Tata Hexa is being readied for the launch, and I am among a lucky few who got to see it, feel it and experience it first. It has been more than a year since Hexa made it to Geneva Motor show. And it is now time, for its grand reveal.

As usual with any IndiBlogger meet, I am among the last who get on the bandwagon. But this time, I had to be there. Tata Hexa is the reason. With its launch just around the corner, Tata Hexa has been one of the eagerly awaited vehicle – the wait wearing thin on some as well who could not wait for it anymore. Of all bloggers, only top 60 bloggers were invited to be present at this event, and that made me feel privileged.

The event was organized from 22rd and 23th of October, at Hyderabad by IndiBlogger and Tata Motors. The location was Novotel Hyderabad Airport Hotel, just 3 kms away. Half of the hotel area was dressed up with Hexa promotion art and design, which did ooze a lot of elegance. It has been 7 years since my first meet with IndiBlogger, and in essence I am already a veteran there. Many new faces did not know me, but oldies did. Friends in Sanjay Thampy, Ankit Jain helped me through the wave of newbies.

Tata Hexa Experience

Like they did for the Tiago, they invited a bunch of bloggers to review the car. Tiago was their first new grounds up car in more than a decade. Hexa is not Aria, and is a huge make over. Targeted at Innova and XUV500 buyers primarily, Tata Hexa is also looking to snatch those SUV buyers away from the likes of XUV500. The interiors are posh, and in a first in the segment, is being launched with an automatic drive.

#HexaExperience hope to have a conversation with the design team rep here Richard Windsor @indiblogger pic.twitter.com/viW3etxvUR

— Hemal Shah (@hemalshah) October 22, 2016

Click here to read the full Tata Hexa review

What Tata wanted to do is to share the Hexa Experience with us. They wanted us to feel the car in person, and tell them what we love and loathe about it. The conversations I had with Richard Winsor, their Chief of Exterior Design, helped me understand that Hexa is an all new car. It uses the hydro-foamed X2 chassis borrowed from Aria. He also made me understand the complexity in designing a chassis / frame that body sits on.

The Hexa experience for me was the ability to have one on one conversations with the folks who made the car. And that does translate a lot of confidence about the car that I was about to drive the following day.

#HexaExperience the design process! pic.twitter.com/IXCPIsMpgb

— Hemal Shah (@hemalshah) October 22, 2016

Question the Hexa Team

I did ask a few questions.

Questions asked… Why Tata is accused of retaining old designs like Safari Strome, Bolt, and Hexa from aria? #HexaExperience

— Hemal Shah (@hemalshah) October 22, 2016

And second one: #Hexa and #Hyderabad have #H in common. But why Hyderabad? #HexaExperience

— Hemal Shah (@hemalshah) October 22, 2016

Of course, the answers were not direct but did fairly convey that Tata Motors has changed their direction, and are now design and experience focused than only functional and price conscious as they used to be. The second question, which had 1kg of pun intended, was about why the location was chosen. I did not get the direct answers again, but I knew it only the next day. Great, long and lone roads, good mix of traffic and high speed! Ending the trip into a micro mini pseudo off-road experience were good reason enough for picking up Hyderabad.

The Hexa Design

The Impact design language that Tata’s upcoming cars will be sporting, is a brain child of Pratap Bose and his team. They define it as;

IMPACT Design Language: Immediate IMPACT on first sight, lasting IMPACT over time.

Split in to the following six key factors – viz. Exterior design being EXciting, EXpressive, EXtra-ordinary, and interiors be INviting, INtelligent (referring to the technology used), and INtouch (referring to the Entertainment system). You would not read this on an Auto Magazine or an Auto Review site. You may ask, why is that important?

It is important to understand how a design process of the car works. It is also important to know what will your car give you, apart from just taking you from a Point A to Point B. Today, more than yesterday, it is a great matter of concern for a buyer. It is also important to understand the effort behind to bring out an exciting design in the market. Unlike a Hyndai whose cars look out of the place in less than 3 years it is important to have a lasting design, good enough for 5 to 7 years during your ownership. Look at i20 through years, and you will know what I am talking about.

After party

The question about why Hyderabad was later trolled by the stand up comedian, Biswa Kalayn Rath and a few others! He said the ‘H’ also shared with Humor. And then, Shubham, my roomie enlightens that ‘H’ also shared in my name. The cocktails and mock-tails flowed smooth down just as the fuel would tomorrow.

Fun, never ended that night…

My Hexa Experience in a nut shell.

Read the full Tata Hexa review