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-   -   (Not) a problem of plenty | My Tata Nexon EV Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/electric-cars/245021-not-problem-plenty-my-tata-nexon-ev-review.html)

Take me home on country roads !


While living in a village nestled between areca nut farms and paddy fields is encouraging, there was one fly in the ointment. The Figo 1.5 AT we bought in March 2020 with city usage in mind was turning out to be a bad decision. Usage of this car went up significantly to 40 kilometers a day (from 6 kilometers a day in Bangalore). After using the car daily for a month, understood that clocking these many kilometers on narrow roads (where one has to get off the road sometimes to make way for an oncoming vehicle) and mud roads needed a lot of patience and increasing fuel prices were burning a hole in my pocket (car returned a 'healthy' mileage of 8 kmpl). This usage was there to stay for coming years and there was no relief in sight from bad roads or increasing fuel prices.

I had two options, continue with Figo or replace it with a fuel efficient high GC car. Did some excel work to find that using Figo for some more time is the best option, financially. I was fairly successful in convincing myself about my decision of staying with the car by recalling fun to drive factor, safety, power and so on. But the climax came in the form of Ford deciding to shut shop. Though it should not have bothered my car ownership, I used this opportunity to convince myself again to sell the car !

One fine morning, I drove Figo to Mysore, negotiated good price with Spinny, received RTGS transfer in my account, signed all documents, handed over the keys to them and returned home midnight by 'Karnataka Sarige'. All in a day.


Long story short - I prepared myself up for another car hunt !

Requirements were simple - In addition to being comfortable, safe and fuel efficient, the car had to withstand ~40 kilometers of daily rural usage. I planned (!) to hold on to this car for as long as possible and resale value was not one of the primary concerns. These requirements were matching with what a mass market EV (Nexon EV, ZS EV and Kona !) has on offer and I decided to evaluate only EVs.

(At this stage, I have to admit that I am fascinated by EVs and I wanted to align my requirements to what an EV has on offer :) )

Out of three EVs, I decided pursue Nexon EV and ZS EV first and Kona later if the first two did not fit my requirements.

Test Drives:

Nexon EV: Called Tata showroom 50 kms away and was surprised to hear that their branch near my village too has started dealing with EVs. Got contact details of sales advisor assigned to EVs and requested for a test drive. And told him that I wanted to drive the TD car for ~50 kilometers, on the roads I drive every day. He agreed without a blink and we agreed on TD timeslot, which was after two days.
The day arrived and I was updated as soon as the car was available at the dealership. I wanted to drive the car for maximum possible distance. Though SA offered to come home, I chose to drive to dealership and drive TD car myself to home.

TD car had ~16000 kms on the odo. No squeaks or rattles. Clean exteriors and interiors (those white seats !). Car was handed over to me with SoC of 90% and showed a range of 248 kms.
I drove the car for 55 kms on single lane roads, narrow roads and mud roads. Car was silent (with very faint cooling fan noise sometimes), picked up pace very quick and attention magnet. MRFs that came with the car offered just adequate grip (wheel-spins in 'S' mode were common). SoC was 60% when I returned the car to showroom with 140 kms of range.

Positives:
1. Cheaper to own
2. Comfortable seating.
3. 205 mm of ground clearance
4. Decent ride and handling
5. Decent feature list
6. Good build quality
7. Been with TASS for more than 4 years and comfortable with their service levels

Negatives:
1. 200 - 220 kms of real life range
2. Lack of traction control
3. Lack of cruise control
4. All white interiors
5. No selectable regen.
6. Only two airbags


MG ZS EV: I visited MG showroom after taking a prior appointment and the vehicle was ready for TD. SA gave a quick walkthrough of the car and he drove the car for initial kilometer to give a demo on how to drive EV. Hopped on to the driver's seat and immediately understood this is a fun to drive (amongst two) car. Multiple driving modes, selectable regen, multiple airbags, cruise control, traction control and a 'P' on gear selector added more good vibes to already better experience. Bigger battery with about 80 to 100 kilometers of additional real time range made things even attractive.

