Tata Nexon

The Tata Nexon is a subcompact crossover SUV produced by the Indian automaker Tata Motors since 2017.

History


The Nexon made its debut as a prototype exhibited at the New Delhi Motor Show in 2014. The final model was presented in 2016. It is Tata's first crossover SUV.

The Nexon is based on the revised Tata X1 platform debuted in 1998 with the Indica model and adopted by other Indian brand cars. It uses independent MacPherson dual-path strut with coil spring front suspensions and rear twist-beam with coil spring and shock absorber. The wheelbase is measured at 2498 mm. It is characterised by two-tone paint, LED headlamps and large chrome bands along the side.

The engines are developed by Tata Motors and Austrian engineering company AVL: the petrol engine is the 1.2 L Revotron three-cylinder turbo 12-valve that delivers 82 kW and 170 Nm of maximum torque combined with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission; the diesel engine is a 1.5 L Revotorq four-cylinder common rail 16-valve that delivers 82 kW and 260 Nm of maximum torque, also paired with a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. Tata Nexon is available in seven variants – XE, XM, XMA, XT, XZ, XZ+, and XZA+. The automatic versions have 3 different driving settings. In 2018, Tata added a sunroof option.

Despite being presented in February 2016, production at the Fiat India Ranjangaon plant started in July 2017 and sales in India started since September of the same year. As of December 2018, Tata Motors has not exported the car outside India. The company has not confirmed if the car will be exported to Europe either. In August 2018 the 50,000 Nexon rolled out of the factory.

Tata Motors launched the new facelifted Nexon with a lot of feature additions and BS6 engines in January 2020, and the original car was showcased to the general public in the Auto Expo 2020. The already popular Nexon received upgrades to the engine, besides the major changes on the exterior, now based on the Impact 2.0 design language. The new vehicle has BS6-compliant 1.5L Turbocharged Revotorq Diesel (110PS@4000rpm) and 1.2L Turbocharged Revotron Petrol engines (120PS@5500rpm).

Safety
In 2018, the Nexon was subjected to crash tests by the Global NCAP obtaining the result of 5 stars. It is the first Indian-made car to achieve this rating. It will be updated with some more safety features to meet safety norms Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Program (BNVSAP) by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Nexon EV
The all-electric version of the Nexon was revealed on 19 December 2019. The Nexon EV uses components from Tata Motors' new electric vehicle technology brand Ziptron. Its electric motor produces 94.7 kW and 245 Nm of torque and 0 - 100 under 9.9 seconds. It has a 30.2 kWh battery pack that is claimed to offer a range of up to 300 km (internal test data).

The Tata Nexon electric gets a lithium-ion battery pack capable of pushing the car for more than 300 km in a single charge. The battery can be fully charged in under 8 hours using a complimentary home mounted AC charger which Tata will provide. Along with the wall-mounted charger, Tata is also offering a 15-ampere power cable that can be used at any place with the necessary power socket. The 30.2 kwh battery pack with IP67 rating can also be charged using a DC charger that can top it up upto 80% battery in 1 hour. The electric motor is rated at 129 ps and 245 Nm.

Tata Nexon is not the company's first electric vehicle which means the brand knows a thing or two about the electric power train. They have utilized their past experiences to carve out an electric power train that mimics an ICE engine, which means transition for a user won't be difficult. Also, the battery pack is water-cooled to counter the high temperature we encounter in our country.

The floor-mounted battery pack increases the weight by upto 50 kgs, but improves the centre of gravity. Also, our past experience with other EVs has proved the battery pack to be disastrous for the suspension setup. The Tata Nexon electric is an anomaly though. The suspension behaves just like a regular car and eats most of the potholes, providing a very good ride quality. The steering is nice to hold and gives ample feedback and is tuned well for city driving. The MRF wanderer low resistance tyres reduce the tyre noise and combined with the electric power train, the NVH levels become incredibly refined.

Tata started a subscription plan for the Nexon EV in August 2020. It was reported that Nexon EV was the best-selling electric vehicle in India in 2020.

Capable of DC charging at 25KW (infrastructure being developed in India as well as world over is 50KW minimum so that is a disadvantage). Onboard AC charger is 3KW only, for this battery size generally 7.5 KW is provided by other ev manufacturer. Not compatible with Level 2 chargers of other cars like MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona EV available in India.