Tata Nano – Most ambitious product for Mr. Ratan Tata. It is India’s most innovative car, in terms of design and engineering. Despite of ups and downs in people’s response, Mr. Ratan Tata’s believed in it and continued to evolve the product further. So, come 2012, we saw Nano 2012 – a refreshed version and diesel variant is to be launched soon. And adding value to the Most Value for money car, at 2012 Auto Expo, Tata showcased Nano CNG and Tata Pixel concept.

Tata Pixel - defines how beautiful and appealing a future version of Nano would be. It is just over three meters in length and still can pack in 4 people. It replicates a skeleton of Nano. But amount of design development it has undergone is phenomenon. It gets glass at almost all upper part just to increase all around visibility. The roof also goes panoramic so that you can enjoy the nature, which it will try to save. Almost next to nothing overhangs makes it very easy and hassle free to drive. LEDs all over, which suits the role of energy efficient, smart city car. Front and rear bumper will get a design boasting its name pixel surrounded by backlit pixel forms.

Being efficient and clean is becoming mandatory for the future and it is being reflected in every concept car under development. Pixel houses at its rear end the1.2 liter, 3 cylinder engine with turbo. The engine is a low-friction design, featuring variable coolant and oil pump and rapid warm-up technologies. The engine is developed such that it returns 30kmpl. This figure may not appear so impressive and ready for far future, but it is perfect for near future. We can’t negate the probability of Pixel going hybrid or all electric as well.

Key point of achievement for Tata is Zero Turn toroidal traction-drive Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT), which assists rotation of the outer rear wheel forwards and the inner rear wheel backwards, while the front wheels turn at acute angles. This concept can be better understood in video on YouTube. It results in a turning circle radius of just 2.6 meter!! Imagine parking in tightest spot at one go. Carbon footprint of Pixel is limited to 89gm/km.

Tata also showcasing groundbreaking technology based highest connectivity between you and your very own Pixel. Tata will provide a tablet like device which will have control over all vehicle functions like Climate settings, Entertainment, Navigation, Phone calls and ways to go social. It can open the doors at tap on the screen. The doors will open vertically upwards – Tata calls it as Scissor Doors. When you enter the vehicle you just have to dock in your device at the central console and you are the master of the machine. All these facts make Pixel a perfect city car for future.

At this year’s Tata Motors stall Pixel looked more promising and realistic. But initially it is being developed for European markets only. It will see the Indian grounds also soon after that.

Tata Nano CNG - While looking at the future, present should also be secured. This is well understood by Tata Nano and since Pixel still a concept, the diesel variant being delayed for some more days, a CNG version of Nano comes into reality @ AutoEXPO’11. The cheapest car available in India (provided RE60 as a four wheeler not a car?) is getting tweaks in specs now and then to get sales going. Nano, returning 25kmpl on petrol, when it will go on CNG will turn many wannabe car owners towards Tata showrooms. Nano had edge had over the other petrol cars for being value for money, and that edge now has re-sharpened with CNG kicking in.

So, Tata Motor’s efforts towards Nano looks prominent and they won’t allow it go out of people’s mind. Until Pixel arrives we will be having Nano Diesel soon and until diesel arrives we have better CNG Nano with us.

The world’s cheapest car, Tata Nano after having a really memorable journey in the Indian auto market is now headed to Bangladesh. The Tata Nano will be reaching the country next month which was confirmed by the Tata’s Bangladeshi distributor, Nitol Group. The Chairman of Nitol group, Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmed said that the first fleet of the Nano vehicles will be arriving in the country in the month of February. The Bangladeshi dealership of Tata Motors has struck a deal with the company to import 2000 Nano cars per year for the Bangladeshi market. The Tata Nano will be sold in the Bangladeshi market for Tk 6,50,000.

In India the Tata Nano was launched in march 2009 for a retail price Rs. 1,36,000. After the stint in India when the demand of the world’s cheapest car when through ups and downs, the company decided to export the vehicle to capture the foreign markets. Currently the car sells in countries like South Africa and Sri Lanka. According to the company, the car has been a doing good volumes in these countries. Mr. P.M Telang, Managing Director of Tata Motors India limited commented that the company is planning to export the Nano to other countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar in the near future after Bangladesh.

