2008 Tata Indigo CS 1.4L TDI 5MT (70 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The Indian automaker Tata Motors built the Indigo CS as a low-budget, three-box sedan vehicle fit for families and small enterprises, and the idea worked well, at least for the Indian market.

By Indian standards, the Indigo CS belonged to the compact segment hence the name: Compact Sedan, and it was the shortest sedan on the market. For other markets, such as the European one, it was more of a supermini vehicle. Regardless of its size, the car was fit for four adults, some luggage, and, most importantly, a fuel-efficient turbo-diesel engine underneath its hood.

Since Tata Motors tried to keep the development costs down, it used a local design team that transformed the Indica from a five-door hatchback into a sedan by adding a trunk in the back. Thus, the front fascia was similar, with triangular-shaped headlights, rounded at the corners, and a simple grille with two horizontal slats for the base trim levels. The upper ones boasted additional ornaments on it and a pair of fog lamps in the lower bumper. From its profile, the doors were the same as on the Indica.

Inside, the Indigo featured fabric upholstery and cranked windows, while the vinyl upholstery was on the options list. The front seats were flat, and the driver fronted a three-spoke steering wheel. On the instrument panel, Tata installed a wide speedometer and tachometer that sported additional gauges at their bottom for the water temperature and fuel level, respectively.

Tata Motors sold the vehicle with either a 1.2-liter gasoline or a 1.4-liter turbo-diesel engine, and all versions were paired with five-speed manual transmissions.