Tata Nexon EV Long-Term Report: 3,500 km In India’s Best-Selling Passenger EV

Tata Motors wasn’t the first car maker in India to jump into the electric car business, but it came from behind and now leads it. In fact, if not for the EV part of the business, its passenger car business could have been on shaky ground. And the car that helped it get where it is today in the electric mobility space is the Nexon. What started as essentially a compact SUV powered by diesel and petrol engines, the Nexon is today the best-selling EV in India, by far. Even its own stablemates have struggled to get close to its sales numbers, barring the Punch EV. Being the market leader is some sort of validation but it has partly been helped with competition being slow in getting an EV into this Rs 15-20 lakh SUV segment that has hit the Indian buyers’ sweet spot. But there is more to the Nexon EV than its price and after living with it for almost 3 months and over 3,500 km, here is what we learned.

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India's most popular electric car is a sound package.

Battery & Charging

That’s the first aspect that needs to be answered. To be honest, this was indeed the first time for me living with an EV for such an extended period of time that ran into months. Usually, we test cars over a few days to be max. So, range anxiety was top of the must-address list. The Nexon gets two battery sizes. All the MR variants get the smaller 30 kWh Lithium-ion pack while the LR ones get the bigger 40.5 kWh battery.

We have been charging it mostly at DC fast chargers.

I charged the car almost every time at a fast charger since the time it reached the car&bike long-term fleet. This was because, just like many housing societies in Mumbai, there is no provision or possibility of putting up an AC home charger for me. Access to a fast charger close to your home or your workplace could take away a lot of charging hassle if you use the car daily.

I had access to a fast charger inside my office premises which made things easy. On paper it might look fine to “take a coffee break when your car charges” but in reality that isn’t practical especially since most of us are only complaining of busy lives and lack of time. So, charging your car at work is extremely practical. But this is a luxury that will only exist till the fast charger access continues.

A full charge takes around 2 hours at a 25kW DC charger.

My fast-charging sessions usually lasted 90-120 minutes. I charged only when it dropped below 20 per cent. Using a 25 kW fast charger, a full charge cost roughly around Rs 700-800. Tata Motors recommends a slew of fast charging networks although Tata Power is by far the one with the widest network. My advice is it is best if you can have your own AC charger at home.

While a 3.3 kW AC charger comes as standard with the Nexon EV, the LR version gets a faster 7.2 kW charger unit. I did try this once and it showed 12 hours so it is mostly an overnight job.

A more realistic full charge display of our Nexon EV.

Tata Motors also recommends Zeon (not available in Mumbai), Glida, Statiq (both limited networks), JioBP and ChargeZone. For me, only Tata Power was the closest (still 2-3 km away from my house). The chargers are mostly reliable, but I did face some glitches at times such as ‘unable to communicate with the car’. If you do get stuck, you need to call Tata Power helpline first (18008332233). Getting through to Tata Power helpline isn’t seamless. If the problem is from the car side you need to call Tata Motors (18008332233). The latter is definitely more proactive and even call back. 

The AC charging port tends to get stuck for a bit even after charging gets complete. No such issues with CCS2 gun.

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Range

My daily running was roughly 45-50 km and mostly was a home-office commute. The weekly running usually lasted 250-300 km. I invariably ended up charging once a week, at least. Of course, Mumbai gave the Nexon.EV possibly one of the worst urban traffic conditions one can expect in India. But nowadays maybe many other city-dwellers face a similar situation.

The average speed of trips was 20-25kph. The best indicated range that I have got is 342 km. But usually, it is 240-250 after a full charge. The charge indicator is reasonably accurate, but it depends on how you drive. Spirited driving drops range significantly. Smoother driving with no sudden bursts of acceleration and not cruising over 60 kph manages to wrest the best range out of the Nexon. Stop-go traffic, which results in regular deceleration, charges the battery a bit.

Driving over 60 kmph drops range significantly.

The Nexon EV LR is certified to give 465 km in a single charge under test conditions. We reckon in more realistic driving conditions it can at best touch 340-350 km. The car calculates range based on a lot of parameters including driving style hence it can throw varied numbers.

