Tata Nexon

There could be marginal improvement in driving range as well
The Tata Nexon EV, India’s best selling electric passenger car, has received a new software update that is aimed at improving the overall driving experience. The latest software version 2.07 can be installed by taking the vehicle to the authorized service center.
Tata Nexon EV software update – what’s new?

The Nexon EV’s V 2.07 software update is reported to have improved the vehicle’s creep function by reducing the response time between releasing the brake pedal and the vehicle moving forward. The overall operation is said to be smoother than before.
Another significant upgrade comes in the form of improved brake energy regeneration which was considered to be intrusive by some owners when the state-of-charge (SoC) is less than 20%. The brake pedal effort has also been reduced and this could be partially due to the changes made to the regeneration operation.
Tata Nexon EV – Hemank
Furthermore, Tata Motors’ engineering team has brought forth improvements in sensor calibration to achieve more accuracy in energy consumption (Wh/km) reading. The coasting function has also been optimized for better driving experience on the highway. The overall changes are expected to improve the range marginally but there is no data to prove at this point.
Nexon EV Performance
Priced from Rs 14 lakhs, ex-sh, Nexon Electric is powered by an PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor) which is powered by a 30.2 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Power delivery is rated at 129 PS while torque output is 245 Nm. Two drive modes are on offer called Drive and Sports. The system is powered by Tata Ziptron technology.
Drive range of Nexon EV on a fully charged battery is claimed to be at 312 kms. But real world drive range is a lot lesser. Some owners have reported getting range of 170 kms while some have even managed to get 250+ kms. It largely depends on how you drive the car, in what conditions.
Nexon EV Sales
Since its launch, Nexon has been the best selling passenger electric car in the country. In the current fiscal year, Nexon EV sales have reached almost 850 units. While sales of other passenger EVs – MG ZS was at 387 units while Hyundai Kona was at 71 units. It is also to be noted here that Nexon is the most affordable of the three.
Along with Tigor EV and eVerito, the total passenger E-Car sales in India for April 2020 to Aug 2020 stood at 1,408 units. Nexon EV has lion’s share in the market, which is at 60.23%. In the future, Tata plans to launch electric Altroz as well as electric HBX. This will help the company improve their market share in the electric car segment even further.
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Owner of brand new Tata Nexon Electric has revealed that the service center replaced Power Distribution Unit or PDU for free
Tata Nexon EV is priced between INR 13.99 lakh to 15.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Bangalore). It is currently the most affordable passenger electric SUV. It holds a 60% market share in the country’s electric four wheeler electric passenger car space for April-Aug 2020 period. The green crossover recently received a further INR 1.5 lakh subsidy from the Delhi government under its updated EV policy.

With sales of the Nexon EV growing, more and more owners are sharing interesting facts about the new SUV. Some days ago, a Pune based owner shared real world mileage of Nexon EV. Now, Nexon EV owner from West Bengal, has shared the cost of first service.
Nexon EV owner from Bengal (Youtube channel GodSpeed) gave his car for first service when the car had done about 1,500 kms. The service center said that they will need to keep the car for two days. They called him on the 2nd day and said that they will need to replace the Power Distribution Unit (PDU) of his Nexon EV.
Tata Nexon Electric PDU replaced
PDU is more or less the brain of electric car. It has multiple functions like battery charging and management system, electric motor control, air condition control system, electric steering system, short circuit protection, electric current leak protection, IP protection as well as control braking system.
This is the reason that it does not come cheap. As per the service bill shared, PDU of Tata Nexon EV costs about Rs 1.02 lakhs. As the car was under warranty, this unit was replaced for free. The bill was Zero Rupees. It is to be noted here that the Nexon EV comes with an 8 years / 1.6 lakh kms warranty for battery and motor. It is not clear as to why the PDU was replaced, as the owner had not reported of any issues.
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Tata Nexon EV at a glance
To recap, the compact electric SUV is powered by a PMSM which is rated at 129 hp and 245 Nm of torque. Battery pack is a 30.2 kWh lithium-ion unit which offers a range of 312 km. The Tata Nexon EV is claimed to accelerate from rest to ton in 9.9 seconds.
The estimated regular charging time (from 10% SOC to 90%) stands at 8.5 hours via any 15 A plug point while fast charging takes 60 mins from 0 to 80%. The vehicle’s energy efficiency is rated at 100 Wh/km.
Tata Nexon EV’s Ziptron Power Electronics
Feature highlights include regenerative braking, hill ascent assist, hill descent assist, powered sunroof, leatherette interiors, alloy wheels, touchscreen infotainment system, smartphone connectivity, automatic climate control, leather wrapped steering wheel and so on.
With several noticeable improvements, the Tata Nexon EV software has made the crossover more appealing. With the festive season approaching, we expect the Nexon EV to maintain its segment leadership by garnering more sales. Competition comes from the Hyundai Kona EV and MG ZS EV. More

