[perty]

Purchased a Genx XT for my wife last week, after trading in our older Nano.
First impression is that its a major leap forward, compared to the 2011 CX model we had before. Interiors, NVH insulation, steering, suspension have all become much better.

The brakes though, are a real safety hazard in my opinion.
While driving it on the ring road yesterday, I almost rear ended an Indica in front of me, who had to slam on his brakes due to an accident ahead of him. Saved by swerving sharply to the right. The distance between the two cars was about 7-8 feet, which is usually adequate for normal braking conditions at speeds of ~50kmph.
Had the blow in the tires been higher, or the number of people in the car been more, I suspect the end result would have been worse as the brakes wouldn't have been able to reduce the car's momentum in time.

Lessons learnt :
1] Keep a safe distance from other Nanos on the road, especially if they are behind you, as you never know when their brakes might be inadequate.
2] Avoid giving your Nano to hired drivers who arent extremely familiar with it's short comings wrt braking distance

The intention behind buying the new Nano was for use as an errand car, school pick up and drop with a running of less than 2km daily and it's met those requirements in stellar fashion. I wouldn't be too confident of taking it on longer runs though.

[sasi405]

Originally Posted by smiddela

I drive from HSR to Marathalli during peak hours (9:30 - 10:30 AM) in the morning and during less traffic hours in the evening (4 - 5 pm). My mileage is also 12 km/l.

When I used the expensive Shell fuel it gave me 13 km/l. So basically I am getting same bang for the buck.

I drive in sport mode 30% - 50% of the time.

Interesting!! I drive in NCR, 40km one way every day, from Gurgaon to Mathura Rd and back and my average FE since the last 1 year and 7 months has been hovering around 13kmpl with AC on about 70% of the time. I also drive a TATA; the only difference being that it is a diesel and that it is a Safari Storme!!
Jokes apart, how come the FE is so low in a Nano with a 600cc engine, where even the 800cc Marutis give a minimum of 16kmpl under same conditions? Even my i10 gives me 15kmpl on a regular basis.

[condor]

Originally Posted by sasi405

Jokes apart, how come the FE is so low in a Nano with a 600cc engine, where even the 800cc Marutis give a minimum of 16kmpl under same conditions?

Sasi, looks like you are not aware of the traffic conditions in that particular area. Marathalli is a place where we can expect a jam even on a day like yesterday. The Bandh day

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by perty

Saved by swerving sharply to the right. The distance between the two cars was about 7-8 feet, which is usually adequate for normal braking conditions at speeds of ~50kmph.
Had the blow in the tires been higher, or the number of people in the car been more, I suspect the end result would have been worse as the brakes wouldn't have been able to reduce the car's momentum in time.

Lessons learnt :
1] Keep a safe distance from other Nanos on the road, especially if they are behind you, as you never know when their brakes might be inadequate.
2] Avoid giving your Nano to hired drivers who arent extremely familiar with it's short comings wrt braking distance

IMHO, 7-8 feet distance is rather too close at 50kmph. If the vehicle in front reduces speed by engine braking, and then slams the brakes, before you realize the distance reduces to nothing, and it is not possible to avoid rear ending.
The lessons learnt you mentioned above is true for all the vehicles, not only for a Nano.

[sun_king]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

IMHO, 7-8 feet distance is rather too close at 50kmph. If the vehicle in front reduces speed by engine braking, and then slams the brakes, before you realize the distance reduces to nothing, and it is not possible to avoid rear ending.
The lessons learnt you mentioned above is true for all the vehicles, not only for a Nano.

+1

At 50 kmph you are going at over 13 m/s and 8 feet means just about 2.5 meters apart. Too close, you are lucky because you were behind an Indica one of the few hatches that has a poorer braking capability than the Nano (Reference: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1871653 )

Would advice a bigger separation, not just for the Nano, for any vehicle.

[perty]

Originally Posted by sun_king

+1

At 50 kmph you are going at over 13 m/s and 8 feet means just about 2.5 meters apart. Too close,

One +ve takeaway here is the seating height of the Nano. Since I could see over the Indica guy's roof, I was able to anticipate that he was going to slam the brakes and it gave me a little more time to be react.

