Reference Auto

There are no mechanical changes on the new Nano and it will be propelled by the same 624 cc, inline twin cylinder, which belts out 38 PS @ 5,500 rpm and 51 Nm @ 4,000 rpm.

When these features are compared with competing cars like Hyundai Eon, Chevrolet Spark and Maruti Alto 800, the Twist is a dampener. But on the price front, the Nano is a lakh cheaper.

Sales of India’s first Rs 1 lakh car (it is no more Rs 1 lakh now and costs almost Rs 2 lakh for the basic variant) has been witnessing fluctuating fortunes. 

Some years ago, a few of the brand new Nanos caught fire and this resulted in the sales dwindling to around 500.

The Tatas relaunched the Nano in 2012 with a litany of improvements and sales have been decent since then and no big complaints lodged.

This time, there is more to it. The Nano Twist would come with a power steering and this will make it more maneuverable as desired by many of its customers. It would also help in parking in the city’s overcrowded parking lots.

The Tatas have equipped the Nano Twist with an Electric Power Assisted Steering (ESP) along with keyless entry. The Nano Twist will be the first car in Tata Motor’s stable that would come with this type of power steering. Tatas other vehicles come with the Hydraulic Power Steering.

The interiors remain the same barring the new instrument console that shows distance to empty, fuel economy and the time.

So far as the looks go, the Nano Twist would be almost similar to the standard version and the only differences are ‘Twist’ and ‘XT’ badging at the rear.

The Nano Twist comes with four-speaker music system and has Bluetooth connectivity also. The Twist comes in some funky new colours. There is the all-new Damson Purple shade and a deep blue one.

There are two glove boxes near the instrument cluster and the top model comes with swanky nine-spoke alloys.

So, with a power steering, as desired by many customers, the Nano Twist’s price is almost a steal and many may actually flock for it and raise its sales numbers substantially.