[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

This model doesn't have a 'S' mode. In fact, that is what I had in mind when I observed the lack of power, but unfortunately this model doesn't have that option.
My friend mentioned about driving from Bangalore to Mangalore, and about being forced to take a stop because of engine overheat.
Other than these, it is a lovely car, and easy to drive around in city traffic.

How come the car does not come with a S mode?
Also, the Nano engine very rarely overheats. I mean, I've driven quite a bit and once without any coolant with AC and 3 passengers. It does not overheat.
If it is getting heated up, something is wrong. Please get it checked.
Lack of power- can be an issue with the AMT. Just use the manual mode when you need pickup. Upto 60 kph, the Nano is not as bad as you make it out to be. Beyond that it is sluggish.

[sjcherian]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

Recently I'm carpooling with my friend who owns a Tata Nano AMT. Few things I noticed about the AMT variant:

• Overtaking vehicles is a pain. There is hardly any pickup!
• Struggles to move forward in inclines. I had a tough time taking the car out of my office where is a big incline. For a moment I thought the car might start going back, but somehow it struggled to climb the incline.
• The car doesn't move forward when I release the brake. I remember
• My friend says the car gets heated up after driving for around 200 kms. So he is forced to take a break for the engine to cool down.

Sir please remember it is a 600cc. Also on the inclines the creep mode doesn't work well. On flat surfaces in city traffic the creep mode works beautifully on releasing the brake.
As for driving 200 Km at a stretch - I would like to know at what speed ? At 60 that is over 3 hours of driving non stop. I dont think the Nano was meant for long distance driving and non stop as well. It may be issues with that specific car as well.

My Nano AMT is around 3700 Km now. Still love driving it in the city for all the crowded areas. Average Kmpl is 13.2 over 15 fuel fills.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

This model doesn't have a 'S' mode. In fact, that is what I had in mind when I observed the lack of power, but unfortunately this model doesn't have that option.
My friend mentioned about driving from Bangalore to Mangalore, and about being forced to take a stop because of engine overheat.
Other than these, it is a lovely car, and easy to drive around in city traffic.

Are you sure it does not have the S button at the bottom? I thought all the AMT Nano versions had it. Surprised!!

[X_T_A Rose]

Originally Posted by wilful

Are you sure it does not have the S button at the bottom? I thought all the AMT Nano versions had it. Surprised!!

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

This model doesn't have a 'S' mode. In fact, that is what I had in mind when I observed the lack of power, but unfortunately this model doesn't have that option.

Its indeed surprising to note that the S mode is not present in your friends' Nano. I couldnt see anything on the website to indicate this as a differentiation between XMA and XTA. Can you confirm which variant your friend has - XMA or XTA pls, that may help answer.

In other news, looks like Tata has added the Espresso Brown paint shade from the Tiago to the Nano as well. Pic from website. (http://nano.tatamotors.com/genx-nano-features.html)

[scorpion_blore]

After seeing all the replies, I checked and noticed the 'S' mode button (smart mode). Oh boy, never expected such high RPMs. It was a delight to drive in 'S' mode in empty roads and while overtaking.

I double-checked the 'Creep' mode on a flat surface. It didn't work! Maybe my friend would have to get it checked during next service.

[sjcherian]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

After seeing all the replies, I checked and noticed the 'S' mode button (smart mode). Oh boy, never expected such high RPMs. It was a delight to drive in 'S' mode in empty roads and while overtaking.

I double-checked the 'Creep' mode on a flat surface. It didn't work! Maybe my friend would have to get it checked during next service.

Good to hear you found the S mode fun. Definitely need to get car checked for creep mode issue.

For added power switch off air condition as well. Slotting into manual keeps the car in the lower gears with high rpm as well. Its even better than S mode. Taking off at signals like that is good fun as one can easily squeeze between bikers which you hesitate to do in larger cars.

Dropping a gear down in manual usually is enough but overtaking does require a bit of planning.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

[*]My friend says the car gets heated up after driving for around 200 kms. So he is forced to take a break for the engine to cool down.

Not my experience on extended highway drives - not even after a 15 kilometre ghat ascent. Note that a Nano did a London Mongolia drive recently, and it can't have been stopping every 200 kms! Overheating may be a problem in city traffic in peak summer, not on long highway drives where the air intakes will work well. What makes your friend think that car overheats?

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

I mean, I've driven quite a bit and once without any coolant with AC and 3 passengers.

Without coolant?! Why do I find that hard to believe?

[LonelyPlanet]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

After seeing all the replies, I checked and noticed the 'S' mode button (smart mode). Oh boy, never expected such high RPMs. It was a delight to drive in 'S' mode in empty roads and while overtaking.

I double-checked the 'Creep' mode on a flat surface. It didn't work! Maybe my friend would have to get it checked during next service.

Looks like your friend needs to read the user manual !!

- Not knowing of the 'S' mode - either the sales advisor didnt do his job or your friend's mind was somewhere else during the time of delivery.

- The creep works only if you remove your foot off the brake. If you pressed the accelerator pedal once, the creep will not work. Very well explained in the manual

- The trick to use it on inclines requires practice and is documented in the user manual

Driving a AMT requires unlearning of conventional driving skills.
Like with any machine, you have to know what to expect of it and change yourself accordingly. Not the other way around !!