With Tata Nexon electric owners not getting higher drive range, here are some pointers by a fellow Nexon EV owner
In the last 1 year or so, Electric Vehicles have slowly started to become main-stream, thanks to the introduction of practical products like Hyundai Kona, MG ZS EV and the Tata Nexon EV. However, despite the drive range claims by the OEMs, most users and perspective buyers are still not very well convinced about the range of the EVs which are on offer in India.

What can possibly help change opinion are real-life reviews from other owners. One such interesting review has come in from Nirvik Banerjee, who shared his experience of ownership of a Tata Nexon EV with Electric Vehicle Web. Nirvik states that he managed to clock over 250 kms on a single charge with his Nexon electric.
This is a pleasant surprise as many owners have claimed that they failed to get even 180 kms drive range on a full charge with Nexon EV. It is to be noted that the official range claimed by ARAI is of 312 kms, which is in ideal conditions. Hence, 250+ km on a single charge, is actually a good figure. Here are some excerpts from Nirvik’s experience with the Nexon electric.
Nirwik achieves range of 250+ kms in his Nexon EV from a fully charged battery.
Purchase Experience – Nirvik had booked a Nexon EV for himself back in December’19 however thanks to the ongoing pandemic, the delivery of his vehicle was delayed and he finally got his car in July’20. Because of the subsidies provided by Maharashtra Government, Nirvik didn’t have to pay road tax or any registration fees. Additionally, he also got a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh upon the ex-showroom price. Below are some tricks to extract the maximum drive range out of your Nexon EV, as per Nirvik.
1. Take A Break
Nopes, we aren’t trying to use a jingle of one of the famous chocolate brand in the country. Instead, Nirwik insists that after every 100-120 km or so, it is advisable to take a short break of around 5 minutes. From his experience he states that during long drives in his Nexon EV, the power consumption figure starts to increase slowly after a long stretch. Once he did not take a break after driving for over 120 kms non-stop, and his Nexon EVs MID flashed a message to stop the car and take a break. The battery consumption level at this point had reached 190 Wh/km.
2. Using the AC Smartly
Even if you haven’t personally driven an IC engine powered car, we are sure you would have had multiple experiences with drivers who would have insisted that using AC aggressively (extremely low temperature settings) directly reduces their earning potential, thanks to higher fuel consumption while use of an AC. Similar is the case with all EVs too.
Nirwik usually has a goal to extract around 3 kms from every percentage point of his battery’s charge. Technically, gunning for around 300km against the ARAI claim of 312 km. In order to do so, he suggests that using AC in lower settings helps to conserve battery’s charge. During his city drives, he prefers to stick to 25 degrees Celsius as his preferred temperature setting and keeps the blower at the first point. He further adds that to understand more about the car and to figure out more ways to conserve charge, one should thoroughly read the 250 page long Car Manual.
3. Right Speed
Nirwik states that he ensured that his driving speed was around 70-80 kmph mark. It helped him to extract the best possible distance from a single-charge on his Nexon EV.
4. Go Easy on the Gas
Well, technically, there is no Gas pedal in an EV. However, just like a typical gasoline powered vehicle, EVs too land up draining energy/power (charge) when there is a requirement of sudden acceleration. Hence, it is advised to use a light-footed driving approach. The speed doesn’t matter significantly, if it is 50 kmph or 80 kmph. What will be critical is if there is no sudden acceleration which drains out battery really fast. Nirwik suggests that one should try to emulate the acceleration which a 1L NA petrol motor would provide with a light foot.
In case you haven’t driven an EV in the past, we can assure that the new-age EVs have some really good acceleration capabilities, so it surely will be a difficult task to not to get tempted to push the accelerator pedal hard.
5. Tyre Pressure
Nirwik states that he used a tyre pressure of 34 psi against the recommended tyre pressure of 32 psi. We would like to add that 1-2 psi difference against the recommended tyre pressure can still be tolerable however inflating the tyres beyond the recommended mark isn’t a great idea, in light of safety risks which such practices come along with.
6. Usage of the Correct Mode
In Nirwik’s opinion, one of the most critical requirement to ensure a long-drive range from an EV is to use it in the ‘Drive’ mode, in other words, use the Eco mode and not a performance focused mode which is usually on offer in most EVs. This one is pretty intuitive, even if you have never driven an EV in the past. Talking about the Nexon EV, it comes with 2 drive modes, Sport and Drive and there is almost a 60% difference in the torque output figures between the two.
Overall, Nirwik managed to complete his trip with two of his friends (more occupants = more weight = lesser mileage) and clocked 256.7 kms on a single charge on his Nexon EV. Additionally, he still had around 6% charge remaining in his battery. As a Nexon EV owner, Nirwik goes on to showcase that long-trips are possible in EVs too, however, one needs to be a little calculative and careful.
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Electric Vehicles(EVs) are gradually gaining popularity in various automotive industries across the world
However, with all the benefits EVs come with, there are many other requirements that need to be fulfilled beforehand. One of them is a proper battery disposal facility which is still missing in many markets and the other being a sufficient number of charging infrastructure. Developed countries where EVs have been adopted in large scales have added a charging infrastructure at almost every refuelling station in and outside the cities.

