Tata Nexon EV

Tata Motors seems to have stumbled upon some magic sauce. After using it generously with the petrol/diesel-powered Tata Nexon, there’s surprisingly more left over for the flagship Nexon — the Tata Nexon EV. Almost as if the updates to the ICE-powered Nexon were a trailer of sorts, this one’s a full-fledged feature film; a showcase of what Tata Motors can pull off with a product update. 

If you were impressed with the aesthetics of the Tata Nexon facelift, the EV does it better. 

If you thought the interiors looked better and felt more premium, the EV does it better. 

If the features list seemed expansive, the EV DOES IT BETTER!

Money no bar, this is the Tata Nexon to get. 

The first impression is that the Tata Nexon EV facelift was clearly designed with the electric version taking precedence. Elements such as the daytime running lamps, the pattern on the 16-inch alloy wheels and the animation on the tail lamps all go best with the aesthetics of the EV. 

Visually, there are two major points of differentiation: there’s a light bar that joins the DRLs. This not only makes the welcome/goodbye animation substantially cooler, but it also doubles up as the charge status indicator. The other obvious difference is the sharper front bumper, which features vertical elements finished in chrome. 

Interestingly, Tata has done away with the blue accents that were a signature for the pre-facelift Tata Nexon. Tata says this is their way of signalling the ‘mainstreaming’ of electric vehicles. It also enables them to offer a wider colour palette, since the body colour is not restricted by the use of blue accents. If you want people to know you’re driving around in an EV, we’d recommend you pick the Empowered Oxide (an almost pearlescent white), Creative Ocean (turquoise) or the Teal body colour. 

There are subtle ‘.ev’ badges on the front doors, and the car now wears its new identity — Nexon.ev — proudly on the tailgate. There’s plenty of presence this car brings with it, and you’d enjoy being the centre of attention on your commute. 

All of the design elements — including the compact projector LED headlights, the new mirrors, the connected LED tail lamps, the extended spoiler and the hidden wiper have been carried over from the petrol/diesel version unchanged. 

Step inside the cabin of the Tata Nexon EV and you’re immediately left wondering if you’ve climbed into a cut-price Range Rover. We wish we were exaggerating. The simple design, the new two-spoke, flat-bottom steering wheel and the colour scheme all drive this feeling home. 

Tata has been rather adventurous here, opting for a white-grey colour combination on the top-spec Empowered+ variant. There’s turquoise stitching on the seats and crash pad too. Sure, Indian conditions and these colours aren’t exactly a match made in heaven. But if you do manage to keep it spic-and-span, you will enjoy the plush experience it brings with it. 

Like the ICE-powered versions, the improvement in perceived quality is the biggest highlight inside the cabin. The plastics and the leatherette padding used on the dashboard, the quality of the upholstery and the clever use of accents all lend the cabin a premium feel. What this does, in effect, is help cash the cheques the minimalist almost-German car-like dashboard design is writing. We do hope Tata pulls through in terms of fit-and-finish. Our test car had no notable issues in this regard. 

From a design standpoint, there are a few differences — a larger 12.3” touchscreen, a unique colour palette for the user interface, and a redesigned floor console that features an electric parking brake. 

Practicality remains more or less the same as the ICE version. If you’re picking the Long Range version we had on test, do note that the bigger battery pack pushes the floor higher. This isn’t a problem in the front seats, but robs you of underthigh support at the rear. Also, there’s a minor drop in the knee room to be had, courtesy the better cushioning on the front seat, a larger rear seat squab, and the lack of a seat back scoop. 

Features

Tata Motors has added a few crucial features to the Tata Nexon EV’s kitty to make it more of an all-rounder. There’s a whole lot that’s carried over from the ICE version. This includes: 

The first big change is the new 12.3-inch touchscreen which, to put it simply, is the best a Tata car has ever seen. While we faced glitches and freezes with the smaller 10.25-inch screen in the ICE-powered Tata Nexon (and the Nexon EV Fearless variant), the larger screen threw no tantrums. Like the smaller display, this too boasts of crisp graphics, great contrast, and a user interface that is super easy to get used to.

