Tata Motors of today are very different from the erstwhile TELCO. From the maker of utility vehicle-derived passenger automobiles to an established car manufacturer, it has been a journey with a few bumps along the way, but a good journey nevertheless. The new Aria is in many ways the culmination of this journey, a springboard for the company to a new future.
Design and Style
The Aria as we know it today has its genesis in the Crossover concept, displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005. The name Aria, however, first adorned a little two-door, two-seater roadster at the same venue five years earlier, in 2000. It’s taken a while for the car to go into production and, in its final avatar, the design is very similar to the 2005 concept, the notable changes being the headlights and the addition of chrome striping on the sides. This side striping has alleviated some of the slab-sidedness and given the car visual relief, especially when viewed from three-quarters. There’s no escaping the fact that it does seem to have borrowed some inspiration from Mercedes’ R-Class, visible notably in the treatment of the D-pillar and the alloy wheel design. The large 17” wheels themselves look good and fill up the wheel arches substantially. 
At the rear, the Christmas tree theme of the tail-lights continues, which immediately identifies it as a Tata offering. It does seem a touch bland, though, but then there are limitations to what a designer can do with what is essentially one large flat panel.