TD car has ~6000 kms on the odo. Interiors were clean and nice. Car had SoC of 95% and showed a healthy range of 305 kms. Car came with Michelin tyres and felt better than Nexon in handling. The swing of rpm needle seemed to be a work of art. But, there was mild rattle coming from steering column and rear suspension was squeaking over bad roads. Also, sunroof actions were not silent.

Positives:
1. Bigger battery and associated higher range (When compared to Nexon)
2. Higher 'driver's car' quotient.
3. Better Interiors, Panoramic Sunroof
4. Traction Control
5. Cruise Control, Selectable regeneration (KERS), driving modes
6. 6 Airbags
7. Michelin tyres

Negatives
1. Build quality: Squeaks and minor rattles on such a low run car are not acceptable
2. Lower ground clearance compared to Nexon
3. MID needs some better graphics. Nexon's MID felt better (from my point of view)
4. Higher purchase cost
5. Average rear seat comfort

Confusion set in once test drives were over. There was no problem of plenty and decision was to be made between Nexon EV and ZS EV. But, both cars were competitive enough to cause confusion.

Price tag is your friend !
Nexon is significantly cheaper than ZS. Approximately 4.5L cheaper than lower variant and a whopping 8.5 L cheaper than the top variant of ZS (compared to the top #Dark variant of Nexon). Though cheaper, Nexon aligned to my requirements and decided to go with Nexon.

Why Nexon

• It is cheaper to own
• Range covers my current and future needs. Even if I need to drive to Bangalore, there are three charging stations in Mysore, and I can charge in any of these and continue my journey. (Either of the cars will have to be charged somewhere in between)
• TATA service center is just 10 kilometers away (not that they will be able to fix every problem instantly).
• I can live without cruise control and selectable regeneration.
• 2 airbags are ok for me.

ZS is a very competent car. It is better than Nexon in some aspects and lacks in some. I decided against it primarily because of higher initial investment. Since EVs are still evolving, I wanted to play safe by going via minimum viable route.

Why not ZS EV (my PoV)

• It is costlier to buy
• Lower ground clearance than Nexon
• Worries of long term sustenance (personal view)
• Rattles and squeaks observed on a low mileage car
• (I won’t lie, its origin too added some weightage in deciding against it)

Booking a Nexon EV

I booked a Nexon EV XZ+ LUX Dark (Yes! 5 Words / acronyms). Booking process was very simple. Paid 21K booking amount and the waiting period was 2 months.

I was told about the waiting period of 2 months while booking and the dealership tried to maintain absolute radio silence for this duration. But, I ensured disturbance by frequent following ups.

Dealership had only one answer of all follow ups - " Car bill aagilla saar !" (Car is not billed yet !)

I could get clear delivery timelines only after contacting TaMo officials. Tata officials mentioned that they were dealing with semiconductor shortage, which may add two more weeks of delay.

SA called after 2 and a half months to inform the car had been billed and would reach the yard in few days. There were few requests for payment after this call and it was my turn to give one answer - " Car nodida mele duddu ! " (Money after seeing the car)

SA called again in few days with a different context. Car was unloaded at yard and ready for inspection. Drove to yard same afternoon to get the first look of my latest adventure !


Car had 56 kilometres on the odometer. Felt this number was unusual for a brand new car. Cross verified with other EVs and every car had odometer reading between 56 to 60 kilometres. People at yard told that all EVs come with similar reading as they are tested (driven !) at factory before dispatching. Quick check of VIN revealed that the car was manufactured in November 2021. Inspected the car inside out and found it to be satisfactory.


Ensured that charging cable and wall box were in the car, as they were supposed to be.


Processed the the balance payment and requested for delivery on an auspicious day.

Reached dealership at 10.30 AM on agreed day and was greeted by garlanded Nexon EV.


Car was clean (with some overload of wax polish inside out) and ready with 100% SoC. SA gave walkthrough of the car and explained all features. Key handover happened at the time I wanted, with a box of sweets. Handed over a token of appreciation and a box of sweets to SA and left the dealership.

