Let us face it. . .the Tata Nano has not really been much of a success for Tata Motors.
Much of this can be attributed to almost half a dozen cases of the small car’s engine catching fire. Another reason is the car being priced considerably higher than the promised price point of INR 1 lakhs.
The Tata Nano has always interested us. The idea of a city car that can seat 4 in considerable comfort and threatens to replace many overloaded two wheelers on our roads is surely a very promising one. The Tata Nano is sufficiently powerful for city runabouts, is very light on the pocket and has more passenger space than some of the cars being sold at twice its price.
However, one of the biggest sore points of Nano’s interior packaging is the lack of a proper boot. It may be noted that Nano is rear engined and the motor is placed just behind the rear seats. Up at front, Tata has provided a storage compartment that holds the spare wheel. However, the front storage space does not offers enough space to hold the tonnes of luggage we Indians are fond of carrying.
While Tata Motors has got rid of the fire issue and the car has slowly started selling in respectable numbers, we feel that more boot space can make the Nano a better overall package. News of Tata working on adding some much needed boot space has been doing rounds since some time and now, it has become almost sure that Tata Motors will soon add a boot to its ‘small wonder’.
Addition of a proper boot will considerably increase the price of the car but the inclusion of boot is sure to make the car more appealing.
Other than designing a proper boot for its small car, Tata Motors is also working on a diesel variant of Nano. Speculations are afloat in the cyber space that the Tata Nano diesel will deliver an astonishing fuel economy of 40 kmpl.
Anything close to this figure will surely be the ultimate answer to ‘average kitna hai?’ question an average Indian car buyer loves to ask. What further makes the deal sweeter is the fact that diesel is almost 33% cheaper than petrol. So basically, you get a car that is cheaper to run than a 150cc bike. On doing some basic mathematics, the running cost of Tata Nano diesel turns out to be less than Re 1.5 per kilometre!
Powering the Tata Nano diesel will be an 800 cc motor that will employ Honeywell turbocharger for forced induction. Coupled with the 15 liter fuel tank, Tata Nano diesel should easily have a range of about 550-600 kms on a tank full of diesel!
The diesel variant will be launched with the fully functional 5th door, i.e. a hatch for easier access to increased boot space. The car will also come with redesigned front and rear bumpers. A 2013-end launch is being speculated for Tata Nano diesel.