To get a perspective on how old Tata Estate is, factor this. When the car was launched Tata was known as Tata Engineering instead of Tata Motors. Reminiscing all those memories?
Tata Estate was a station wagon produced between 1992 and 2000. The car was a fairly advanced vehicle of its time. It car actually helped the company become a household name. The Estate was produced by Tata soon after the Tata Sierra, which didn’t meet the carmaker’s expectations.
Now, Tata placed all its bets on a station wagon. But, was it a safe bet or a risky one? Let’s look at the station wagon. Also, was the station wagon culture meant to stay in India?
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Tata Estate: A Car Ahead of Its Time?
Back in 1992, when the Tata Estate launched, India wasn’t introduced with station wagons so well. There was the Hindustan Motors Ambassador station wagon and Premier Padmini Safari. Now, both these cars already had successful sedan siblings, so they definitely seemed to be the underdogs.
Hence, Tata Estate had large shoes to fill. But Tata seemed prepared. It wanted to change the notion of station wagons, and they chose the Estate to do that for them.
About the Tata Estate
The Tata Estate used a 1.9- litre diesel engine from Peugeot. The car produced 67 bhp and a torque of 118 Nm. The car came mated with a 5-speed manual transmission.
Features on Offer
The car was sincerely way ahead of its time. Tata decided that they wanted to change the notion of station wagons. It shouldn’t just be something that is bought to accommodate a large family. Tata wanted people to see it as a choice rather than a need.
It came equipped with a plethora of features, even more than you could ask for at the time. The car was equipped with power windows, power steering, a tachometer to name some. In fact, the car came with a factory-fitted cassette player. The 15-inch wheels of the vehicle gave it some proper stance and definition. Estate had a spacious cabin, wide enough to accommodate 5 passengers.
Even though the Estate was a fairly large vehicle, it had decent manoeuvrability in the city.
Why the Estate Didn’t Stay?
Nothing’s perfect. The quote has been around for some time, and rightly so.
The Tata Estate was a station wagon loaded with features. The car had everything and yet nothing. Its features turned out to be its foes. The 68 bhp engine which was supposed to be fuel efficient hampered its performance.
Its large cabin, which was supposed to help people sit in comfort, made it’s worse. The AC wasn’t efficient enough to cool such a large cabin.
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Why Station Wagons Are Cool?
Station wagons ooze out practicality. While the cars might not be aesthetically pleasing, they surely know how to get the job done. So, that’s a check.
Moreover, when brands like Mercedes and Audi bring out the AMG and RS variants for station wagons, the thing just turned serious. Station wagons are actually one beautiful car with good performance. Brands like Mercedes, Audi and even Porsche know this. Hence, they worked on the design which might be an eyesore for many. The cars became sleeker, the engines became better and there it was. A sleek brute-looking station wagon.
However, the segment hasn’t received the same love outside Europe yet. That’s the point which makes the existence of the wagons debatable.
Station Wagons in India: A Trend Gone Too Soon?
So for someone who doesn’t know what a station wagon exactly is, we got your back. In the simplest of words – a station wagon is simply a sedan which has its boot access through a tailgate rather than a boot lid. So, this simple change in the way you access your boot makes a whole new segment of cars.
There was a time when all the companies started betting huge on this segment. The trend was started by the Padmini Safari back in 1973. It was manufactured by Starline Motors in Mumbai. The car was based on Fiat 1100. Yes, it seemed practical but it wasn’t a lot pleasing aesthetically.
A little later in the future, when the international biggies came in, they saw potential in station wagons too. Opel launched the Corsa Swing after the success of the Astra sedan. When the international players are playing, how come the homeboy stays behind. Maruti Suzuki launched the Baleno Altura station wagon.
So, with so many options in line, why didn’t the segment flourish in India? That’s a mystery which is rather obvious to many.
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