The only event anticipated even more than seeing the Nano for the first time was, well, driving it for the first time. Of course, being blown away by the car initially, when it was showcased at the Auto Expo last year, only served to heighten that anticipation ten-fold at the very least.

To temper this enthusiasm, and just to avoid disappointment, you remind yourself that the Nano is, in fact, an entry-level car the likes of which the world has never seen before, and has only a 624cc, 2 cylinder engine that produces a meager 35 horsepower.

But then you see it, out on the Tata Motors test track in Pune, and it just looks right. It does look tiny and toy-like in the real world, but you can’t help feel that the proportions and lines are near perfect. And, the top-of-the-line yellow LX model grabs your attention in a way that you just don’t expect a one-lakh car to do (well, in the case of the LX, it’s actually closer to Rs. 2 lakhs on-road). But, as one of my colleagues pointed out, this unashamedly bright yellow looks right on only two cars, a Lamborghini and the Nano – now that’s saying something indeed.

From the Outside



In my opinion, in profile, the Nano looks absolutely fantastic. Yes, the car looks tall and has small wheels, but, with its near non-existent overhangs front and rear (since the wheels are at the absolute ends of the body), and its nicely flared wheel arches, it actually looks planted and muscular. And the upwards sloping crease on each side looks brilliant, as it stretches from the front door all the way to the tail lights – incorporating the side vents that feed air to the rear mounted engine. Not for a minute does the styling of this car signal towards stringent cost cutting. It’s a very cohesive and well thought out design, with some extremely nice touches.

Of course, there are elements that do point to the trimming of costs – for instance, the small wheels and tires, which are fitted with three lug nuts instead of four, as well as the single windshield wiper and side view mirror – but everything works as intended, and is very functional. Take, just, the door-mounted side-view mirror. Like everything else, it has an exceedingly simple and functional mechanism. The mirror, in its housing, is mounted on a stand with a standard ball bearing – allowing the entire housing to swivel backwards and forwards manually. Or look at the single windshield wiper, which has two water spray nozzles mounted on the wiper itself.

Tata Motors have also paid a great deal of attention to the aerodynamics of the Nano. All cars have a small front lip at the bottom of the bumper to reduce front end lift. At the rear, the two higher end models (the CX and LX) have a plastic spoiler above the rear windshield to help generate downforce. The spoiler in question, according to a Tata Motors engineer, has a component cost of about Rs. 400/. Consequently, on the base model, the engineers have come up with an alternative that costs a tenth of that price – it’s actually a strip of rubber beading, shaped like a lip spoiler, mounted on the edge of the roof. They’ve literally taken a fine tooth comb to every component that goes into making a car.

From the Inside



As you get into the Nano, you realize that the doors open and shut with a very satisfying thunk – they’re not tinny or light as you might expect. And it’s these small tactile things that feel good, which really win you over.

Interior room is where the Nano really scores points – you just don’t expect a car this small to offer this much space inside. It truly doesn’t feel hemmed in or claustrophobic at all – especially since it has large windows all round. Head room is plentiful thanks to the design. And since the wheels are pushed to all four corners, not to mention the fact that the engine is under the rear seat, it opens up an enormous amount of interior space under the circumstances. The seats themselves are quite comfortable, and the interior trim and plastics are of a surprisingly good quality. In fact, the quality of the plastics of the show cars at the Auto Expo was also surprisingly good, and it appears this attribute has carried over to the production car as well. There are a few exposed pieces of trim however, but nothing unforgivable – with the exception, perhaps, of the battery, which is exposed and resides under the drivers’ seat. At the front, the centrally mounted dash and instrument cluster is simple, yet effective, and also quite aesthetically pleasing.

The main, and most obvious, drawback with the Nano is the lack of luggage space. The front hatch is completely taken up by the spare tire, fuel filler, brake fluid reservoir and wiper motor – leaving room for little else. The dashboard is shaped very cleverly to hold small odds and ends, plus the rear seat has a small parcel tray attached. If you want to carry larger items, however, you’ll have to resort to using the limited space behind the rear seat, which is accessible only by folding the seat down. And, the only way you can carry anything sizeable is with the seat folded down, which means, of course, that you’ll have to leave behind the rear seat passengers.

On the road



So, the Nano’s proven itself both inside and out, but here comes the acid test. Its aesthetic appeal will lose its shine very quickly indeed if it doesn’t work as well on the road.

As you set off in the car, you don’t exactly expect to be blown away by the gutsy power delivery from its 2 cylinder engine. Then you actually get going, and you’re left pleasantly surprised yet again – its actually quite spirited given the miniscule size of the engine. It strikes you that, in fact, the Nano’s 2 cylinder power unit only has to propel a fairly inconsiderable 600 kilos, which makes its life that much easier.

In fact, the base version of the Nano feels considerably lighter on its feet since it’s this version that weighs in at just 600 kilos. The top-of-the-line Nano is as much as 35 kilos heavier, which can be attributed largely to the HVAC (Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning) system, as well as other extras, such as the brake booster, and even small things like additional pieces of trim. Nevertheless, the car accelerates nicely and smoothly all the way to its 105km/h limited top speed. The engine can be a little loud, but is relatively smooth given its two cylinder configuration. It has quite an innovative single balancer shaft, which counter rotates to the crankshaft, in an effort to ensure smooth operation.