In India, however, the case is different. Charging stations are as rare as the sight of a sparrow these days. While many private and government firms have joined hands for the development of related infrastructure in the recent past, it is still at a very nascent stage. Hopefully, in the near future, we get to see more charging stations come up to the ease of EV consumers.
One of the main concerns out of lack of sufficient charging stations is the driving range of an EV on a single charge. While it is a given that the claimed range provided by the company is nowhere near the driving range, the question arises what is the real-world range of an EV and how much far can you travel on a single charge. We might have an answer to that here.

Tata Nexon EV – Hemank
Currently, there are only not many EVs on sale in the passenger vehicle segment in India. The three popular ones are Hyundai Kona EV, MG ZS EV and Tata Nexon EV. Here, we have an example of the Nexon EV being tested for its real-world driving range. The video uploaded by Hemank from ‘Northway MotorSport EV R&D’ on YouTube gives us an idea of what the real-world range of a Nexon EV would look like if driven in normal driving conditions. The creator is an EV enthusiast who had previously converted a Maruti 800 into an electrified car.
Route of Journey
The creator starts his journey from his place in Pune to Lonavala and then back for the return journey. The car has been driven for 418 km prior to this journey. The Nexon EV owner has made sure that he has charged his car to 100 percent before onsetting his trip. He makes sure he drives his electric car just like any other ICE (internal Combustion Engine) car.
As its first impression, the creator mentions that the Nexon EV has a very well-balanced suspension, the car handling is smooth and the ride is comfortable as well. The Ac has been set on the 24-degree celsius mark. He then turns towards Lonavala joining the National Highway (NH)-4. During the course of his journey, he maintains the speed limit at every instance and follows the traffic laws diligently. Watch the full video below.

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The first reading comes at 4.7 km of travel with consumption of 4 percent charge The second reading is taken at 29.5 km consuming 21 percent charge. Between city and highway, the distance covered was 16 km, which means the car drove 16 km in city driving conditions. The third reading is noted at 57.3 km near the destination after eating up 43 percent of the battery with the MID showing a 160 km still left.
In between his journey, there was a heavy bout of rain therefore he had to slow down his car to avoid hydroplaning, more so because the Nexon EV is not equipped with Electronic Stability Program (ESP). In Lonavala, after completing 60.8 km of his journey, the driver stops at a refilling pump which is equipped with a charging station suggested by the app on his phone. However, he finds out that the charging apparatus is broken and had to leave without recharging his EV. At this point in time, he still had 46 percent of battery life left.

