What is it?

Why I would buy it:

For its reasonable pricing, spacious rear seat, automatic convenience

Why I would avoid it:

AMT box is a little jerky at low speeds, few essential features missing

The Tigor AMT is Tata’s latest proposal to take a more substantial slice of the rapidly growing affordable automatic car segment. As the name suggests, it is the automatic version of the Tigor – a rather stylish sub-4 metre sedan that, until recently, was offered only with a 5-speed manual. There aren’t any cosmetic changes or interior upgrades and under the hood you get the same 1.2-litre petrol motor as always but with the added convenience of an automatic gearbox.

Let’s see whether the AMT gearbox has made the Tigor a better city runabout.

In terms of appearance, there is no way one can differentiate between the Tigor AMT and the manual variant, except for the AMT specific XTA/XZA badge on the boot-lid. Design wise, the car sports a very clean and conservative front-end while not straying far from the Tiago AMT that preceded it. The smoked headlamps and the 15-inch razor cut alloy wheels give it a nice and premium look, while the contrasting chrome bits on the front grille, fog lamps and the boot help to add contrast to the metallic red paint on our test car. The fastback style rear end is tastefully done, too, with the highlights being the crisp LED taillights and a compact bumper.

How is it on the inside?

Again, the interior design of the AMT version is no different from the standard car although that’s not a bad thing at all. The black and grey dashboard looks rather smart and the plastics especially on the top half of the dash and the centre console are of good quality. Lower down, however, the quality is degraded somewhat with hard plastics and inconsistent panel gaps around the steering column. All in all, Tata still has some catching up to do when it comes to fit and finish.

The Tigor AMT can be had only with the XT and XZ variants which means you will miss out on some essential equipment. There’s no climate control, touchscreen infotainment system, navigation option and a rear camera – features that are standard in the XZ(O) manual Tigor. However, you get the stellar Harman audio system with 4 speakers and 4 tweeters, steering mounted controls, electric mirrors, rear parking sensors and body coloured side air vents.

In terms of AMT specific changes, there’s a new gear lever and a revised instrument cluster. The lever is wrapped in fabric and comes with a chrome bezel to match the base to improve the overall look of the cabin. Space and comfort levels, meanwhile, remain the same – the seats are well contoured and set at a good height, however, the driving position is not the most comfortable as the steering is placed too high and close to you. The rear seat comfort is good thanks to the generous wheelbase and despite the sloping roofline there’s adequate headroom as well.

How does it drive?

The Tigor AMT is all about its automated manual gearbox which is quickly gaining prominence at the budget end of the market. The 5-speed unit uses an automated clutch thereby eliminating the need of a third pedal. It is offered with the 1.2-litre, three cylinder motor which puts out 85bhp and 114Nm of torque.

Since the engine remains unchanged, the power delivery and response feels quite similar to that of the manual Tigor. You do feel some vibrations at idle but on the go this engine is pretty silent as long as you don’t work it extremely hard. Coming back to the crux of this review i.e. the AMT gearbox, the rocking motion that is always associated with the AMT shifts has slightly reduced compared to the Tiago AMT. Sure, there is still that typical judder when you get off the line or drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but the jerkiness smoothens out as you up the pace. The AMT also comes with a creep function which will inch the car forward when you take your foot off the brake – a neat feature when driving in heavy traffic conditions.

There are two driving modes in this car – City and Sport. In the former mode, the gearbox shifts up quite early in favour of efficiency, however, it feels really lethargic when you want to reel in that gap in traffic – there’s a rather long pause between flooring the pedal and the gearbox reacting to downshift. Driving in Sport makes a big difference as the gearbox reacts noticeably quicker to get you into the meat of the torque band to perform a quick overtake. It also holds the revs right till high RPMs although the gearbox will upshift as you hit the redline. There’s also a manual mode for better control over gear changes – it will allow you to shift by tugging the gear lever for a more involving drive.

Like the manual version, the Tiago AMT handles bad roads with ease. While the ride quality does feel slightly firm at low speeds, there is still a lot of compliance over pot holes and undulations. At higher speeds the Tigor has that big car-like feel with its flat ride and stability. The steering, on the other hand, isn’t the most intuitive in this segment – it completely lacks feel and there is some slack at the straight ahead position as well.

Should I buy one?

At Rs 6.60 lakhs for the XTA variant, the Tigor AMT is a solid package. It’s a compact yet spacious automatic sedan with good rear seat comfort and styling that’s a little different to its Japanese and Korean counterparts. That said, niggles like the lack of essential features (read: climate control, touchscreen multimedia system), some mediocre plastics and engine performance put small dents in its appeal. All in all, the Tigor AMT makes for a good buy for those who are looking for an automatic sedan under Rs 7 lakhs.

Where does it fit in?

The Tigor AMT range is priced between Rs 6.11 lakhs and Rs 6.60 lakhs. As for the competition, the Hyundai Xcent S AT comes in at Rs 7.30 lakhs whereas the Maruti Suzuki Dzire AGS range starts at Rs 6.91 lakhs, going all the way till Rs 9.43 lakhs.

Pictures by Kapil Angane

Click here for our review of the Tata Nexon AMT

Click here for our review of the Tata Tiago AMT