Tata Nano GenX AMT Review

Tata Motors has really matured as a car maker. Just look at the Zest compact sedan or the new Bolt hatchback. These are cars that one would buy not because these were more affordable than the competition or because of some jingoistic sentiment... One would buy them for the design, the improvement in fit and finish, the usable space, the plethora of equipment, and quality. Yes, quality. Now I am not saying that the Zest or the Bolt are benchmarks in these aspects, but these can certainly hold their own in the face of some stiff and well established competition.

And I am hoping some of the learnings from these new cars would have rubbed off on the new version of Tata's smallest, most affordable and to an extent, infamous, 'car for the masses' - the Nano.

The Nano needs no introduction. Launched in 2009, it was a brilliant piece of engineering. Packing so much interior volume with such little on-the-road footprint. It was also affordable, efficient and hardy. But, thanks to poor positioning, not to mention lack of basic car related features and some recall issues, it never took off the way the whole world predicted it would. Now, with what Tata Motors calls the GenX Nano, at least Tata believes, it has a winner. But, is it?

Exterior Design / Style: rating_3.0_rating

First the design. And the Nano is without doubt a cute little small car. More so in this form wherein it gets a new front bumper and lower grille, revised and smoked head lamps and nice looking gloss black garnish on the hood. At the rear, again, the bumper has changed and it looks more current and palatable. Plus, the exhaust have moved to the left which was centrally located earlier. But, of course, the biggest change, is the rear opening hatch.

To keep the structural integrity intact, Tata Motors has strengthened the C-pillar area and revised the roof. With that cleared, let's look at convenience. There's a handle to help lift the hatch but to open it, one needs a key. Once opened, there's 94 litres of boot space; that's for the AMT version. The manual versions get a little over 100 litres thanks to a flatter engine cover. And what can this small boot hold? A couple of carry-on bags, some grocery and possibly a Chihuahua.

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Interior & Space: rating_3.5_rating

Inside, compared to the original Nano (and not the Twist, mind), it's a sea change here. The dash is lighter coloured, there are a couple of usable gloveboxes and there's also place to throw in a small bottle. But these changes appeared on the Nano Twist. For GenX Nano, there's a new steering wheel that's nice to hold and twirl; chrome outline for the AC vents and new instrumentation. Must say all these additions don't only help lift the image of the car, these are handy too.

Additionally, seats and door inserts get new fabric and overall there's more plastic all around instead of the interiors looking bare basic. In terms of equipment, the top of the line XT versions get front power windows, Bluetooth telephony, and a rear parcel tray with speakers integrated.

Space, meanwhile, has never been an issue with the Nano; in fact, it was one of the car's biggest USPs. And that continues on the GenX Nano too! There's enough leg and knee room in the front and rear, respectively, and the shoulder room, though not great, won't have you nudging your co-passenger uncomfortably. Head room, of course, given the height of the car, is outstanding.

Ride & Ease of Driving: rating_3.5_rating

What hasn't changed on Tata Motors' the GenX Nano is the seating position. Now, neither the seat nor the steering adjust for height, so you have this high seating with a relatively low steering position. It isn't ideal or exactly very comfortable. The visibility as before is a bit of a problem from the A-pillar but otherwise, all round, the visibility for a city car is fine.

You also have this really light power steering now which is acceptably quick and thanks to the automated manual transmission or AMT - which is a manual gearbox that uses hydraulic actuators to operate both the clutch and shift gears so that the driver doesn't have to - makes the new Nano a breeze to live with. Since there's no constant clutching-de-clutching required, it is effortless to pilot around the city, particularly in bumper-to-bumper peak hour traffic. And then its small dimensions mean, you can plug gaps in traffic, find parking even in the busiest of markets, and never worry about hanging U-turns; the Nano almost turns on a dime.

Ride for a car its size and weight is impressive too. We put it through potholes, big and small; drove over speed breakers at a fairly quick clip; and roughed it out a bit on undulating paver blocks, and apart from the rear shifting a bit, it was all good. No rude shocks, not much noise, and no real thuds either.

Engine & performance : rating_2.5_rating

The engine is the same - two cylinder, 624cc with 38PS on tap. So expectedly, the Nano isn't fast. This engine now comes mated to a 5-speed AMT as an option while the manual version continues to get a 4-speed gearbox. Given the Nano has limited top end performance, we expected Tata Motors to have closed the ratios between each gear for the 5-speeder in order to better use the already small amount of torque.

Sadly, that's not the case and the AMT when left in full auto mode feels lethargic and unwilling to get a move on. The progress is slow and almost bothersome, especially when it comes to overtakes. Moreover, the AMT has significant lag between shifts and even in Sport mode (yes, the Nano now gets a multi drive mode) the progress isn't exactly exciting. We eventually ended up driving the GenX Nano in manual mode since it gave us better control over shifts and didn't leave us in too high a gear to battle slow kickdowns.

What the Nano needs now is a significant engine upgrade. The engine needn't be much larger, but it must have a high and flat torque curve and it must be high on refinement.

Price & fuel efficiency: rating_4.0_rating

If there's one thing this engine can deliver on, it's fuel efficiency. The ARAI certified figure for the new AMT Nano is over 20kmpl. But what's surprising is that this, the AMT version, returns lower fuel economy than the manual even though the latter is a 4-speed unit, and this a 5-speeder. Tata Motors says, it could have gone for a higher ARAI figure, but it chose to settle for a lower figure, as this will be closer to what customers will get in the real world. As for pricing, the GenX Nano is expected to cost under Rs 3 lakh even for this top of the line XTA version, which is good pricing, no doubt.

Verdict: rating_3.0_rating

The Nano to me isn't a car for all seasons. And by seasons I don't mean summer, winter or rain, because on those counts the Nano works well and will keep you protected. What I mean is, it fails to deliver on a lot of things a car should. For instance, if I wanted a car for the city, the Nano works brilliantly, especially with the AMT and the light to use power steering and not to mention the compact size.

But, would I buy it if I was looking for a fun to drive car? No. Would I consider it if I wanted something to go up and down a hill and have a good laugh? No. And I wouldn't even consider it if I had to take a trip down to Chennai from Mumbai. Things I could certainly consider doing with its immediate competition.

So, who should buy the new Tata Nano then? If you are a first time car buyer who is going to use the car mainly in the city, the GenX Nano AMT is a good buy. It also works well for those looking at it as a second car in the household, you know for your college going kids or the wife to do the daily runaround.... The new Nano then is much improved, no doubt, but it still has some distance to go before it can become the default choice in the entry-level hatchback segment.