Tata Nexon: Why everyone’s buying this compact SUV

Tata’s foray into the compact SUV segment in the form of Nexon has been well received by the consumers. 50,000 units of the Nexon have been sold in India, making it Tata’s fastest-selling SUV, ever. And well received is a rather mild term to use as the car is selling like hot cakes. The company sold 3,840 units of the Nexon in July. August saw 4,499 units leaving the dealerships which is a 17.16 percent increase. That’s actually quite good a jump in a single month. What is the reason behind such success for the Nexon, read along to find out. 

Looks fresh

The Nexon concept was first introduced at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. The concept looked uber cool at that time. But we didn’t expect Tata to make the production version so close to the concept in terms of design. Considering pure aesthetic values, the Nexon blows away the competition and steals the show at gunpoint. It looks fresh inside-out and is unlike anything the competition offers. The customers too seem to share our view on this and the sales chart puts a seal to that.

Brilliant value

Indian auto market is a highly competitive place where pricing can make a huge difference in the success of a vehicle. Tata with all those years of experience under its belt knows this well and didn’t make any mistakes with the Nexon. The compact SUV currently starts at Rs. 6.15 lakh. To give you an idea, direct rivals like Vitara Brezza and Ecosport have prices starting at Rs. 7.58 lakh and Rs. 7.82 lakh, respectively. That’s nearly a difference of Rs. 1.5 lakh. Competition blown to dust, we say.

Segment-leading engines

Nexon comes with both petrol and diesel options. The 1.2 litre Revotron petrol engine produces 110 Bhp of power and 170 Nm of torque. The diesel on the other hand is an even peppier 1.5 litre unit which produces class leading 110 Bhp of power and 260 Nm of torque. The diesel engine provides a very smooth power delivery and the car is a breeze to drive in the city. There are three driving modes to choose from (Eco, City, Sport) which control the engine output from maximum efficiency to maximum power, according to the driver.

Solid build and great safety

Global NCAP tested the India-made Tata Nexon and awarded the compact SUV a four star rating. The agency praised the Nexon’s build and said that it was a safe car. Multiple real life crashes have seen passengers of the Tata Nexon walking away unharmed, and going on to praise the build of the car. Clearly, the Nexon is one solidly built Tata car, giving buyers yet another reason to opt for it. All variants of the Nexon get ABS and twin airbags as standard.

Feature-rich

If you are impressed by the Nexon’s exteriors, be prepared to carry that amazed look when you get inside too. The interiors are very nicely done, so much so that we even doubted it to be a Tata in the first place. The triple-tone dashboard, 6.5 inch floating touchscreen and sliding glovebox all lend a luxury feeling to the cabin. Coupled with comfortable seats and ample room inside the cabin along with an eight speaker audio system from Harman Kardon, it quite is a compelling package.

Automatics on both petrol and diesel

City driving can be a bane nowadays due to heavy traffic and bad roads. For these reasons, many people now prefer automatics over manual transmission. Tata again proved that it has done a thorough market research and the Nexon comes with automated manual transmission (AMT) on both the diesel and petrol engines. The petrol AMT (XMA petrol) starts at Rs. 7.50 lakh, whereas the diesel AMT (XMA diesel) comes at Rs. 8.53 lakh making it a good choice if you want an automatic car.