The Nitol Group chairman said he has a plan to boost the annual sales of Nano in the Bangladesh market from 2,000 units to 12,000 units within the next four years. Tata Motors is also contemplating on setting up an assembly plant in the country depending on the demand. However, Mr. Ahmed said that they are positive that the car will be ver popular in the country since the car is extremely fuel efficient. Setting up an assembly plant in the country will also bring the prices down.

Tata Motors has recalled 1.45 lakh units of the world’s cheapest car to replace the starter motor. The company claims that the recall is not due to any safety concern and is applicable to all Nano cars sold till date, except the 2012 Nano. The version 1 Nano will get the 2012 Nano’s starter motor.  Tata dealers are also replacing accelerator cables, which are prone to breaking. Battery fuse is being checked and alternator is being replaced to improve the performance of the Nano. This is being done free of cost to the customers but will cost the company close to Rs. 100 crore. Earlier on problems with the starter motor were reported by customers on several instances. Now Tata Motors has corrected this issue with the 2012 edition of the car and has taken corrective action for the same on old Nano cars. Recall fever seems to have struck the Indian automobile market. Just last week Toyota recalled 41000 units of the Etios for faulty fuel filler pipes.

The Tata Nano is available in three variants – Standard, CX and LX. It is priced between Rs. 1.4 – 2.2 lakhs and is powered by a 624cc, 2-cylinder, MPFI engine. Producing a power of 37 BHP at 5500 RPM and torque of 51 Nm at 4000 RPM, the 2012 Nano returns an ARAI certified mileage of 25 kmpl. Don’t be fooled by the low power on paper as the Nano has ample grunt for your day to day duties. Tata Motors has been able to improve the sales of the Nano with the V2 of the car and is planning a diesel Nano by October, 2012. The Nano diesel will not be present at the upcoming Auto Expo.

Tata Motors Limited had a journey full of ups and downs with its Nano in the Indian auto industry. However, with the launch of the upgraded 2012 Tata Nano and getting good market feedback about the up-gradations made in the new model, things seem to be under control for the company in India. Now, the company has plans to launch the model in the Indonesian market by striking a deal with some local company. This information has been revealed by some people privy to the development talks who refused to be identified. The alliance Tata Motors is aiming at is similar to the one adopted by it for the Thailand market where it is partnership with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co Ltd, an independent assembler of automobiles.

The Thailand government is currently in the process of finalizing a policy to incentive companies to build small and fuel efficient cars. This policy has attracted a lot of OEMs like Tata, Suzuki Motor Corporation and Honda Motor Corporation. Earlier to Tata’s plan of entering via the contract manufacturing route, the company has plans to setup a green field unit in Indonesia to make the Nano and the Ace mini truck. However, people close to the development say that the process of contract manufacturing was a low-risk route and would entail a lower investment and also help the company to launch its products quickly. Currently the company is in talks with some few companies for the partnership and also deciding on the products to be included in the manufacturing.

The journey of the Nano for Tata Motors has been indeed a very interesting one till date with the company always scratching its head and coming up with new innovative ways to sell the product in the market. One of the key aspects to be the topic of discussion when the Nano was launched was its styling. Many people didn’t like the looks of the car at all and this seemed to have also affected the sales of the car to some extent. Now, Tata Motors has been known to take market feedback very seriously and looks like this time also they have indeed paid some thought to it. Tata Motors recently announced that they have approved to send one Nano vehicle to one of the premier design institutes of India, the National Institute of Design (NID) for the students to look into the styling aspect of the car and come up with suggestions on redesigning the whole model.

Prof. Pradyumma, the Director of NID said that the institute had approached the company to work on the design of the Nano in the event of constantly declining sales figures and the company agreed to their proposal. According to reports, the production of the Nano went down at the Sanand manufacturing facility to less than 50% of the installed capacity of 2.5 lakh per year. However, with the rising fuel prices and many new features added to the vehicle, the sales have picked up decently. The design institute also plans to get into a tie up with the company which will be beneficial for both the companies.

