The Nano’s been the most anticipated cat in India’s short automotive history and could arguably be the most important too. Its launch has been awaited with bated breath and questions have been flying fast and thick. Does Tata’s little Nano drive and feel like a real car? Can it provide the comfort, performance and security expected of it? Or has Tata’s self-imposed price target of one lakh made it too much of a compromise? After a full day test – AutoCar (April ’09) comes up with the answers….

What Makes It Tick?
More than half the battle is won if something is both affordable and desirable and the Nano ticks both boxes. The smiley face, those soft ‘eyes’ and the exaggerated round-shaped roof all add to the Nano’s undeniable charm. What also looks good is the tipped-forward stance, the air inlets behind the rear doors, and the tightly formed rear section. The vertical tail-lights and rear section have that Tata stamp to them and the meshed section of the bumper that allows for a fair amount of venting from the rear of the car, has a neat inverted ‘V’ cut into it to accommodate the centre exhaust.

Because of its odd shape, the Nano uses a combination of a monocoque chassis and space frame with supports. Two long-members and three cross-members are integrated into the design and this allows it to be stiff, 20 percent lighter and tall at the same time. Tata engineers have also used a ribbed roof to provide more strength, something they claim is essential says AutoCar (April ’09).

With almost 60 percent of the weight placed over the rear wheels, despite the battery and fuel tanks being placed under the front seats, a capable suspension system is a must. The front MacPherson strut uses a lower A-arm and the independent rear uses semi-trailing arms. There are no anti-roll bars, disc brakes or power steering though. The Nano weighs only 600kg and as a result can manage without them. Also chopped at the altar of economy is the rear-opening hatch – there isn’t one and this may prove to be too much of an irritant. Also missing is a second wiper and left-side rear view mirror.

Access to the engine bay is also quite rudimentary; you need to unscrew six butterfly nuts and lift off the engine cover just to top up the radiator. The 624cc, twin-cylinder, all-aluminum motor is extremely compact and looks like you could actually pick it up, place it in your bag and walk home. It’s a straightforward single overhead cam, two-valve unit that produces 35bhp, almost as much as the Maruti 800. A compact four-speed gearbox drives the rear wheels. The engine is mounted low behind the rear wheels and the ‘boot above it can only hold a paltry 80 litres. That means the rest of the car is maximized for passengers.
Size Down, Space Up
For a car with such a small footprint, the generous amount of interior space is unbelievable and possibly the single largest achievement of the Nano, after its price. With no engine in front, the Nano has deep wells that allow front seat passengers to fully stretch out their legs. There’s plenty of legroom even for six-footers. Both front seats are identical and this means the passenger has to adjust the angle of the backrest from near his right hip, just like the driver – a smart money-saving trick).

What is impressive is the seat fabrics, whish are a huge improvement over what the Auto Expo Nanos came with. Also different are the head restraints, which have a cut-out that add to the airy feeling of the cabin.

The layout of the dash is unique. A bulging central console with a high-mounted speedometer and digital fuel gauge and odometer take centre stage. On either side of the central console are some very cleverly designed scooped=out sections. Instead of a regular dash top that actually has little functional value; you can throw all sorts of personal belongings into these large bowl-like cradles.

There are lots of bits and pieces on the inside that make the Nano feel like a proper car reports AutoCar (April ’09).Armrests, door pockets and cup-holders are small conveniences but they all add up. The LX versioncomes equipped with front power windows but the buttons are awkwardly placed. AutoCar testers weresuitably impressed by the quality of the dashboard, thesteering wheel and gear lever. Even the cladding on the inner A-pillar looked good. The buttons, switches and the vents feel quite flimsy but at this price you really shouldn’t expect better.

Rear seat comfort again, is simply unreal and good enough to have yourself chauffeured! The seat height is very good, headroom fantastic, good under thigh support and not much to complain about the backrest either. 
The air-con, standard in the LX and CX versions, provides decent cooling for the front passengers but the small 60cc rotary compressor struggles to keep the rear passengers cool when it’s really hot. Making it worse is the heat emanating from the rear-mounted engine which seeps through the insulation.

