Tata GenX Nano Road Test Review

Driving the Nano is like playing a game on your computer. You are so snug and the car drives so well. It hardly takes up any space on the road, yet it zips along at reasonably good speeds. The AMT is a little laid back when it is engaged but the moment you deploy the ‘S’ or Sports mode it springs to life and picks up pace. The steering is much more solid that what it was earlier. This car is not about brute propulsion and speeding around the Buddh International Circuit, it’s rather about romancing the roads.

Tata Motors has launched the all-new GenX Nano range with lots of new features for what they call, the trendy, youthful, bold and stylish customer. The GenX Nano is being offered to customers in both a manual as well as an automatic version. In the Easy Shift AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) version there are two variants, the XMA variant and the top-end XTA variant.

Fresh features of the new Genx Nano include the Easy Shift, power steering, hatch access, Bluetooth connectivity, etc. The company has introduced a new Infinity design theme, in which, the front and rear bumpers come with an Infinity motif grille giving the car a solid and planted look. The 94 Litre boot space in the AMT and 110 litre boot space in the MT version can now be accessed more easily, through the openable hatch. Open Sesame, finally worked!

Tata Motors is offering the new GenX Nano in all together five variants, three with a four-speed manual transmission (XE, XM, XT) and two variants (XMA, XTA) with five-speed AMT gearbox. In order to get the quick response in the AMT, there is an option of ‘Sports’ mode, ideally for those keen on a bit of zing. For ease of maneuverability in heavy traffic and during parking, the AMT also has an in-built ‘creep’ feature, which helps the car to crawl as soon as the pressure is eased off the brake pedal, without pressing the accelerator. The GenX Nano continues to have the Electric Power Assisted Steering (ePAS) designed for light steering and for easy maneuvering in tight parking and driving situations in cities. With a 4metre turning radius, all those efforts just get a lot easier. 

And before you conclude that this small little fellow is not strong enough for you, you have to realise that the new range comes with advanced structural stability and offers safety features like crumple zone to cushion frontal impact, reinforced body structure for enhanced frontal crash safety, robust side doors with intrusion beams for side crash protection, anti-roll bar for high speed stability and a ground clearance of 180 mm to tackle those rough patches on Indian roads.  Super, strong Mini, I would conclude.

For the tech savvy guys driving this car, the new GenX Nano comes loaded with connectivity features -- four speakers with surround sound effect mated to AmphiStream music system. This AmphiStream music system is compatible with first-in-segment, Bluetooth, CD, Radio, USB and AUX-in options. The car also comes with Digital Information Display with features like Average and Instantaneous Fuel Consumption, Distance to Empty & Gear Shift Indicator.

Just in case you are still not satisfied with the features, then there are more that you can get at your dealership. These include accessories like Door Visors, Sunroof, Art Leather Seat Covers, Decals, Body kit, Reverse Parking Sensors, Remote Controlled Hatch Release etc. I would say that the remote controlled hatch release is something you should go in for immediately. It’s a pain to open the hatch manually with your key, every time you or somebody else wants to pick something from the boot.

The all new GenX Nano has smartly addressed a lot of niggling issues that were there in the previous models. AMT is just one of them. Though its seats could have been a little more comfortable and broader, overall I felt that the Nano had finally come of age. In an India where roads are getting more and more crowded and parking spaces disappearing like the summer monsoons, the Nano addresses a lot of our woes. It’s easy to drive, easy to park, has a strong AC to keep you comfortable and a lot easy on the pocket. Boys and girls, what are you all waiting for?