[JS Kwt]

Nexon Convertible concept - Render

https://youtu.be/mWKmWex_wtE

[sandx]

Does anyone have the latest feature list for the Nexon. The 2019 xm version seems to have added roof rails but loses the illuminated keys for the 4 power windows with only the driver side button still having the marking / illumination.

Not sure what more has been removed.

[spanner777]

I am considering Nexon AMT for the next car that my wife would drive and to understand the practical side of living with an AMT, I wanted to have to take a long test drive of the car.

In the recent family break I took in coastal Karnataka, I booked myself a Zoomcar Nexon Diesel AMT for 4 days covering around 600 kms on all sorts of road conditions that I usually encounter. I got a car with 10K in its odo. I came back happy but I was expecting Nexon to delight me.

First the positives
1. Suspension and ride quality - Lots have been spoken about how good the ride quality is and the balance tips more towards ride than sharp handling. Pot holes, expansion joints, would all be dismissed as if they dint exist if you are at a reasonable speed.
2. High speed stability - The car is composed and sure footed at highway speeds of 120-130kmph. The car masks the speed and the steering physically masks the speedometer(more on that in the negatives)
3. Power delivery - I am a half throttle driver when it comes to diesel engines and I dont rev diesel engines to redline. The car gave a healthy torque from 2000 to 3500 rpm (the turbo is supposed to kick in at an early 1500rpm though) and I learnt to ride on the torque wave in the manual mode of the AMT very soon. Even in the auto mode, a kickdown of the accelerator would drop a gears from 6 to 4 and would give you enough power to get going.
4. Highway manners - Points 2&3 would add to the highway manners. The car cruises leisurely in 6th gear and a kickdown of the accelerator would bring it back to the band of power. Braking was sure footed, without a lot of nosedive. Big tires added to the confidence in driving the car at high speeds.
5. Sound quality of the music system - Amazing, considering I got to drive the trimmed down variant of the music system in the XM variant I was driving.
6. Build quality - Reassuring.
7. Airconditioner - Airconditioning was sufficient and I never had to take it beyond step 3 (out of 5 steps) even in afternoons.

Next, the negatives
1. AMT behaviour at parking speeds especially on inclines - The AMT leaves you wondering what is car upto at the inclines. When driving forward on an incline, the gears bite immideately sometimes and holds on the incline, sometimes, it rolls back a bit and then bites. When reversing on inclines, mostly it rolls forward and you will have to generously give throttle to reverse it and that too with a lot of jerk. I can conclude that there is zero hill hold in reverse. I was forced to use my left foot on the brake and release it just like I would release a clutch to reverse without rolling forward.
2. Rear visibility - With a lot of drama already happening at the AMT when reversing, the rear visibility is not helping either. Thick C pillar and a small hatch glass made visibility difficult. Even while dirving in the city, I was always left with a feeling of missing a bike in the rear view mirror of the car.
3. Steering position - My comfortable position of steering masked the speedometer, which left me unaware that I am doing 120kmph in the highway (the car masks the speed well).
4. Music system UI and response - Since I was playing music from Bluetooth, I had to select the source as Bluetooth every time I started the car. Upon startup it automatically starts playing FM. Slight lag in the UI made playing music difficult while driving.
5. Handbrake position - Since this heavy car relies completely on Handbrake to stand still, it took me some effort to make sure I have engaged it completely when parking on inclines. Handbrake lever being at elbow height does not help either.
5. NVH level at 3000+ rpms (under 4000rpm) - Building Revs to the engine makes it noisy (which is expected from a diesel), but there are peculiar vibrations that are felt on the pedals and the steering at 3000+ rpms. I felt these are a little too early to appear for a 10K Kms old car.

To Conclude
The avg. fuel consumption was indicating around 20.6 kmpl, while I realised I got only around 16 overall for the entire trip, not bad for a heavy car and there was a lot of idling with AC on.
I have dismissed the Maruti's calibration of the AMTs as totally unacceptable and had read that the Nexon had the best version of the same AMT box so far. But the technology still is far from being perfect and has again left me with doubts.

Can someone throw in a few tips of how to use AMTs more predictably, mostly at parking speeds, while parking in tight spots.

[simplyself]

Running in a vehicle shouldnt be a problem. The manual suggets that the engine rpm should vary during the run -in.

Personally, I never exceed 80 kmph, and more importantly, the 2200 rpm limit. I do vary it occasionally but never to the extremes.

I have seen my vehicles ride without any problems in excess of 9 lakh kilometers.

[damodar]

Originally Posted by spanner777

U]Next, the negatives [/u]
1. AMT behaviour at parking speeds especially on inclines - The AMT leaves you wondering what is car upto at the inclines. When driving forward on an incline, the gears bite immideately sometimes and holds on the incline, sometimes, it rolls back a bit and then bites. When reversing on inclines, mostly it rolls forward and you will have to generously give throttle to reverse it and that too with a lot of jerk. I can conclude that there is zero hill hold in reverse. I was forced to use my left foot on the brake and release it just like I would release a clutch to reverse without rolling forward.
2. Rear visibility -
Can someone throw in a few tips of how to use AMTs more predictably, mostly at parking speeds, while parking in tight spots.

