 25 to 30 km/kg, though this needs to be checked in our road test. Power loss in CNG should not be an issue in normal use. With a full load of five people and luggage, switching to petrol may help.

Safety

Safety is one of the strongest parts of the Aeris story. Tata offers six airbags as standard across all variants, including the base Smart. At a starting price of Rs 5.29 lakh, that is a big plus for first-time and family buyers who want peace of mind without paying extra for the higher variants.

Beyond the airbags, the Pure Plus adds an intelligent tyre pressure monitoring system, which keeps an eye on your tyres through the digital display. This is useful on long highway runs, and even more so in the CNG version, which carries extra weight at the back.

Parking and visibility aids also add to everyday safety. The Pure Plus gets an HD reverse camera with dynamic guidelines and two rear parking sensors. Go higher up the range and the Aeris gets a surround view camera. It also gets DVR support, which works like a dash cam and can save videos. This is rare in this price range.

Smaller details help too. There is a rear defogger, a high-mounted stop lamp and rear reflectors. The front and rear headrests cannot be adjusted for height, which is a small compromise.

Verdict

The Tata Aeris is a smart pick for personal buyers who want a sedan without spending a lot. It starts at Rs 5.29 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.29 lakh for the CNG, and offers six airbags as standard, a big boot even in CNG form, and a long feature list that goes up to seat ventilation and a surround view camera.

The connected LED tail lamps give it a fresh look, and the smooth three-cylinder engine with an AMT option suits city use. A CNG AMT with paddle shifters is also a rare find.

There are a few compromises. Rear knee room is tight for tall passengers, headrests are fixed, and cruise control is missing in the CNG AMT. Buyers who need more rear space may want to compare it with the Honda Amaze, Hyundai Aura and Maruti Dzire. Still, for the price, safety and boot space, the Aeris makes a strong first impression. We will share our full road test soon.

Also Checkout: Kia Seltos Ownership Review