Since the two cylinders fire together, you can actually hear them firing at idle – making it sound almost like a two-stroke go-kart engine. I actually found the noise quite engaging, but I can imagine it getting tiresome and intrusive over the course of time. At cruising speeds, however, the noise insulation appears quite good, and you feel exceedingly comfortable sitting at its self imposed top speed. In fact, at 105km/h, the Nano feels extremely sure footed, and not in the least bit nervous – it does tend to move around a fair amount in crosswinds however. But, that apart, even going around slight bends at top speed is easily done, especially since you get good feedback from the non-power-assist steering. The steering itself feels very good at speed, and communicates exactly what the chassis’s doing. It does tend to get a little heavy at low speeds, and especially at parking speeds, but that’s a compromise I’m willing to make for good steering. Moreover, judging by its light weight and the small tire size up front, the steering isn’t heavy to the point of it being a struggle.

The power assist drum brakes on the LX actually work very well in bringing the car down to a halt from its top speed without incident. The base model, however, doesn’t come with power brakes, and can take a little getting used to at first. However, once you’ve accustomed yourself to the fact that extra pedal effort is required, the car stops just as well. The beauty of a car as light as the Nano is that you have the option of dispensing with power assist options such as brakes and steering – the absence of which would ordinarily make a car completely un-drivable.

The real surprise from the Nano came, however, from the composure demonstrated by its chassis. There was an element of concern in regards to its handling balance prior to driving the car because of its assumed rearward weight bias – resulting from its rear-engine / rear-drive configuration. After all, the vast majority of cars on our roads are front engined / front wheel drive, and therefore have the bulk of their weight over the front end of the car. Generally, in cars of this configuration, during an emergency maneuver, when the car loses adhesion from the road surface, it tends to understeer, which is to say it diverts from its intended course and goes straight on instead. In a rear engined car, where the bulk of the weight is over the rear end, the opposite tends to be the case and it resorts to oversteer, which is to say the rear of the car begins to slide in an effort to swap ends with the front. Of the two evils, oversteer is slightly more tricky to control for the average driver – assuming that a lot of first time drivers will strap themselves into the cockpit of the Nano, that may not be an ideal situation to have.

However, here again, the engineers have done a great deal to ensure proper weight distribution. Firstly, the engine is set as far towards the center line of the car as possible. In addition, the fuel tank is mounted under the front passenger seat, the battery is mounted under the drivers’ seat, and the spare tire and AC unit are mounted up front – all of which serves to ensure reasonable weight distribution. Nevertheless, to counter any rearward bias, the Nano has slightly wider tires at the rear (155/65 R12 rear vs. 135/70 R12 front). Consequently, what all of this means is that the Nano handles extremely well – even when it’s pushed to its limits. Combine its chassis balance with its light weight, independent suspension, not to mention tactile steering, and what you have is a car that’s actually fun to slide around the Tata Motors skidpad – not bad at all for a car that merely aims to provide safe and basic transportation.

The Nano actually turns in with the immediacy of a go-kart. It then resorts to safe default understeer, as the front end washes wide. If you stay flat on the power, the rear end will start to slide, but it’s extremely easy to control and never gets to the point of being unsafe – simply by virtue of its benign handling and relative lack of power. Moreover, even before you get to this point, you’re likely to back off anyway since the generous body roll and howling tires give you enough clues that you’re approaching the limits of the car. And getting to the limit is fairly easy, since the engine is quite free-revving – reaching its 5,600rpm limit in each gear without much trouble. In fact, especially in second gear, the rev limit is approached quite quickly indeed, which means that a rev counter would be a welcome addition to the list of options. The gearshifts are incredibly light and quite positive actually. As you go to select first gear, the shift linkage can seem a little vague. But, as you start going through the gears, although there are only four, you do begin to enjoy it, as each gear slots quite nicely.

From an everyday driving point of view as well, the Nano works very well indeed. The air-conditioner isn’t bad at all. Although, in the test cars, the AC compressor was programmed to go off when the car exceeded 5,000rpm – that shouldn’t really be a problem however, since the engine in only revving at about 4,000rpm at 105km/h in 4th gear. Furthermore, the Nano’s size, and it’s extremely tight turning circle of 4 meters, makes it ideal for city driving.

On going through my notes from the test drive, I came across the following phrase in big bold letters, ‘GREAT LITTLE CAR.’ And that’s actually a very fitting description of the Nano. If I had to alter it though, I would simply add, ‘Great Little Car at Any Price’ – you really can’t help but be in awe of the development team, and what they’ve created.

Verdict



At the end of the day, the Nano is so much more than the sum of its parts – it’s so much more than simply a means of affordable transportation. This is a car that has character, a car that connects with you on an emotional level – and that sets it apart from cars costing even 5-times as much. In fact, quite simply, whether you’re looking at it or driving it, this is a car that simply makes you smile – and that makes the Nano worth at least ten-times its one lakh ex-showroom price.

It doesn’t hurt, of course, that the Nano makes you proud of Indian engineering and ingenuity. With the whole world gravitating towards smaller and more minimal cars, the Nano has truly set a new global benchmark, and completely moved the goalposts. As a result of which, not only is it winning hearts in India, but overseas as well. All the foreign journalists present, on the day I was at the Pune test track, seemed to be walking around with a gaze that suggested they were completely thrilled by the Nano experience. In fact, one Israeli journalist even called his family to inform them that they’d be getting a Nano of their own as soon as Tata Motors could make it possible.

Yes, there are some drawbacks, which you would only expect in a car such as this. Luggage space is near non-existent – but Tata Motors says it wasn’t designed with cross-country travel in mind. The engine can be a little rough and noisy, which is once again expected from a small 2-cylinder engine. And there are some exposed pieces of trim in the cabin. But you forgive the Nano for all of that because it’s an incredible overall package. But more than that, it has character – and that counts for more than you can imagine.