Rolling back on incline is a common problem with AMTs without hill hold facility. This is because in general driving scenarios the clutch is programmed to engage so as to delivery a smooth power delivery every time. In a manual car we can modulate the throttle and clutch as per the power required in different situations.
So in an AMT it's always better to use the handbrake to hold the car from rolling back. The handbrake switch has a connection to the AMT TCU. The gradual release of the hand brake while giving a higher throttle helps in smooth application of power to the driven wheels. The rolling back will never occur if hand brake is used when stopped on inclines and will also prolong the clutch life

[pavi]

Originally Posted by simplyself

I have seen my vehicles ride without any problems in excess of 9 lakh kilometers.

I am getting surprised as well as confused. Is this kilometers run by one vehicle or the combined kilometres run by all your vehicles?

Update : went through your profile, so it is the combined kilometers from 8 cars. By the way, a very nice collection out there with Punto, Ecosport, Aria, Tiago, Hexa etc.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by satyanu28

Although have driven and run-in many new cars in the past, I would like to know if there's a real purpose in that. I pretty much drive with a light foot until about 2500km. However, I have heard some older, experienced drivers mentioning about "waining" the Engine. Meaning, stretch its bottom and top limits sometimes during the run-in period to open it up. Do modern cars really require a run-in? Given the Lubricants composition seem to have improved too? Would like some information on general ways to run-in.

IMO, it's always better to err on the side of caution with a new car, and follow what the owner's manual recommends. This is what is written in the Nexon's online manual:



If you drive sedately till 2500 kms anyway, following the above run-in procedure should be easy for you.

Congrats on the new car and wish you a million miles of safe & happy driving!

Cheers,
Vikram

[Karthik Chandra]

Dear Mods,

I guess we need to add the 5 star crash test rating under 'What you’ll like' on page 1

Also request to share a link to the 5 star rating thread as it'll help people on the fence to decide if they wish to drive a safer car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

I guess we need to add the 5 star crash test rating under 'What you’ll like' on page 1

Thank you! Added. Please use the 'report this post to a Moderator' functionality to ensure that we don't miss such important requests.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by pavi

I am getting surprised as well as confused. Is this kilometers run by one vehicle or the combined kilometres run by all your vehicles?

Update : went through your profile, so it is the combined kilometers from 8 cars. By the way, a very nice collection out there with Punto, Ecosport, Aria, Tiago, Hexa etc.

It's a single vehicle which has run for about 12 lakh kilometers in 9 years
It was Bolero Camper and it was used for news paper transport. It didn't require engine overhaul before 9 lakh plus kilometers and that too due to break in radiator hose and my driver didn't notice it.

My current drive is Tata Zest XM D 90 HP.

I never owned all those vehicles you have mentioned. I didn't even drive them except for Ecosport.

Zest is my 6th car.

By the way, I visit Sabarimala every year in November. We came in vehicle 10 times and 9 times I came by train.

We come mostly from Kumily side. And I do enjoy driving through the twists and turns.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by simplyself

It's a single vehicle which has run for about 12 lakh kilometers in 9 years
....

Wow! That’s amazing to hear, never heard of such a high kilometer run car with out an engine overhaul. How many kilometres have your zest covered? Mine is a Honda City i-vtec, completed 76,000 kms in 4.5 years.

Note: I actually checked some other member’s profile, my click somehow landed on the wrong profile.

[srh]

Has any owner found a solution in terms of an easy way of filling air into the spare wheel? The way it goes into the boot, first you have to remove the paraphernalia of the jack/ tool kit, remove the screw clamp holding it, then dislodge the tyre (since the valve faces downward). Wonder which engineer designs this way - completely un-ergonomic.

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by pavi

Wow! That’s amazing to hear, never heard of such a high kilometer run car with out an engine overhaul. How many kilometres have your zest covered? Mine is a Honda City i-vtec, completed 76,000 kms in 4.5 years.

Note: I actually checked some other member’s profile, my click somehow landed on the wrong profile.

Zest was bought in October, 2014. That was shortly after the launch which was in August 2014.

Odo is now at 86,000 km.

I came to Sabarimala in Zest in November 2014 with just 2200 km on odo. That was quite a memorable journey and the car impressed me mightily.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by srh

Has any owner found a solution in terms of an easy way of filling air into the spare wheel? The way it goes into the boot, first you have to remove the paraphernalia of the jack/ tool kit, remove the screw clamp holding it, then dislodge the tyre (since the valve faces downward). Wonder which engineer designs this way - completely un-ergonomic.

Use a longer threaded screw similar to the original one that can hold the tyre in flipped manner (e.g. Maruri vehicles' spare tyre viz. Estilo or WagonR). Then onward you do not have to dislodge the tyre to fill air. I agree that most of the cars have this issue and getting the long screw is not possible from the service center. Please try with local workshop or you may have to get it threaded as per the need. Just check the length and thread diameter/pitch needed and get it done. Another challenge with this approach is if the original position of the jack and toolkit is in the tyre rim well, you need to find a better location around the tyre once it is flipped. I think second challenge is easier to solve though.

[myavu]

Originally Posted by srh

Has any owner found a solution in terms of an easy way of filling air into the spare wheel?

Why don't you try this? https://www.amazon.in/Innersetting-3...NWXPWPHCA052NW

Cheers!

Vinu