Tata has added a more affordable variant to the Aria 4X2 line-up, called the Pure LX. The new-entry level variant is priced at Rs. 9.95 lakhs (ex-showroom New Delhi) and is aimed entirely at the taxi-cab market. The company however has stripped-down the cross-over with most of its features, so as to position it under the 10-lakh rupee price bracket.
What’s missing on this sub-10 lakh rupee Aria
- Dual-mass flywheel; the cost-down Aria uses a single-mass flywheel instead.
- Airbags, ABS and EBD.
- Fabric/Leather seats; you now get Vinyl/Art-leather seats.
- Music System
- Rear wash, pipe and de-fogger
- Roof-storage bins
- Follow-me home lamps
- Chrome inside door-handles
- Body-coloured rub-rails
- Chrome radiator grille surrounds
To make sure the car doesn’t look cheap, the cost-down Aria retains its body coloured bumpers and projector head-lamps. Other features such as disc-brakes, key-less entry, rear-AC vents, etc. have also not been skimped upon and the Tata Aria still has an edge over the competition, in terms of equipment.
Under the hood, you get the same 2.2 litre Direct Injection Common Rail (DICOR) engine that delivers 140 PS of peak-power and 320 NM of peak-torque. The lack of a dual-mass flywheel means that the Aria LX will have a noisier cabin in comparison to the higher trim-levels. Still, at a sub-10 lakh rupee price tag, the Aria is a steal for what it offers.
This is the second time Tata has had to add a stripped down variant to the Aria line-up. The company had originally pitched this product to customers who need decent off-road capabilities as well as luxury and technology, which didn’t quite work. Despite the addition of cheaper 4X2 variants later on, the sales remained poor and the Aria continued with only 20-25 units every month. By making the car more affordable, Tata feels the sales will improve and so do we.
Stay tuned to Goa On Wheels for more on the Aria LX.
UPDATE: Apologies for the low-res brochure scan. That is all we could snap from the Tata website. If you wish to have a look at the specifications of the new variant, click here.
