Jan 13, 2012 07:21 PM
9526 Views
We bought a Nano LX in the middle of December. My sister had undergone knee replacement surgery on both knees and we were looking for a car to replace her Palio. Since she is working woman and we live in Cochin, we were looking for a hatchback with high seating so she would not have to bend the knees too much. Choices were limited and Nano was an after thought , never in the actual contention.
Until we test drove it. It just bowled us over. We test drove the new 2012 version. Next day we booked it and took delivery on the fourth day. It was a Thursday. On Friday we took it for a drive in the town.
On Saturday when we wanted to take the car in the evening, it would not start. After sometime we called the call center. The call center was super efficient. With in 10 mts the local dealer customer exe and after another 10 mts a technician called. After listening to us he concluded the battery has discharged, which was what I suspected and asked whether he should come and since it was 8 pm we said no. He said someone will come on Monday by 10 am. They turned up and took the car away. The car was in the service center for 4 days for a battery recharge !! I had to finally go to the showroom and get a bit upset. They could have just put a service battery so we could use the car. And whoever heard of a battery taking 3 days to charge ? ! When we got the car delivered back 2 things got me upset again.
One, both the front seats had stains ( I wrote to the customer care, who promtply contacted the showroom who agreed to shampoo it during the first service) and they had pinched the petrol from the car.
Anyway, back to the car. Past 20 days we have been using the car. I must say for a 2 lakh car it is just amazing. Good build quality, good quality of plastics ( you really cant expect BMW quality for 2 lakhs), excellent ac ( cools in 3 mts flat!), very good headlights, excellent pickup, low engine noise though initially it was a bit disconcerting we got used to it, amazing turning radius and a breeze to drive. As of now app it is giving us close to 18 kms/ ltr in city. But it has run only about 400 kms and has to go undergo first service, so achieving 21/23 in city ( with aircon and moderate driving) should be possible.
Some convenience I would have liked is the window switches which are in center console near the gear lever should have been near the window. Its difficult to reach it if the seat is pushed back. You can only keep half litre bottles in the door pocket. The back of the seats could have had some pockets or holders built on the sides to hold assorted items. There should have been more cubby holes. Under the dash is not utilized properly and could have used for more storage space. There is no place to keep your documents safe since it has no indash locker ( cant get the right word ! ).
You have to keep everything on top of the dash which is scooped out.
But I really dont understand why people misunderstand this car. It is great for city as a city car. Just use someones Nano for a couple of days. See the ease of driving, parking and the fuel economy. It is excellent as a daily run about for familys as a second also. Going shopping, dropping kids to school, going to the gym, going to the local subji market, the car is so easy to maneovour. It is just in the mind of us where we associate TATAs as not good vehicle manufacturers ( or as good truck builders ! And just take look at their upcoming electric car ! Mind blowing design. Hope it is not just a concept, I will be among the first to buy !!
