Tata Nexon Test Drive Review

[SRoyC]

Hello friends

Tata has organized a two day Skill Arena event in my home town Kolkata, and being a Zest owner (after using Maruti for few years), I could not let go off this opportunity to experience this highly anticipated car even before it is launched commercially. So, today, I drove to Aquatica, Kolkata with my son (a car enthusiast and my trusted navigator) to the Nexon Skill Arena.

My apologies, as I am not a professional reviewer, so my review may not meet the members expectations. Another point one should keep in mind while reading, that I had driven, and have been driving, a hatch of Maruti and a compact sedan of Tata, and both are petrol cars. Whereas, the test vehicle was a Diesel, top trim (xz+). So my review may have a bit of influence of this experience, though I have tried to keep the review as subjective as possible.

There are some photos of the TD vehicle attached to this post, all taken with my mobile camera. I am thankful to Tata Motors and Subhadeep Ganguly of R D Motors, Kolkata. The photos are taken after I mercilessly subjected the vehicle on waterlogged, muddy and broken roads. So the look is not actually a reflection of showroom look.

Review

Vehicle: Tata Nexon
Trim: XZ+(top trim)
Variant: Diesel
Type: Compact SUV (sub 4m)
Location: Tata Nexon Skill Arena, Kolkata and surrounding streets (Aquatica Ground)
Date: 17/09/2017

Exterior:

In my humble opinion, this is one feature which is absolutely relative to personal taste. Still, I am trying to make it as objective as possible.
Comparing with Brezza and EcoSport, Nexon may appear less rugged but more fluid. The coupe like roof-line makes it look different from it's competition. The "cream" colored X really incorporated well in the design language. It does not appear as an extra addition but an integral part of the outer design.
The black 16" alloys really look chunky and nice. The fit and finish also appeared to be pretty good, I could not locate anything loose or nothing appeared as cheap plastic addition. The use of chrome is pretty less, and the lower portion of the front fog lamp is decorated with the same whitish/cream colored plastic material which stands out a bit but again, does not look cheap. The roofline falls back a little bit more comapared to both Brezza and EcoSport.

 

[SRoyC]

Re: Tata Nexon, the New Compact SUV

Interior:

The interior is a great improvement from the predecessors of Tata stable (older SUVs).

There is again, nothing cheap looking plastic parts. Lots of cubbyholes, which I sorely miss in my Zest. The placing of controls and buttons are perfect. There are enough storage spaces on the door to hold a water bottle and also a space to accommodate your umbrella! That's a nifty touch indeed. Though, it can only hold a three-fold umbrella. If it is wet, the water gets channelized out and does not come in contact with the body or other parts of the door.

The car has a cooled glove box with a foldable/ removable tray. An embossed tiger inside glovebox really looks cool. The glovebox has enough space for papers and a tablet. A phablet can be placed securely in a cubby hole with a sliding cover. There are some reviews on the internet that this hole is too deep to use, but I did not find it that way. It could be accessed and reached pretty easily.

The rear view is limited due to sloping roof-line. So, the side view mirrors are going to be used more while checking your rear rather than the overhead rear view mirror.

The drive mode selector button is pretty big and very easy to reach. Handbrake position may appear to be a little off, but that should go away with the habit.

The steering has a tilt function, but it is not telescopic.
The seats are very comfortable with enough leg room and head room, both front and rear. I am about 6 ft tall and did not find it hard to ingress or egress. Both the side mirrors are electrically adjustable and foldable.
There is a front armrest and a back armrest. The back armrest can be used only when there are two passengers seating in the rear. Armrests also include cup holders and are easy to use.

It is wide enough for three adults to seat very comfortably at the back. Though accommodating a child as a fourth passenger may not be possible, which can easily be done in Zest.

Whatever may appear from the outside, there is no dearth of light or air inside. The windows are pretty large and hence, the cabin is pretty airy.
Tata designers retained their two-toned color scheme and I personally like it very much. It gives me a feeling of a larger cabin and I do not feel stuffy. Nexon designers did a great job in this department. Though I found lack of use of piano black finish, which is more common in Zest, Tiago or Tigor. The gear knob would have looked better with piano black finish rather than matte black.

The dashboard is well laid out and very similar to Zest, Tiago or Tigor. The real difference is the infotainment screen. The touch quality of the panel has improved a lot and so is the UI. Voice commands work in the same way as in other Tata cars.

 

[SRoyC]

Re: Tata Nexon, the New Compact SUV

Entertainment/Infotainment:

As I did not have enough time with the car, I could not explore all the features. According to the Customer Advisor, the system of Nexon contains all the features available in Tiago or Tigor. I believe nothing is required to be said about the HK system. None of the competitors can claim to be providing a better sounding sound system. The top trim has an 8 speaker system, whereas, lower variants have 4 speaker system. The base variant does not come equipped with a music/infotainment system. Only the top trim is offering features like Android Auto, Text and WP message readout, Voice commands recognition for phone, media, Climate control and navigation, image and video playback feature and smartphone integration using ConnectNext App.

