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-   -   Tata Nano AMT (Automatic) : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/164034-tata-nano-amt-automatic-official-review-7.html)

My wife is huge fan of Nano and always wanted one. I was not interested for lack of Power Steering, Automatic and a practical boot and other minor but important features to make the car complete. Now I feel Nano has fulfilled those minimum requirements to take it very seriously. We drive in Bangalore and off late Agara to Marathalli has become a nightmare due to the emergence of successful start ups around this area. Driving a manual is becoming a pain no matter what time we leave in the morning. Hence thinking of a Nano.

Some points about the car from my perspective
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- I was never concerned about ABS and EBD in cars because I felt they are required when driving in wet conditions at high speeds (80+ km/h). With Nano you would not do that for your regular office or super market commute unless you are testing out Nano's capabilities to the limit. An airbag would have been a good addition though for 10K or 15K higher price point - I would have bought it.

- In the last 6 or 7 years I am yet to see people sitting in the rear seat of my Maruti Swift use the rear Seat belts. So the simple seat belts are not of a big concern to me. In fact, I feel it is easier to clamp my 2 year old son's car seat to these simple seat belts.

@mail2sekh, Thanks for your additional observations. That helps.

My concerns about the car hoping my friends here at team-bhp would help me out
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- How is the music system ? Does it have a good base ? I like music with tight base, so wondering if I could install a woofer later without changing too many things ? Can I install a 8" woofer in the boot ?

- Are alloys worth for Nano ? Does it add it to its looks ? I understand that it is subjective and depends on a given persons taste but what is the general opinion that is acceptable to most. I don't mind shelling in an extra 10K for the alloys.

- Is there any extra charge for the special color ?

- Prerana Motors at Kudlu Gate (Electronic city road) is the closest (3 km) Tata showroom from my house. Is it a good idea to buy from them ? I have heard some horrifying customer experiences with them. I called them for a test drive and they have no clue if the car if available in their showroom. They gave a number of the sales exec whose phone is out of reach yesterday.

Sorry for replying so late to the review. However, awesome detailed review. Good photography & detailed descriptions.
May be interesting to try out the AMT ( I see from the comments that it's bit sluggish) - but in city driving conditions, it shouldn't matter so much.
I remember, while driving down the Pune -Mumbai highways - Nano's were racing the other cars at around speeds of 100. I liked it.

The accessories look good. Of coruse - I'd prefer more power over the cosmetics

Much awaited review. Thanks Adithya.

Though my purchase is intended for my dad who is a reasonably good driver, but will be new on Auto tranny. Still not worried about the sluggish performance since usage is mostly urban.

A bit sad to hear that braking is not confidence inspiring. Desperately waiting for an year on the release of AMT version ever since I travelled along with a TATA guy was working on this project during that time.

Is that so bad that I wait for TATA to clear the air on Disc brakes? Let me try a detailed test drive. I was a blind buyer till yesterday!

I believe the air was cleared a long while back. This is from Nano's FAQ site

Great review Aditya, an exceptionally detailed one!

It seems Tata is dedicated to make Nano a success. Probably they have invested more time in Nano in last five years than any other product in their portfolio.

After taking care of the initial problems, Tata is now more focused in making it more acceptable to the buyers. In my opinion, adding the Power Steering was the best thing they have done.
The GenX model is having lots of goodies for the owners and the best part is AMT. Although I would still prefer Manual Transmission but for people driving it in bumper to bumper traffic, it can be a relief.
I do like Tata cars as my first one was a TATA, but what I see now a days is buyers are reluctant to buy Tata cars (Including Me :D) mainly because of the worries around the Quality and Cost of Service.

Now what can help TATA to establish Nano as an acceptable product ??

In my understanding Tata need to take away the worries of the prospective buyers. It can be done by launching a scheme similar to what Chevrolet has done earlier to sale its small cars where the buyer spends only for the fuel and nothing else.
I would like to own one if Tata launches a scheme where they provide free support for 3-5 years. ;)

Excellent review.