Tata Nexon EV – Hemank
Nexon Electric owner also suggests to all those seeking to buy an EV in India and wishing to go on a road trip must always take note of the charging infrastructures present on the route to be covered otherwise it might leave you in a very tricky situation. This shows that our country still has a long way to go in fully adopting electric vehicles as their primary mobility option. He finally recharges his EV on arriving at a recharging station near Pune where he uses a fast charger. At first, the quick charger at Tata Motors dealership fails to charge the battery as it disconnects after charging from 22% to 30%. After a few more attempts, the owner manages to start the battery charging process successfully.
Final Summary
His total journey counted for 110 km after consuming 80 percent of the battery. The owner says that he would expect the Nexon Electric to have a real-world range of 140 to 150km on a single charge, as opposed to the claimed range of about 310km. Therefore, the real-world driving range turns out to be half of the claimed range. The Nexon EV is powered by Tata Motor’s Ziptron powertrain technology which is equipped with a 30.2kWh lithium-ion battery. It is rated to give an output of 129 PS of power and 245 Nm of torque.
Update – Hemank has now uploaded another range test video of Tata Nexon EV. The difference now is that the Nexon EV firmware has been updated. Hemank says that this has helped the real world mileage to improve slightly, and he now expect the real world mileage to be about 170-180 kms for a full charge. “While cruising at a speed of 80 kmph, the battery consumption is about 1% for 2 kms. If you cruise at 100 kmph, the battery consumption is about 1% for 1.2 kms,” adds Hemank in his video. More

Pune-based Northway Motorsport has major plans to make a factory-fresh Tata Nexon EV “better” in terms of performance and dynamics
At the moment, the Indian automotive market has three ‘proper’ electric four-wheelers: Tata Nexon EV, MG ZS EV and Hyundai Kona. Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra has reached the final developmental stages of its eXUV300 or XUV300 Electric. Showcased at Auto Expo 2020 as a concept, the upcoming Mahindra eXUV300 will be a direct rival to the Tata Nexon EV.

Priced from Rs 13.99 lakh ex-showroom, the Tata Nexon Electric debuted with the Indian automaker’s all-new Ziptron electric architecture. It comes in three trims: XM, XZ+ and XZ+ Lux. As per the newly formed Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, the all-electric sub-four-metre crossover is eligible for an incentive summing up to Rs 1.5 lakh in the capital city. The government is really pushing towards cleaner and emission-free modes of transportation, especially in densely populated cities.
Powering the Tata Nexon EV is a ~95kW (127bhp) PMSM electric motor coupled to a 30.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Peak torque is rated at 245Nm. In ideal conditions, the EV boasts of a range of 312km (ARAI figure) on full juice. It can hit 100km/h from a standstill within 10 seconds. A fast-charger helps the battery attain 80 per cent charge in about an hour’s time. Tata Motors recently introduced a subscription plan for the Nexon EV.
Tata Nexon Electric mod by Northway Motorsport
Pune-based EV specialists Northway Motorsport has acquired a Tata Nexon EV with the aim to “make it better”. Hemank Dabhade, Director of Northway Motorsport, states that he is quite impressed with what the EV has to offer in stock avatar. Still, he believes that there is room for improvement.

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Dubbed ‘The Best Nexon EV Project’, the entire build will be documented on his YouTube channel, Hemank Dabhade. Over the months, we have shared quite a few interesting projects from Northway Motorsport such as Chevrolet Beat diesel-EV conversion, Honda Activa Electric and most recently, Maruti 800 Electric.
Mods & upgrades planned
The very first set of mods include better brakes and bigger wheels since the vehicle has (relatively) high torque characteristics. The stock front ventilated disc brakes (single-piston callipers) were swapped with bigger slotted rotors with six-piston callipers. Of course, this was not a direct fit and hence, a custom-made bracket was required. To house the new pair of discs, bigger rims proved a necessity. Hemank chose a set of 17-inch five-spokes shod with Ultramile UM R5 tyres.
The higher unsprung mass might take a toll on the Tata Nexon Electric’s original performance but Northern Motorsport has several upgrades in the pipeline to make up for it. Furthermore, this could soon be the very first performance-enhanced Tata Nexon EV in the country. More