New Tata Safari vs Nexon Electric SUV in a classic drag race

Tata launched the Safari early this year and it has been doing well in the Indian market. The homegrown manufacture also has the Nexon EV in its portfolio which is the best selling electric vehicle in India. People have been sceptical while shifting to an electric vehicle. They doubt their performance, driving range etc. Well, here is a video of a drag race between the Tata Safari and the Nexon EV. Let’s examine the results of the drag race.

The video is uploaded by Aayush ssm on his YouTube channel. The host conducts multiple rounds of the drag race to find the winner. The host conducts three rounds of the drag race to find out which SUV emerges the winner.

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In the first round, the Nexon EV is using the Sports mode. The climate control is switched off and the windows are rolled up. The Nexon EV takes a huge lead over the Safari and wins the drag race easily. In the second round, the host switches to the Safari. This time the Safari does gets slightly ahead of the Nexon EV but soon the Nexon overtakes the Safari. In the third round, the host sits in the Nexon EV and wins the drag race quite easily.

Specs comparison

The Safari is offered only with a diesel engine. It is a 2.0-litre Fiat sourced motor that Tata calls Kyrotec. It puts out 170 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 350 Nm. We can see that the host was using a Safari with the automatic gearbox. It is a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. However, you can get a 6-speed manual gearbox too.

The Nexon EV has a 30.2 kWh battery pack that produces 129 PS and 245 Nm of peak torque. There are various reasons behind Nexon EV winning against a more powerful Safari.

Lightweight

The Nexon EV despite being an electric vehicle is much lighter than the Safari. It weighs 1.4 tonnes whereas the Safari weighs 1.8 tonnes. That is a massive difference. The lightweight helps in acceleration and performance.

Instant torque delivery

Electric vehicles produce their max torque instantly whereas internal combustion engines have a designated RPMs in which they deliver their peak torque and power. The driver needs to squeeze out the performance from the engine whereas in an electric vehicle as soon as you step on the accelerator pedal all the performance is delivered.

Nexon EV price and variants

The Nexon EV is available in three variants. There is XM, XZ+ and XZ+ Lux. The XM is priced at Rs. 13.99 lakhs ex-showroom, XZ+ costs Rs.  15.56 lakhs ex-showroom and the top-end XZ+ Lux is priced at Rs. 16.56 lakhs ex-showroom. Tata also recently launched the Dark Edition of the Nexon EV. It will be available with XZ+ and XZ+ Lux variants. The XZ+ Dark Edition is priced at Rs. 15.99 lakhs ex-showroom and the XZ+ Lux variant is priced at Rs. 16.85 lakhs ex-showroom. Having said that the government does offer subsidies if you buy an electric vehicle and these prices do not include the subsidy.

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