TATA NEXON iCNG

Driving India's first turbocharged CNG SUV

-  BENJAMIN GRACIAS

TATA NEXON iCNG FEARLESS + PS

Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged-petrol Power: 100PS @ 5,000rpm Torque: 170Nm @ 2,000 - 3,000rpm Weight: NA Gearbox: six-speed manual Price: ₹8.99 lakh onwards ex-showroom

The Tata Nexon is one of the best-selling SUVs in India and for good reason. It impresses with its styling, space, features, and safety. It scored a full five stars on both Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP safety tests. It is also the only SUV in its segment to come with a petrol, diesel and EV powertrain option. The SUV now gets a CNG powertrain making it the only SUV available with four major propulsion sources. That’s not the big news here. The big news is, the Nexon iCNG comes with a turbocharged motor making it the first turbocharged CNG to go on sale in India. This is besides the SUV featuring all the bells and whistles of its petrol and diesel-powered siblings. So does this move make the Nexon iCNG an SUV without the compromises associated with CNG vehicles?

Design-wise you’d be hard-pressed to differentiate between the Nexon iCNG and its petrol and diesel counterparts. The exterior styling is identical, down to the choice of paint jobs. The cool-looking Creative Ocean colour scheme you see here isn’t exclusive to the CNG variant either. No differentiation isn’t a bad thing here. The Nexon has always been a good-looking SUV and post its facelift last year, looks even more futuristic and premium now.