Tata Nano Long Term Report : November 2015

The Easy Going Kid

The latest car to join our fleet at autoX is the Tata Nano GenX AMT. And after seeing the condition of Delhi traffic over the last few days, thanks to the beginning of the festive season, the Nano seemed like a good companion. Yes, I didn’t drive it much due to too much travelling, but driving it to BIC two days in a row was quite rewarding. The hassle-free ride that an automatic car provides clubbed with the small size of the Nano makes it a perfect option to take on the traffic around the festive season.

The 624cc engine fires with a roar which is impossible to miss, but pipes down to a great extent once the car gets going. The AMT of the Tata Nano GenX automatic has been tuned to shift gears quickly to ensure high fuel efficiency. According to the guys at Tata Motors, the car has a mileage of 21.9 km/l, and in real life driving conditions it seems to be somewhere close to it. The Nano GenX AMT comes preloaded with two driving modes – Eco and Sport! In Eco, the Nano comfortably negotiates city traffic, and the transmission’s main aim is to be as fuel efficient as possible. While in the Sport mode the Nano revs higher and holds the rev needle longer. Not that it turns into a Lamborghini in Sports mode, but the power surge is perceptible.

The latte coloured cabin features a new instrument cluster in the centre console, and now houses two trip metres, instant and average fuel economy, and a distance-to-empty reading. The steering wheel has been replaced by the one in the Bolt, and the Nano is the first car in this segment to offer an entertainment system with Bluetooth connectivity. The new Tata Nano GenX AMT looks slightly better than its predecessor with the new headlamps which have been given smoked surrounds, that do liven up the face.The boot of the Nano GenX AMT is pretty usable with 94 litres of space and is easily accessible. A 24-litre fuel tank makes it more practical than the earlier model to cover longer distances without stopping often.

The drive quality of the Tata Nano GenX AMT has been good so far, and the air conditioning works pretty decently. Another option is to use the manual mode, but I don’t see myself doing that often because that will take away the entire tension-free ride that I am looking for. There is a slight power lag between two gears when in automatic mode, but that’s something I can overlook because of the practicality it offers.

So far, the car has been a good companion to home, work and nearby places for daily chores, and I don’t see any reason why it won’t continue to do so in the future as well. Till then, I will enjoy the festive season from inside the Nano GenX AMT.