Tata Aria’s European debut at the Geneva Motor Show

Tata’s Aria made its European debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Tata’s flagship was first unveiled at the Auto Expo 2010 with its main destination being Europe. It will go on sale in Europe in the second half of 2010. Tata has spent a lot of time developing the Aria and is the most sophisticated model made by them to date. Tata specially designed the Aria to meet European norms and is aiming for a 4-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

Tata would have preferred a 5-star rating but the Aria is built on a body-on-frame chassis with hydroformed members rather than a monocoque and that dents the strength of the structure. Tata attributes this to the robustness that could only be achieved using a body on frame. This is important considering the conditions in India. Moreover, skipping monocoque meant that the Aria went into production early.

The massive Aria is 4780mm long and is available with a 2.2L VTT Dicor engine that makes 140bhp. Full time four wheel drive is standard. However for Europe, Tata might go in for an advanced version of the same engine that puts out 170bhp. More power needs a new gearbox as the present once cant handle that much power and torque. A 6-speed manual is expected at a later date to cope with the extra power although an automatic is also possible. Tata has no plans for a petrol powered Aria.

A glance at the interiors show how hard Tata has tried to achieve decent levels of refinement and quality to compete in Europe. The design is inspired by old Land Rovers and comes loaded with kit – an LCD screen infotainment system, ESP, Traction Control, ABS, Airbags etc. The Aria also sports 8 ECU’s that communicate seamlessly with each other managing various electronic functions. Aria will lead Tata’s range in Europe where it expects to position it as a value for money crossover.