Car came fitted with MRF Wanderer Street tyres, which as I observed during test drive did not offer good grip on gravel roads. Decided to change these tyres to Micheline Primacy 4 ST immediately. Headed to my regular tyre store, traded MRF tyres to Micheline, finished Pooja and went home.


I was able to notice positive change in grip levels immediately after tyre swap. Car did not loose traction where the TD car lost and road noise (or whatever left of it) reduced by good margin.



The dealership managed to provide good delivery experience. Completed all basic formalities without any roadblock.

We had only one 16A socket outside and approach to same was blocked by areca nut drying stand. With no easy options to charge, took help from our friendly electrician to install a 16 A socket in the shed.

He decided to club this work with meter upgrade work we were planning for more than a year and came will all required accessories.

Existing meter board was removed to make way for a larger one which can accommodate ZipTron box, additional 16A socket, a bulb holder and switch, change over switch for generator, industrial plug (to disconnect power during heavy lightning), main fuse and the electricity meter itself.


Charged the car to 100% using the newly installed 16A socket. This mode of charging adds ~10% per hour.

After first charge to 100% SoC at home, decided to do a round trip to Mangalore, which is ~60 kms away from home. I was confident on the car and left charger at home :).

Drove for about 130 kilometres like any ICE car, idled the car with AC at 4 for about an hour and 20 minutes and reached home by evening with SoC of 12%. For a moment, I thought I did a mistake by leaving charging cable at home !

12% SoC

Few observations from this trip :

• Regen does not start if SoC is above ~96%
• Sports mode gets deactivated as soon as SoC decreases to 25%, but no performance or AC degradation.
• SoC indication turns orange as soon ad SoC reaches 25%
• Distance to empty shows "RECHARGE" once SoC drops below 15%

Tata power electricians decided to come on same day for charging box installation. Installation of Legrand box was an easy task as our electrician did most of the ground work. Tata Power electricians installed the wall box, tested functionality and left before I reached home.

Range anxiety is a reality. Only if we travel without proper homework.

After I returned home from first trip with 12% SoC, I charged the car overnight to 100%, this time using newly installed ZipTron box. Charging speed was same as other 16A socket (~10% in 1 hour). Car surprised me with an indicated range of 120 kms for 100% SoC in the morning. Though I knew this is IT brain inside the car working, I wanted to test range again. Did local running of ~35 Kms and the SoC dropped to 80%. Charged again for an hour and left for another round trip to Mangalore in the evening, with SoC of 88%.

Used single pedal driving technique as much as possible, but did not sacrifice on average speed and AC. Also, I had to use the lights during return as it was dark. This time, I was able to reach home with SoC of 22%. I was able to cover ~130 kms with 66% of charge. Which was a huge improvement from efficiency shown during first trip.

Again, after an overnight charge, range indicated ~220 kms and I am a happy man. Now I know I will be able to extract a range of 240 to 250 kilometres per full charge after some refinement to my driving style.

Trivia : EVs help to extract better fuel efficiency from ICE cars too !
I used same driving style in Hexa and MID showed a super good mileage of 14.6 kmpl over 25 kms, which has never happened in my ownership experience of ~5 years !

Why did you buy EV ?
We have a comfortable ICE car for long drives and needed a fuel efficient, high GC, safe and comfortable car for daily usage, which typically never goes above 150 kms a day. EV fits into all these requirements and hence EV.

Are you not worried about battery degradation / issues / failure ?
Nexon's battery has 8 years / 160000 kms warranty. Tata's warranty claim process has been seamless so far and I am sure this trend will continue.

Why Nexon EV ?
This is the cheapest EV that provides all I need at the moment and in near future.

Are you not worried about Tata service ?
No. I have experienced their service for 5 years and they are at par with any other automaker (my PoV).

How do you compare EV with ICE car ?
From 500 odd kilometres of EV driving experience, I am in love with silence, pickup, technology and cost effectiveness (even with current issues and lack of infrastructure)

Can this be serviced at any Tata service station ?
Yes, to the best of my knowledge. I live 60 kms away from a tier 3 city and the nearest TASS (12 kms away from home) supports EVs.

