Perfect car. Review on Tata Nano

Exterior

I like the exterior design. It is a little cute bean shaped car. My wife and I love the design. Something different! I can say it is a concept car that is sold on market or allowed to do experiment on Indian customers. I know this car will be obsolete in few years. Maybe it will be replaced by better version in coming years.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

The real surprise is the interior space. My friends were too surprised when they sat inside the car. It is one of the tallest car in hatchback section.

I felt like playing NFS with a joystick. That is the my first impression when I was on the driver seat. Its sitting position and road view is very remarkable for city drive. I keep all my luggage behind rear seat. Remember there is no extra luggage space.

I read few concerns about rear seat getting hot as the car has the engine just under the seat. None of my friends has any complaint on heating or noise. Neither noise or heat is a real discomfort inside the car.

There is no music system. That allowed me to do some experiments :). I made the whole car wireless. Now I have android tab for map, search, solar charger, wireless speakers and hands free system. I need these gadgets as I explore many less known places around bangalore. The car is perfect to roam around with your friends and family. 4 people can seat comfortably. No compromise with leg space or sitting position.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

I have covered around 3500 km just in 3 months. Now I am driving this car more often. Every weekends in last 2 months, I drove 200-400 km at a stretch. I have not faced a single engine problem, instead the engine is getting smoother.

Initially I had problem with its gear system as it has 4 gears, traditional car has 5. I am used to it now. There is slight delay while starting engine. I need to wait few seconds before I can start my engine again.

It has excellent pickup at lower gear too. 625 cc engine has lower capacity, but it performs beyond expectation. It delivers in all kind of terrains-ghat region, forest, uneven roads and of course on highway. I heard people have already taken this car to Leh-ladakh. Its engine gives me confident that someday I will take this car to Ladakh. (I did it on my bullet )

If you are a travel freak and you love to travel different places and do some photography on weekends, it is for you . It will not hurt your pocket. I am getting around 23-24 kmpl and sometimes 25+ depending on filling stations. On my last trip I covered 230 KM with around 8 liter. May be I have adjusted my driving skill as per Nano'

Ride Quality & Handling

It does not have power steering and you will not get an adjustable one. For its light weight and rear engine, I don't feel the car needs one .

At high speed(> 90 KM) passengers at back feel jerk sometimes. On highways I can touch 100 but it takes me little effort. Frankly I am really scared. This car is not designed for racing, still I keep the car pushing 100+.

While idling I can not feel any vibration on the steering wheel and I have to check the panel whether the engine is off. Only real passenger can know whether the engine is on. This may sound unusual for the person who drove a xing before.

Final Words

I have no serious complaint about the car. It is not a cheap car on performance point of view. It is an engineering marvel.

Why do you want pay more and often with a loan or credit? I faced many objections from friends and family members when I shared my view to buy this car. I could not find any valid reason not to buy. Some say it has safety issues and some say it is lower end car. As an engineer, I worked for few good names in automobile sector. I know these craps about safety. Those cars which can give me real safety I can't afford without spoiling my saving(The safest car will cost me 6-8 times that of Nano). Many people around me put their negative opinion about the car. Crap! None of them had got inside the car. Thanks to my wife suggestion, I saved a lot without compromise my need. Often we don't speak something that is a disease in our society. We pay more to be in the competition, to create image or mirage about our social status: whether it will be caste, education, house or car. Our perception needs to be changed.

Areas of improvement

There is a lot to do. It will be great if Tata can do without increasing the price. 3 years on road is very small period for a car to see improvements. 2012 edition has many improvements. Even nissan micra has a very long history with continuous improvements and facelifts. I want to see a more powerful engine, face lift and better interior. The more closer to megapixel concept car, the better it will be as a perfect car made for Indian.