Team-BHP - Replacement for my Tata Nano?

If you are not having an aversion to Ford, the Figo is a nice option. But it's not a very responsive motor, if you are someone who tries to make a quick darting into the small gaps in city traffic. The Ford service is as good as Hyundai, we have been using Ford for past 6 years. Barring the Tiago, most options are looking dated. Tiago has good interiors and ride, but the motor is more laggard than the Figo. But considering that you are closing gaps with ease in metro traffic with Nano,I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult with Figo or Tiago either.

Having Driven TATA for more than 14 years in a row and as an avid (ex)TATA fan.. Tata Indica NA to XETA to Indigo.. I would STRONGLY suggest that you steer clear of TATA.

Upon recommendations here from some very educated members, I decided to opt out of the vicious circle of TATA (was hell inclined to buy Manza as replacement when it was launched) and bought a Maruti Swift.

Going forward, bought a Honda.

Sir, "peace of mind" are the only three magical words that come to my mind 4 years later.

Hi honeybee,

Please don't go for the Nano. No matter how much better the new one it is still a Nano at the end of the day.

As you said that you feel that the Nano is underpowered, have a look at the Brio. As GTO mentioned, it has some serious discounts going on. Driving the i-VTEC will feel like heaven after the Nano, owing to the Brio's power to weight ratio. However, the interiors do feel outdated and as rumors suggest, Honda will launch the facelift by the end of this year.

Second option, according to me, is the Tiago. It feels like a segment above, than what its price suggests. You have good experience with Tata, so this one becomes a more serious contender. The Revotron is nothing impressive though, it just does the job.

You could also look at The Figo and the Bolt. Both are good cars and match your criteria.

I would ask you to stay away from Kwid, Alto or the likes. They won't really feel like an upgrade, trust me.

Last of all, have a look at the used car segment. There are brilliant cars available in your budget. :D

Take your time, explore the options, TD them all and let us know about your decision.

Happy shopping! :)

After reading so many posts about disagreement for Nano, I felt I should add a little. I actually checked dictionary for the meaning of upgrade!

What GTO suggested is very much correct, But If I assume that Honeybee has Nano as second car then the option to go for newer Nano very much remains open. I think except the engine there are lot of changes in newer Nanos which quite fit into definition of upgrade.

And there is a saying "A Nano user always buy a Nano again" :) I have actually confirmed this as I know 3-4 persons who are my acquaintances bought Nano again. And I totally disagree if some one says that Nano doesn't feel like a car. I regularly drive Santro and Nano and I never ever felt that Nano is not like a car. The only difference is with engine refinement and low Bhp. But then its solves it purpose for City commute.

In agreement with GTO, a Bolt or a Brio, due to their proper 4 cylinder petrol engines, would be a good upgrade from the Nano. Did not suggest the Liva, as it would be a stretch.

However if the car will be driven primarily and mostly on the roads of Dombivli, then a new Nano or an Eon would be the best.

A black Bolt with Team BHP stickers on it would be a good way to recognize you in Dombivli :D

If its a replacement, I dont think any other car can do for you in the city what the Nano can do. I replaced my old 2011 Nano with the Nano twist.
If anything, it is even better in heavy traffic and tight parking situations. So technically speaking moving to the Nano Twist or Nano Twist AMT would actually be an upgrade in terms of driving comfort within the city. The only other relevant option I can see here is the Brio AT

It also depends on other clauses in your company lease. Do you stand to benefit if its a depreciation disaster? for example the lease might require you to buy the car back at the end of the term at the market value. If so, depreciation disasters would really be tempting. If this is not the case, then you could look at cars that hold their value.

Have fun, keep us posted

Ok, I guess I need to post a couple of things about the lease and all.

The lease will be for 4 years and at its end I must buy the car at 1% of the invoice value.

Also I have a Honda Accord for the long highway drives, so the new car will be more of a city car. I doubt if it would ever travel to Goa or Karnataka as the Nano did.

I test drove the Brio SMT today and I must say I was disappointed. It lacks the low end punch I get in my Nano, and with the AC on and three people on board it just couldn't get going in second gear after crossing speed breakers. The build quality might be better but somehow I am not convinced it deserves a hefty price tag.

The SMT is more than 6l on road and even after negotiations if I do manage to get it down to 5, I don't know what I am getting for it.

On the plus side it did feel small and compact and easy to drive, plus it has electronic ORVMs.

Tomorrow will be the Kwid.

Surprisingly Tata dealers haven't responded yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel (Post 3950435)

No matter how much better the new one it is still a Nano at the end of the day.

While you may have used this in a negative sense, I think this is just reason enough to consider the new Nano as a replacement for Honeybee.

OP have a highway mile cruncher and what he is looking for is a city drive car. I agree to T that cars like Tiago, Bolt, Ritz etc offers better engine and better creature comforts, but the down side is that, no other car in the list offers city driving convenience like a Nano does. There is simply no other car which can fit in the small gaps and can beat the traffic flow like a Nano does. The new Nano have lot of improvements over the old Nano (including power steering, improved interiors, better quality plastics etc, and an automatic to boot), so my vote goes to new Nano.

PS: My friend recently brought a Nano XTA for his wife and after taking the car out in traffic, have completely stopped taking his Vista out in the city. His own words: "Nano is so easy to drive in traffic, it feel like the two wheeler of cars."

--Anoop

Quote:

Originally Posted by theexperthand (Post 3951268)

OP have a highway mile cruncher and what he is looking for is a city drive car. I agree to T that cars like Tiago, Bolt, Ritz etc offers better engine and better creature comforts, but the down side is that, no other car in the list offers city driving convenience like a Nano does. There is simply no other car which can fit in the small gaps and can beat the traffic flow like a Nano does. The new Nano have lot of improvements over the old Nano (including power steering, improved interiors, better quality plastics etc, and an automatic to boot), so my vote goes to new Nano.

I suppose that is subjective. I have to agree with Neel when he says a Nano is just a Nano. I have driven the new Nano with all its additional features and while it is easy to drive in traffic, it really does not get me anywhere faster than I would go in another hatchback. Also one cannot restrict cars to only traffic use. The Nano will obviously see the occasional empty roads and perhaps even the occasional highway sometimes, and my god is it an absolute pain to drive in such situations. Its noisy, the suspension doesn't feel well sorted, the brakes lack feel, the gearbox feels like operating a flimsy chinese RC car's joystick, it feels absolutely cheap everywhere, the seats aren't contoured nicely and have you ever changed a flat tyre on the Nano? Let me tell you it was the single most annoying experience of swapping wheels that I have ever had. Firstly, the puny little rim bent because of a small rut in the road that I could not avoid (and had no clue would cause damage to the car), then everything from the jack, to the tools, to their placement in the car is downright absurd and poorly thought out in my opinion. Simply not a car I'd be able to live with on a regular basis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IshaanIan (Post 3951586)

I suppose that is subjective.

Hi IshaanIan,
While you are certainly entitled to have your opinion, the case of the OP and countless others in this thread (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...review-60.html) do suggest otherwise.

While you have made it clear that you are really unhappy with the Nano and may never consider one for your personal use, I can go to great lengths to say why I would be more than happy to own one for my personal use. The operative word is, as you said is, "Subjective".

--Anoop