After driving the new GenX Nano AMT for 3 months and 6230 kms, here is a detailed long term report of it.
I picked up this cute little car on 15th July 2016 from one of the Tata’s dealerships in Pune.
Well, before I got into this car I went around it and was very much happy to see its opening tailgate as the first two Nano’s versions came with non-opening tailgates. As I then slipped into the new GenX Nano’s big cabin it was like a new experience for me as there was a redesigned dashboard and raised up seats.
It was also good to see only two pedals instead of three as this one was an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) Nano. Driving it without the operation of clutch was really a boon for me on the congested roads of Pune.
Our long term Nano AMT came with a power steering. It in fact has really changed the manoeuvring characteristics of this car. The earlier Nano didn’t come with power steering and so its advantage of tight turning circle was never really appreciated. But now with the help of power steering I could effortlessly park this tiny little car into tight parking spaces and I could literally make an U-turn on one of the narrow streets of Pune without reversing the car. Driving it through the traffic was also an easy task. Power steering and AMT transmission makes this car a really practical one.
It does have that advantage of turning quickly and driving effortlessly but it cannot corner hard. There is a lot of body roll and at higher speeds its body shifts to the opposite side of the turn leading into the loss of driver’s confidence, thanks to its tall body. But its also not quick off the line or a sports car which is made to go fast.
Its noise level has also been reduced now. Yes, its noisy but not that much as it was before. Its AMT driveline makes it go smoothly but it feels jerky at times. The upshifts and downshifts happen smoothly but they do take time, inshort they are slow. Even if the shifts are slow, they are smooth and that makes you to ignore the slow shifting and enjoy the car’s drive. The drum brakes lack the bite and the ride quality is also a bit on the stiffer side.
The seating position is comfortable and in fact it sits four people with a lot of comfort. There’s a lot of headroom available in this car as it is tall. We also took it to the city of Mumbai which is known mostly for its heavily congested roads and there too it didn’t become a difficult task for us to drive this car around. Its drive wasn’t just limited to the cities of Pune and Mumbai as we also took it to the state of Gujarat and also to the city of Sangamner. We gained a mileage between 13-15 km/l in city and on highways it went up till 22 km/l. Fuel tank has now grown to 24 liters from 15 liters. There is also a Sport mode in this GenX Nano and once you press the S button and out the put the hammer down, it will go faster and it redlines in every gear.
Our long term GenX Nano AMT was the top XTA variant which came with four-speaker stereo system with Bluetooth connectivity. I did struggle a lot to get my phone connected to the car’s Bluetooth system at first, but as I got to know how it’s done, it was an easy task everytime.
Nano Fact – How to connect to the Bluetooth system of Nano?
Long press the phone call’s green receive button to activate the Bluetooth and search on your phone for Tata Nano, pair with the system once it is discovered and you are good to go. PS – only one Bluetooth device can be connected to the GenX Nano’s Bluetooth system and to delete any paired device, long press the phone call’s red disconnect button. Repeat the process to connect a new device everytime.
With an AMT transmission, new refreshed looks, new features and an opening tailgate which offers an acceptable 110 liters of luggage space, the new GenX Nano has now become a more practical and convenient car. It grows with you and does give you a pleasing driving experience every time. It saves your time too as its small. I personally think that the new GenX Nano is one of the best small cars to have around and also at the same time I would like to see the next generation Nano come with safety features like disc brakes at front, ABS and atleast a driver-side airbag and bigger wheels. You can also opt for the manual GenX Nano over the AMT version for better fuel efficiency and more practical driving with quicker gear shifts.
Tata GenX Nano XTA AMT Long Term FactFile:
Ex-Showroom Price – Rs. 3.19 Lakhs (Ex-Showroom, Pune); Base Variant (XE, Manual) – Rs 2.21 Lakhs
(Ex-Showroom, Pune)
Fuel Economy – 18 km/l (Overall)
Maintenance/Service Cost – Nil
Total Kms Driven – 6230 kms
To know more about the GenX Nano, click here!
