[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

soon Tata Nano will be available for online purchase and it states that the company has already test-marketed selling a few units through the online medium.

Just selling online will not help, They need to have "Build Your Nano" kind of option to customize your car (Eg: Mini Cooper), option to create your own custom decals etc. For all this to happen, Tata Motors needs to decide whom should they target, Urban Youth or Poor Bikewallahs.

[honeybee]

Yesterday I got a call from my Tata dealer inviting me to a 'Soft Launch' of the Nano 2013. I was a bit surprised, but decided to go and visit the showroom. After reaching the dealership, I found they had invited a few other Nano owners and wanted to 'unveil' the new Nano at their hands. That's a very nice idea.

Till all the invited owners arrived (not many, just three turned up), I clicked some photos of the blue Nano and chatted up with the salesperson Mr. Amit, who had sold me my Nano. He too owns a Nano and we both exchanged a few stories of our Nano drives. His only complaint was Nanos are fast losing their exclusivity, at least in Pune!

After the unveiling and cake cutting, the dealership had some quick questions to us about the new Nano. My reply: It's a complete package. There's very little an owner will now have to get fitted aftermarket. It has integrated stereo with bluetooth synchronization with your phone, four speakers, glove boxes (they aren't lockable, though!), and an extra grill on the rear bumper to aid engine cooling - further improving performance I suppose.

Here are some of the photos:

The chrome strips on the 'boot' lid, and the hood - Also notice the additional grill on top of the rear bumper: this is actually two pieces fit together in the top part. You can make the dark outline where the grill/mesh has been fitted into the bumper. Also note the rear fog-lamp has been removed.


The dashboard now has the glove boxes and speakers integrated. These are not available as aftermarket fitment. I guess I would have to get the whole dashboard replaced - which may be a good idea because my beige dash throws up a lot of reflections. Note the gloveboxes are no more lockable. Instead they are now 'Push to open', and unlike the earlier flimsy lids, this lid should stay put even if the car goes over potholes.


The rear parcel tray now gets two additional speakers. All speakers in body colour, which may be a good thing as long as they work, but may not be so good if you want to replace them!


The wiring for the rear speakers has been routed from the 'C' pillar:


The parcel tray stays put even if the rear seats are folded, so getting the wiring done for a similar arrangement in an existing Nano may be a challenge. The option could be to replace the parcel tray if possible. Forgot to ask about it! Also the 'C' pillar now gets cladding, unlike the previous Nanos which displayed their flesh and muscle openly:


The roof-mounted antenna should improve reception. Currently my behind-the-windscreen antenna fails to capture most stations clearly even within city limits.


Improved ergonomics: The power window switches have moved behind the gear shifter. The gear shifter lever has been bent at an angle, and the storage bin in the front no longer has bottle-shaped cavities: Instead it's just a big rectangular area where you can store anything that fits.



The integrated stereo can sync with your phone over bluetooth. The manufacturer cannot be identified, though. It has the same finish as the centre panel and should probably throw some more reflection. I wonder if a full black treatment would look good on the dash and centre panel.


Other pics in random order:

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by honeybee

His only complaint was Nanos are fast losing their exclusivity, at least in Pune!

an extra grill on the rear bumper to aid engine cooling - further improving performance I suppose.

You can't have it both ways on exclusivity - buy a Fiat if you want to be exclusive and suffer other consequences:-). I had an Uno for 3 years, and a Palio for 8, and I don't want the Fiat kind of exclusivity any more. Now if you are talking about an AMG Merc...

It may be worthwhile getting the rear bumper changed/modified. I notice a lot of heat outside the additional vents after the car has run, and getting it out of the car body quicker can only be to the good for performance/reliability. Should be easy to do at the dealer end.

[honeybee]

According to me the whole rear bumper will have to be replaced, and the rear fog lamp needs to be refitted. Not worth the extra effort since I have never had problems with heating. True, the Nano does have a hot a$s after a long drive, but so far it hasn't troubled me.

[skumar7]

I have been a TATA customer since 1991, starting from Sierra. Took delivery of the Nano 2013 couple of days back. Initial impressions are good.

