It's new and it's first so it is good lol:
Let me introduce myself in a moment, as many don't know me or even if they did, it would have been only by my posts. I am a lazy bugger, ask any of my friends and they will testify for my long speeches but damned writing skills. So, I will keep the post short and will try to be crisp. There are many useful threads about the car itself, so let me just keep it to why and how a Nexon with crumbs of observations.
About me
I am a regular kid who was in love with cars and bikes, but my mom says that I used to eat only sitting on my dad's Armada or looking at bikes/cars. All my childhood toys were mostly hot wheels or some fighter jets which I still have. With all this passion, went onto study engineering and working in automotive design. Found like-minded friends at work and became a tourer on my bike (rode to many places in the North, Western Ghats, Nepal and Bhutan), a motorsports enthusiast (hail mm93), and tried a bit to race. Hoping to explore many places, culture and food on fantastic rides/drives.
A short flashback (with flashback)
I had a sort of shady affair going on with the
Zen Estilo for past few years, because it was not my own (family car registered to my sister's name). I address these as affairs because, I am a married man "Whispering to my
CBR 250R" knowing my wife and daughter are just beside. I must blame my dad for these affairs. He was just a village boy (that village has just 6 homes under a mountain even today), a farmer's son but with love for cars & bikes. He owned a couple of
Armadas, a
Chetak,
Yezdi and a
Rajdoot when he was young despite his father hurling all the bad words.
The passion was then naturally passed on to me (concept of DNA? or exposure with force of habit?). Then life had other plans for him and my family, he says he was backstabbed and I think them as bad decisions and company. Fast-forward 2 decades, we were still reeling in financial crisis but my sister got a job, so the first family car was in the parking lot. In another 3 years, I got a job in 2010 and bought the CBR 250R in Oct 2011 - best decision ever. It has been my companion for everyday commute, rides to blistering hot deserts, high altitude snow-capped mountains, lush green Western Ghats, sea costs of the south and track tool for race tracks.
How and Why Nexon?
Got married (actual marriage this time) in 2015 and was blessed with a baby girl in 2017. So, naturally wanted to get a safer car but wasn't able to due to some financial backlogs. But I kept on searching and started saving for the car, targeting a hatch with the requirements,
1. Must be safe - Solid build with decent NCAP ratings
2. Must be easy to park and manoeuvre in city streets
3. Must have good boot space
4. Must be reliable, easy to find service centers
5. Good to be a "Fun to drive" car
6. Good to have tech savvy features
7. Good to have higher mileage figures
8. Good if it's a looker
9. Good to be a VFM variant in line up
and a maximum budget of 6.5L ex-showroom. Tata Tiago was the best option which checked all the boxes, but when the Altroz was revealed, I was in a dilemma again. But, the Altroz's low power to weight ratio on petrol and lower GC was a deal breaker.
Time flew, switched jobs and was able to close almost all the financial debts and with some emergency fund in hand. Also, this time I was eligible for a company car and suddenly I was in a comfort zone own a big vehicle. But coming from a middle class background and flashback episode like mentioned, I just wanted a car that just satisfies my basic needs. Re-enter the like-minded group of friends, suggesting (or making my decision for me) why I should take a better car and how we can take trips together to exotic locations and some financial calculations. Their suggestions somehow made a little sense and my heart sided with them despite my mind telling don't! So, the options were again considered and this time they were:
- Tata Nexon,
- Nissan Magnite (future options that time),
- Renault Kiger (future options that time),
- Mahindra XUV 5OO,
- Ford Ecosport.
Other C-SUVs were not under consideration due to safety and reliability in mind. Kiger and Magnite were considered with an open mind but knowing the platform it was highly unlikely to get a 5 star rating or solid build.
When I choose something, I consult both my heart and mind. With heart, I rank them from top and with mind, I go with elimination. Nexon facelift and Ecosport were good choices to my heart, while the mind considering budget eliminated the Ecosport and the higher variants in Nexon. Also, I like to drive with MT and a petrol car, hence the selection of Grey Nexon XM (P) MT variant.
Booking and Delivery
After carefully reading all the google reviews and recommendation from a couple of neighbors, I decided to visit KHT motors in Whitefield on 21st December 2020 to get a feel of the dealership attitude. I took my family along and explained the reasons behind selecting a Nexon and to get their final opinion. My 3.5 year old daughter knows almost 50 car logos and was fixated on getting a Toyota as she thinks Toyota is faster than a Tata. I know there is no chance of convincing her there, and asked my wife to take her for a walkaround. I took the proforma invoice and and told the sales executive that I will do a booking after completing some process in my office. I got all the approvals and booked the car on 2nd January 2021.
