Tata’s Nexon checks off all the right boxes

The maturity of a car maker is often measured by how appealing and refined its designs are. In most cases, establishing engineering refinement and reliability of its vehicles comes ahead of a demonstrated flair with design.

In Tata Motors’ case though, the company simply hasn’t had the luxury of time to notionally wait for one department to mature before the next can then hone its skills. Not quite how the rest of the automotive industry works too, but in Tata’s case, the urgency to shorten the learning curve has been even greater. Of course, the reason for the pressure stems from a fast maturing base of buyers for mass market cars who like to look past some of the characteristics such as reliability (to be a given), and then make their choice based on qualitative factors like design.

I believe Tata Motors’ transition to a car maker whose engineering abilities became a given started from the Tiago. It was also the first of a growing line up of vehicles that show Tata can think ahead of the market with its design. After the Tigor’s coupé/notchback style take on the compact sedan, it is now the turn of the new Nexon and its unique crossover design, which Tata will hope to make an impression with.

The Nexon is Tata’s answer to the compact sports utility vehicles in the market already. This sub-four-metre crossover built on the X1-platform (same as Zest) will take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport. The Nexon will be launched in September this year with a diesel and a petrol engine option, and manual transmission. Automated manual transmission versions are expected to be launched later.

The Nexon is the fourth model to follow the ‘Impact’ design language. The best part about the new model’s design is how closely it resembles the concept that Tata had showcased at the Auto Expo last year. At 3,994 mm of length and 1,607 mm tall, the Nexon is not much bigger than some of the B-plus segment hatches, but its bold front design and its fairly convincing SUV stance make it seem bigger. With its tapering at the rear roofline and curved tailgate, its design is clearly crossover. But with some funky trim elements like the white accents around the fog lamps, the matt-white shoulder line and the X-shaped rear garnish, the Nexon is attempting to communicate an elevated level of youthful finesse. Along with the option of a contrast coloured roof panel, the design also allows a fair bit of customisation.

The large headlamps refer back all the way to the Bolt and the humanity line right below the grille and lamps has been a design fixture. LED daytime running lamps, an upright grille and an oversized front fender that merges with flared wheel arches on either side enhances the Nexon’s crossover appeal. The contrast body side cladding is not too big or loud. The 16-inch alloys don’t quite fill out the wheel arches, but with the wide and high-profile 215/60 Goodyear tyres, the Nexon manages to avoid looking gawky. The rear is the more interesting side with its tapering roofline, the X-shaped contrast garnish and the split rear fender. The result is a tailgate that is compact and a fairly raised loading lip offering access to the 350-litre boot.

The shoulder line of the Nexon rises gradually at the rear and the second row seats are set at the same level as the front two. However, the cabin feels airy and well lit. There is also enough head room for rear passengers.

The cabin has a dual-tone colour theme with a dark grey (top half) and dull beige (bottom half) scheme for the dashboard and door panels. The dashboard is more car-like in its orientation, not upright-SUV style. The steering wheel, the control switches and the rotary mode-selector knob are familiar because they are shared parts. The 6.5-inch floating touchscreen mounted at the top of the centre stack is a first and actually improves the cabin’s appeal. The Harman infotainment system in our test mule was excellent, as are the well-thought out storage and utility spaces. The fit and finish quality of the panels, the chrome and polished plastic trim are all good, but the material quality could have been better. So, despite the effort, there is no escaping the feeling that some of them are tacky. But shut-lines are tight and smooth both within the cabin and for the exterior body panels.

Space in the cabin was also good with enough legroom and kneeroom at the rear for six-feet tall passengers. The seat squabs are well-padded and were comfortable even over a five-hour long journey. I felt that some ergonomics issues could be sorted out by Tata engineers like making the gear knob a bit smaller, the rotary mode selector could be more compact and the hand brake lever stalk could have been covered and placed next to the driver.

The Nexon is being offered with two engine options – the 1.2-litre Revotron petrol and the 1.5-litre Revotorq diesel. Both the engines are turbocharged and both of them offer 110 PS of peak power (unintentionally similar).

The 1,198 cc petrol engine is the same three-pot motor from the Tigor, but with the addition of the variable geometry turbocharger it gets a bump up to 110 PS of power and 170 Nm of torque. The turbocharger is water-cooled and the engine management includes dual variable valve timing for improved efficiencies.

The 1,497 cc Revotorq diesel engine also features a VGT turbo and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) for improved low speed performance and high efficiencies. The engine puts out a peak power of 110 PS and a peak torque of 260 Nm. Like the turbo petrol, the diesel mill also delivers peak torque from about 1,750 rpm, so they are both equally good at low revs (read city traffic). But, while the petrol only seems to have a narrow mid-range power band making shifting down necessary sometimes during overtakes, the diesel is much more useable both in city and highway. Both the engines are mated to six-speed manual gearboxes. The gearbox in the petrol test mule I drove delivered lurching shifts. The diesel powertrain’s shifts were clean; though the gear stick throws could have been shorter in both. Self-adjusting clutches are standard in both the powertrains. Three driving modes – Eco, City and Sport – are offered and can be chosen using the rotary selector.

Like its design and engineering refinement, the ride and handling of the Nexon was also a pleasant surprise. There is no body roll and the suspension soaks up most of the road’s bad patches. There is no unsettling rattle or loss of road grip on broken roads. Steering is fairly precise and the tyres offer good grip. So I could climb up the hills surrounding Idukki district in Kerala quickly where we test drove the Nexon.

The Nexon is another model that will help Tata Motors establish its return to the market with fresh, mature cars. Hopefully, it will also give the Nexon an aggressive price tag between the ₹7 lakh to ₹11 lakh range.