[carwatcher]

Originally Posted by anu21v

Model Year change to me are too small to be seen as anything which changes customer perspective drastically.

Fully Agreed but there are exceptions too. Remember Tata Indica V2. It changed the perception drastically. Same for 2012 Nano. As soon as I saw the Ad, my perception changed drastically and I immediately went to the showroom to hear the exhaust note. Couldn't take the test ride as already taken of the older one when it was launched but was really looking forward to book the car. I have also started recommending Nano to others. So if this Model year change can change the perception of few T-Bhpians like us, then it can be said as an exception.

[JustCause]

Originally Posted by anu21v

Model Year change to me are too small to be seen as anything which changes customer perspective drastically.

Agreed. First impression is the last impression. What didn't sell earlier, wouldn't sell now, just because of a facelift. Unless you reduce the price & make it truly 1lac (as promised) & come clean on the fire incidents to regain the customer's trust. Atleast show them you're listening.

Originally Posted by carwatcher

Remember Tata Indica V2. It changed the perception drastically. Same for 2012 Nano. As soon a....year change can change the perception of few T-Bhpians like us, then it can be said as an exception.

The same Indica/Indigo moniker haunted the Vista & the Manza in recent times. Predictably,TATA enlarged the 'Vista' & shrunk the 'Indica'. I've said it earlier & will say it again. TATA/FIAT are the companies which come out with the best facelifts in terms of additional functionality offered. But, somehow, they fail to release it as a new product. By giving it an old name, they taint it at birth. Another classic example is the FIAT Petra(later called Siena).


Wouldn't calling it as the TATA Pixel (instead on Nano 2012) & establishing it as a completely new product, free of the issues plagued by the NANO, been a better choice?

[ani_meher]

Great review GTO! I saw one Nano stopping short of breath at the Lonavala Karla ghats, and thought that perhaps the driver was afraid whether it will climb the ghaat or not. The review confirms the fact. This is bit sad for this otherwise brilliant car.

[shortbread]

Great, insightful review as usual.

Cant believe there are guys cribbing as to why review a facelift model??!! First of all we should be grateful to the folk who actually put effort into this review that we sit back and read for free!! There are plenty of magazines available on news stands that provide reviews which are either half baked or sound like a product endorsement.

Secondly from the moment the 12' Nano was launched there have been a plethora of requests from regular Bhp'ians for an official test drive. Even the revised Nano is a significant product, much more than dozens of face lifts, variants launched every week. There are plenty of members out there who are toying with the idea of buying one and wanted to find out if Tata had addressed their concerns on the Nano.

Coming to the point, always wonder why Tata have to wait for the upgraded variants to get the product right. This should have been the Nano from day one rather than wait for so long!!

[ashphil]

Lovely review of the new Tata nano! It made me want to go and buy one despite the 'image' factor, the autorickshaw sound , the lack of powersteering and glovebox, the ignoring of safety by having the battery sitting right inside the car with the passengers, lap belts instead of proper three point seat belts and the existence of a cross bar to damage your feet.
I think Tata blew their marketing strategy by referring to the nano as the 1 Lac car. Perhaps they envisioned a too high a conversion of two wheelers to four wheelers.
Despite all this I am proud to see the Nano on the roads. After all this is the car which had the world agog during it's launch. It is very heartening to see that Tata takes customer feedback seriously and what more includes its former buyers for updates.
If they continue down this path , yes! The Nano will prevail!
regards,
Ashok

[sureshurs]

Great Review GTO. The reviews on Team-BHP are absolutely unbiased and detailed. As mentioned in the review, the "cheapest car" tag is hurting it's image with the common man. However one of the ex-ministers of AP and an important member of opposition party uses Tata Nano for his local commute

[The_Speedster]

As usual, a great review indeed GTO!

It is great to observe the evolution which this "innovation bucket" is undergoing. Apart from the corrections done to the car, Tata has pulled up its socks on marketing front too as evident from its new Nano ads.

Though, I would love to buy Nano for my sis, the difficulty of getting it repaired (including punctures, engine work, and fuse replacement) is holding me back.

[turbo_delight]

Originally Posted by sameern.85

Great review GTO as always.!
The Nano has been a problem child for Tata motors. Hopefully this should give it a boost. IMHO, I still feel people are skeptical about the fire incidents which took place across the country. PR team of Tata motors should have stepped in and taken care of this.Having driven the Nano myself, it doesn't disappoint you but you have a feeling that you are driving something unique yet something is missing.
Great insight into the 2 wheelers psyche and commuting info.
Again, coming to the safety bit, I saw a BEST bus crashing straight into an Alto on an intersection and the car instantly turned into a 'U' shaped vehicle from the impact side. It was disturbing to imagine how Nano would have fared considering build quality of the car and structural rigidity. I wish that they bring it with basic safety features (maybe enhanced side impact beams/ enhanced crumple zones). Perhaps similar to the Europa model.
I also think that they bring out an A/T variant which will become and instant hit for urban commute.
I feel that the used car market will definitely give you more options (Engine/ Fuel wise) at the on road price of the LX variant.

Drive Safe

Yes. i do feel the same. Either they should launch a diesel as soon as possible or they should have an AT version for petrol.
Both will definitely be a hit. I will definitely buy the AT version.

[girishglg]

Thanks for the super big review for this cute small car on our roads. The company has surely done their bit to listen in to customer demands and make small changes in the interiors and other features. IMO Nano refresh would be a very compelling buy for many new car buyers and for the folks planning for their second car.

