Tata Nano – The msot awaited car

Tata Motors recently announced the commercial launch of the Tata Nano, keenly awaited across India since its unveiling on January 10, 2008. People were desperate to see the all new Tata Nano and saw the inaugural ceremony with held breath. The Tata Nano is BS-III* compliant and comes with an all-new 2-cylinder aluminium MPFI 624 cc petrol engine mated to a four-speed gear box and will be available in three variants. The cars will be on display across the country at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships and other select authorised outlets from April 1st.

Speaking at a Press Conference, the Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, said, “The Nano represents the spirit of breaking conventional barriers. From the drawing board to its commercial launch, the concept, development and productionisation of the car has overcome several challenges. It is to the credit of the team at Tata Motors that a car once thought impossible by the world is now a reality. I hope it will provide safe, affordable, four-wheel transportation to families who till now have not been able to own a car. We are delighted in presenting the Tata Nano to India and the world.”

The Tata Nano is currently being manufactured at the company’s Pantnagar plant in Uttarakhand in limited numbers. The new dedicated plant, at Sanand in Gujarat, will be ready in 2010 with an annualised capacity of 350,000 cars.

Tata Nano is slated to come in three varients.

The Tata Nano offers an incredibly spacious passenger compartment which can comfortably seat four adults. With a length of just 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, the Tata Nano has the smallest exterior footprint for a car in India but is 21% more spacious than the smallest car available today. A high seating position makes ingress and egress easy. Its small size coupled with a turning radius of just 4 metres, makes it extremely manoeuvrable in the smallest of parking slots. Tata Nano Standard (BSII* and BSIII*): The standard version, in three colour options, single-tone seats, and fold-down rear seat;

Tata Nano CX (BSII* and BSIII*): In five colour options, with heating and air-conditioning (HVAC), two-tone seats, parcel shelf, booster-assisted brakes, fold-down rear seat with nap rest;

Tata Nano LX: (BSIII*) With the features of CX plus complete fabric seats, central locking,  front power windows, body coloured exteriors in three premium colours, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in front console, mobile charger point, and rear spoiler. Many of these features are not available on current entry-level small cars in the country.

Special care has been taken to maintain the performance of the car

The 2-cylinder engine – delivering 35 PS @ 5250 rpm and a torque of 48 Nm @ 3000 rpm - enables the car to have a top speed of 105 kmph and negotiate inclines with a gradeability of 30%.

The car is fuel efficient also with 23.6 km/litre, certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under mandated test conditions, which is the highest for any petrol car in India.

Emission: The high fuel efficiency, coupled with a low kerb weight of 600 kg, ensures that the Tata Nano – at 101 gm / km - has the lowest CO2 emission amongst cars in India. The Tata Nano is BS-III* compliant and is BS-IV* ready. It is also available in BS-II* norms.

Safety: The Tata Nano's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements - it passes the roll-over test and offset impact, which are not regulated in India. It has an all sheet-metal body, reinforced passenger compartment, crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, besides mandatory seat belts and complies fully with existing Indian safety standards. Tubeless tyres – among which the rear ones are wider endowing extra stability – enhance safety.

Let's see how the car fares in the Indian market keeping in view the high expectations from the car by the people. The performance of the car still remains a question mark , which is yet to be seen.