My update on the newly acquired Tata Nexon
Why a new car:
As of today new car was more of a want than a need. Had a lot of convincing to do as my wife kept questioning what's wrong with Brio.
Though there were issues with Brio, I ensured it was presented as big problems (10 years in Sales effect)
Issues with Current Ride- Brio:
1. Low seating, had to literally twist into the seat (both Ingress and Egress)
2. Thin seats don't provide much support and back started to hurt in some time.
3. Low GC, though have not scrapped it much (4-5 time in 4 years) it's always on the mind when driving.
4. Potholes announce with a big noise inside and I feel the suspension is being troubled.
5. Weak AC, imagine I am saying this in Bangalore.
6. Boot Space, 175 Ltr that is not easy to access.
7. Rear seat space: Though good for the size but for outside city trips falls short.
8. Ride quality: Not bone breaking but stiff, near Ecosport level stiff.
9. Noise insulation: I can hear people talking from outside and have to keep checking if the windows are shut properly.
10 Mine was S MT version so no ABS or Airbags.
Good points of Brio:
1. Fantastic to drive. Good control and chuckable. Felt this when we had gone to Coorg and Munnar.
2. Surprisingly good visibility owing to large glass area.
3. Super easy to drive in City and park.
4. Short turning radius (4.5M) smaller than almost any car out there.
5. Pretty good stability on the highways for the class. Can change lanes with ease even at triple digit speed.
6. Engine though not great is pretty good for in-city rides.
7. Super fun engine on the highway. Amazing to rev it and car doesn't feel strained.
How the story Began:
My In-laws had come 3 months back and they were carrying a couple of large bags. And in all my senses I took Brio to receive them.
As it had to happen One bag went into the boot the other was on the seat. No one complained but I sensed an opportunity..
Any one in Bangalore know that Bangalore and Airport are two different cities (its 52KM from my home).
With road work going on (Blatant corruption in name of white topping) I could see the discomfort of my MIL as Brio has a very bouncy rear seat. Sensed second opportunity...
As all parents are tuned same way the standard question came up..when are you two planning for the first child and for a change i was not upset, sensed a big opportunity..
Being married for 3 years now the question was expected and getting less subtle after every visit from parents and in-laws. In fact even neighbors stared asking!!! no concept of privacy.
So after lot of discussion we decided to plan our first kid this year and then slowly i brought up the topic..how will Brio suffice.
Lot of arguments flowed and I stuck to 3 trump points:
1. Safety, Brio is not great in this and we must upgrade.
2. Space: with people visiting and child stuff we will need more space.
3. Comfort: As none of us sit in the rear seat, I told both are parents are finding it difficult to get into Brio and be comfortable there.
Finally she relented to my argument and it was decided to buy a new car. I should get award of sorts to win an argument with wife.
Budgeting the car:
I jumped let's buy Hexa and Harrier and I almost slept on the sofa that night
She took charge and the budget was set to 12 Lakhs with maximum stretch to 13ish nothing more than that. (Full cash. None of us like auto loan)
I had the privilege to shortlist the cars for TD.
This when I realized it's not easy choosing a body type. Went all over the place with compact sedan to sedan to CSUV and even the Creta and Duster.
Amaze with diesel was good and within budget and the comfort of upgrading within same brand.
City petrol was withing reach and so was Verna and other compact sedans.
Reason for rejection:
1. Compact sedans don't offer much, limited space iffy build quality, barring Ameo but then space is rear seat is a joke. The GC is also low so kept CS at the back.
2. Sedans:
I like the City as a car a lot, but the build quality has surely gone down. My senior has a the older City I think the 2013 model and that seemed to be better put together. Also the seats were again on the lower side not as low as Verna but the Ingress and Egress was decent if not bad like the Brio.
I was more keen on diesel as my running has increased to 1200-1300 a month. This is only for official purpose, and long trips will only add to the KM
Low GC was an issue and one my my friends and senior say that it is something they have to be always careful off.
Not sure of the rest of country, Low GC is a big issue in Bangalore, with road works going on, monster speed breaker and in general not so great roads in Karnataka. TN seem to have better roads.
GC is fine when I am driving alone but with a full load things become different.
Even with all this City shortlisted. Never liked the Ciaz, neither of the engine is great
CSUV:
Shortlisted only 2 after going through a lot on Team BHP
Ecosport and Nexon no other CSUV was even considered or TD'ed
Liked both was hard-pressed to pick one over the other. Note to self, get a long test drive for both. Me and wife liked both these cars.
Crossovers:
Creta and Duster:
2-2.5 years back I was interested to buy one among the 3, Ecosport, Duster AWD and Creta. Even then wife did not like the Duster.
Second chance to duster: It was again rejected owing to the sub-par interiors by wife and by me for old platform and smaller airbags. The AWD was still in contention but that was over-budget by 2-3 lakhs.
Creta: Both of us liked the car immensely and almost decided on this. The only shocker for us was the price. Creta 1.6 SX diesel, which is reasonable loaded is priced at about 17L on road Bangalore.
Gave her the idea of buying the lower variant and spicing it up. Two issues here, she did not like fiddling with new car and for me it was the 1.4 engine.
Hexa and Harrier:
Till now she was reluctant to even talk about expensive cars. However after seeing them in person she was confused as well. Both Harrier and XMA are not very far from Creta. But finally better sense prevailed and we decided to stick to our budget. Though I would still pick Hexa over Harrier.
Final shortlist:
Wife put her foot down that the original budget of 12-13 cannot be breached else there is no end to the options.
So it was Ecosport and Nexon. City was not considered because of price, low seating, low GC and a bit too long for our comfort. Both ecosport and Nexon had enough space for us. I at 5'10 am the tallest in the family. The only issue was Boot space, 500L for City vs 350 for CSUV. We decided to make peace with this and settled for a CSUV. Note I still feel the CSUV at 350L can hold more luggage than a sedan with similar boot space.
The contest between Ecosport and Nexon thus began.
1. Both are quite good in the segment and difficult to pick one over the other.
2. Ecosport had better interiors and also the handling was better.
3. Nexon has better space management and the drive modes actually work.
4. Boot space is identical
5. Nexon rides better than Ecosport
6. Ecosport has better ergonomics than Nexon.
7. Both have similar features.
8. Nexon has a wider windshield than Ecosport and also the rear seat Nexon is better.
After a lot of TDing and discussion we agreed on the following
Either Ecosport Titanium Plus or Nexon XZ+. Ecosport Titanium has nothing to offer over the Nexon.
Things that tilted our decision in favor of Nexon
1. Price: At 11.6 OTR it was at least a 1.5-2L cheaper than Ecosport
2. Bit better Ride quality. WIll not say there is huge difference but noticeable
3. Boot door: Wife was not comfortable with the side opening boot door. My parking has tight space both office and home. accessing boot will be a pain
4. Rear seat space. This is noticeable more in Nexon, both legroom and width
5. 5 star crash safety rating. This impressed me a lot.
6. There was no reason to chose other brand than home grown Tata Nexon.
XUV300 was not considered as policy I do not buy car fresh off the line. especially with the usual suspects. I will still take my chances with Honda or Toyota not with any other brand. Also the boot space was a deal breaker.
Honda WRV: The diesel engine clatter and fixed rear headrest are deal breakers. Though apart from this the car seems well rounded.
Few Pics of the car