Some modifications that would really cover any other left out areas can be offered in a mid year refresh or as an add on pack for the current cars-

1. Batteries to be placed in the bonnet instead of the current position which would offer better legroom and peace of mind as well
2. Offering a 50:50 split seat which would give it additional 250 litres of space in case there are 3 passengers (1 in the rear)
3. Very importantly lugging capability at any steep motorable gradient which is a must and has to be rectified at the earliest.
4. A lockable glove box that can store some important documents and nick-nacks. Maybe they can think of some other place in the dashboard where it could be added on.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Great, insightful review as usual.

Cant believe there are guys cribbing as to why review a facelift model??!! First of all we should be grateful to the folk who actually put effort into this review that we sit back and read for free!! There are plenty of magazines available on news stands that provide reviews which are either half baked or sound like a product endorsement.

Don't misquote us as 'crib' guys buddy
I really liked this entire review, trust the judgement of GTO, praise the efforts that has gone into making it and unequivocally welcome this. However In past we had the trend of not doing a full fledged review of any MCE or MY changes hence I posed this question. [though not entirely true in light of GTO replied facts now]

Its not for nothing that this thread is called as "T-BHP official new car review thread". I am in agreement with GTO's Logic of reviewing it here because Nano was never before officially reviewed at T-BHP and not just because this being an MY change.

If I go by your logic, then don't take me wrong if I expect GTO review for all MY12 changes for all the existing cars in India.

Originally Posted by JustCause

Agreed. First impression is the last impression. What didn't sell earlier, wouldn't sell now, just because of a facelift. Unless you reduce the price & make it truly 1lac (as promised) & come clean on the fire incidents to regain the customer's trust. Atleast show them you're listening.

Well i do not believe that pricing it lower will have any effect either. The only ways it could have been successful had the TML kept mum on the speculative pricing of this car and never brandished Nano as "World's Cheapest Car". This is an engineering marvel which shouldnt have come in the category of 'Cheap' come what may. It should have been positioned directly against M-800s & Alto with some what lower though comparable pricing and not the 2/5th of M-800s pricing. Positioning has been Tata's Achilis heel for long time and positioning doesnt necessarily mean pricing lower. Its done to keep the prestige of the product intact. In this TML lost the prestige of this marvelling product forever and will require huge efforts to gain it back.


Also let there be no doubt, Everyone of us on the forum wants Nano to be successful.

[dkaile]

Great Review. A ok car with a poor fuel economy, I would say. At this entry level, when buyers have compromised all creature comforts, economy is everything. And if real world figures are less than 18-20kmpl (on a rated figure of about 25kmpl) then the whole colossal exercise to build such a car seems waste. At 13~14kmpl, which I presume is what most buyers are getting, any diesel car will beat it hands down.

The Nano desperately needs a fuel efficient diesel and some ergonomic upgrades.

[ethanhunt123]

I get 17kmpl+ after the first service in Blr bumper-bumper traffic. And mind you, mine is the pre-2012 version. I am sure one can squeeze out 19-20kmpl if driven carefully on good roads easily.

[noopster]

Fantastic stuff! The true test of a review for me is if someone can make me lap it up end to end even when I don't have the slightest inclination to buy that particular car. This one succeeded beautifully. 5 stars.

Originally Posted by GTO

So why did the Nano not rack up 20,000 – 30,000 sales a month as expected? The answer greatly varies depending on who you are listening to, but if you ask me, there are 5 fundamental reasons:

1.
2. It’s simply too unconventional:The Indian market, especially first-timer buyers, are a conservative lot. In that, they are extremely risk averse. The Nano is too “different” and “unconventional” for the mass market tastes. Factors like the engine placed at the back, a hatch that doesn’t open, battery under the front seat, 3-bolt wheels, differently sized front & rear tyres, lack of a glovebox et al make the Nano too different a concept for the junta. Many, including some owners, refer to the car as a toy.

3.
4.
5.

You know- if Tata paid a Marketing Consultant of repute good moolah, they may or may not have been able to come up with reason #2, which to me is *the* reason such a nice car on paper has never managed to realise its true potential in the market. You nailed it, GTO!

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by dkaile

poor fuel economy,
At 13~14kmpl, which I presume

Few points on Nano since I am driving one for last 3 odd months
1) I am also getting an average of more that 17.50 Km these days after the first service, in city and without AC.
2) And mind you i am heavy footed, I enjoy the zip that Nano gives from the signal! So I think that my car can easily add another 1km to that figure if I decide to go slow.
3)Plus most of travels are short so I think that is another place where I could get better average with warm engine.

So the allegations of low average are not fair.

4)In my opinion, the 'status' aspect of car ownership and low price tag is killing Nano, add to it the rising petrol price which is chipping away the price conscious potential buyers.
5)Despite this, there remains huge amount of curiosity as well as ignorance about Nano out there. I have encountered too many funny questions wrt its efficiency, drivability, and also whether it stays on road at high speeds!

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by avingodb

I am also getting an average of more that 17.50 Km without AC.

I quoted figure from GTO's test drive and also as per feedback received from 2 of my friends owning the Nano. This was also the average quoted by them in normal city driving here in Meerut with approx. 80% AC usage. And IMHO 13~even 15 kmpl is not a acceptable figure for a 600 something CC car when a buyer in this segment is primarily looking at economy.