Are you sure you will recover additional price you paid when compared to an ICE car ?
As of now, per kilometre cost is around 1 rupee, if charged at home. Which means I will save about 9 rupees per kilometre with current fuel prices (Figo used to return 8 kmpl). With a monthly usage of around 1200 kms, I will be able to save 9500 - 10000 rupees per month . If everything goes as planned, I will be able to save ~120000 Rs a year. I should be able to recover cost difference (between EV and equivalent Petrol AMT version of Nexon) in 3 to 4 years.

Was your purchase process trouble free ?
Largely yes. Only glitch was 15 days of additional waiting period. Considering global challenges, I am ok with it.

Anything to be done post car delivery ?

• Charging box need to be installed by Tata Power
• ZConnect app needs to be activated by Tata (Needs KYC and typically done after registration)
• #Dark variants are eligible for few free merchandise. Ensure to claim those. SAs are typically clueless on this, contact Tata reps if your SA is not updated.

Any benefits / subsidy ?
My state Karnataka offers no subsidy for private 4 wheeler EVs. However, EVs are exempted from road tax.

What if the car runs out of battery ?
It is owner's responsibility to ensure the car has enough charge to reach destination OR there are working fast / slow chargers en route.
Also, car tries to communicate the state of charge or lack it by MID and chimes. It gradually reduces the ability to features as the charge reduces.
There are apps which offer aggregated list of chargers around (Pulse, PlugShare) and apps provided by charging service provider (Zeon, TataPower, State electricity boards etc.). Google / MapMyIndia sites are updated on availability of charging stations.
To summarise, planning is the key. Use RSA or ask a hotel in case of emergency.

What if the charging station is occupied by another car(s) ?
First come first served. Wait for one of the charging guns to get free OR request the current user. It is not possible to remove charging gun from someone else's car :) while charging.

Are FC stations reliable ?
Yes and no. Status of each station is updated live on respective app. However, there is a chance of station becoming unavailable after we start our journey. Some routes have the backup (of another charger nearby) and some don't. Again, planning is the key.

Does the EV need special tyres ?
Ideally EV tyres should have low rolling resistance to achieve higher efficiency. However, the MRFs in Nexon (Or Michelin Primacy in ZS) are plain normal tyres without any special indication of being LRR tyres.

Why did you change tyres on delivery ?
As I found during test drive, MRFs offered inadequate grip in mud / gravel roads. Checked with dealership and they confirmed MRFs are normal tyres and could be changed to the brand I wanted. Hence changed the tyres to Michelins immediately after delivery. Grip levels are increased and wheel spins are reduced significantly after tyre swap.

• Car does not move forward or reverse in 'D' or 'R', if driver door is opened after a complete halt. (It would roll forward / backwards depending on the slope if handbrake is not applied, but engine power will be cut off)

• There is no 'P(ark)' in gear selector. The car has manual (traditional) handbrake and it holds the car very well on inclines. . Parking in 'D' or 'R' without handbrake provides no resistance and car will roll depending on the slope. I need to stop on a slope everyday to close the gate while entering our property and handbrake is holding well so far. My phone measured it as 22 degrees !.However, keeping a couple of wooden blocks in the boot does not seem to be bad idea.

• The car doesn't use a lot of insulation material and it is not needed. Even without insulation, NVH levels offered are super good. While outside noises are well filtered, music and calls are audible outside, if the volume is above 25 - 30%.

• Some regen/ SoC related observations :
  • Regen does not start if SoC is above ~96%
  • Sports mode gets deactivated as soon as SoC decreases to 25%, but no performance or AC degradation.
  • SoC indication turns orange as soon ad SoC reaches 25%
  • Distance to empty shows "RECHARGE" once SoC drops below 15%

• There is an AC vent for rear passengers. No temperature or speed control. Only direction of airflow can be adjusted.

• Rear passengers get a 12 V socket near rear parcel tray. Nothing below rear AC vent.

