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Old 21st February 2022, 21:49   #1
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Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

My Nexon EV is almost 8 months old and I have clocked over 8K kms. Not the most impressive stats, but having driven it in both city and highway conditions (including my 2600Km round trip between Chennai and Bhubaneshwar - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...-nexon-ev.html (Chennai to Bhubaneswar (~1300 km) in two days with the Tata Nexon EV), I feel confident that I know my car quite well. Especially its quirks and idiosyncrasies, and how to optimize it for my use.

The powertrain being the single biggest difference between EVs and ICEVs, most EV owners aim to master the "EV style of driving" which involves careful throttle inputs, single-pedal driving etc. But in this quest to extract better mileage, driving can be a bit taxing on the mind and the right foot. The fact that the Nexon EV comes without cruise control or selective regen adds to driver workload. This is especially apparently during long drives when the right foot starts hurting as you feather the throttle, trying to exert just the right amount of pressure on the pedal so that the car doesn't start to brake/regen or doesn't consume more power than strictly necessary to maintain the current speed. One needs to frequently monitor the power meter and adjust force on the accelerator pedal accordingly, which sadly affects the overall experience and joy of driving. This is not as much of a problem in ICE vehicles as there is no regen. if you lift off the accelerator pedal, the vehicle will coast, albeit with engine braking which will depend on the gear you are in. So you don't lose as much energy. But in EVs, regen is not really effective over short bursts and only serves to slow the car down without significant increase in charge levels (some energy is still being lost to friction).

Enter the Aha Nexcruise, an absolute game changer for Nexon/Tigor EV owners. It has been developed by Aakash of Aha 3D Innovations, an early Nexon EV owner who experienced the aforementioned pain points himself and decided to do something about it. From concept to delivery in about 8 months, the Nexcruise - which is aptly termed an "EV Energy Management System" - was created with inputs from many other Nexon EV owners. I was one of the early adopters and had confirmed my order in July 2021. I just received my unit last week and have driven 800 kms with the Nexcruise. This review is based on my experience so far.

Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs-nexcruise_box.jpeg

How does it work

Most modern cars (EV and ICE alike) have drive-by-wire systems, which means the accelerator is not connected to hydraulics but to a sensor and ECM which interprets your inputs and commands the engine to deliver appropriate power. This 2-min video on the Engineering Explained channel on YouTube does a great job of introducing the concept of electronic throttle.



Basically there's a data cable that goes from the sensor on your accelerator pedal to the car's ECM (in this case VCU, as there's no combustion). The Nexcruise unit is inserted between the pedal's sensor and the VCU, with another cable connecting to the vehicles' OBD port. There's an LED strip (also connected to the Nexcruise unit) which gives a visual indication of the device's functioning. The control unit is a dial with buttons for its multiple functions. The dial connects to the main unit through Bluetooth. The Nexcruise unit itself resides close to the OBD port and is hidden from view.

Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs-nexcruise_unit.png
Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs-nexcruise_dash.jpeg

The experience

While the Nexcruise started off primarily as a cruise control, and that is one of its primary functions, it offers much more than just cruise control. I want to start with the Coast function.

As explained earlier, one of the biggest challenges with the Nexon EV is its lack of selectable regen. That means the user cannot decide how aggressive the braking/regen should be. Nor can the user turn it off completely. In D mode, regen is quite strong and less so in S Mode. But regardless, it's always there. And that's a problem specifically on highways as you may want to take your foot off the accelerator pedal without the vehicle braking. The Coast feature of the Nexcruise does just that (indicated by a blue light on the LED panel). But turning regen off, you don't lose momentum sharply and the vehicle glides smoothly, speed dropping gently only due to rolling & aerodynamic resistance. This is equivalent to coasting in Neutral. However, should you need to slow down quickly, pressing the brake pedal immediately kicks in regen and the kinetic energy is harvested back to the battery (however minimal it may be). Releasing the brake pedal resumes the coast behavior and the vehicle continues to glide, albeit at the reduced speed.

