Homegrown carmaker Tata Motors is clearly late to the party of compact SUVs in India. The segment already has strong players such as Mahindra TUV300 and Ford EcoSport.
However, Nexon will pose a challenge mainly to Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Despite being launched in March 2016, Vitara Brezza took the segment by storm and went on to become in the top of best selling SUV chart of India. With average monthly sales around 10,000 units, Vitara Brezza is far ahead of its compeition. Making a dent in such sales will be a herculian task for Tata Motors.
Though the full details on Nexon are not out yet, Tata Motors recently released technical specifiactions of its compact SUV. Do the numbers looks like a challenege to Vitara Brezza? Lets check that out
The diesel heart
Maruti Suzuki sells Vitara Brezza in diesel mill only. On the other hand, Tata Nexon will be sold both petrol and diesel version. Tata Motors definetly deserves brownie points there. The Nexon diesel is powered by a 1496cc four-cylinder mill developing 108.5bhp at 3750rpm and 260Nm or torque at 1500-2750rpm. The mill will be mated to a six-speed manual tranmission.
On the other hand, Vitara Brezza is powered by a 200 DDis 1248cc diesel engine that develops 88.5bhp at 4,000rpm and 200Nm of torque at 1,750rpm mated to five-speed manual.
The number makes it clear that Nexon is clearly on top. The Tata compact SUV has 20bhp extra over from 1.5-litre mill bnad that will certainly make it fun-to-drive machine. That is also the same case in torque. Nexon has 60Nm of extra torque over Vitara Brezza. However, where Tata Motors clearly outclassed Maruti Suzuki is in the choice of tranmision. The Nexon comes with six-speed manual transmission while Vitara Brezza settled for a five-speed unit.
| - | Tata Nexon | Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza |
| Engine | 1496cc 4-cylinder | 1248cc, 4-cylinder |
| Power | 108.5bhp @3750rpm | 88.5bhp @ 4,000rpm |
| Torque | 260Nm @ 1500-2750rpm | 200Nm @ 1,750rpm |
| Tranmission | 6-speed manual | 5-speed manual |
Multi Drive Modes- In addition to the dominating power and torque figures, the Nexon offers Multi Drive Mode function, which will let the driver to switch between the three different drive modes – Eco, City and Sport. This is a first-in-segment feature.
Verdict
The numbers make it clear that Nexon is the winner on paper. The Tata Motors SUV boasts of more power, torque and better transmission. If Tata nails in terms of pricing, Vitara Brezza will have a tough time to retain its supremacy.