[mail2sekh]

Originally Posted by power ranger

Yes, even I have booked one at Aadaya motors in the first week of Aug and no signs of delivery yet !! Wonder how long the wait would be
Looks like Tata will again lose the game as customers get frustrated with waiting and will look for something else. Wake up Tata and atleast sell when you can !! Why don't they divert the Zest AMT to nano ? I don't think has Zest has that kind of demand !!

I waited for 3.5 months. AMT on a Nano was something I was waiting for(I had hoped for a diesel too but then you cant have everything in life And through this thread almost all the + and - were known to me. So if you like the car , I'd suggest you set your expectations at around mid October.Anything earlier,well it's a lottery !

I can only sympathise with Tata. They can never get it right. They have good products, screwed by incompetent dealers/service centers. If all goes well, they get an incomplete product with no availability for people who are keen to buy !! Case in point example even with about 20K more, they should have got disc brakes in Nano AMT to make it a world class car. God save them !!

PS: Tata Dealers are a set of morons. The person whom I am talking to from Aadya motors Bangalore has no clue whether I will ever get my Nano !! Every time he says he will call me back in 30 mins and that 30 mins never comes !!

Agree about the brakes. I would have paid more too. But then you get used to it after a while
But I have to disagree about the dealership. I don't know about Adya but at least the Concorde motors sales agent , where I booked from , had a complete understanding of the end to end feature set. He used to call me every two weeks to apologize for the delay, followed by every two days while it was being shipped from the factory. During delivery he insisted on not using the left leg at all. (I think there was some training by tata because a couple of days back I got a mail from TML only to say the same thing)
I ddn't think much of it then but then switching between our geared car and this lands you up in quite a few not-just-embarrassing-but-scary situations !

[power ranger]

Originally Posted by mail2sekh

I waited for 3.5 months. AMT on a Nano was something I was waiting for(I had hoped for a diesel too but then you cant have everything in life And through this thread almost all the + and - were known to me. So if you like the car , I'd suggest you set your expectations at around mid October.Anything earlier,well it's a lottery !



Agree about the brakes. I would have paid more too. But then you get used to it after a while
But I have to disagree about the dealership. I don't know about Adya but at least the Concorde motors sales agent , where I booked from , had a complete understanding of the end to end feature set. He used to call me every two weeks to apologize for the delay, followed by every two days while it was being shipped from the factory. During delivery he insisted on not using the left leg at all. (I think there was some training by tata because a couple of days back I got a mail from TML only to say the same thing)
I ddn't think much of it then but then switching between our geared car and this lands you up in quite a few not-just-embarrassing-but-scary situations !

3.5 months ?
Then why do they make false promises ? I was promised within 6 weeks

[LonelyPlanet]

Agree about the brakes. I would have paid more too. But then you get used to it after a while !

Couldnt agree more - I dont even think about it after driving for a month.

You know what to expect from the vehicle and adjust your driving style accordingly. Not the other way around - that would be be a disaster waiting to happen.

[alphahere]

An update on the daily usage. I have had a few close shaves with bikes parked right behind the car and people crouching down and sitting behind the car. The rear window sill is so high that it completely hides even a bike as big as a bullet from view. So decided to get a reverse camera installed before falling into some serious trouble. I chose to install an external camera between the number plate lights instead of a flush mounted one on the bumper for the following reasons.

1. Did not want to drill a permanent hole on the bumper.

2. The lens would be unprotected and prone to damage if struck by anything even lightly.

3. The lens would be pointing straight and would limit the vision immediately below the bumper. On the other hand it gives a view into the sky and distance which is of no practical use in a reverse assist camera.

4. Installing above the number plate between the lights makes it very unobtrusive.

Installation was straightforward and took hardly an hour including the wiring. The make is RSR Autovision and it does not include an ultrasonic beeper. There are cheaper alternatives available at half the price online but I chose to get it from a shop to get warranty and free fixing. Power was taken from the reverse lamp and the wires from the lens to the display on the dashboard were concealed below the floor carpet. Am very happy with the positioning of the lens as it gives me maximum view right below the bumper. This enables to park as close to an obstacle as possible using the camera. Now making it a habit to see the camera while reversing.

