With the increasing prices of fuel, EVs make more sense and are economical to use. As we don’t have developed the charging infrastructure widely across the nation, EVs will take some time to grab the sales from the petrol-diesel powered cars. The Nexon EV is based on the facelifted version of the Nexon. Currently, there are three offerings from the different manufactures in terms of EVs – the Tata Nexon EV, the MG ZS-EV, and the Hyundai Kona. Let’s do a thorough analysis to find out whether it is practical or not?
Pros – Smooth And Punchy Performance, Great Ride Quality, Feedback Rich Steering
Cons – Range Not As Good As Claimed, Restricted Top Speed
Tata Nexon EV Exteriors
Upfront, the car looks modern and muscular. It gets a thick piano-black grille with an EV badging. The headlamps are sleeker with Y-shaped DRLs, which doubles up as turn indicators. The fog-lamps are placed on the bumper, and they get C-shaped inserts around them which look cool to the car. The bumper gets an integrated bull bar and a skid plate, which adds more SUV character to the car. The tri-arrow pattern on the lower part of the bumper is an interesting detail and looks nice. But out of the three spokes of tri-arrow, only two spokes are coloured blue. The Nexon gets a dual-colour treatment. The blue-coloured strips running across the side and the rear of the car symbolises that this is an EV. From the side, you can notice the blackened-out C-pillar which gives it a coupe-like design, and an EV badge on the front door. The 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels look sporty. From the rear, you can again notice the tri-arrow design carried in the tail lamps. It also gets a rear skid plate and fake vents, which helps the car in looking wider.
Tata Nexon EV Interiors
Inside the cabin of the Nexon EV, the dashboard looks nicely integrated. It gets beige coloured leatherette seats which uplift the overall cabin experience. On the center console, the 7-inch infotainment screen is free standing. The blue surrounds around the AC vents and around the instrument cluster looks neatly integrated. The steering gets a flat bottom, and the instrument cluster is now a semi-digital unit with an analog speedometer and a 7-inch TFT screen, which shows a lot of information for the driver. In terms of connectivity, it gets Bluetooth connectivity, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, USB, and AUX. The Nexon EV is a connected car and you can operate 35 connected car features using the Zconnect app. Other features include an 8-speaker Harman sound system, auto headlamps, auto wipers, electric sunroof, rear AC vents, express cooling function, wearable key, push-button engine start/stop, and much more.
Tata Nexon EV Space
The front seats are really well-cushioned and provide a good amount of support. The rear seat is also comfortable, and the recline angle is also nice. Headroom and knee room are more than average. However, the rear seat isn’t wide enough so, three people cannot sit comfortably at the back. Storage spaces could have been done better with the Nexon. The bottle holders in the doors are a bit of an ergonomic issue. However, you do get an umbrella holder in the doors. The boot is well-sized and has a capacity of 350-litres.
Tata Nexon EV Performance
The Nexon EV comes with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a 30.2 kWh liquid-cooled, lithium-ion battery. The motor churns out 129 PS of power, and a torque output of 245 Nm. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission. In the case of EVs, you get the full torque right from the starting there is no lag present. The Nexon EV comes with two drive modes – D and S with the latter known as sport mode. In the D mode, the motor operates at 60 percent of its potential, which is usable is day to day driving. Engaging the Sport mode feels a lot of difference. The car pulls in an extremely strong manner. The Nexon EV has regenerative braking, and you will get familiar with it after spending some time with the car. The main function of regenerative braking is that when you lift your foot from the accelerator pedal, it will start decelerating and transfer the energy to the battery which helps in extending the range of the car.
Tata Nexon EV Range
The Tata Nexon EV has an ARAI rated range of 312 km on a single charge. In the real world, it could be around 220-240 kms. Once the charge falls below 15 percent, the motor’s torque vanishes and the air-conditioning also stops working to maximize the range. The range also depends upon the style of driving and the traffic conditions.
Tata Nexon EV Charging
Tata provides a 3.3 kWh portable charger with every Nexon EV. This can be used in any 15 Amp socket, and it will charge the car from 20% to 100% in about 8 hours. By using the DC fast charger, the battery can be recharged from 0% to 80% in about an hour. The last 10% would be slowest to recharge whether it is AC/DC charger in order to preserve the battery life.
