Booked a Nexon XMA(S) on the 2nd of November.
Purchase Decision: Getting a tag of the safest car, I was to go for a Tata model for sure. Even through Nexon was the first choice after having driven it on a 150km round trip through Zoomcar, my budget permitted only Tiago.
Maruti and Hyundai were out because of Safety and Poor mileage of Hyundai
Honda was out because it was way too costly for the average specs
Mahindra didn't have anything exciting
Kia was also another twin of Hyundai with no verifiable safety retings
MG was way out of budget
Toyota was definitely a contender having used an Etios in our family for 8 years but the entry level was too high and there were only Sedans which I wasn't much interested in.
Our organization from where I was supposed to get a cheaper loan, suddenly increased our eligibility to 9 lakhs from 6.25 and suddenly Nexon was a no-brainer.
Variant and Colour Choice: The top model was out of budget and I wanted an automatic one. So XMA and XMAS were the 2 options. XMAS provided more value for money with automatic Headlamps, Rain Sensing Wipers and Steering mounted audio control. So went for this. The colour choice was Foliage Green. I wanted red or Foliage Green, and my Wife was fixed on Foliage Green only.
Booking and Negotiation: I booked the car on 2nd November 2021. The delivery date was 2nd February 2022. I had asked for insurance to be left out since they were quoting 42k whereas from outside I could getit at around 28-33k. Finally after rounds of negotiations much after booking the car, they gave me insurance with all the features I asked for like Zero Dep, Engine Protection Cover at 31k and I thought I was a good deal. In case of insurance, there is one feature which needs to be considered. If you take insurance from outside, and some part needs to be replaced, you need to pay some 2% or 3% as Scrappage value. This is not borne by the insurance company. Also, benefits of No Claim Bonus are difficult to claim. So I went ahead with the dealer offered one at a reasonable price.
Delivery Wait: Post 15th January, I started following up with the salesperson almost daily with regards to the status of delivery. Considering the number of posts I read in this forum regarding delayed delivery and also the experience of a friend of mine in Goa, I knew I would have to wait longer definitely. Finally the car was on the trailer on 11th of February from their plant. It reached on 18th and I went for PDI.
Registration Process: I discovered BH series and the fact that I am eligible for it after I booked my car. It was again a no-brainer that I had to go for this. The RTO people were very rude and arrogant at OD-02. In spite of being a PSU, they asked for a Form 60. I had to literally shout at them to give me a written from the Regional Transport Officer that a form 60 was needed. The guy actually went up to the Officer and tell him that I was asking for BH registration without form 60. The Officer immediately approved saying that for Govt employees only ID Card is enough. The dealership was helpful even though it took 4 days time to get the process done and get the number plates. For BH registration, a local address proof is mandatory, and it can be a Notarised Rent Agreement as well.
Delivery: Finally on the 27th of February, just a day after my birthday, we got the beauty.
Ownership Experience:: In two days we took a ride to Puri to worship at the Jagannath Temple. A 150km round trip was good enough. The only issue was keeping the speed below 80 consciously, even though the RPM didn't go above 2000 at any point of time. I guess that is an advantage of Automatic. Gear shifts are substantial in Eco Mode in which I have driven the vehicle till date. We went for some local in city rides as well and had covered almost 300km in 21 days. Post that we went for a trip to Gopalpur which was a 180km one way journey from Bhubaneswar. The roads are amazing. Even though the pickup in eco mode is a bit slow till the third gear, post that it cannot be understood what the difference is. The car picked up speeds of 100-110 without any effort and I was actually suddenly surprised to find that I was going at 110 without even realizing it. The journey was done in 3 hour 30 mins with a break of around 15 mins total. The return journey was also uneventful other than me falling in love with the car even more.
I am getting 13.6 as average till now. The trip to Gopalpur was at 16.7 while going. While coming back, we took a lot of detours through small crowded roads and villages which dropped the total mileage to 14.8 for the entire trip. Hoping that this goes up after the 1st Servicing.
Me at the Wheel
![Tata Nexon : Official Review-whatsapp-image-20220319-12.39.47.jpeg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/official-new-car-reviews/2286918d1686832800t-tata-nexon-official-review-whatsapp-image-20220319-12.39.47.jpeg)
On Our Way
Elated is the only word.