2012 Tata Nano - Click above for high resolution picture gallery

Car tested: 2012 Tata Nano CX

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 2,07,218/-

At the times when everybody was speculating about its diesel version, TATA NANO 2012 is the car which arrived as a little surprise to Indian consumers. And when we came to know that TATA is giving added features and improvements at No added cost, then that surprise turned to be a pleasant surprise. Considering history of TATA Motors to listen to customers voice and improve their products, reviewing Nano 2012 was interesting. TATA did the same thing when Indica failed to meet customer expectation miserably, and come today we are still seeing Indica V2 doing well after 10+ years. This is the fact that half of the huge installed capacity going idle and Nano is flagship model for Tata. Tata Motors can’t let the Nano sales decline. After all it’s an innovative product developed by bright Indian minds from the house of Tata. We know that there are some added features and technical tweaks under the hood (under the boot we can say). So we’ll be focusing mainly on the changes made since the previous version and not on the complete product. The comprehensive review of the original Tata Nano can be read here.

Exteriors – To mark its upgrade, Nano presents its new avatar in totally new colors. With Papaya Orange, Neon Rush and Mojito Green being bold and eye catchy, there is one color Serene White which looks fabulous and adds one star to the cuteness of Nano. As far as front is concerned no change whatsoever. Moving on to side, we get full wheel caps only on the LX. One useful feature we observed was passenger side wing mirror (absent on Std, Black on CX and Body colored on LX). The story with rear is same as the front, with no changes. As speculated (also seen in some spy-shots), the covering flaps on the engines are still not observed. Many have been saying that visible engine at rear gives Nano a rickshaw look, so that covers may come with Nano diesel.

 ★★★★¼ 

Interiors – Once we open the door, we can breathe the freshness inside the car which is absolute welcome. Interiors feels vastly improved in first look because it the color has been changed to beige. Firstly talking about its dashboard, Barley Beige (as Tata names it) is the color in LX. It adds feeling of space in already spacious Nano and also gives little up-market feel as compared to cars seated one level above in terms of pricing. Cheaper versions get Medium Graphite (same as old Nano) and Ebony Black (dark black) dash in Std and CX versions respectively. Then comes the center console which is now in Silver color in metallic texture (Std gets Ebony Black and CX gets Silver Dust finish). Gear knob now looks good in silver and also feels good to hold. All-in-all, total front portion seems to be worked upon to improve its ‘Feel Good’ factor. Plastic quality is steel the same, no such improvement on that front.

Seats are the next thing which also got the beige treatment and now comes in fabric instead of Vinyl (Std. Dual tone Vinyl and CX Premium Black Fabric). Fabric quality is average, but feels better. In order to improve the comfort of Front seats, contours of cushioning have changed. Now thick pads of cushions are provided with good contouring for your back and under thigh support. But under thigh support is not good enough for any 6 feet + tall person. Head rests are adjustable, but with very little up and down travel. Reclining angle for front seats is slightly bigger, which was limited in old version. Rear seats have also improved, with added pads of cushions at back and underneath. Some improvement in under thigh support here as well. So overall seat area has seen quite a lot of rework done.

On doors you’ll find fabric combined with vinyl, of which fabric color is same as seat color. Door pockets also now come in useful size. The Nano, we tested, was having fabric pockets just below the dashboard on side walls which can hold some light stuff inside. Cost effective storage space created there. Engine noise inside the cabin is partly reduced. So after all these, we can say that interiors get complete refreshment so as to please the one who will own it “The Common Indian Man”.

 ★★★★½ 

Ride, Handling and Braking – Remarkable thing to notice on the new Nano is Anti Roll bar on the front wheels. The biggest problem with the original Nano was its steering, which felt heavy at slow speeds. Little attention has also been paid to the suspension, and the steering now feels noticeably lighter, but still requires some effort when at low speeds. Power steering would be an excellent thing for the Nano, but would lead to increase in costs. The Nano’s smallest turning circle makes it really easy in crowded city traffic. Stability has improved too and the Nano does not feel out of control at 100 kmph. Noticeable difference is observed here.

The brakes are similar as before, the overall feel is not so predictable. Brake really hard at speed and the Nano might not just stop in line. For the city, the brakes are adequate though. The handling of the Nano is very good. The rear-wheel drive helps in having some fun. But over push the Nano and it loses control quite easily. The low weight does not give it much grip when cornering hard over uneven road. The Nano goes airborne with ease.

