Interior and features
Like most other bits, Bolt shares its interior with the bigger Zest, albeit with a few positive changes. To start with, the Bolt does away with the beige color option for the dashboard. The interior in available only with an all-black trim, to go with the lively positioning of the car Tata is aiming for. The rest of the cabin, in terms of materials, layout, features, ergonomics and comfort is pretty much same as the Zest. And that’s a great thing, for the Zest offers an interior which is clearly more upmarket than most of its competitors, which of late are skimping heavily on materials, quality and equipment to match a price.
Some changes have been made to the features, though. All of which are a step up over the Zest. We are told that the Zest, too, upon the Bolt’s launch will incorporate these changes. To start with, the fabulous Harman sourced central touch screen infotainment system is now equipped with a navigation feature. You just have to download the MapmyIndia app to your smartphone and connect it to the infotainment unit via a USB cable. Thereon, the system will take over, showing the maps on the screen with turn-by-turn navigation using voice. It’s as good as having a dedicated sat-nav on your car, and no other model in the segment is offering the feature. You get four years worth of free offline MapMyIndia maps with service.
Talking of the Harman system, the eight speakers, touch screen unit is without doubt the best sounding set-up in the segment. It also offers great playability and compatibility with almost every source, including SD cards. The Bolt also offers video playback on the touch-screen via an SD card, another feature which is exclusive to the hatchback as of now. Other interesting features include an SMS read-out function and HVAC controls using the touch-screen.
The ECO, SPORT and CITY modes are now represented on the instrument cluster with green, blue and amber colours respectively. An audio chime works as an indicator every time you switch modes – a feature which was not available with the Zest.
The features and comfort inside the car doesn’t leave much to complain about. The Bolt is one of the most spacious and comfortable cars in the segment. Lack of storage spaces, including bottle holders is a problem which has not been addressed despite having been brought to the company’s attention during the Zest drive in Goa. To pick a few other flaws, the headroom for the rear passenger isn’t too great, especially if he’s tall and sitting straight. The wind noise at higher speeds could also have been filtered out better. The boot space, at 210-liters is also surpassed by many competitors.
Ride and handling
The Bolt, being about 20-30 kg lighter than the Zest depending on the variant, along with Tata’s intent to make it a bit more dynamic in character than the family oriented Zest, sits on a slightly tweaked rear suspension. The layout, with front suspension comprising lower wishbone and McPherson Struts with anti-roll bar and rear being a semi-independent system featuring twist beam with coil spring and shock absorbers has been left unaltered, though.
The tweaked suspension for the Bolt makes itself quite noticeable on the move with the car feeling a tad bit stiffer than the Zest, though it’s still cannot be termed stiff in isolation. The straight line stability even at high speeds is impressive, though the steering doesn’t feel very alive. At speed, the steering feels medially weighted. It still lacks the precision and finesse of the some of the driver oriented international models we have here, though it still is a massive improvement over the steering units of the Tata products of yore.
In that sense, the Bolt isn’t a point and shoot device, which you can hurtle around a challenging bend knowing exactly where the machine will set its feet. At more than usual speeds, taking tough corners still requires some corrections on the move, with a fair bit of roll thrown in. The Bolt is no Punto or Polo when it comes to sheer dynamic ability. What it is, however, is a comfortable, spacious car offering a fantastic ride quality which is as good as, if not better than the best in the segment. The Bolt is tuned for practicality and comfort, and those who are looking to raid the switchbacks every weekend should find something else for themselves.
Our test car came shod with 175/65 R15 tubeless, Goodyear Assurance tyres, slightly downsized as compared to the 185 section rubber on the Zest. The overall grip levels were satisfactory, with no perturbing squealing around corners or during braking throughout the test run.
The Bolt, thanks to its shorter body and a mildly sportier suspension as compared to the Zest comes across as bit more involving car to drive. For all practical purposes and keeping the clientele its addressing, the Bolt doesn’t leave much to complain about. It’s not meant for the out-and-out driving enthusiast, though a family guy looking for a comfort and practicality will appreciate it.
Next page for some more images of the car’s features with captions, and our verdict >>>