Tiago

Overview

The Tiago is the car to hand a new driver without wincing. It is short enough to reverse into a two-wheeler gap between shopfronts, the clutch is light, the gears are easy, and the 85 bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder pulls cleanly off the line in traffic where nothing much is ever asked of it. At 22 kmpl claimed in this listing, it is also the cheapest Tata to keep running on petrol, and the i-CNG variant undercuts even that on a commute budget.

The refresh moved the equipment up-market rather than the engine: a large touchscreen, reversing camera, automatic climate control and connected features on the top trims, which is a lot of car for the money at the bottom of the ladder. The four-star Global NCAP adult (BMP) score is a genuine achievement at this price and the reason a Tiago feels more solidly built than the number plate suggests; dual airbags are standard across the range, with more kit on upper variants.

Know the limits before you sign. The boot is 254 litres, which is honest shopping-bag territory rather than holiday-packing territory, the cabin goes from pleasant to busy once the speedometer passes 100 km/h, and a highway overtake with four aboard wants a clear sightline and a downshift. None of that matters to its actual buyer, though: as a first car, a city second car or a family CNG runabout, the Tiago is one of the easiest decisions in the market.

• Four-star Global NCAP adult (BMP) score
• 22 kmpl claimed economy
• i-CNG variant for high-mileage users