Safety and Security:

All variants come with standard 2 front airbags and ABS with EBD. I find it really novel. Except for the base trim (XE), park assist is standard, though the top one gets it with a camera and Dynamic Lines. I really liked this "Dynamic Lines" feature. It really makes it easy to park the car in cramped space. Two yellow guideline changes according to the rotation of the steering wheel and thus provides the driver with much ease of maneuver.

The top variant comes with a rear defogger, rear, and front fog lamps, Day & Night IRVM and cornering assistance.

 

[SRoyC]

Driving Experience:

The Petrol Nexon has 3 cylinders 1.2L turbocharged Revotron engine under the hood delivering maximum 110@5000 power and 170@1750-4000 torque. On the other hand, the diesel variant has a 1.5L, 4 cylinders turbocharged Revotorque engine delivering maximum 110@3750 power and 260@1500-2750 torque. The top trim has three drive modes, namely, ECO, CITY, and SPORT I drove the diesel variant so can't really comment on the Petrol. Still, on paper, the petrol variant looks pretty powerful.

The car I drove had an excellent pickup. I used the "sport" mode and the Diesel engine seemed to pretty happy to respond to even the tiniest increase of pressure on the throttle pedal. The braking worked great and so are the suspensions. I drove the car inside the arena on obstacles designed to test the capability of the car. Photos of these obstacles are abundant on the Tata Motors's Facebook page. I was really amazed the amount f control and balance that the car offered, whether with on side up a ramp of nearly 2 ft high, while taking sharp turns or zigzagging through traffic cones. As the driving in the arena was only for a short duration, I took another TD vehicle on the adjacent road. The condition of the road was horrible with craters as deep as nearly a foot. The car was just amazing. It handled those craters with amazing ease and I never felt the slightest discomfort. The torque was sufficient and so was the power. Being better-built than Brezza, it provides more confidence while driving.


Conclusion:

Personally, I really liked the car a lot. It is very comfortable to drive and handles the road extremely well. With my TD experience of Brezza and EcoSport, I can vouch that Nexon is a far better car to drive compared to both. I hope that TATA Motors is going to price it well enough to make sure that the competition faces an extremely tough time ahead. According to the Customer Advisor, they are expecting that the top trim of Nexon will be priced around a lakh lesser than the top trim of Brezza. Those who are planning to upgrade to an SUV and having a family size of 5, this car is the one that they should wait for before making a purchase decision.


I sincerely hope that members here have enjoyed reading this small review and it would also help those who are looking to upgrade to an SUV.

Thank you all.

 

[thebanik]

Thanks for the writeup....Just 4 more days to go....

 

[vikyjoshi]

Re: Tata Nexon, the New Compact SUV

Entertainment/Infotainment:

As I did not have enough time with the car, I could not explore all the features. According to the Customer Advisor, the system of Nexon contains all the features available in Tiago or Tigor. I believe nothing is required to be said about the HK system. None of the competitors can claim to be providing a better sounding sound system. The top trim has an 8 speaker system, whereas, lower variants have 4 speaker system. The base variant does not come equipped with a music/infotainment system. Only the top trim is offering features like Android Auto, Text and WP message readout, Voice commands recognition for phone, media, Climate control and navigation, image and video playback feature and smartphone integration using ConnectNext App.

Safety and Security:

All variants come with standard 2 front airbags and ABS with EBD. I find it really novel. Except for the base trim (XE), park assist is standard, though the top one gets it with a camera and Dynamic Lines. I really liked this "Dynamic Lines" feature. It really makes it easy to park the car in cramped space. Two yellow guideline changes according to the rotation of the steering wheel and thus provides the driver with much ease of maneuver.

The top variant comes with a rear defogger, rear, and front fog lamps, Day & Night IRVM and cornering assistance.

The top variant also has Rain sensing wipers. Not sure of lower variants.

 

[akhil0204]

Re: Tata Nexon, the New Compact SUV

The top variant also has Rain sensing wipers. Not sure of lower variants.

No it does not!

 

[SRoyC]

Here is one more thing that I forgot to mention about, but which must be one of the most important criteria for choosing a car- Fuel Economy. Tata Motors is yet to declare any data related to this parameter. Though, as I asked the Customer Advisor about this, he told me that all the TD vehicles were driven from Maharashtra to Kolkata and the drivers reported FE figure of around 22kmpl for diesel.

 

[thebanik]

Here is one more thing that I forgot to mention about, but which must be one of the most important criteria for choosing a car- Fuel Economy. Tata Motors is yet to declare any data related to this parameter. Though, as I asked the Customer Advisor about this, he told me that all the TD vehicles were driven from Maharashtra to Kolkata and the drivers reported FE figure of around 22kmpl for diesel.

Now thats an interesting figure for some1 like me who was confused between Diesel and Petrol. I guess in City Diesel will give something like 15-16 kmpl. Whereas Petrol is giving somewhere like 17 kmpl on highway and 12kmpl in city. These are not Tata provided figures but actual in usage figures.