Now we come to the primary feature i.e. the cruise control. It works pretty much like any modern cruise control system. Press the main knob to activate cruise (indicated by a green light on the LED panel), turn the dial left or right to increase or decrease cruise speed. If yo accelerate above the set cruise speed, releasing the accelerator will resume cruise once you drop to the set speed. If used in conjunction with the Coast feature, the deceleration from the higher attained speed to the lower cruise speed will be very gentle. Braking when in cruise mode deactivates the cruise function. Despite connecting to the main unit through Bluetooth, the dial is very responsive and I was able to control the car's speed without using the accelerator pedal at all.

Finally, there are a few other features like Eco and Deep Eco that limit the power used, irrespective of accelerator inputs. I didn't need to use these features on the recent trip as I wasn't hypermiling, but I will put them to use in the near future as I aim to cover the distance from Chennai to Bangalore with a single FC stop.

Concerns

There were many concerns about the Nexcruise system affecting the car's electricals/electronics and/or warranty implications. I'm not oblivious to these aspects and I acknowledge the risk. However, two factors helped alleviate these concerns:

1. Aakash has been super transparent about the entire process, even admitting that the first version had a bug which delayed the rollout. There were some security issues which were detected and addressed during public beta testing. Everything has been documented and available on their YT channel. This inspires confidence that the system has been rigorously tested and is safe to use.

2. Given it's plug-and-play nature, and the fact that it can be installed (and hence removed) by the user without any expert involvement, it is hard to see why/how it would invalidate the car's warranty.

Conclusion

The fact that Tata left out cruise control from the Nexon and Tigor EVs sucks. Whatever the logic, it's hard to justify the omission of something that greatly enhances the user experience. But in hindsight, I'm glad they did because that opened the door for this collaborative innovation. Having installed and driven with the Nexcruise, it has transformed my highway driving experience completely and I believe every Nexon EV & Tigor EV driver can benefit from it. There's news of the new upgraded Nexon EV having the cruise control, and I hope it comes with the ability to turn off regen. If not, the Nexcruise is worth the buy just for the Coast feature alone.

Note: This is an independent review and is not sponsored/influenced/vetted by the makers of Nexcruise.
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Old 23rd February 2022, 07:30   #2
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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

Going to our homepage today
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Old 23rd February 2022, 08:59   #3
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

Looks like an interesting product, can you just check with him if the same can be fitted to my E Verito ?
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Old 23rd February 2022, 10:42   #4
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

I love such Jugaad Innovation. They address the real needs of the users. But that is exactly what these are Jugaad. I would be a bit worried about using this given that it's playing around with a critical component of the car which, in this case, the accelerator pedal - but hey, that's just me. More importantly, what happens to all the time and effort in this investment if TML updates their soon to be launched Nexon (ver 2022 updated with higher range) with selective Regen function and cruise control ? don't get me wrong please, I am just expressing my concern and personal opinion.
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Old 23rd February 2022, 11:47   #5
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

Quote:
Originally Posted by swarnava.ch View Post
More importantly, what happens to all the time and effort in this investment if TML updates their soon to be launched Nexon (ver 2022 updated with higher range) with selective Regen function and cruise control ? don't get me wrong please, I am just expressing my concern and personal opinion.
I believe it will still serve the present market of thousands of Nexon EV's running around without a cruise but want one. What happens after that market is saturated is a big question though.
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Old 23rd February 2022, 13:21   #6
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Originally Posted by 123.rishabh View Post
Looks like an interesting product, can you just check with him if the same can be fitted to my E Verito ?
I'm pretty sure this particular model will not work with the E Verito as it's designed to communicate with Tata EVs (Nexon & Tigor) only.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swarnava.ch View Post
.. I would be a bit worried about using this given that it's playing around with a critical component of the car which, in this case, the accelerator pedal - but hey, that's just me. More importantly, what happens to all the time and effort in this investment if TML updates their soon to be launched Nexon (ver 2022 updated with higher range) with selective Regen function and cruise control ? don't get me wrong please, I am just expressing my concern and personal opinion.
I agree, the risk does exist but probably no more than any other component failing. The transparent and collaborative development process went a long way in inspiring confidence, but at the end of the day it's a gamble. That said, the makers are in discussions with Tata to get this validated. Let's see how that goes.

