Tata has announced that the Tiago has recorded its highest monthly sales yet, retailing 9,277 units of the hatchback in the month of August. The carmaker has said that the northern states and union territories of Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab contributed the largest volumes in August while the top-spec XZ-trim saw the highest demand.

The Tiago is one of Tata’s best-selling models, helping the brand post a 14 percent growth in domestic sales in July despite the overall downturn in the market. It is available in 20 trims (priced between Rs 3.40-6.05 lakh), an 85hp, 1.2-litre petrol engine and a 70hp, 1.0-litre diesel motor. The petrol mill gets 5-speed manual and 5-speed AMT gearbox options; while the diesel is mated solely to a 5-speed manual transmission.

The hatchback was introduced in our market in 2016 and was originally going to be called 'Zica'. Tata decided to rename the model 'Tiago' after realising the name's similarity to the deadly Zika virus heavily featured in the news during that time.

The Tiago is a strong contender in the budget hatchback segment, going up against rivals like the Maruti Suzuki Celerio (Rs 4.21-5.40 lakh), the Honda Brio (Rs 4.73-6.82 lakh) and the Ford Figo (Rs 5.62-8.25 lakh). A major highlight of the Tata hatchback is that its lower-spec trims undercut its competition by a decent margin.

In a bid to expand the Tiago’s line-up, Tata recently introduced a cross-hatch based on the Tiago called the Tiago NRG at Rs 5.50 lakh (Rs 6.32 lakh for the diesel). This car, meant to rival the Maruti Suzuki Celerio X, shares its mechanicals (essentially the same petrol and diesel engines) with the standard hatchback. However, it gets typical SUV-like design cues, raised ground-clearance and lacks an AMT variant.

Another addition to the Tiago India range will be the Tiago JTP, expected to launch during Diwali this year. This hotter Tiago variant is expected to be powered by the Nexon’s 1.2-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with tweaked intake and exhaust systems for improved performance. The motor in the compact SUV makes 110hp and 170Nm of peak torque while mated to either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed AMT gearbox.

All prices ex-showroom, Delhi

Also see:

2018 Tata Tiago NRG vs rivals: Specifications comparison

Tata Tiago JTP spied

2017 Tata Tiago long term review, final report