 

[fusion_defusion]

Very nice review indeed. Does that touch screen automatically parks itself inside the dash when switched off and comes up when switched on?

 

[bhvm]

Hello friends,
It seems tata has finally a winner on their hands.
Those who have driven both Petrol and diesel engines, I am interested in knowing performance and refinement of these new engines. Esp in triple digit speeds.

 

[Prabhagar]

Very nice review indeed. Does that touch screen automatically parks itself inside the dash when switched off and comes up when switched on?

The touch screen is static and cannot be pushed inside dashboard.

 

[thebanik]

The touch screen is static and cannot be pushed inside dashboard.

I got to know that after watching countless Nexon review back when they came out. But the question raised is a logical one since everywhere its mentioned as Floating Touch Screen, now what does that even mean???

 

[Prabhagar]

I got to know that after watching countless Nexon review back when they came out. But the question raised is a logical one since everywhere its mentioned as Floating Touch Screen, now what does that even mean???

Floating screen in this case means it just sticks above dashboard. Probably a wrong word used by TML marketing team.

 

[Akash1886]

Buddies,

So drove the Nexon XZ+ in diesel today. Much has already been said about the upcoming compact SUV and here Mr. Roy in this thread has shared a crisp and nicely compiled review already. Thanks Roy for making my job a lot easier. Guys, this will not be a typical Akash Review consisting of multiple posts and pages! Just a simple, fun log of what all I experienced today while leaving for showroom, at the showroom and post test drive.

Got the whatsapp on dad's phone from the SA asking "Sir, What's your plan on Nexon, there are many offers going on the Tata Cars" that too at 10pm yesterday. In the morning, as I got up, dad showed me that and asked what to do next. I told, let's have breakfast first then I'll give a serious though and then we'll go. So, both of us had a round table conference and discussed the matter. Result: Lets go for the Test Drive. My mom wanted to see the car once before we move ahead. Told the GM there about my mom's wish and he was happy to accept. At the Showroom, after having the soft drink, my paa got the CITY I-vtec evaluated and the value quoted by the evaluation guy pissed me off! I thought better to retain this car as well and sell it off to open market for a better price. Now, after this was done, we got the pass made and just before the drive began, I saw a really beautiful girl and instantly I was mesmerized by her looks and the way she spoke. My dad came out not knowing what I was thinking and asked "Kaisi Lagi" (how's it?) and I said "Bahut sundar hai paa"(she's beautiful), realizing my stupidity, he said "I am talking of the car", I said, "Kiski car" and there came a pat on the back, I came back to reality, I told, "Haan Haan, Achchi hai, chalo lets drive" and the drive began.

She looked superb! and here I refer to the car not the girl.



The Present & Future in one frame.



ODO at the beginning of the Test Drive



So here are my observations about the drive of Diesel Nexon XZ+​

* NVH fantastic considering the diesel engine at speed of 70-90 km/h.

* Gear shift in manual a tad bit hard but slotting is smooth and proper.

* Cranking the engine and in idle there is a refined sound from the engine.

* Acceleration in CITY mode initially for about 5-7 seconds is a bit low but once it gains momentum there is no problem at all. Pushing it to 80-90 km/h is not a matter to bother. The engine maintains refined sound of diesel but the noise filters in cabin post 90 km/h yet it won't be much harsh on the ears.

* Sports mode is nice too and specially in this mode the acceleration is good. The car performs very nice in this mode. The torque and pick up in this mode feels really good.

* Braking is good as well but could have been a little more responsive.

* Steering response was very good and diesel one's steering surprisingly felt light and weights up at high speed. Turning it in tight traffic isn't an issue. Even though the raised height and a high window line, the visibility while turning was good. However, rear visibility can be issue if rear has 3 pax or 2 pax with luggage on the parcel tray.

* The space between ABCD pedal is quite good unlike my Tigor. The clutch felt light and that made it easier to downshift the gears in traffic.

* I did not like the plastic cover used to cover the ignition slot.

* The Tyre(s) and Suspension are great. The Tyre(s) offered nice grip and the suspension ensured a well planted ride and the potholes weren't felt to a good extent. The ride quality is one of the plus points in new generation of Tata cars I guess.

* Attractive Design. I was surrounded with Brezza, Creta, Ecosport on a signal and this one caught the fancy & attention of most of the people.

* Seats felt nicely cushioned and well bolstered. Under thigh support wasn't an issue. The rear seat has adjustable headrests in XZ+. The travel range of the driver's seat is very good and for tall guys like me its a blessing. Ingress and Egress not a issue either but just mind your head a bit while exiting from rear.

* The ICE is fab. The sound quality is excellent.

* The side profile is the most attractive one in this segment. The Blue color in the Nexon looks nice and the design shown at Expo and the real one are same and honestly making Nexon design a reality, Tata has done a superb job.

* In-Cabin design, layout, fit and finish is top notch. It is now not difficult to imagine a super sexy cabin design for future Tata Cars.

* Boot space is good by the standards and well carpeted. The boot door felt strong and was well carpeted.

* The over all built quality is very assuring and satisfying.