Ex-showroom price: Rs. 7,84,501/- with GST
Insurance: Rs. 26,371/- (due to corporate tie-up)
Road tax and Registration: Rs. 1,24,511/- (excluding HSRP)
Fast tag and TCS: Rs. 1188/-
Accessories - Rs. 2800/- (mud flaps and rubber mats)
On road price: Rs. 9,39,371/-
There was a speculation of a price hike and I pushed them to get the car allocated and invoiced which happened quicker than I thought on 21st Jan. I was asking for a PDI check, but they kept denying, I accepted for registration with one condition that if something is wrong they will correct it promptly before delivery or I will make sure that they will lose many bookings. The insurance was not from dealership and it was a great bargain due to corporate tie-up. But the issuance of policy was delayed and was issued on 29th Jan. Registration was done on 2nd Feb, but had a week long wait for the HSRPs. Got a call from sales executive on 9th Feb that HSRPs are in dealership and I can get delivery on Wednesday the 10th. I went early on the next day with my family, I took good amount of time to check the vehicle as per the PDI checklist and collected the keys with all documentation.
The dealership didn't offer any discounts or freebies except fuel coupon for 5 litres, an idol for dashboard, and perfume. Filled up the tank and returned home and cleaned the vehicle at all touchpoints with disinfectant. It was too weird to drive a Nexon with the upgrading from a Zen estilo , I will explain later. Spent a sleepless night with the urge to start the new affair ;) and my old Zen was brooding in a new parking place (I cleaned her and parked her neatly in covered area). Woke up in the morning and cleaned the car (again). We didn't have a ceremony in dealership due to the precautions on my insisting. So, arranged a small ribbon cutting ceremony with my dad as the VIP (why not have fun, anyway someone has to cut to remove them).
Then went for a drive after installing the child seat for my daughter to purchase some stuff for DIY assembly of the Aukey dashcam.
I used all my know how to fix the dash cam at the best possible location after the dealership pasted fast tag right in the very center where I was gonna install the cam. Salvaged few wire clips from the old Zen and routed the cable neatly below roof liner, behind A-pillar trim, then via beading and below the glovebox. There is still some work to be done near center console area as the surface was not flat enough to fix wire clip with 3M tape.
User Observations
Overall major likes - Solid build and feeling safely cocooned
- Powerful motor with good driving experience
- Higher ground clearance and ability to go to places without worrying much
- All basic features are available in XM
- Drive modes
- Harman audio - just love it!
Major dislikes: - Not a VFM variant: feel overpriced for the add-on equipment from XE
- Few minor ergonomic issues - knee hitting console and no armrest
- Tata delivery experience was bland
- Boot open from inside
Now, these observations are based on couple of office commutes and seat warming time in the parking lot (ODO @ 135 kms). so I am sure that more points needs to be added and will be in upcoming posts.
Looks - Interior and Exterior
I selected grey due to a couple of reasons. First of the subtlety and second it gels well with the black ORVMS and handles as it is a lower variant. I was thinking that the lack of silver treatment like the XZ+ will look not so great with all the black front theme, but it does grow on you and the grey again helps. White strips along the shoulder line and the rear gives Nexon it's uniqueness. The refreshed Nexon had a matured SUV look than its older self and looks imposing from the front.
Front imposing view. I only worry for the radiator grille gaps, need a mesh badly.
The headlamp DRLs are beautiful, notice the Nexon branding.
The white stripes on the shoulder line are unique to Nexon - a bold move!
Neat but funky. The LED tail lamp elements stand out too.
Interior has a good theme overall, dark theme with light colored inlays adds to design. The console/dash has all necessary buttons and knobs, but not feeling over crowded. The lighting theme provided for switches are classy and not too intense to distract the driver.
The night view - so cool and classy
Look at that! Gorgeous drive mode selector
Fit and finish are definitely good, but touch feel is not premium enough. Flat bottom steering wheel adds to a bit of sportiness. Center console looks neat although there are few ergonomic improvements are needed. The cluster however doesn't hit me well, but it has all the useful information(IFE, AFE, DTE, clock, trip meters, ODO and more) and readable.