Larger touchscreen is welcome. We would have like regular buttons over capacitive ones

Variants

There are a total of nine variants sold. The base version starts at Rs 14.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai) and going up Empowered+ LR (Long Range) for Rs 19.29 lakh, which is the one we have here. LR starts from the mid Fearless version. In fact, Fearless accounts for six of the 9 variants. The base is Creative+ MR and the top Empowered comes in both Mid Range (MR) and this top-of-the-line LR. The exclusive features in our Empowered LR over all other variants of the Nexon EV are the 12.3in “cinematic” touchscreen and an emergency SOS Call function.

Powertrain

The Nexon EV comes in two states of tune. The MR comes with 127 bhp and can do 0-100 in 9.2 seconds. In the LR, the same motor makes 16 bhp more which helps it clock the same sprint 0.4 seconds faster. With 215 Nm on tap from zero, Nexon EV feels peppy and powerful. So much so, you sometimes need to restrain that right foot in traffic.

Drive modes standard across all variants. We preferred City as it is the most practical.

I drove mostly with L1 regenerative braking where you get the benefits without too much discomfort while driving. The Nexon EV comes with three levels of regenerative braking that can be toggled with the help of paddle shifters on the steering wheel. You can also switch it off completely. The above range figures was in the City drive mode.

Nexon EV comes with a Multi-Drive Mode as standard – Eco, City, Sport – operated via the dial on the centre console.

Features

The Nexon EV is feature packed and quite a few are pretty helpful. At the front, the ventilated seats were a big help in the tough summer. Wireless Apple CarPlay feature too. The auto headlights and wipers feel like a must now. There are quite a few storage places, including bottle holders in the doors at the front. Sadly, none at the rear. Centre armrest can store your wallet. There’s an induction charger pad for your phone. The access to the charging or data port is quite narrow and inconvenient to access especially if you have big hands. The touchscreen is quick and has an intuitive interface. Easy to shift between the car’s interface and Apple CarPlay. However, with the latter, the AC display doesn’t come on the screen which is a bit irritating. AC is quite powerful though. Cooling at the rear isn’t an issue either. Seats at the rear are quite comfy and passengers will like the slightly elevated view.

Nexon EV's 360-degree cameras come in pretty handy.

Overall visibility is average but what really helps is the presence of 360-degree cameras. It gives a good enough view of the surroundings and makes parking in tight spots easy. Also helps while squeezing in between traffic which has been a lot of times in the last three months. This feature is only available in the Empowered variants – both in MR and LR. Other likeable bits on the car include the conventional sunroof. It is big enough to tick the premium feature box and small enough not to let too much sunlight come into the cabin and affect the AC. Another useful feature is the big boot and a sturdy parcel tray.

More than ample luggage space in the Nexon EV's boot.

Overall

Living with a Nexon EV was easier than expected. Its range isn’t anywhere what is claimed but is enough to make most city dwellers an everyday car with a weekly charge. If your running is lesser, it will easily last you more than a week. The Nexon did well to lessen the range anxiety. Having used an EV for such a long period you understand its limits and plan your travel accordingly. Yes, you need to be a bit firmer with your plans than if you had an ICE car.

It isn’t bullet proof though and small squeaks have managed to seep into the car already. Poor Mumbai roads haven't helped the car’s cause. The software can be glitchy at times – for example the charge indicator on our test car is stuck at full. Thankfully the charge percentage display is working. At times some data in the instrument cluster tends to disappear. I have had trouble connecting to Apple CarPlay with a USB cable but the wireless option is working fine. The charge lid remote release also gets stuck at times and needs to be physically yanked open.

On the other hand, Nexon has been quite handy at tackling bad roads.

The new futuristic-looking design bodes well for an EV

The ride is a bit soft but that’s better than being thrown around. Drive it calmly and you are rewarded by a decent range that helps your pocket even more. My monthly running cost is down by almost two-thirds compared to the petrol car that I was driving prior to this. Significant savings there. Remember, more the running, more you save with an EV, so you can recover the higher purchase price in a lesser amount of time. Pretty much how it is with a diesel car as well compared to petrol.

It did have a few minor issues during its stint here. But nothing to be a dealbreaker. A Nexon EV like most EVs is not for everyone as it has specific strengths. But is suitable for some kind of usage or even for those who want to boast of leading a zero-tailpipe-emissions life. It is far better for inter-city usage than cross-country, although with a fast-growing charging network it isn’t very uncommon to see these on highways. Moreover, it is practical for everyday use provided you can figure out the weekly charging bit. It does make a strong case for EVs in general. No wonder it is India’s best-selling EV.