• Dark edition gets some sort of TPMS. This is not regular TPMS with sensors inside every wheels and does not provide air pressure reading. It only indicates by an LED in console if there is drastic loss of pressure. Only option it has in the menu is to reset TPMS.

• Car comes with an air compressor and a bottle of liquid sealant. Sealant bottle need to be fixed to the compressor before pumping air, to fix puncture. This is just a stop gap arrangement to get you to the next available repair shop.

• Cables routed underbody look exposed to elements. But each one of them is protected by an extra layer of plastic pipe (in addition to good insulation). Should be good enough to protect from random stone chips.

• Speed warnings are not intrusive and are liveable with.

• Separate seatbelt warnings for driver and passenger. Including message on MID

• There is no hill hold. But hill climb assistance kicks in as soon as the car rolls back by few inches. Better use handbrake in tricky situations.

• Rear camera is clear even at night. Comes with adaptive guidelines.

• MID displays charging status while the car is plugged in for charging. Will stay on for about a minute initially and goes off. Comes back on when door is opened or car is locked / unlocked.

I wanted to see how comfortably or uncomfortably I could take the car to Bangalore and back. Mysore is the nearest place with fast chargers en route and about 210 kilometres away. With almost 740 meters altitude gain from where I live and a ghat section of 30 kilometres in between, covering 210 kilometres meant I had to squeeze a range 250 kilometres.

Drove the car for 81 kilometres one Sunday afternoon to test the range possibilities with AC, without AC , with headlights and without headlights. While this test was not done in accordance to ideal conditions, I was careful on throttle inputs and sacrificed few overtakes.

Summary of my first range test :

• Phase 1 : Started with 90% range and DTE at 162 kms. Drove ~31 kilometers with AC and lights off. Average speed was around 60 kmph, which was inline with traffic on this two lane road. Followed single pedal driving and stopped myself from few overtakes, which I would have attempted with an ICE car.

• Phase 2: Started with 78% SoC and 170 kilometres DTE. Took a U turn and started return journey, this time with AC off and headlights on, as it was getting dark. Traveled another ~30 kilometres and reached the point from where I started by following similar driving style.

• Phase 3: Last leg was drive to home, which involved driving in narrow roads, many ups and downs and mud roads. Drove with AC (22 degree , fan speed 2) and lights on like an ICE car. No special treatment.

• Overall Reading : Covered 81 kilometres as part of this test, with an average of 132 Wh/km.

Summary - Overall : SoC - 55%, DTE - 125 kilometres, Avg. Wh/km - 132 , Distance Covered - 81 kilometres. (Phase 1, 2 and 3)[/center]

• After recharging to 100% overnight, car shows a healthy range of 238 kms, that can be improvised further, which makes me believe that I can attempt a drive to Mysore.

• Summary :
  • AC and lights doesn't seem to affect the range to greater extent.
  • Sudden acceleration and rapid altitude gain will eat up battery charge more than usual.
  • DTE is indicative number and can do down or improve drastically based on driving conditions
  • Wh/km is the friend in need. Baby the car and there will be good results. Basically, lower Wh/km better it is !
  • Regen and coasting can improve range drastically.

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today :thumbs up

Congratulations on your new car. Even I feel like getting one as it is a complete package. A very good driver's car that gets you from point A to B at 10% cost. The only thing stopping me is the 1 year waiting time I was quoted by Pune dealer. Dont want to wait that long.

Wish you many miles of happiness.

Congrats on the new car and thank you for a very comprehensive write-up. A Nexon EV and Hexa is a great garage combination.

I am warming up to the idea of an EV after reading reviews like yours. The primary motivator as of now is to enjoy the acceleration and refinement. I have a feeling that in the next 2-3 years, cheap EVs with good range will make entry-level ICE big 3 germans obsolete when it comes to sheer performance and refinement.

Excellent review with all the details one needs to know while going for an EV. Congratulations on a well made decision and wish you many more anxiety free miles, I am sure you will achieve that the way you plan your trips.

That may happen but not because of manufacturers like Tata making cheap EVs.
There will always be differentiation in performance based on budget and coupled with the luxury factor there will always be demand for premium products.