Pros:
++ Giving LED DRLs + Projector lamps as standard adds to looks
++ There is not much difference across variants in exterior except few treatments like shark fin antenna, silver treatment on the front with tri-arrow elements, handles
++ Fit and finish (looks) are better compared to previous Tatas
++ Dual tone dark + light theme helps with the looks
Cons:
-- Fit and finish (feel) - I observed squeaks while cleaning
-- Many don't like the quiky rear styling
-- Plastic quality is not at par with the segment best
Ergonomics and Comfort
Let me straight away list the points here,
Pros:
++ Good placement of buttons and switches and the feel/actuation are good too
++ Seats are comfortable with good amount of side bolstering
++ I like the phone tray in front of the audio system (if one doesn't wants to use phone for Navigation)
++ Like the pockets coming handy near the driver side cabin fuse box
++ Indication light for power window switch lock
++ Clever hook on co-driver side, and a couple more on B-pillars and rear boot
++ Boot light is a good addition and the boot space is sufficient for weekend trips with family
++ HVAC is powerful despite lack of rear AC vents
++ Auto folding ORVMS is a boon - no worry after parking
++ Rear seat space is good even with the child seat on one side, can try to fit 2 adults with some adjustment besides the child seat - won't recommend though.
++ Good sound insulation - filters a lot of unwanted noise, but still not the best and al glad that I still have that "not isolated feel"
Cons:
-- I am 180 Cms tall and ingress/egress out of driver seat is not that easy
-- Left knee hits the console while driving
-- To balance the above, right knee hits the flip keyfob
-- The steering reach is not perfect for me and I badly wish for telescopic adjustment
-- Arm rests are essential for long drives
-- Gear lever placement is a bit too far, hard to reach if it is in first gear (compared to my previous car)
-- Cup holders are out of reach while driving and if you place any taller cups, will hinder the elbow movement during gear shifts
-- USB port and 12V socket though places better than many cars, still are difficult to access
-- Less visibility via IRVM due to smaller rear glass opening
-- Dashboard profile near central console makes it difficult to use a phone holder
-- Dead pedal is not so friendly despite the best efforts from Tata
-- No seat pouch, no rear 12V socket or USB charger?
Pedal Area
Central console with its positioning of cup holders and gear shifter
Magnetic phone holder - difficult to mount a phone due to profile
Knee hitting the steering column while ingress
There are ample storage spaces apart from console , glovebox and door panels.
Stalk controls with integrated features reduce cost but also adds ease of access and neatness
Keyfob
There is enough legroom and headroom for the driver, but that's after getting in and settled in the seat. The knee hits the steering column cover even when the steering height is adjusted to maximum. Also, the height adjustable seat will be of great addition to all the variants, but missed in lower variants. Foam is dense enough but not perfect, the thigh support is sufficient, but I wish there was a bit more focus on lumbar area. There is enough room for moving the feet in pedal area.
Rear seat is comfortable for 3 medium sized adults with good legroom, thanks to scooped front seats. However, the middle row passenger will have to adjust his foot to the central console extension.
Boot shape and size (350L) are also good for a regular family but split seats on higher variants mean more flexibility. The boot doesn't have parcel tray, but can buy as an accessory. Also, it has multiple hooks with weight limits mentioned which can be used as per your peculiar needs. Notice the Jopasu duster - it will be put to high performance test, as there is a lot of dust due to construction activity nearby.
Harman audio system
One of the best that I have experienced in a car of this segment even if it's not the top variant with additional tweeters. I don't listen to music in car and prefer to enjoy the engine revs, but now I couldn't turn off the music system. The unit is placed well and readable even in bright sunlight. There are good tweaks like sound level adjustment for alerts like the rear park assist and headlamp on time for approach lamps which are really useful.
The volume gets lower when reverse gear is engaged and when rear park assist is active. Menu/HMI is user friendly and simple and the BT connects fast. There is also USB slot for playing media, but the Aux port has been deleted. I know no one is using Aux cables now, but still would prefer that for passenger controlling media and keep BT only for calls.
Ride & Handling Suspension: Definitely a huge step up from my previous drive. Ride is not too soft, doesn't bounce much and the roll is well contained. It glides through the larger wavy undulations on the road at medium & higher speeds. But for smaller obstacles at lower speed, though it does the job, we still can feel the jolt inside. I have not done hard cornering at higher speeds, but the car feels planted better than my previous Zen estilo. There are no buzzing or rattling noises during rough patches. Car feels stable at speeds (yet to check on higher speeds).
Steering: Steering is super light in low speeds, but weighs up quite nicely while the speed builds up. I needed to recalibrate my driving style due to the larger turning radius than I was used to, but it is not a problem. The steering wheel badly needs a leather wrap, but it is chunky enough even without it.
