Tata Tiago facelift — future inside, past under the bonnet
Fresh cabin, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, 65 W USB-C. Sounds like a full upgrade. Until you lift the bonnet.
Tata Tiago 2026 just stepped into a new decade — refreshed cabin, fresh electronics, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. Sounds like a complete overhaul. But look closer, and the old flaws are still right there.
India’s Tiago facelift did the one thing that mattered: it killed the budget-bin vibe. The dashboard’s been redrawn, the trim is now light grey, the centre console is new. Rear AC vents, a central armrest, a 65 W USB-C port — small things, but exactly the ones that separate a “cheap car” from an “affordable car”.
Top-spec Tiago variants now carry kit that belonged to a class above just a couple of years ago: a 10.25-inch infotainment screen, a digital instrument cluster, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless charging, a 360-degree camera and blind-spot monitoring. For a city runabout, this is no longer just “equipment”. This is a statement.
On the road, the Tiago is still in its element. Compact dimensions, light steering, brilliant visibility — traffic and parking stop being a chore. The suspension leans toward comfort, the revised manual and the AMT both behave predictably. A car for every day. No drama — and that’s exactly its strength.
Now the bad news. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine is fine for the city. But against its rivals, it loses on refinement: it shakes at idle, it sounds coarse when revved. Not a deal-breaker, but not what you expect after that newly polished cabin.
Second surprise — no adjustable rear headrests, and no rear seat occupancy sensors. And that’s with six airbags and stability control already on board. A strange place to save money, when there’s really no need to anymore.
Earlier we reported that the Skoda Kodiaq PHEV got the lavish Exclusive trim.