 ★★★½☆ 

Performance – Tata has tweaked the Nano’s 624cc engine to make it more fuel-efficient as well as to slightly increase power output.

In-spite of all improved figures of power on paper, It does not translate into driving in reality. In terms of driving, it is almost identical to old counterpart. These changes might have made Nano a 1 or 2 seconds quicker but it is very hard to notice. At last we are not at all expecting Nano to be rocket, as it is a meant to roam in city traffic. Gearing has been tweaked a bit, 3rd and 4th gear is now little taller. Power is adequate for city driving and you have to constantly work the gears to keep ahead. The Nano does reach its top speed 105 kmph, and the engine check light switches on.

One factor which was criticized the most in old Nano was its engine noise resembling to an auto rickshaw. So this area is also not left untouched by Tata. They say some modification has been done in ports to change noise, but whatever may be the reason, at start-up and idle, the 2012 Nano sounds smooth and silent. But as I revved it hard it gave the same old exhaust note. Please don’t get confused if speeding (!) Nano passes by you. Very little improvement observed on this front.

 ★★★★☆ 

Conclusion – Listening to the voice of common man of India, Tata Motors did some commendable changes in their Nano. With very good changes inside the car, marginally improved power, nicely improved handling and suspension and eye-catching colors, the 2012 Tata Nano is a welcome upgrade. But Nano LX taking major changes, CX changing few and Std gets almost none. Best of all, the features in the new Nano is that you get all of this stuff at the same old price. Being Indian we’ll be happy if we can buy new and improved things at old price. While the Nano Diesel is still in the pipe line, this upgrade will keep the Nano buzz in market alive. The 2012 Nano is a very good car to commute in City for your day to day routine work, but now with improved feel good factor and good value for money.

 ★★★★☆ 

Whats Cool

* Easy to maneuver in traffic
* Peppy engine
* Price
* Space
* Fuel efficiency

Whats Not So Cool

* Absence of a real boot
* Center mounted instrument cluster not easy to view
* No glove box

2012 Tata Nano Specifications

* Engine: 624cc, 2 cylinder, MPFI (BS IV Complaint)
* Power: 38 PS @ 5500 RPM
* Torque: 51 Nm @ 3000 RPM
* Transmission: 4 speed manual
* Top Speed: 105 kmph
* 0-100kmph: 27.50 seconds (est)
* Fuel Consumption: 20 kmpl (City), 24 kmpl (highway)
* Fuel Type: Petrol
* Suspension: Independent, Lower Wishbone, McPherson Strut with gas filled dampers and anti-roll bar (Front), Independent, Semi Trailing arm with coil spring & gas filled shock absorbers
(Rear)
* Tires: 135/70/12 (front) and 155/65/12 (rear) Tubeless Radials
* Brakes: Dual circuit, vertical split operated by tandem master cylinder with vacuum booster with 180 mm drums
* Safety: Crumple zones with intrusion resistant doors

2012 Tata Nano Dimensions

* Overall length x width x height: 3099mm X 1495mm X 1652 mm
* Wheelbase: 2230mm
* Ground clearance: 180 mm
* Turning Radius – 4 m
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 15 litres
* Kerb Weight: 615 kgs (CX)

Official Website

Tata Motors is planning to unveil the Nano diesel at the upcoming New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. The car maker has been running the Nano plant at 50% output levels, which can reach optimum once the oil burner makes it to the Nano. We spied the Nano diesel long ago and Tata Motors is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the car is well tested before launch. The recent upgrades to the Nano, makes the petrol version the most efficient car in India. Currently Tata Motors holds the record for the most fuel efficient diesel car as well (with the Indica e-V2). With the launch of the Nano diesel this record will be broken as the car is expected to offer close to 30 kmpl.

The 800cc, 2-cylinder, DICOR engine will power the Tata Nano diesel, offering around 35 hp of power and 110 Nm of torque. This will make the Nano extremely quick, thanks to the high torque. Top speed will still be limited to 105 kmph, in the interest of safety. The common rail system has been made in collaboration with Bosch and has been under test for quite some time now. Pricing will be a key to the success of the Nano diesel and we are sure Tata Motors’ won’t disappoint on that front. Expect the Nano diesel to cost around Rs. 60,000/- more than its petrol counterpart, which will make the diesel Nano to start at Rs. 2 lakhs.

