When Tata Motors unveiled its Rs 1-lakh car, the Nano, over ten years ago, a flurry of expectations followed, which added to the reputation of ‘the world’s cheapest car’. In the last many years, the Nano has had its share of upgrades, modifications, and alterations, which may have hiked its pricing a little.
Come 2015, and it’s time to push the humble Nano into the big league. Tata has rolled out the GenX Nano, a fully-loaded car, with many tricks and treats up its sleeve that may even put many larger competitors to shame.
The earlier Nano lacked many essential elements that a buyer asked for in his/her car, but the GenX provides all of that and more, and at each juncture, it astounds one with how the company could suddenly beef up a no-frills model with a treasure trove of features.
Tallboy with sporty mien
On the outside, nothing much has changed though. The Nano retains its cute tallboy design, with the same cuts and chisels, barring a few new cosmetic embellishments. Inspired by the ‘Infinity’ symbol, the GenX Nano incorporates newer design cues to emulate a sporty attitude.
The front and rear bumpers with the Infinity motif grille, the front flanked by smoked headlamps with black bezel and circular fog lamps, add fresh style to the not-so-young car. Apart from that, the well-integrated tailgate spoiler is no ‘spoiler’, as it gives more marks to the new Nano. And in a first, the GenX Nano has a 110-litre luggage space.
The keyless remote central locking system is unique to the GenX Nano in the family, which helps us gain easy access to the car. The system is fool-proof, and a segment first, so to say.
Though the interiors carry the typical Nano dashboard, several new additions and colour themes add a tinge of sophistication. We are pleasantly surprised with the integrated audio system that remains well tucked into the bottom of the centre console. The GenX Nano has put in a new infotainment console with AmphiStream music system and Bluetooth connectivity. The new generation dual-tone Tata signature steering wheel (as on the Zest and the Bolt) is very appealing. Besides, the pair of glove boxes on the dash are an intelligent addition, carrying on from similar innovations on earlier Nanos, which were far simpler.
The instrument panel is better crafted, unlike the car’s predecessors that carried a very spartan two-wheeler sort of design. The new digital information panel is a fine cluster of speedometer, fuel consumption gauge, trip meter, gear shift indicator, distance-to-empty meter, and average fuel consumption. If the plush, black seating is not welcoming enough, the class-leading space of the Nano continues to captivate.
A new shift with AMT
The Tata GenX Nano XTA with Easy Shift is a pleasure to drive, and is miles ahead of its earlier versions — an achievement for the Nano team. We take the car down the highway from Bengaluru leading to Hyderabad, to see how well the car takes on the challenges of the road in all settings. Being a family car, a busy traffic road or the highway seems to be ideal to try the GenX Nano.
The best addition yet to the car’s range of new features is the introduction of the automated manual transmission (AMT) system. The car’s power remains the same with its 624 cc, two-cylinder petrol engine, dishing out 38 PS @ 5,500 +/- 250 rpm, with a maximum torque of 51 Nm @ 4,000 +/- 500 rpm. But with the Easy Shift (AMT) in place, the drive is a breeze.
Unlike the manual Nano, which gasps for more and more acceleration, especially while hitting inclines, the GenX Nano tends to coolly glide its way through.
We find that on the Auto Mode, the car’s engine is able to conveniently jump between gears (four in total), even as the power does not drastically dip, while at the same time maintaining consistency in speed.
The car smoothly picks up speed on hitting the gas pedal, and calmly slows down when the brake pedal is pressed.
The GenX Nano also has a Sports Mode, which powers up the vehicle at enhanced accelerations, and we are able to pick up speeds faster. We find that the car is able to reach a top speed of above 105 kmph, another new for the Nano (even with the AC at full power). The car continues to hold onto a competitive fuel efficiency of 21.9 kmpl.
When we tire of the Auto Mode, we change to Shift Assisted Manual Mode, which helps us to choose our gears as we wish. The AMT system on the Nano is quite robust in build quality, but it must be mentioned that the Auto Mode works more seamlessly, with the Manual Mode bringing in a bit of drag.
But the best part is even when we drive through a few inclines and hilly passes, the automatic Nano (with four adults inside) is able to climb without much shudder, assuring a sense of safety to the occupants.
Also, to beat the irritations on the road, a peppy turning radius of four metres is the answer, coupled with an advanced ECU (engine control unit) developed with Bosch. In addition, ePAS (Electric Power-Assisted Steering) adds fresh flavour and is an amazing experience while driving the small hatch.
Just remember that the brakes still tend to be annoyingly less responsive in traffic, when the car is slowing to a halt, though we find that the car jerks to an abrupt stop when we jam the brake pedal hard. But the car is still a safe bet with its impact cushioning crumple zone, and anti-roll bar for high speed stability.
Tata Motors has indeed built a much better Nano, a new car for a newer generation.
The top-end GenX Nano XTA is available in seven colours and retails at Rs 2,00,900 (ex-showroom Bengaluru). The story of the small car just got more interesting. Competition, anyone?
Tata GenX Nano Easy Shift All-new Specs
Engine Type:
624 cc, 2 cylinders gasoline, MPFI
Max Speed: 105 kmph
Transmission: (XMA, XTA) Easy Shift (AMT) with Sports Mode
Steering System:
Electric Power Assisted (brushless type) with active return
feature
Luggage Space:
94 litres (Easy Shift)