The new Tata Nexon XZ+ ‘S’ is placed between XZ+ and XZ+ (O) variants
Amidst COVID-19 lockdown, Tata Motors has introduced a new ‘XZ+ S’ trim for its popular Nexon subcompact SUV. Prices start at Rs 10.10 lakh for the petrol manual single-tone format. The 2020 Tata Nexon BS6, featuring a lot more equipment than before, was launched in January at a starting price of Rs 6.95 lakh with eight variants (excluding dual-tone). The figures mentioned here are ex-showroom.
The new ‘XZ+ S’ trim is placed between the existing XZ+ and XZ+ (O) options and is available in both petrol and diesel formats. Confusingly enough, the Tata Nexon XZ+ S comes in eight sub-trims with the inclusion of dual-tone colour choices.
The ex-showroom price break-up is as follows:
- XZ+ S petrol manual – Rs 10.10 lakh
- XZ+ S petrol manual dual-tone – Rs 10.30 lakh
- XZA+ S petrol automatic – Rs 10.70 lakh
- XZA+ S petrol automatic dual-tone – Rs 10.90 lakh
- XZ+ S diesel manual – Rs 11.60 lakh
- XZ+ S diesel manual dual-tone – Rs 11.80 lakh
- XZA+ S diesel automatic – Rs 12.20 lakh
- XZA+ S diesel automatic dual-tone – Rs 12.40 lakh
Common features across the above trims include leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System), sunroof, automatic headlamps, automatic wipers and cruise control. Compared to the immediate higher XZ+ (O) variant, the ‘S’ misses out on steering-mounted controls, voice commands, vehicle diagnostics, valet mode, location tracking, geofencing and trip analytics.
The BS6-compliant Tata comes with either a 1.2-litre Revotron turbocharged petrol or 1.5-litre diesel engine. The three-cylinder petrol motor makes 118bhp (higher than its BS4 counterpart by around 10bhp) and 170Nm while the four-cylinder diesel mill is good for 108bhp and 260Nm of torque. Both engines are available mated to either a 6-speed manual or its respective AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) unit.
The Tata Nexon is a dominant player in one of India’s most competitive vehicle segments. Its primary rivals include the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300 (arguably the best pick among the lot), Hyundai Venue and Honda WR-V (BS6 version coming soon).
As mentioned at the beginning, Tata Motors launched the Nexon XZ+ S variant amidst a rough business phase due to COVID-19 lockdown. In fact, the Indian brand faced a massive drop of 84% (all categories combined) in the domestic market. It is not the only automaker in the country that has faced substantial losses on the sales chart. While Hyundai India showcased the least fall at 40.70%, Volkswagen faced a massive decline of 95.24%.