Tata Bolt Brings Attitude to the Brand

When thinking about robust hatchbacks that bring attitude and spunk to the road, Tata wouldn’t be one of the first names to pop into your head.

That’s all about to change with the all new Tata Bolt, which either comes in a compact sedan or a hatchback.

Coming a long way from the Indica, this vehicle transcends expectations, and will certainly surprise you, whether you are the driver or in the passenger seat.

Taking the Bolt on the Western Bypass in Windhoek, I didn’t expect it to drive as smoothly as it did and glide past those dreaded trucks with the ease that it did.

That might be thanks to the turbo-charged multi-drive engine which inadvertantly makes you feel as if you’re behind the wheel of 1,5 instead of a 1,2-litre engine.

The Bolt allows you to engage in three different drive modes with city, eco and sport, all for your convenience. The city and eco modes are the more economical and fuel efficient selections and one can clearly feel the difference and even hear it when switching to these modes.

With a quiet purr, you can hardly tell whether the car is still on when parked and the lack of power can be frustrating at times, but will surely save you some money on your petrol bill.

The luxurious interior is fitted with full fabric seat upholstery, chrome finish on the air vents, flashy black detailing and a detailed driver information system.

Cell phones are still a major accident risk, and one can clearly see numerous motorists still ignoring the warnings while driving in Windhoek. Well, those risks are lessened with the Bolt’s ConnectNext infotainment system by Harman which gives you the choice of having your text messages read out loud.

This is an exceptionally good thing, unless someone sends you an SMS that your passengers shouldn’t be hearing!

Although it has a spacious interior, the Bolt’s boot space is a bit cramped and you might want to get a trailer for trips out of town, or just be a little more practical when packing.

The touchscreen infotainment system is available in the Bolt XT, whereas the Bolt XMS just has the standard system, which does not allow for the SMS read aloud option.

ConnectNext offers AM/FM and aux input, USB and SD card reader, four speakers and four tweeters, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity and this all is controllable from the multi-functional steering wheel.

One drawback I experienced, probably because I’m still old school, is the fact that the infotainment system has no CD player, meaning you would have to convert all your old albums to newer formats. However, gone are the days of scratched CDs and song repeats.

With regards to safety features, the Bolt offers ninth generation ABS and EBD along with corner stability control making it harder for the vehicle to slide when coming to an emergency stop.

One disappointment, if one could call it that, is that only the front passenger and driver are covered by the SRS dual air bags in the case of an accident.

Producing maximum power 66kW at 5 000rpm and maximum torque 140Nm at 1 500 to 4 000rpm, the Bolt beats other cars in its range such as the Polo Vivo Conceptline which produces 55kW at 5 000rpm and 132Nm at ‘3 600rpm while still being priced a little higher.

Overall, the Bolt impressed me despite the few minor drawbacks and I can certainly say that you would get value for your money.

The Bolt hatchback currently goes for N$161 995 while the sedan is priced N$171 995. Prices may inflate a little as Namibians have to start considering emissions tax, however it shouldn’t stretch your budget too much.

The guarantee offered by Tata includes a five-year/100 000km warranty, two-year/30 000km service plan and five-year roadside assistance.

Watch out Namibia, there’s a new beast in town.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.