2020 Tata Nexon Diesel: Still the best C-SUV? We tell you what’s good & what needs to be better | PitstopWeekly

The compact SUV segment is going crazy! The Magnite has been launched for a freaking introductory price of Rs. 4.99 lakh. It is clear that the Magnite is a great buy for the price. But can it really match the thrills of the Nexon/Ecosport? Tata Motors recently celebrated rolling out 1,50,000^th Nexon from their Pune facility. There is no doubt that the Nexon is a great package and that’s why the Nexon gained huge popularity in such a short time. The safety rating for the Nexon came like adding a bit more fine wine to the party. Here we are driving the latest avatar of the Nexon diesel variant, and and tell you what we like and what needs to be better.

Looks & Styling

The Nexon’s Tri-Arrow design sure looks nice and fits well for the car overall. It gets a new grille, sleeker headlights, a new bumper which has C-shaped surrounds around the fog lamps and a faux scuff plate which make it look even more like an SUV. The 2020 Nexon gets a new bonnet as well to meet the pedestrian safety norms. The white strips are below the windows and run throughout the car. At the rear you get LED tail lights with the tri-arrow theme too. Overall, if you ask me, I would say the Nexon is a charmer. But I came across a Nexon owner who blacked out the white strips and trust me, the car looked way better than it is. That said, Tata Motors’ design team has to spent a bit more time to work on the tri-arrow design theme. It sure looks like it’s done on purpose and is attractive too. But the moment you see the aftermarket options, there surely is space to do more!

The interior also follows the same tri-arrow design. The dashboard finish, seat fabric, leather wrapped flat bottom steering all looks lovely. But the digital instrument cluster could have been made better. It doesn’t really suit the car.

Comfort & Convenience

The facelift variant gets auto headlamps, rain sensing wipers and hill hold assist which starts right from the base variant! You will love every element when you drive the car. The visibility from the front row, the light throw at night, the seating position, airiness of the cabin and much more are excellent.

But what needs to be better is the dashboard layout. There needs to be more utility space on the dashboard. The USB port is difficult to access. Apart from that, going to the second row, the Nexon doesn’t get rear seat back pockets behind the passenger seat. I seriously don’t understand why seat back pockets are difficult to provide. Something which really caught my attention is the 8-speaker Harmaan music system. The audio clarity is excellent!

Performance, Efficiency & Thrills

You, the viewers seriously thought I am a Nexon fanboy after our comparison video of the compact SUVs. Can’t blame you for that. The Nexon’s diesel variant is something which delivers performance, efficiency and thrills at the same time. I can’t get enough of the Nexon’s performance. Put it in Sport mode and you really feel that power under your right foot. The 1.5 litre diesel with 110 horses is so good, that it makes the Nexon an effortless cruiser. The 6-speed gearbox is smooth too.

You really won’t have anything to complain about while driving the Nexon, except for the digital instrument cluster. Oh, you get a tyre pressure monitoring system as well. On the other hand, the 1.2 litre turbo charged petrol makes 120 horsepower.

The 2020 Tata Nexon is. . .

On the whole, when you buy a car, the car should keep you safe. On that front, all the models from the Tata Motors’ stable are quite impressive and give you that confidence when you are driving. Other than that, all you want when you buy a compact SUV is space, efficiency, performance, lesser maintenance and the ability to take you a bit off the road. The Nexon ticks all these boxes and no prizes for guessing which is my favourite compact SUV of 2020.