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Yesterday I got a call from my Tata dealer inviting me to a 'Soft Launch' of the Nano 2013

Thanks for sharing these details. While I am happy that Tata is improving Nano based on the customer feedback, I don't know what it means for the resale value of the first gen Nanos that people like us have?



Hopefully there is a way to retrofit some of these upgrades like fixed parcel tray and single strap boot opener (that was changed in the last upgrade)

Or

Tata could introduce some really attractive plans for upgrade/retrofit/exchange offer for the first generation vehicles for those who bought the car when it was doubted by almost all!

[honeybee]

From my interaction with the salesperson, many of the 'important' features are not retro-fittable. For e.g. you can't order the new dashboard speakers separately. However you could get an entirely new dashboard and fit it in your Nano. Ditto for the rear parcel tray. You need to check with your dealer if these can be fitted. For me - I don't really care for these changes personally.

There are certain critical areas - specially the gear console - which, sadly, cannot even be retrofitted. The placement of the power window switches has been improved a lot, but it has been done by raising the gear console a few inches from its existing height. I was ready to even replace the whole console, but it seems I shall have to buy the rest of the car too.

Well, it would be naive to expect any manufacturer will 'reward' the first generation vehicle owners by offering them free upgrades. Of course we all trusted the Nano, but then of course Tata did deliver a VFM package, which is why we trusted them in the first place.

[fuelinmyveins]

I feel that tata nano and its advertising campaign have finally come up to the level at which they should have been from the begining . The car has a lot of potential but inititial marketing of it as the cheapest car in the world seriously dented its image.

as for other tata products these upgrades fall way short of market expectations from product in their respective classes.

[silverado]

What a lovely color, i really liked it.

Looks like rear bench in 2013 has much more cushion than my 2011 Nano, if that is really the case , that will be the first item that i will replace in my Nano.

They should have provided bottle holders somewhere in the cabin, and what happened to that small useless pocket which was fitted lower down on the horizontal rod?

[CARDEEP]

IAB have reported sighting of 2014 Vista test mules in Pune. Here is link to their report:

http://indianautosblog.com/2013/08/2...ft-spied-92571

[adg_andy]

It seems that FINALLY , the Nano is going to get a power steering and , most importantly, be repositioned as a Smart City Car, rather than an upgrade from a bike.

Full news at :

http://www.rediff.com/business/slide...20130822.htm#1

[GrammarNazi]

Originally Posted by adg_andy

It seems that FINALLY , the Nano is going to get a power steering and , most importantly, be repositioned as a Smart City Car...

You said it. FINALLY they're placing their products more sensibly.

Auto Car India claimed there's some new tech ZF power steering that's being developed for the Nano.

[srj1266]

Originally Posted by adg_andy

It seems that FINALLY , the Nano is going to get a power steering and , most importantly, be repositioned as a Smart City Car, rather than an upgrade from a bike.

Full news at :

http://www.rediff.com/business/slide...20130822.htm#1

What about the existing Nanos? i hope they provide some option of upgrading the current cars to the power steering.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Auto Car India claimed there's some new tech ZF power steering that's being developed for the Nano.

I don't know how much of a breakthrough it will be over normal ones. ZF is just another steering system manufacturer like Sona Koyo.

[Figopian]

Nice report! But....

Everyone knows that people expect more from TATAs. How long can one survive on facelifts? They have not come up with anything new in the range of Indica/Indigo since ages. Look at Indigo eCS or Indica dashboard. If you compare that dashboard with the original indica launched years ago, its actually same shape. Yes, the quality has improved, a few contours here and there are changed, but that wont do any good, does it?
People are finding this design absolutely boring as newer generations cars (more reliable ) are available in the market. Simple face lifts are not going to help TATA revive. They need newer ideas, newer cars, newer designs, right?
Instead of show casing 8 face lifts, if they come up with a program that rolls out a new car every year for the next 5 years, that may save TATA.

Can TATA do a Toyota (getting rid of well selling Qualis for Innova)? I guess not. Are they capable of designing newer generation cars? I bet they are, they just need the drive that Mr. Ratan Tata gave them years ago.