The Nano-Ratan Tatas Dream Car

Recently a friend of mine was allotted a Nano. This is a small car manufactured by tata motors and is touted as the cheapest car in the world. This is a bit of a misnomer as I checked and found that my friend had paid a whopping 2.12 laky for his car (though it was a luxury version).That made its price just a few thousand rupees below the Maruti 800. For that sort of price I thought the Nano was costly.

The car is indeed a small car and almost looks like a toy from afar. But if you enter inside it is fairly roomy for 4 adults. The car has a rear mounted engine like the Fiat 500 and handles reasonably well. I had occasion to drive it and it is fairly satisfactory on city roads. But for highways with a top speed of 105 km /hr the car is not the best buy and lags behind the Marti 800.

The car has a 623 cc all aluminum engine which is a basic two cylinder version and uses petrol. Compared to the Maruti 800 which has an output of 38 BHP the Nano churns out a BHP of 32. Fuel consumption is minimal and the car gives good mileage on the road in city driving conditions. While driving I could get about 14km to a liter in Mumbai and the traffic in the city is well known for high density.

However the car has no dickey and carrying even a small bag can be a problem as the front space below the bonnet is occupied by the spare wheel. The interiors of the car are frugal and we found the AC to be Ok in Mumbai's humid climate.

The engine while being driven showed good acceleration and touched 80 km in about 12 sec. It has a 4 speed manual gear box with a multi point fuel injection engine. The engine is smooth and revs nicely. But the sound of the engine as it sputters reminds you more of the sound of a scooter engine.

Ratan tata had made this car and had promised that it will be a substitute for a two wheeler. Unfortunately this is belied as even the cheapest version is at least 2/3 times costlier than a mid range scooter motorcycle. With the price tag quoted and easy finance options available the Nano is certainly not the best of buys