Wheels and Tyres: The 195/60 R16 inchers from Goodyear have good grip on dry tarmac. The good ratio also complements the suspension. The wear & life however needs to be checked. The wheel caps are made to look like alloys and they do justice to the looks. Spare wheel is under the boot with all required tools.
Safety & Visibility
I will not go on to mention about the NCAP ratings or the equipment such as airbags, ESP, ISOFIX mounts. But the car makes you feel safe due to the build and the way it is controllable. Tata has made sure that you feel safe, even the seat belt buckle is solid. The seatbelts are height adjustable for front passengers. There is constant beeping (irritating for good) when the seat belts are not buckled when the car is moving. The passenger seat comes with occupancy detection system, so it will not beep when no one sits there. Also, there are different tell-tales for passenger and driver seat belt status, which shows that Tata was not cutting even a single corner when it comes to safety. Speed sensing auto-door lock is also a good feature.
The front doors come with reflectors so that the other vehicles can see if they are open during the night.
Braking: ESP helps boosting your confidence. The braking performance is good, has decent bite and effortless. The pedal feel is good too.
Visibility: Frontal visibility is good although the thick A-pillar obstructs some part of the cross-traffic. Rear window glass area is not so great, but can understand the reason due to design constraints. The ORVMs are placed good and the size is sufficient, but would have preferred slightly bigger ones. Having a parking sensor helps, but would definitely recommend a camera with display.
Projector headlamps are again a big differentiators for me. I had a lot of trouble in my old car with lighting and mostly avoided night driving. With this, I can definitely plan my trips better.
High beam reach and spread in twilight
Low beam reach and spread in twilight
Writing about the engine & transmission with *conditions apply as I drove very little and settling the engine (run in).
Being a turbo petrol 3-cylinder motor, I was prepared for some good amount of NVH, but I was surprised with the refinement during higher RPMs. There is considerable engine noise and vibration which is observable in the cabin when the vehicle is idling. At the moment the 1.2L Revotron engine feels jerky during the starts and rough at lower rpms. There is also a "tikk tikk" noise when the engine is idling and the dealer said it's just a turbo clock sound.
https://youtu.be/Yk3pokQ2RK4
The power is good and there is observable differentiation in it's delivery between "Eco" and other drive modes. The Eco mode put the vehicle in a rubbery sort of acceleration and difficult to pull overtakes when you are keeping the rpms low(for running in). The torque is very good in other modes, but yet to unleash the 120 hp.
The clutch is so light and too responsive beyond a point that I thought it was a defect, but it was me really. The transmission ratios are good and I was able to drive effortlessly on 2nd and 3rd gears in slow traffic and speed bumps. The slotting of a bit notchy at this point, but getting smoother day by day and the MID suggests to shift gears way too early, but will wait to comment on the transmission.
Mileage: currently the MID shows 10.1 kmpl (I wouldn't worry about this now as the diving was purely within city and on lower gears).
Other
-- Opening the boot only from inside via switch on console is a pain
-- Piano black finish looks good but reflects a lot of light
-- There were few wires visible in dash area which are not taped - not expected in a 10 Lakh car
Planning a weekend trip to Mysore to clock some number on the ODO, will update more after the trip.
I mentioned it on the Nexon official thread and will say it again that Tata Nexon is the most well rounded car in the segment if someone wants to go for a manual transmission. I was super impressed by the new facelift of Nexon during a recent visit. Space, looks, features, power, comfort and most of all security is taken care of in this car. To me, it's a no brainer in the category. It's a pity that this car doesn't come with a proper AT.
Excellent choice of car and color. Looks smashing. So encouraging to see the car seat installed in your car. Hope the car serves you well and helps in creating everlasting memories.
Congratulations on the new member to your home, wishing you happy and safe motoring .. Did you take the extended warranty . If not I highly recommend taking it .
I initially had knee problem with the steering wheel in my Freestyle. But managed to find a sweet seating spot by adjusting with the steering tilt, seat height and distance.
Try doing that with your car and I am sure you will overcome this discomfort. It is not advisable to have your knee hitting any thing while driving, as a bad bump or swerve may be very uncomfortable.
Best of luck in exploring your new drive!
Congratulations on the new car. Wishing you lot of happy miles. The current version looks more SUVish compared to the previous one. One question though, when are you going to tear away those plastic covers??!! Make it fast if not already.
Thank you.
Haha! I tore away few, but the kid is making rear seats dirty . So will let them be on till she gets used a bit, will do in a couple of days.