[alphahere]

Originally Posted by scorpion_blore

After seeing all the replies, I checked and noticed the 'S' mode button (smart mode). Oh boy, never expected such high RPMs. It was a delight to drive in 'S' mode in empty roads and while overtaking.

I double-checked the 'Creep' mode on a flat surface. It didn't work! Maybe my friend would have to get it checked during next service.

The 'S' stands for 'Sport' and not 'Smart' as per the product features. This mode holds higher rpms for a bit longer before shifting.

If the Creep still does not function after following the below steps, then it needs attention at the garage or your attention if you are a DIY person who can do a little bit of troubleshooting yourself.

1. Vehicle must be preferably level and gear selector in R or A or M.

2. Foot must be completely off the brake pedal. If the brake light at the back is triggered, then creep disables.

3. Driver door must be properly shut.

4. Creep is linked to gear selector, brake pedal and driver door. Of these three check points, the last step should be to release the brake pedal. All other steps must be completed before releasing the brake pedal.

A Planetary Automatic or CVT which uses a Torque Converter usually does not and cannot bother with all these if you have driven in the US (unless it is equipped with an interlock device that locks the gear selector if the vehicle is stationary and your foot is not on the brake - Most newer vehicles in the US have this for safety but still the door closed check is not present). As mentioned in previous posts, the user needs to understand that the AMT is a different animal altogether and operate it accordingly. The owners' guide is the way to go to understand how to operate the AMT.

[Nissan1180]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Without coolant?! Why do I find that hard to believe?

Yes. I did not know that the coolant was low. Later, when I took it to a roadside garage for replacing the spark plugs, I saw that the coolant was not there at all.
I believe this is a common thing for Nanos. The engine heat makes the coolant evaporate.

[Sawyer]

The coolant circuit is a closed one; evaporation coolant losses do not exist in modern cars, except after a very long time of use. Instead of pressure of boiling coolant being relieved by releasing coolant from the radiator cap, with escaping coolant being permanently lost as it was in the old Fiats/Ambassadors, it is diverted to the expansion tank. When the engine and coolant cools down, it moves out of the expansion tank which therefore never shows the same level at all times, and can sometimes mislead into looking like it is low.

In any case, what you say is a common thing in Nano's isn't the case. Running a car with no engine coolant is a recipe for guaranteed engine failure, because there is nothing to take away the intense heat build up from fuel combustion. The Nano is a rugged car, but not that rugged!

[Aficionados]

Folks, i'm looking to purchase a small automatic hatch with low budget, and that means i am looking at Nano XTA

I test drove it yesterday and found it good albeit with few shortcomings. This will be my second car and will be used only for City driving thus fits-in my requirements. Total on-road cost for XTA at Pune is 3.76 with 3k cash discount & Insurance premium waiver for 1st year. Waiting period told was 30 days.

I just read that during August, there were lots of discounts upto 60k for XTA due to some festive season. What do you guys suggest? To wait for next festive season to get better discounts? any insider news on this?
I'm not in hurry so can wait till Dec

[sjcherian]

Originally Posted by Aficionados

Folks, i'm looking to purchase a small automatic hatch with low budget, and that means i am looking at Nano XTA

I test drove it yesterday and found it good albeit with few shortcomings. This will be my second car and will be used only for City driving thus fits-in my requirements. Total on-road cost for XTA at Pune is 3.76 with 3k cash discount & Insurance premium waiver for 1st year. Waiting period told was 30 days.

I just read that during August, there were lots of discounts upto 60k for XTA due to some festive season. What do you guys suggest? To wait for next festive season to get better discounts? any insider news on this?
I'm not in hurry so can wait till Dec

If you are not in a hurry then wait till you hear of sizeable discounts and then purchase. When I was booking it last year there were no discounts on the AMT. There were discounts on the manual version towards the end of the year. This festival time there may be discounts , best would be to talk to a dealer.

[gautamkhadse]

Originally Posted by Aficionados

Folks, i'm looking to purchase a small automatic hatch with low budget, and that means i am looking at Nano XTA

I test drove it yesterday and found it good albeit with few shortcomings. This will be my second car and will be used only for City driving thus fits-in my requirements. Total on-road cost for XTA at Pune is 3.76 with 3k cash discount & Insurance premium waiver for 1st year. Waiting period told was 30 days.

I just read that during August, there were lots of discounts upto 60k for XTA due to some festive season. What do you guys suggest? To wait for next festive season to get better discounts? any insider news on this?
I'm not in hurry so can wait till Dec

Imagine the year end discounts when they do the stock clearance . I always bought my cars at the year end . That time of the year gives your superman level bargaining powers .

[Aficionados]

Originally Posted by sjcherian

If you are not in a hurry then wait till you hear of sizeable discounts and then purchase. When I was booking it last year there were no discounts on the AMT. There were discounts on the manual version towards the end of the year. This festival time there may be discounts , best would be to talk to a dealer.

Originally Posted by gautamkhadse

Imagine the year end discounts when they do the stock clearance . I always bought my cars at the year end . That time of the year gives your superman level bargaining powers .

Thanks Guys! I shall wait then for discounts to pour-in to take a decision.

BTW, during TD i found that the normal mode is very lethargic while the sports mode was quite peppy below 70-80 speed. I wonder if the normal mode is used by owners frequently. How much FE can i expect with sports mode all the time?