Tata Nexon EV Handling
Tata has managed to achieve 50:50 weight balance, which results in a good handling of the car. As the battery pack in placed beneath the cabin floor, which results in lower centre of gravity and better handling of the car. The steering is feedback rich and offers a great confidence from behind the wheel.
Tata Nexon EV Comfort
The Nexon excels over broken roads, and there is no doubt in it. The suspension is slightly tuned on the stiffer side when compared to the regular Nexon, which means you can go over bad roads without even slowing down. At low speeds some amount of stiffness can be felt, but once it speeds up, then the ride becomes flat and calm.
Tata Nexon EV Safety
Tata Nexon is considered the safest car. It got a 5-star safety rating from Global NCAP. In terms of safety equipment, the Nexon gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, driver seatbelt with pre-tensioner, and ISOFIX child seat mounts as standard. Tata Motors has conducted a nail penetration test, crush test, fire pond test, overcharge protection test, shock protection test, and short protection test with the battery.
Tata Nexon EV Service
The service interval of the Nexon EV is 6 months and no major servicing is required. Tata Motors will provide roadside assistance in case of battery drains out. Tata is offering a warranty of up to 8 years/1,60,000 km on the battery pack and the motor..
Tata Nexon EV Price
Following are the prices (on-road Mumbai) of the Tata Nexon EV
- Tata Nexon EV (XM) – Rs. 14.80 lakhs
- Tata Nexon EV (XZ+) – Rs. 16.28 lakhs
- Tata Nexon EV (XZ+ Lux) – Rs. 17.33 lakhs
Tata Nexon EV Resale Value
The Nexon EV is relatively new in the market and still the electric mobility is developing in India. We can hope that the Nexon EV will command a good resale value in near future. However, the resale value also depends upon the total number of kilometers driven and the condition of the car and the battery pack.
Tata Nexon EV Colours
The Tata Nexon EV is offered in the following colours:
- Glacier White
- Moonlight Silver
- Signature Bluesilver
Tata Nexon EV Specs
Following are the specifications of the Tata Nexon EV:
- Motor:- Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
- Battery:- 30.2 kWh High Energy Density Lithium-Ion
- Thermal Management System:- Liquid Cooled
- Ingress Protection For Motor and Battery Pack:- IP 67
- Power:- 129 PS
- Torque:- 245 Nm
- Transmission:- Single Speed AT
- Range (ARAI):- 312 km
- Range (Real World):-
- Dimensions (L X W X H):- 3993 mm x 1811 mm x 1606 mm
- Wheelbase:- 2498 mm
- Ground Clearance:- 205 mm
- Kerb Weight:- 1400 kgs
- Boot Capacity:- 350 litres
- Turning Radius:- 5.1 metres
- Tyre Size:- 215/60,16 (Steel-XM / Alloy-XZ+, XZ+ Lux)
- Suspension:- Independent, Lower Wishbone, McPherson Strut with Coil Spring (Front), Twist Beam with Dual Path Strut (Rear)
- Brakes:- Disc (Front), Drum (Rear)
Tata Nexon EV Variants
The Tata Nexon EV is offered in the following variants:
- XM
- XZ+
- XZ+ Lux
Tata Nexon EV Rating
We give the Tata Nexon EV a rating of 4/5.
Tata Nexon EV Upcoming Models
Right now the company isn’t planning to launch any updated model of the Nexon EV.
Tata Nexon EV vs MG ZS EV
The MG ZS EV is more powerful than the Nexon EV. The ZS EV has a claimed range of 419 km. The ZS-EV is also more feature-loaded than the Nexon EV. In terms of dimensions, the MG ZS-EV is longer by 321 mm, taller by 14 mm than the Nexon EV. Both cars are nearly the same in terms of width.
Tata Nexon EV vs Hyundai Kona Electric
The Hyundai Kona Electric has better power and torque compared to the Nexon EV. The Kona Electric has 39.2 kWh of battery, which results in a claimed range of 452 km. The price of the Hyundai Kona Electric is also higher than the price of the Nexon EV, which makes the Nexon EV more value for money product. In terms of dimensions, the Kona Electric is longer by 187 mm and wider by 11 mm than the Nexon EV. However, in terms of height, the Nexon EV is taller by 36 mm than the Hyundai Kona Electric.
