Tata Nano

This is an ownership review of our family car, 2012 Tata Nano CX. Our Nano is finished in a vibrant Papaya Orange shade. 

It was the year 2012, we had been covering distance on our two wheeler, but me growing up necessitated the need of a proper four wheeler. Our criteria was simple and clear, we wanted the most affordable vehicle and the Nano perfectly matched the points. It was cheap to buy, it was being manufactured by Tata resulting in cheaper parts and spares.

We were already sold on it but a short test drive which included checking acceleration, A/C performance sealed the deal for us. The on road price came to be about 1.9 lacs but putting up our two wheeler for exchange plus exchange bonus dropped the price to 1.6 lacs making it even VFM than it already was.

During its warranty period only the instrument cluster was changed as a part of recall other then that the car sailed through the warranty period flawlessly.

Here are the main plus point of my Tata Nano:

Excellent City Car

Nano is the best city car one could buy when it was available, it was small on the outside but provided ample of legroom, headroom inside. The short front is a boon in the traffic cluttered city where you don't have to be over conscious to keep margin in the front. Being RWD, it has the best turning radius of 4m, where a car like Alto would require 2 point turn, a full steering lock is sufficient 90% of the times.

City Drivability

The Nano is powered by a two cylinder engine making 37 hp which just like dull on paper. But don't judge it before you taste it, it has enough grunt to potter around in a city like Delhi where avg speed is less than 35 kmph, the Nano keeps with up with the traffic well, in fact sometimes we find ourselves a head of large SUVs because of the small footprint.

Space

The quirky design of the Nano could mislead you to thinking of it being cramped on the inside but it is completely opposite. 2 six-footers can sit easily at the front and back without being cramped. The tall boy design makes getting in and out as easy as an SUV.

Fuel Efficiency

The small two cylinder provides great efficiency numbers both in City and on highways. In City with A/C on it can deliver as much 18 kmpl and while on the highway at approx 70 kmph with A/C on it gives 26 kmpl. All the numbers calculated with Tank to Tank method.

Refinement

Simply put, Nano was built at a cost with various cost cuttings (not cutting corners). The two cylinder falls short in the department of refinement. It is loud enough to make its presence felt.

Ride Quality

The tall boy design led to the Nano being equipped with stiff suspension to compensate for the height. Every uneven patch on the road is felt making long journeys rather tiresome, but the Nano was never made for long journeys, was it?

Safety

Nano was developed keeping people in mind who would upgrade from a bike. Objectively, Nano is an unsafe car no two ways about that but the question was, was it worse than a two wheeler?

1. The Nano has had a few instances where it threw CEL, coolant temp. warning. Luckily for us, we were able to reach to our place.
2. It has got its water pump replaced at 90k kms, the radiator was replaced at 80k kms. In both situations, the temp warning lit up along with beeps. These are justifiable looking at the odo reading.
3. LHS driver shaft has been replaced at 85k kms.
4. Barring the above mentioned instances, Nano works like it supposed to which is because of that timely maintenance it receives.

Our Nano has served us well for these 1,00,000 kms and looking at the price we paid, it just cements the thought. Back in 2012, An Alto would've set us back almost 3.5 lacs (A/C equipped) which isn't a bad car in itself but the value proposition the Nano presented it was hard to look over.

Despite having another car, the Nano is the first choice for daily chores inside the city and will always be the one unless an EV Nano is launched. A car, whether it's cheap or expensive, it will be by your side if you take care of it by providing the periodic maintenance, required repairs with OEM parts.

Nano was misunderstood, much of it blame goes to Tata, they should've understood the mindset of the public and never market Nano as the "Cheapest" car. It had its fair share of cons (refinement, safety) but the price should've been the selling point.

This review would help those who are looking for a pre-owned Nano, my advice to those people is to check for rust spots near the chassis followed by usual steps of inspecting a used car.