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Originally Posted by callmeneo View Post
I believe it will still serve the present market of thousands of Nexon EV's running around without a cruise but want one. What happens after that market is saturated is a big question though.
Absolutely right. Not every product needs to have a TAM in millions. While I'm not aware of the development costs, it's possible that the product would break even with few thousand units. Till the 2022 Nexon EV with CC is launched, it's fair to estimate about 15K+ Nexon EVs and a few thousand Tigor EVs would be sold. That probably presents a large enough market to go after.
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Old 23rd February 2022, 14:10   #7
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

How much did this cost? And more importantly, does this increase the highway range, where EVs suffer?
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Old 24th February 2022, 00:09   #8
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Originally Posted by Kernelmann View Post

As explained earlier, one of the biggest challenges with the Nexon EV is its lack of selectable regen. That means the user cannot decide how aggressive the braking/regen should be. Nor can the user turn it off completely.
This seems to be definitely useful for present Nexon EV owners who primarily use the car on highways.
Two questions:

1) I guess the device maintains constant speed by modulating throttle input signal to VCU. How much is the difference in range during such usage ? (manual v/s cruise control).

2) Is there a fail safe mechanism to arrest any malfunction of device ?
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Old 24th February 2022, 01:25   #9
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

Quote:
Originally Posted by 123.rishabh View Post
Looks like an interesting product, can you just check with him if the same can be fitted to my E Verito ?
This works on Nexon EV and Tigor EV Only.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swarnava.ch View Post
I love such Jugaad Innovation. They address the real needs of the users. But that is exactly what these are Jugaad. I would be a bit worried about using this given that it's playing around with a critical component of the car which, in this case, the accelerator pedal.
Calling it a jugaad is reducing the innovation, which has gone in to the product. It is an aftermarket cruise control with features to turn off regen, reduce energy consumption with a bluetooth enabled dongle with software upgrade. Do you call this a jugaad? how do you think a real cruise control from manufacturer works? All this is doing is simulating the pedal inputs to the control unit and it works.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aashishnb View Post
How much did this cost? And more importantly, does this increase the highway range, where EVs suffer?
It was 23k for the early bird, with 2k for optional upgrades to turn off regen, limit speed and energy consumption. I haven't yet gone on a highway, but this would do wonders to increase the range and remove the pain in your foot to maintain a constant speed. Removing regen on highway really does improve the efficiency.

Quote:
Originally Posted by maheshm619 View Post
This seems to be definitely useful for present Nexon EV owners who primarily use the car on highways.
Two questions:

1) I guess the device maintains constant speed by modulating throttle input signal to VCU. How much is the difference in range during such usage ? (manual v/s cruise control).

2) Is there a fail safe mechanism to arrest any malfunction of device ?
Yes, the input from the throttle is passed this unit and simulates this input when it needs to. I have done few city runs and few runs on empty roads, the wh/km consumption came down with this. It's not necessarily the CC which increases the range, it's the ability to maintain a constant speed, which increases it and CC helps you in that aspect.
As far fail safe, there are multiple ways to stop the cruise control, and drastic one being pulling the power off to the unit. The unit has been thoroughly tested but no product is ever defect free, so let's hope there isn't one catastrophic one, hey, the same goes for the manufacturer too.
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Old 24th February 2022, 11:21   #10
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Calling it a jugaad is reducing the innovation, which has gone in to the product.
Dear DarthVeda, I think you have misunderstood my comment. Please do not assign interpretation to my comment. That was neither my intent nor motiv.
Please do have a look at the term "Jugad Innovation" in the context of this link.
To quote from the book "Jugaad is a word often heard in general conversation in India. Whether to find ingenious solutions to problems or turn adversity into opportunity, Indians swear by it".
Being from an embedded and electronics background, I can surely appreciate the hard work gone into it, however anything that is not from the company is still an addon solution and my personal take on this would be that I would be worried about such devices which hijack my Accelerator inputs. Music system - surely no issues but brake and accelerator - not my cup of tea.
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Old 24th February 2022, 22:40   #11
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