Born To Run
Turn the key and the Nano fires with a muffled ‘pud, pud, pud’ and doesn’t make an auto-rickshaw-like racket many had said it would. Sounding more like a twin-cylinder motorcycle than a car, it smoothens up somewhat as you climb up the rev band. The ultra-light clutch makes it easy to move off but you do need to use a few more revs than initially planned. The mid-range is pretty good but you quickly realize how short the gearing is, which is further exaggerated by the very conservative 5600rpm rev limit. Just as the engine is getting into its stride, you are quickly up against the limiter, especially in first and second gear. This can be a bit frustrating because there’s a surge in power for the last 200rpm before the engine is abruptly cut off.

AutoCar (April ’09) feels Tata engineers should have allowed it to rev to 6000rpm to make full use of the engine’s power-band. However in the interests of fuel economy and reliability, revs have been curtailed. The other problem is the big gap between third and fourth gear ratios. A five-speed ‘box with closer ratios would have made far better use of the limited power and torque.

However you quickly learn to stay in the engine’s mid-range where performance is sprightly enough. The Nano has enough pep, especially in the closer-stacked lower gears and progress in city traffic is quite good. Keeping up and even dodging traffic is easy. Tata engineers must be complimented for the willing way in which the Nano scoots around town. It never feels like hard work, except on steep inclines.

The Nano gets to 60kph in 9.1 seconds and 100kph in a leisurely 29.7sec. The Nano then has its speed limiter at 106kph asrecorded by a V-Box. You get a warning light on the dash and the injectors cut fuel supply and hence power. However, the Nano can cruise a smidgen below its max speed all day long. As can be imagined, the Nano isn’t the perfect car highways but is more suited to in-city driving.

Easy Sipper
The Nano’s fuel efficiency is the next most important thing after the price, perhaps even more important. The official ARAI figure is 23.4kpl but in the real world AutoCar testers expect 18-20kpl. While these figures are based on conjecture, what cannot be denied is that this is the most fuel-efficient car in the country. Period

General Dynamics
The Nano is pretty adept handler. You soon forget you are driving a micro car and the sense of stability is terrific. Of course, with a car that has a dinky wheelbase of 2.2 meters, there is bobbing and pitching over rough surfaces but its something owners can easily live with. The short overhangs and 180mm ground clearance give it off-road credentials like few other hatchbacks. Potholes, broken tarmac, ditches and all that rural India can throw under the Nano’s wheels are tackled with aplomb. One does occasionally fear for the integrity of the small wheels as they thud through bad patches but the long travel suspension and the robust, stiff chassis give a lot of reassurance.

On the highway, the Nano’s straight-line stability is terrific and that’s sure to give first-timedrivers a lot of confidence. Thesteering iswell-weighted and quite responsive, except for some excessive play around thestraight-ahead position. You can drive the car with only your fingertips at speed and the car never feels loose or flighty. 

Concerned about the stability of a rear-engined, rear-drive car, Tata engineers have dialed in plenty of under-steer. It’s a wise decision as many Nano owners will be inexperienced drivers. The only way to control the tail from stepping out in extreme situations was by giving the rear tyres more grip than the front – hence the different tyre sizes. The narrow front tyres lose grip first and the nose ploughs on straight, as it should. Rear-engined cars that allow over-steer can sometimes become verytricky to handle at the limit, especially in the wet, and Tata has done well to stay away from that problem.

First Verdict
In the end, the big question about the Nano being a proper car is actually quite easy to answer. It’s not a toy or an auto-rickshaw with a fourth wheel as many skeptics believed. It’s a credible car that does the job brilliantly for its target customers and in the process trounces much more expensive cars in areas like passenger space. The Nano’s not perfect. Owners will want more power, miss the practicality of a hatch and want an additional gear too. But that’s about it. What Tata has achieved with a car that costs an estimated Rs. 1.2 to Rs. 1.5 lakh is a triumph of Indian ingenuity. And we haven’t even mentioned the record breaking fuel economy. Need we say more asks Autocar (April ’09)?