I was looking forward to picking up a Nano Automatic for my wife. She is a new driver so the negatives about the AMT may go unoticed. I can adapt when I drive. The one thing that does worry me are the brakes. Having owned a car that had bad brakes (Ford Ikon), I can't imagine how an all drum set up will be. One will have to factor longer braking distance and there is probably no scope for panic braking. You have to be careful and more so if you are a new driver. It would have cost no more than 5k for TATA to add disc brakes. I don't understand why they ignored this. While we all appreciate that Tata have been listening to the all important requirement for a hatch that can be opened, I would have traded this over engineering better brakes.

On the brighter side, fantastic pricing and I love the small touches to the design that make this car more attractive.

1) No comments, tone deaf, anything works for me! 2) Black may look good in the lighter shades, perhaps not in blue or purple, individual perception 3) No, none was mentioned, though there may be a delay for the Rose 4) PM me, I can share the number of the SA of Prerana Motors BTM Layout, they have an XTA TD Vehicle.
That was for the Manual Transmission Nano, the AMT braking dynamics is different. I can think of two reasons for this (1) Same brake system perhaps not modified for the increased weight of the vehicle (2) almost impossible get the engine participate in the braking action because of the internal linkage between the brake and the clutch. What I felt was that for the same effort, when baking from about 25 kmph, the old Nano Twist stopped at least a foot shorter. A slightly harder press could do the job.
Brakes should not be a deal breaker, for me I was not used to the AMT and made the comparison based on the experience with my existing vehicle. I had found the the Nano Twist's drums to be adequate in city conditions and speeds below 80 kmph (never went above that speed so far). For a new user, properly acclimatized, this difference would not be felt.
Tata AMC has been there for a while now. Pretty much everything is covered for the next four years at just 3.5K.

AMC is 3.5k for 3 years / 30000 km

Nowadays most of the people have more than one car in the house. The ones who have to drive to crowded neighbourhoods for errands, especially keep a small car. Coupled with an AMT, Nano can be that second car.

Tata should now work on re-positioning this car as a small city car. The earlier advertisements that showed 4 persons driving in a Nano to Mussoorie for tea does not make sense now. Moreover, the target should be the household persons who need a small car. Targeting the college crowd and the young professional might be wrong as in that age group style and passion takes precedence over practicality. A college student would rather purchase a 1.5 lakh Enfield than a Nano in most cases.

If I recall correctly, AMC starts from the second year. The first year has the same conditions as part of the vehicle guarantee, effectively making it 4 years/80000 km.

Don't tell me that I am wrong! That was what the SA told me when completing the formalities, will check and confirm after going through the documentation again.

That's a very good review Aditya clap:. All features very nicely explained.

I have a Nano 2012 LX since 3 years which we purchased by reading Team-BHP review. However, this time I don't think I will go for Genx Nano. There are quite a few reasons for this:

- A bigger engine was expected. Nano really struggles to climb ghat sections. I drive the nano on highway most of the time and it feels very under powered. At least 800 cc engine was expected.
- Fuel filler is very inconvenient. 24 litre tank is also low capacity.
- Luggage space is poor for AMT. At least 150 ltr is required.
- Overall height could have been reduced. Lot of air drag and body roll. Nano literally shakes when a volvo bus passes by.
- Dealer & service. Balaji cars no longer selling Tata cars. I am quite concerned about support in future.
- Niggles. Driver door lock and backside left door lock already changed for present nano. Wiper doesn't stay away from front glass and even a small amount of wind puts it down. First version nano wiper was better.
- No under seat storage or 1 litre bottle holders in door pockets

I think we completely forgot the diesel version of Nano. Any news on when it is going to arrive?:OT

There is a news item about that in the Business Standard, which reads " Due to changing preference in buyers and coupled with hurdles like controlling NVH, the (Nano Diesel) project has been put on the backburner"

Honestly, you have the wrong car for the kind of usage you have. The Nano is ideally suited as a second car or a city specific car. The AMT honestly makes city driving a lot easier where there is a frequent need to change gears due to heavy traffic.

What we are witnessing is probably the Creation of a totally new Segment..!! i.e an "Activa among Cars".

All Tata needs to do now is to ensure that the ownership experience of the Nano GenX owners is taken care of.

If this new segment becomes big, we could see Maruti and Hyundai developing their own versions of "Smart City Cars".