Tata Nexon : Official Review

[sri_tesla]

Great, detailed review as usual. Rated 5 stars.

Styling is definitely polarizing. Hexa and Nexon must have been designed by two different teams.

I think Nexon looks much better by just removing the white strips on all sides. Also, stock alloys are boring and ugly in my opinion.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Brilliant review. I believe there has been no other car where members have kept on asking for the official review to be published soon, and looks like their wait has been really worth it.

One member (The Tata Nexon, now launched at Rs. 5.85 lakhs) even counted the number of thread views every time he visited to thread to see if the review has been published yet.

With 10,000 bookings completed in one month, Nexon has received an average initial response considering the segment. Even the WRV which was considered an underdog at launch did much better during the initial month of bookings. However, sales should pick up once the reviews and initial impressions reach a wider audience. The car has changed the image for TATA and that's no small feat at all!

I personally do not like the styling though- It was overdone and a bit more restraint wouldn't have hurt TATA. The side profile looks weird, the rear a bit too funky and the white ceramic treatment too much on the eyes all around. The front grin could have been avoided had the kink in the headlamps been made more restrained and almost like a mini - Hexa. Here's a small edit I made sometime back to illustrate the same.

That said - the biggest surprise from TATA has been the engines. It was a pleasure to read the parts of the review where it said both the engines are very competenent - even though both are quite new for the Nexon. Two people I know of - has taken delivery of the diesel Nexon and both have only good things to say about the car. The other highlight of the Nexon has been the interior quality, which has become a highlight with TATA cars recently - and the Nexon takes the game a notch higher. That said, the outright performance of the diesel seems to be more tuned for drivability and those like me who got excited initially hearing the engine specs (and expecting) expressway scorching performance had to soon realize that the expectations were false. This car is no SCross 1.6, and perhaps - rightly so - because the target market seems to have no complaints regarding the engines.

Team-Bhp impact (I believe). Talking of the interiors - Need to point out one false claim that was made by TATA which I believe they removed after it was pointed out on Team-Bhp. The touchscreen display was called as "Floating Dashtop HD display" initially whereas when the specs came out, it was just a 144p display. The same was pointed out here (The Tata Nexon, now launched at Rs. 5.85 lakhs) and the webite stood corrected within a couple of days itself as seen in the screenshots here (The Tata Nexon, now launched at Rs. 5.85 lakhs). Glad to know TATA Motors management was eagerly following Team-bhp for feedback at the time of the launch.

Better attention to the variant spread could also help. As it shows currently, its the XM and XZ variants which are value for money - with the XE being too basic and the XT not getting enough features to justify its positioning between the XT and XZ. Hope TATA Motors does corrections to this soon.

The biggest fight is yet to come though. Brezza plays to a different market strength and would mostly remain unaffected by the Nexon. Its a tough market with the Ecosport, Nexon and WRV looking highly competitive against each other. Nexon has an advantage in terms of engines and price, but the biggest competition for the Nexon will be the updated Ecosport which could be launched as early as next month. It has answers to most of the questions posed by the Nexon including an updated all new petrol engine, a competent diesel engine, a sportier S variant, newer and fresher (but still more restrained than the Nexon) styling, floating infotainment with a better screen, good build quality (going by earlier standards etc). Hopefully, Ford will price it sensibly too - else the Nexon is just a very competent product and will win the customers over time.

[ashis89]

The review shows that the petrol engine is not as bad as it was made out to be in other reviews. And neither is the diesel an 'explosive' performer. But what made me grin is the diesel can move in the 2nd gear without throttle input, a boon in crawling traffic. I love driveability.

Overall, a very detailed review. Rated 5 stars.

OT: I have seen the current gen XUV W8 or W10 (forgot the model) having a manual dimming IRVM. And yes, Baleno has auto-dimming ones. Nexon could be forgiven for the manual ones.

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Official Reviews Section. Thanks for sharing! Superb attention-to-detail, as always . Rating thread 5 stars.

The Nexon's styling will make or break a lot of deals - it is definitely polarising. You'll either love it or hate it (I hate the rear) - there's no inbetween. Equally, they needed to 'differentiate' and the styling meets the stated objective. I'm disappointed with the low speed ride on bumpy roads - Tata's cars usually ride nicely, but they had to firm the suspension up because they made the Nexon so tall.

This car is yet another example of how Tata Motors is getting its mojo back. All of their recent launches - including the Hexa & Tiago - have been steps in the right direction.

I agree. For one, I can't seem to get the Indica Vista profile out of the Nexon. It doesn't look SUV enough. I have taken a test drive, and I have been impressed. The ride is firm, but not hard, infact I would find it perfect for the city at low speeds. My Hexa rides supreme on the bumps, but the trick is multi rate dampners which couldn't be provided in the Nexon due the price factor probably. All in all, I would say its a great car, for the money and should sell well

[Asish_VK]

As always, Fantastic review !

There is no denying that the design is slightly polarizing . Its either love it or hate it, no middle ground there. But not so extreme like the latest Mahindra products (KUV or E2O etc).

Overall great effort by TATA. Kudos to them for trying hard to gradually improve the quality of products (from Zest, Bolt, Tiago twins, Hexa and now the Nexon).

Happy to see, slowly TATA's bad reputation is diminishing and some desirability is developing around their products. Cant wait for the new Safari now

Originally Posted by Aditya

Funky meets Funky!




