Every car company needs a flagship product that can demonstrate its technology and design prowess to the world. And in 2016 the best way to do this is with a crossover or a SUV. And a flagship is exactly what Tata Motors is going for with its new Hexa. At first glance, the Hexa might look like a facelifted Aria, but the changes are far deeper than just some new body panels. In fact, you could call this an all-new car. The Tata Hexa car has been launched at a price of Rs. 11.99 lakh.Let's start with the design though. The Hexa is the second car after the Tiagothat gets what Tata Motors calls the ‘Impact’ design language. And if impact is what the Tata design team was going for, I think they have pretty much nailed it. The sheer stance and road presence of the Hexa is immense – far greater than what the Safari Storme pulls off.The large gloss black front grille gets two distinct border slats, the bottom in chrome and the top in black that connects the two swept back projector headlamps. The lower half of the bumper gets a large central grille that has a wraparound accent painted in shade of matte grey. The fog lamp and daytime running lights on the bumper too get their own little grilles and on the whole I think that although there is just a hint of crossover-ness that the Hexa has, this is about as butch as a crossover can ever get.A plastic cladding dominates the lower portions of the Hexa and combined with the wider wheel arches and the door trims, it makes the car look a lot more aggressive than it would have otherwise. The side profile is also dominated by the sloping roofline that travels up right at the very end. There's also the chrome accent piece that carries the Hexa badge right behind the C-pillar. The rear end of the car has two large horizontally placed LED tail lamps with a really cool lighting and a large chrome accent piece that runs across the tail gate. Similar to the front, the rear too gets a matte grey scuff plate and two trapezoidal exhaust tips.And then we come to my favourite part of the design – the 19-inch wheels! I am so glad that Tata has decided to choose something classic and simple like these 5-spoke wheels in a two-tone black and polished shade instead of choosing something unnecessarily ultra-modern and ruining the design package. Not only do they look great standing still but the polished wheels look even better in motion. The sheer step up in design and quality are obvious when you step into the Hexa. Shut lines and the overall quality of the plastics and materials used are by far the best we have ever seen on any Tata Motors vehicle in the past. Its great how consistently we have said this of all the recent Tata products - meaning with each car, the company is taking big strides off late. The all-black interior gets a hearty dose of leather on the dashboard and on the door panels along with the leather seats on the top of the line variant. The seats are not only well designed but also feel top notch in terms of their tactile feel with a really good grain of leather running through as well. My only grouse is the slight lack of shoulder support on the front seats and the fact that the padding seems a little harder than it should be.The simple gloss black console combined with a chrome wraparound is pleasing to the eye and so are the well placed chrome/brushed aluminium accent pieces around the dashboard and the AC vent. The climate control knobs are placed slightly lower than they should have but you do get used to them very quickly. The horizontal central console on the automatic houses the gear shift lever enclosed in a black bezel. You get just one cup-holder and no real slot to place your smartphone apart from the central flip up storage space between the seats.You can get the Hexa in either a six or seven seater configuration. Rear leg space in both versions is quite healthy and the rear passengers get their own AC vents in the centre and on the B-pillars. The third row could get slightly cramped if you are of average height but passengers do get their own storage space and charging points. The Hexa’s large glass area makes it quite airy on the inside and even without something like a panoramic sunroof, it does feel very bright – especially good considering an all-black interior can seem to make the car appear to be cramped.
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Tata Nexon compact SUV from Tata
The Tata Nexon subcompact SUV is a sub 4-metre offering which is the latest product to come out of the Tata Motors stable. With a new stylish body and a new design approach for the interior combined with new petrol and diesel engines and even a new 6-speed gearbox, the Nexon promises to be a hot selling SUV!
Tata Motors offers the Nexon subcompact SUV in four key variants - XE, XM, XT, and XZ+ and the car is available in both petrol and diesel models. The new Tata Nexon also comes with aerodynamic design, stylish three-tone interior, dual airbags, ABS with EBD, and multi-drive mode feature, all of which come as standard across the variant ranges.
Engine options on the Tata Nexon include a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine, tuned to produce 110PS/170Nm; and a new 1.5-litre diesel with an output of 110PS/260Nm. Both the engines come with a 6-speed manual gearbox. A 6-speed AMT transmission variant of the Nexon was showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo and wil be launched this year. The AMT transmission will be paired to the diesel engine only.
The Nexon measures 3995mm in length, 1811mm in width and is 1607mm high. Ground clearance is around 200mm. Exterior details include projector headlamps with LED daytime running lamps, 16-inch alloy wheels, dual-tone colour schemes and LED tail-lamps. On the inside, Tata has packed the Nexon with a lot of goodies that includes a touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, steering-mounted audio/call controls as well as a front armrest.Nexon customers in the form of a new variant – XZ. The Nexon XZ will be positioned very attractively to provide premium features to our customers. With fourteen exciting features, the Nexon XZ is yet another step towards making the brand more . Tata Motors, said on the occasion.
The Tata Nexon is based on the company's new IMPACT design philosophy and offers a unique appearance in its segment. The petrol version of the car comes with a 1.2-litre Revotron engine that churns out 110PS of power and 170Nm of torque. The diesel version gets a 1.5-litre turbo Revotorq motor that makes 110PS and delivers a peak torque of 260Nm.