Tata Motors have brought the convenience of automatic gear-shifts to the Nexon petrol and diesel, giving the cars a huge advantage over the competition.
The Tata Nexon has a great opportunity here, now that automatic transmission cars are rapidly gaining acceptance in India. It’s just the Ford EcoSport that has a petrol automatic variant currently, while the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza gets a diesel AMT. Since the Nexon has introduced automatic variants for both petrol and diesel versions, the compact SUV stands the chance of quickly becoming the crowd’s favourite. (Also read: Tata Nexon AMT launched)
Unlike the Ford that gets a conventional torque converter, Tata have gone the automated manual transmission (AMT) way. This is also the first affordable AMT which has the option of driving modes (City, Eco, and Sport). Being a tiptronic gives it the flexibility of shifting gears manually, should you desire to do so. Moreover, Tata engineers claim that intuitive transmission controller also adapts to the driving pattern and improvises accordingly to suit your style.
We drove both the petrol and diesel AMT, starting with the popular petrol first. The 1,198-cc motor continues to produce 110 PS at 5,000 rpm, while the 170 Nm of torque comes between 1,750 and 4,000 rpm. In this version, the three-cylinder unit comes mated to a six-speed AMT, making it better-equipped for urban living. Like most AMT cars, the shifts can be felt by the occupants, though at lower speed it’s comparatively smoother. It’s only while driving more enthusiastically that the up-shift jerks become more pronounced.
There’s a rotary dial to toggle through the various driving modes. These do a fine job of changing the Nexon AMT’s character, wherein City is the standard driving mode and Eco focuses on conserving fuel, but we preferred sticking to the peppier Sport mode which held on to the gears the longest. Trying to squeeze more juice of the Revotron engine, we briefly tried to change gears manually but there’s a lag from the time you tap the lever to when the actual gear-shift takes place. This doesn’t make the drive any better, so we went back to Sport. The petrol’s natural habitat is in the urban environment and it feels best when driving with a light foot. We reckon a punchier motor would do greater justice to this crossover.
On cue, we hopped into the diesel variant. The 1.5-litre Revotorq also produces 110 PS, just like the petrol, but it peaks at a lower 3,750 rpm, and there’s a sizeable 260 Nm of torque on demand between 1,500 and 2,750 rpm which really helps in improving the car’s driveability. The brawnier diesel complements the auto-shifts and feels a lot more linear and almost jerk-free. Even in the oil-burner, the City mode feels underwhelming in most parts and you’ll be better off with the Nexon AMT slotted in Sport. Thankfully, turbo lag isn’t very prominent and there’s a strong pull past 1,500 rpm. What makes the deal sweeter still is that it also has a better top end as compared to its petrol sibling. We won’t be surprised if the diesel AMT becomes the top-selling Nexon model in the near future.
Be it diesel or petrol, the Nexon’s strength remains its ride quality and style. Thankfully, Tata haven’t altered the ride and improved the styling. So, it continues to drive over road undulations without losing poise and the 209-mm ground clearance further enhances the compact SUV’s dynamic abilities. In terms of styling Tata Motors have incorporated buyers’ and critics’ feedback and changed the colour of the plastic cladding on the shoulder-line from the jarring white to a more subtle dark silver colour. This gels seamlessly with the new Sonic Silver dual-tone roof and looks petty nice with the new Etna Orange body colour. We have to admit that the Nexon, which won our Design of the Year Award, looks even better in its AMT avatar.
Both the petrol and diesel versions are offered only in the top-of-the-line XZA+ trim which gets plenty of equipment such as ABS with EBD, dual airbags, and a smart-looking dashboard which hosts the ConnectNext touchscreen display. And not to forget the smartwatch-like PEPS wearable key which can be used to unlock the doors and even crank up the car. There are plenty of cubbyholes and storage space, but they need to be more ergonomic and user-friendly.
Improving the clutch-free drive experience are features such as the the creep function which makes driving the AMT in the city’s stop-and-go traffic more favourable. Then there’s the Smart Hill Assist (hill hold function) that prevents the car from rolling back on inclines, so you don’t have to depend on the handbrake.
The top-of-the-line automatic version of the Nexon AMT is priced Rs 10.30 lakh (ex-showroom) for the Revotorq diesel. Besides, the company is also planning to introduce a couple of body kits, Aktiv and Aero, to add some more spunk to the compact SUV. However, the best part of an AMT is that it doesn’t really impact the fuel efficiency much and delivers similar efficiency as the manual versions, offering more convenience and greater value.
