Tata Nexon – the safest compact SUV?

Overview

• 5-star Global Ncap Safety rating
• Eight Speaker Harmon infotainment system with a 7-inch touchscreen
• Dual airbags with ABS and EBD as standard across the range
• Two new engine options with a six-speed manual and Automatic gearbox

Tata Nexon Design

Exteriors

Tata Nexon is a compact SUV that has its design inspired by a coupe. The bold stance of Nexon makes it more appealing and attractive. The exteriors on the Nexon are eye-catching, to say the least. It has tri-arrow-shaped DRLs, LED headlamps, and fog lamps. There is a strong chrome accent that Tata called the humanity line. There are slots on the bonnet for a more aggressive touch. A lot of body cladding is used around the vehicle. There is body cladding on the wheel arches and doors. The roof rails improve the bold stance. On the rear, TATA Nexon has union jack-inspired taillights. Tata has managed to stay relatively true to the concept design of this car.

Key Dimensions

Nexon is a compact SUV that belongs to the sub-4 meter category, It is 3993mm long, 1811mm wide, and 1606mm tall. The SUV has a wheelbase of 2498mm with an unladen ground clearance of 209mm which is best-in-segment. There is a boot space of 350L which can be further extended up to 690l by folding down the 60:40 split rear seat. Tata Nexon runs on 16-inch 5-spoke diamond cut alloy wheels. It has a Disc brake at the front and Drum brake at the rear.

Interiors

The dashboard of the Nexon has been completely redesigned. All your touch points are nice and soft. It feels kind of premium. There are almost three tones of colors that are going on in this area. The central console is sort of where your automatic climate control is. The central console has a modern 3.5-inch display for lower trims and a 7inch touchscreen for higher trim levels which comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The infotainment screen can also be controlled by the knobs on the central console. The compact SUV comes with company fitted audio system by Harman with 4 and 8 speakers.

The rear seat is actually a pretty comfortable place to be. The seat squab is pretty long so it offers a decent amount of under-thigh support. The seats are contoured pretty well. There is a decent amount of knee room and in spite of the fact that this has a pretty aggressive sloping roofline, there is a decent amount of headroom as well. There is an AC vent in the rear and you can control the airflow as well. There is a 12-volt socket but it’s in the back of the left rear passenger.

The rear bench has been designed to sit two people in great comfort but it is going to be a stretch for three people. There is a transmission tunnel that passes through the middle and for a third person it’s not going to be very pleasant. In addition to that, you also get ISOFIX mounts. So, you can fit in a baby seat. There are over 31 intelligently designed storage spaces. In the glove box, you have a removable laptop or a tablet holder and it is incredibly deep. You have designed spaces for maps, cups, and even a pen as well.

Tata Nexon Engine, transmission, and performance

Nexon is being offered with two engine options – a 1.5L turbocharged Revotorq diesel engine and a 1.2L Turbocharged Revotron petrol engine. The diesel engine which is bigger in size is less powerful but supplied more torque. It churns out a max power of 110PS @ 4000rpm and a peak torque of 260Nm @ 1500-2750rpm.

The more potent petrol engine which is smaller in size produces 120PS of max power @ 5500rpm with a peak torque of 170Nm @ 1750-4000rpm.

Both the engines come mated to a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic transmission system. Tata motors claims a fuel efficiency of 17.57km/l with MT and 16.35km/l with AMT for the petrol engine. On the hand, it has a fuel efficiency of 21.19km/l with MT and 22.07km/l with AMT for the diesel engine. However, the mileage figures released by ARAI for Tata Nexon are slightly different.

Tata Nexon Safety features

The first thing to tell about the safety of the Tata Nexon is the fact that it is the first Indian car to achieve 5-star safety ratings in the Global Ncap safety test. Thanks to its fortified cabin. Apart from its fortified cabin, it has some of the first-in-segment safety features that make the passengers safer and prevents the vehicle from getting into any accidents. Tata Nexon comes loaded with lots of safety features as standard. It has driver and co-driver airbags, Antilock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Electric Stability Program (ESP), Electric Traction Control, Rollover Mitigation, Hydraulic Brake Assist, Hill Hold Control, Electric Brake Prefill, Brake Disc wiping, and ISOFIX Anchorage points for a child seat.

Infotainment Features

The lower trim levels of Nexon get a 3.5-inch infotainment screen by Harman with 4 speakers while the higher variants come with a 7-inch floating dash-top touchscreen by Harman with 8 speakers. The infotainment system has Bluetooth connectivity, comes with pre-installed apps, and supports both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Tata Nexon variants

Features-wise, Tata Nexon is available in 8-trim levels or variants. All variants except the base variant ‘XE’ can be purchased with a petrol or diesel engine and both the engines have options for manual and automatic transmission. So, overall, Tata Nexon has 30 variants or trim levels.

Tata has added all the significant safety features to the base variant itself. The 3.5″ infotainment screen with 4 speakers, Bluetooth connectivity, all power windows, and roof rails are available from the XM variant onwards.

Electric sunroof, auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, and steering-mounted audio and phone controls are added from XM(S) variants onwards. The 7-inch infotainment touch screen with Connect Next, cooled Glovebox, rear AC vents, along with 12V power socket are standard features of XM+(S) variant.

For the features like Diamond cut alloy wheels, Smart-key, 8-speaker Harman sound system, fully automatic climate control, and rear seat armrest with cup holders, you have to go for XZ+ variant.

Like Tata Harrier and Safari, Nexon is also available in the Kaziranga edition.

Tata Nexon Colors

Tata Nexon has 7 colors option including dark edition and Golden Beige of Kaziranga Edition.

Tata Nexon Price

The price for the Tata Nexon base variant XE with petrol engine and manual transmission starts from 7.59 lakh rupees and goes all the way up to 11.99 lakh rupees for XZ+KZR with MT and 12.64 lakh rupees for XZ+KZR with AMT.

The price for the diesel engine with MT starts at 9.89lakh rupees for the XM variant which goes all the way up to 13.29 lakh rupees for XZ+KZR with MT and 13.95lakh rupees for XZ+KZR with AMT.

Rivals of Tata Nexon

Being the sub-compact SUV segment and the price range puts Nexon in direct competition with Hyundai Venue, Nissan Magnite, Toyota Urban Cruiser, and Maruti Suzuki Brezza.