Lens above the License Plate


Minimum actual distance to an obstacle


Minimum visible distance on the screen

[honeybee]

Would it be possible to fit the reversing camera on the inside of the rear hatch? That way it would also be protected from the elements. The camera fitted without a proper enclosure could get damaged by a careless car washing guy. Also it could get damaged on the rear bumper in case of a rear collision.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by mail2sekh

But I have to disagree about the dealership. I don't know about Adya but at least the Concorde motors sales agent , where I booked from , had a complete understanding of the end to end feature set. He used to call me every two weeks to apologize for the delay, followed by every two days while it was being shipped from the factory.

Can you kindly give me the name \ contact info of your sales agent?

My friend booked a Red XTA (from Concord Motors, Diray Circle) in July and was promised delivery within 2 months. He have never got any follow up calls or any calls about delay in delivery - he had to call and follow up always and even after 2 months, his agent is not able to give him a tentative delivery date.

Last week (when the promised 2 months were up), he called them again and said that he is ready to compromise on his color choice, if a delivery can be made soon. To this, they told him that he should have told them this before as there was couple of cars which was available previous week.
My question is, when he was calling and following up, shouldn't they have at least informed him that there are cars available in other colors?

Is there any way to escalate this matter to the higher ups so that he gets the delivery of his car soon?

--Anoop

[power ranger]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Can you kindly give me the name \ contact info of your sales agent?

My friend booked a Red XTA (from Concord Motors, Diray Circle) in July and was promised delivery within 2 months. He have never got any follow up calls or any calls about delay in delivery - he had to call and follow up always and even after 2 months, his agent is not able to give him a tentative delivery date.

Last week (when the promised 2 months were up), he called them again and said that he is ready to compromise on his color choice, if a delivery can be made soon. To this, they told him that he should have told them this before as there was couple of cars which was available previous week.
My question is, when he was calling and following up, shouldn't they have at least informed him that there are cars available in other colors?

Is there any way to escalate this matter to the higher ups so that he gets the delivery of his car soon?

--Anoop

This is a ploy they use when you ask for a colour. Its only an excuse. They told me the same thing at Aadya motors, sir if you had booked a day back we had two cars. Its all a lie !! One thing is clear, that Tata or the dealers are not interested in selling this car. I am thinking of cancelling this booking. This kind of attitude is bugging me. Earlier Tata motors used to plead for sales, now they don't seem to have the capacity to deliver AMTs, what an irony. I had even told Aadya motors that I am open to any color. Still no response. Looks like we have to escalate to someone preferably in Tata motors. Does anyone have such a contact ? If so, please share.

[john doe]

Originally Posted by alphahere

So decided to get a reverse camera installed before falling into some serious trouble. I chose to install an external camera between the number plate lights.

I wonder if the heat generated at that point due to the rear engine will severely reduce the life and performance of the electronic components.

Have you touched the number plate after a typical city drive?

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by john doe

I wonder if the heat generated at that point due to the rear engine will severely reduce the life and performance of the electronic components.

Have you touched the number plate after a typical city drive?

It should not be a problem. After an hour or two of drive the number plates are just warm at the max. Not hot as such. Could be due to the new extra cooling fan. My old twist used to heat up more than this. Moreover there is a space between the number plate and the camera which will dissipate whatever heat is there. But the point that you touched upon is one of the reasons why I chose not to install the camera by drilling the bumper. The back of the camera should not be sticking into the engine bay exposed to the heat and if for some reason it keeps failing I would be left with a hole on the bumper!

Originally Posted by honeybee

Would it be possible to fit the reversing camera on the inside of the rear hatch? That way it would also be protected from the elements. The camera fitted without a proper enclosure could get damaged by a careless car washing guy. Also it could get damaged on the rear bumper in case of a rear collision.

Drilling the hatch door is too big a risk to take. If it does not turn out well cannot even reverse the damage! Also might not make sense to install inside the hatch as it would not serve the purpose of giving as close a view as possible. All depends on the available angle. This is precisely the reason why all factory fitted cameras are installed above the number plate for big cars or on the hatch for small cars and face downward at an angle instead of straight. Anyway drilling the hatch to fix a camera may not be a good idea as it might promote corrosion also.

The black cube is an enclosure that comes with the camera. The actual lens module is placed inside the cube and this module itself is watertight. The camera is not an expensive accessory and can be replaced in 1000 bucks unlike the display. Hence would not make economic sense to spend more on protecting it.