Quote:
Originally Posted by swarnava.ch View Post
I love such Jugaad Innovation. They address the real needs of the users. But that is exactly what these are Jugaad. I would be a bit worried about using this given that it's playing around with a critical component of the car which, in this case, the accelerator pedal - but hey, that's just me. More importantly, what happens to all the time and effort in this investment if TML updates their soon to be launched Nexon (ver 2022 updated with higher range) with selective Regen function and cruise control ? don't get me wrong please, I am just expressing my concern and personal opinion.
I fully concur with you. Ceding control of critical systems such as accelerator and brakes to a relatively unknown and untested product is dangerous. This is different from installing a new head unit or a speaker. Much as I respect the creator and the innovation, I wouldn’t want to risk it if I were an owner of a Tata EV. Imagine an accelerator getting stuck at high speed. It can cause a serious crash. I know people would claim that pressing brakes would disable it but I am talking about a scenario where the system fails. In addition, one would likely lose the warranty on the vehicle. It is touted as a plug and play device but it is quite tedious to install and remove each time one visits the service center. It is being pushed by some vested interests without regard to safety as well as warranty implications. Even insurance companies could easily deny claims as it is an unauthorized and serious modification.
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Old 26th February 2022, 05:50   #12
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Originally Posted by Lobogris View Post
...It is being pushed by some vested interests without regard to safety as well as warranty implications. ..
Why the insinuation. What vested interests?

It's a calculated risk. The inventor - an NEV owner - created this device to make driving more enjoyable for himself and put it on sale for whoever wants it.

A hundred odd users including myself did so. Many thousands haven't. This post is motivated by one simple factor - when you come across something good, you spread the word. And call out the caveats clearly, as I and many others have done.

Some may see this as too risky as it takes control of the accelerator, which is totally fair. What is not is implying there is some vested interest, which is totally unwarranted.
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Old 26th February 2022, 07:26   #13
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

To all the people using Nexcruise, has anyone ever taken the car to the service center with the product installed? Would love to see the look on the face of the SAs. These are chaps who love to throw warranty clauses in the face of users for lights and tires, this is full fledged cruise control + regen control!

I understand the product is plug and play. Still, I am pretty sure they’ll find excuses to deny warranty coverage. More importantly, what happens to insurance? Will it remain valid? Can the presence of such a product inside the car during surveyor inspection be grounds for denial of the claim?
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Old 26th February 2022, 11:06   #14
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Why the insinuation. What vested interests?.
Sir, the comment was not directed towards you in any way. I meant the people pushing it on various EV groups and forums before it was even launched and without any concern for safety and warranty issues.
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Old 26th February 2022, 23:14   #15
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Re: Aha NexCruise | Plug-in cruise control & energy management for the Nexon & Tigor EVs

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Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain View Post
To all the people using Nexcruise, has anyone ever taken the car to the service center with the product installed? Would love to see the look on the face of the SAs. These are chaps who love to throw warranty clauses in the face of users for lights and tires, this is full fledged cruise control + regen control!

I understand the product is plug and play. Still, I am pretty sure they’ll find excuses to deny warranty coverage. More importantly, what happens to insurance? Will it remain valid? Can the presence of such a product inside the car during surveyor inspection be grounds for denial of the claim?
I have taken to a service station, though it was for body repair work, i told them about the cruise control attachment, no fuss raised.
if the service centre wants to deny warranty, they can find any reason for to do so, it won't be a problem for them at all. Anyway, if one is worried about such things then remove the unit before you go to SC, it takes 10 minutes to do so.
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