The screen runs a Qualcomm processor, gets 64GB of onboard storage and 8GB of RAM. The OS is based on Android Automotive, which enables Tata to unlock a whole host of apps. Tata is calling this ‘Arcade.EV’ — an app store that lets you download entertainment apps such as Prime Video, Hotstar, YouTube and also games. The idea here is to make your charging stops a little more relaxing. While the vehicle is charging, you can tune in to your favourite shows or just play some games to kill time. Another probable use case is entertaining the kids while you run a quick errand. 

With the 10.25-inch digital driver’s display you get access to a host of information right under your nose. The EV-specific graphics pack is minimal and classy with a lot of green and yellow hues. The stand-out here is the screen’s ability to mimic Google/Apple Maps on this screen, giving you a seamless navigation experience. We do hope to run Google Maps via an iPhone on this screen, though! (Do it, Apple!)

The safety suite includes 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control as standard. Other safety features include front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, and ISOFIX child seat mounts. The new Tata Nexon EV has not been crash-tested yet, though we expect it to fare quite well. Tata has assured us of structural reinforcements made to withstand side impacts better as well as a symmetrical performance (equal on RHS and LHS) in case of frontal crashes. 

Boot space remains unchanged at 350 litres, and there’s a 60:40 split functionality if you have more luggage than people. Also, legacy issues of the Tata Nexon remain — the lack of usable cupholders at the front, shallow door pockets at the rear and a cramped footwell have been carried over as is too. 

There are two battery packs available with the Nexon EV and both come with an electric motor that powers the front wheels. The bigger battery pack, which has a claimed range of 465 km, will give you around 320 km of range in real world conditions, and the smaller battery pack will give you around 220 km. For the review, we had the bigger battery pack version of the Nexon EV, and it is quick.

EVs are generally quick, compared to similarly powerful ICE vehicles, but they also have a sudden initial acceleration, which the Nexon EV does not. This is a good thing because that sudden acceleration can be a little scary for a new driver, or for someone who has never driven an EV before. The Nexon EV’s acceleration is gradual, and it does not take you by surprise.

But it is still a quick EV, and in our tests, it did the 0-100 kmph run in just 8.75 seconds. This quick acceleration makes overtakes effortless, and the drives fun. It doesn't matter if you are driving in the city or on the highway, the power delivery remains smooth and it doesn’t disappoint you. Even on highways, taking overtakes is easy, and so reaching triple digit speeds.

However, in our performance tests, we noticed that its brakes heat up quickly, and start to fade, which results in loss of braking power. Maybe this issue is due to the new design of alloy wheels, because this issue wasn’t present in the pre-facelift model.

Lastly, when in the city, driving in bumper to bumper traffic, no sudden acceleration makes it easy to navigate through, and does not scare the driver.

Ride comfort has been a highlight with the Tata Nexon in general. With the EV, the strength shines through too. It does feel firmer than its ICE cousin, but never uncomfortable. Bad roads are dealt with nonchalance, and high-speed stability is acceptable as well. Ground clearance is rated at 190mm for the Long Range, and 205mm for the Medium Range. 

Driving the Nexon EV around barely requires any effort. The steering is quick and light for the city, and weighs up enough for the highways. It’s reasonably sharp and predictable through the corners too. Add this to performance that’s instant, and you can have fun with the Tata Nexon EV if you want to. 

The updates make the Nexon EV more wholesome than it was. The updated design, premium interiors, better features and smoother performance all add up to deliver an experience that’s enjoyable. Sure, the drive experience isn’t significantly different but it didn’t need a change there to begin with. As a package, the performance and silence from the electric motor, the amped up interior quality and the more engaging infotainment all put together make the Nexon EV the best Nexon there is.