2017 Tata Nexon review, road test

Is there more to the Tata Nexon than just designer looks? Our road test reveals all.

Published on Sep 07, 2017 04:05:00 PM

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The Nexon remains calm and composed at high speeds and makes for a good long-distance cruiser.

Headlamp’s blister-like indicator pod inspired by Nissan Juke.

Sharply cut tail-lamps with their LED elements look really slick.

The Nexon complements its exciting exterior with an inviting interior that looks and feels contemporary. Individual elements, like the knitted roof lining and rich upholstery, come together really well to give the cabin a premium ambience. And while the smart dashboard is not radical in design, it uses high-grade plastics of multiple textures and finishes to great effect, some panel fit inconsistencies notwithstanding. In particular, the gloss metal-look bar that splits the dash horizontally adds a degree of robustness to the cabin.

The Nexon carries over the simple dials from the Tiago/Tigor but what’s all-new and stands out, quite literally so, is the floating 6.5-inch centre touchscreen positioned atop the dash. Its high position makes it relatively easy to refer to it on the go, but a larger size would have been welcome. Larger physical shortcut buttons for the infotainment system’s menus would also make life easier for drivers not entirely comfortable with using a touchscreen. Also, air con temperature and fan speed readouts, which you typically expect to find in the air-con control cluster are shifted to a corner of the screen, leaving an odd, blank space between the dials.

Still, the Nexon’s driving environment is rather nice. The large seat is comfy (you could be left wanting more lumbar support on long journeys though), the steering and gear lever are good to hold and there’s ample room in the footwell too. The last point is important to bring up because a cramped footwell and absence of a dead pedal have been perennial irritants on other cars built on the X1 platform. Tata engineers had to altogether reposition the ducting for the climate control system to free up the necessary space here. Drivers sit at a good height, but the thick A-pillars do obstruct visibility at crossroads. The small rear windscreen also limits the view out the back, but for what it’s worth, there is a provision to access the somewhat low-res rear-view camera even when the car is moving forward. There are some other ergonomic issues as well. The handbrake that’s offset to the left can result in awkward contact with the front passenger and the small slot that houses the USB/Aux inputs at the bottom of the centre console is hard to access.

Tata has been quite generous with space for smaller items within the cabin. There’s an umbrella holder, with channels to drain out water, built into the front doors and each of the doors also gets a large bottle holder. The huge (and cooled) glovebox is thoughtfully designed too, with a removable tray to keep your tablet/laptop on, and a lid with recesses for cups. There’s yet another storage bay that runs all the way from behind the gear lever to the elbow box. The premium sliding shutter that conceals much of this space (the rest can be accessed via the magnetised lid on the front centre armrest) looks straight out of a Jaguar, but the storage itself is too narrow and deep to be put to frequent use. Our test cars didn’t feature the flip-out cupholders that go here either. Also, the large rotary controller borrowed from the Hexa seems like an overkill as its only function here is to alter the drive modes. Freeing up that space for a dedicated cubby for a mobile phone, and moving the drive mode selector to one of the blank switches on the centre console, would have been more practical.

Looking at a Nexon, you’d half expect it to be cramped for rear-seat passengers. But that’s not the case. Yes, you do have to bend a bit to avoid contact with the low roof, but once inside, even taller occupants will find headroom adequate. The seat has been positioned low and the backrest is a touch too reclined to eke out every last bit of headroom, but you can live with the compromise. There is enough shoulder room to host a fifth passenger too, but the way the rear seats are contoured, it’s evident the Nexon was intended to be a four-seater. The seats offer terrific support and the big surprise is the ample kneeroom on offer. Occupants here also get a drop-down centre armrest with two cupholders, a 12V charging socket and first-in-segment rear air con vents with blower control. If anything, it’s that the upswept windows don’t give you
as good a view out as you’d expect from an SUV.

The Nexon boasts a class-leading 350-litre boot. Loading and unloading luggage is fairly easy and you can split the rear seats 60:40 and fold them forward too, should you need more space. However, even when fully folded, the rear seats don’t sit flush with the boot floor.

In terms of equipment, top-spec XZ+ Nexons offer most of what you’d get on the range-topping versions of its rivals. However, the Nexon does without cruise control, auto headlights and rain-sensing wipers as offered on the Brezza, or leather seats and side airbags that the EcoSport can be had with. A rather cool feature here, however, is its Jaguar F-Pace-like smart activity band. With the wristband on, you can lock/unlock the vehicle and even start the engine, effectively doing away with the need to carry the key fob. Runners and swimmers will find the feature particularly useful.