Tata Motors recently launched the first upgrade to the Nano. The world’s cheapest car is being manufactured at the company’s Sanand facility, which has an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh units. However the company is only manufacturing close to 1.2 lakhs units every year. Sales of the Nano have not crossed 10000 units mark any month, due to which the company is still not producing as many Nanos as they must have hoped for. Furthermore, the launch of the Nano in overseas market has not seen enough volume for Tata Motors to increase production yet. Tata Motors is betting big on the Nano as the company sees huge potential from the car, whose sales have been increasing every month, inspite of adverse conditions in the Indian car market. The Nano is being targeted aggressively in rural areas and exclusive Nano outlets are being set-up there to target 2-wheeler users.

“Our installed capacity for Nano is 2.5 lakh units per annum and we are presently producing 10,000 cars per month,” R Ramakrishnan, VP (commercial), head – passenger car business, Tata Motors, said.

Tata Motors has officially introduced the 2012 Nano, which gets a slight update to the engine, new colours, new interiors and an improved fuel economy of 25.4 kmpl (from the earlier 23.6 kmpl). The company has not hiked the price and the 2012 Tata Nano is priced at the same Rs. 1.40 lakhs for the Nano Standard, Rs. 1.70 lakhs for the Nano CX and Rs. 1.96 lakhs for the Nano LX (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi). The power is now increased from 35 PS to 38 PS and the torque has been increased from 48 Nm to 51 Nm. Tata Motors claims that the car has the lowest CO2 emission (92.7 gm/km) among cars in India. The top speed is still limited to 105 kmph and the car is available with 4-years / 60,000 kms warranty.

The 2012 Tata Nano has gets a revised suspension set-up, including an anti-roll bar at the front with the steering mechanism mad easier. Tata Motors claims that the Nano now has a racier sounding exhaust note, something which we can only confirm later. All the variants will now get booster-assisted brakes as standard with the Nano CX and LX now getting both side ORVMs. The interiors now feature beige treatment in the Nano LX, black in the Nano CX and medium graphite in the Standard version. The 2012 Tata Nano is available in ten colours (eight are all new) – Pearl White, Rouge Red, Aqua Blue, Neon Rush, Serene White, Meteor Silver, Mojito Green, Papaya Orange, Sunshine Yellow, and Champagne Gold.

Tata Motors is really going aggressive with the Nano. According to recent news, Tata Motors has silently revised the model by adding new paint schemes like the Orange, Metallic White, Lime Green, Emerald Green and Silver. ORVMs on both the sides of the car have also been incorporated. The Nanos with these new paint schemes have already reached the dealer end and were spotted by an Team-BHP reader at one of the dealers. From the spy shots, it is also clear that the mirrors are a tad bigger than that of the old model and should be folding with more friction too. However, it still doesn’t feature the mechanism of adjusting it from inside.

The plastic qualities of the interiors have also reportedly been improved. The fabric quality of the seats also gets the same treatment. The top end LX model receives beige interiors and CX model offers fabric seats now. Full wheel covers have also been redesigned. It has also been reported that the mileage of the car has been bumped up to around 25 kmpl after some minor changes to the electronics and ARAI testing. However, this piece of news is yet to be confirmed. But we strongly believe that Tata Motors could come up with this mileage increase as it is widely known to offer best mileage figures. The diesel variants of the Indica eV2 and the Indigo e-CS both boast of a class leading mileage of 25 kmpl.

Tata Motors has boosted the power from 35 BHP to 38 BHP and the engine note is said to have changed (Thanks Pulsarboy for the tip).

Features added to the different variants.

LX gains:

• beige and silver panel dashboard
• beige and black door trims
• new improved cushioned seats
• LHS OSRVM
• wheelcaps

CX gains

• black and silver panel dashboard
• black door trims with new fabric design
• new improved cushioned seats
• LHS and RHS OSRVM (gloss black touch)

The constant changes being brought out in the Nano by the company should be a welcome move by the customers attracting them to buy this car. What is your opinion?

Source – Team-BHP