When the EcoSport first came out, it looked futuristic and stood out on our roads. 4 years later, we can say that it's aged well. Nexon's side profile looks weird to our eyes:

Exactly, The EcoSport still manages to look Fresh, Funky and Pleasing to eyes, even after all these years.

[Rajeevraj]

Great review Aditya and Viddy. Thanks for sharing.

Personally, I am on the side of the fence that does not like the design.Find it too busy for my liking- especially from the rear. But still it is something different in a kind of a good way and kudos to Tata for that.

Good to see Tata focusing on the engines also and trying something different. Something the others do very little off.

[abhishek46]

Would be interesting to have a poll to see Bhpians' take on the Nexon's looks!

Personally, I find the design to be tasteful and mature. Overstyled for me would be the KUV & XUV.

[NFS2024]

Kudos to the team for such a detailed and fantastic review. Voted 5 stars.

The pick of the two engines seems to be the petrol rather than the diesel. A rev happy turbo charged petrol that performs better than its practical diesel counter part, which does not offer performance.

As far as the appearance, I do not like the design cue of this car. Okish front end, weird side profile and busy rear, the interiors is a different story though.

I will wait for the new Ecosport and hopefully that should seal the deal for me. Fingers crossed !

[sleepyhead148]

This is, again, a review that covers the entire gamut of things a buyer might look for (and not look for) in a new car. Rating 5 stars. Amazing work.

However, the review has raised an interesting question for me. Solely based on what was said on paper, Youtube and the official Nexon thread, I had ruled out the petrol engine and was considering only the diesel variants. But seeing what the mods have mentioned while covering the petrol engine, I believe that the petrol variant deserves a second chance.

Originally Posted by Aditya

Beyond 2,200 rpm, the engine starts coming into its stride and begins to shine. While there is never any strong “kick” from the turbo, there is sufficient performance available to keep most drivers happy. Past 4,000 rpm, the engine sounds nice too ("wow" for a Tata petrol). While the petrol accelerates to 5,500 rpm (5,900 in Sport), power starts tapering off after 5,000 rpm. We find this to be rather low for a petrol. That said, even if you hit the rev limiter, the fuel doesn't cut off suddenly (not like the Baleno).

For perspectives sake, the petrol costs a good lakh and half lesser than the diesel vis-à-vis respective variants. And considering the above point, XM petrol looks like a serious vfm offering.

Ah well, I have an interesting discussion at home today evening, thanks to this thread.

[400notout]

The most awaited review isn't it? Rated 5 stars. I cant help but notice multiple locations atleast 3, Kochi, Navi Mumbai and Somewhere south Mumbai? Takes a lot to satisfy our moderators eh?

[vishnurp99]

Considering Nexon's price point, why would somebody buy something like Creta or the Duster going forward?

From what one can see from the review, Nexon betters even the class leader Creta in some aspects and is comparable on most of the other aspects. Considering the pricing difference, Nexon seems to be a no brainer for most customers who are even remotely informed about cars.

[kaviprem]

Originally Posted by vishnurp99

Considering Nexon's price point, why would somebody buy something like Creta or the Duster going forward?

From what one can see from the review, Nexon betters even the class leader Creta in some aspects and is comparable on most of the other aspects. Considering the pricing difference, Nexon seems to be a no brainer for most customers who are even remotely informed about cars.

Your question is absolutely valid and your answer is too!

Unfortunately, there is this huge mass within us buying cars and gadgets to gain a better opinion from others than what they really want to.
I think, it would take some more time for the general public to get away from the thought "I am not buying a TATA".

Prem.

[shravan2k2]

@GTO Just add another point to the rear bumper. It's a three part bumper - left panel, right panel and Center black panel. So in case of getting bumped, which is bound to happen in metro cities only the panel which is scratched to be changed not the whole bumper so one need not pay for the whole bumper. Which can aid to lesser replacement cost as the whole bumper might cost a total of may be (just assuming) 6000 bucks but the single panel replacement and paint might just happen in may be 3000 bucks. So people might not drive with scratched bumper like they do because replacement cost is high. I must say that this feature sure is an example of high level of customer focus implementation

On the other hand. Regarding NVH of diesel variant. I took two drives. One was a brand new test vehicle with merely 80 km on odo. It had just a slight level more NVH than the other one which was driven 2000 km at the skill arena. The one I drove at skill arena was like super silent I had to confirm they if it's the diesel variant. So the diesel variants will be more smooth, silent and vibration free after running so 1500-2000 km. But, I would say having driven Manza with Fiat engine for 1.65 lakh kilometres I would say I loved this 1.5l unit and anyday prefer it over the Fiat 1.3 unit. Commendable refinement I must say.

[skumare]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Rear seat armrest: It is wide & soft, and comes with two useable cupholders. However, the fitting of the cupholders is poor. On our test car, the entire assembly came off very easily (a friend noticed the same in a showroom demo)

Is it by design so as to get it out quickly for a wash (to clean spills etc)?

[Latheesh]

I like front and rear views, but side view looks bit odd due to rear bumper design and missing mud flaps. Rear bumper design is split type (part in body color and lower portion in black). In side view it looks like body design is swept back in towards the rear bottom. That added with missing mud flap is what the side view looks odd. If we look closely projection of black portion (~ 40mm) is almost invisible in side view pictures. To fix this issue you can get chrome sill guard for rear bumper and rear mud flaps from accessory list.