Tata Nexon petrol & diesel AMT compact SUVs revealed at 2018 Auto Expo

Tata Motors has unveiled the Nexon AMT at the 2018 Auto Expo. The automatic variants of the sub-4 meter compact SUV will go on sale in a couple of months. Both the petrol and diesel variants of the Nexon get 6 speed AMT options. They’re likely to be priced about Rs. 50,000 more than equivalent manual variants, making them terrific value for money. Both the Nexon AMT variants will undercut competition significantly – the EcoSport Petrol AT in case of the Nexon Petrol AMT and the Mahindra TUV300 AT in case of the diesel AMT. Tata will offer a new dual tone paint shade – Etna Orange – on the new SUVs.

On the Nexon AMTs, the 1.2 liter turbo petrol engine that makes 108 Bhp-170 Nm, and the 1.5 liter turbodiesel engine with 108 Bhp-260 Nm, will be retained as is. The new variants from Tata are unique, in that they feature 6 speed AMTs. Also, the AMT units get a creep function that’ll be useful in city traffic crawls.

The AMT unit also gets a hill-hold function that prevents the vehicle from rolling back while trying to move forward on an incline. This is a very useful feature to have, and one that other AMT units don’t offer. Full marks to Tata Motors on this one, for it makes the AMT similar to a torque converter automatic in terms of real world use.

Tata will also retain the Eco, City and Sport driving modes on the Nexon AMTs. So, expect different gear shift responses on the different modes. The tiptronic function will also be retained, allowing the driver to manually shift up and down.

The launch of the AMT variants on the Nexon is likely to boost sales of this sub-4 meter compact SUV, taking it to second place in its segment, ahead of the Ford EcoSport but behind the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. The new variants are chiefly aimed at city SUV buyers.