Moving Goalposts

Are the updates received by the Tata Nexon.ev extensive enough to make a difference to the car as an everyday companion? Let's find out

- Gaurav Davare 

THE TATA NEXON.EV HAS BEEN A trendsetter in the electric vehicle (EV) space in India and, last year in September, it received a major facelift. We've already had a first taste of it but now we're spending some quality time with it to find out whether these changes affect its everyday use.

I already appreciated the previous model's quirky design and the facelift improves on that. It looks sharper with a new face and exclusive to the EV is a slightly tweaked front grille. There's also an LED light-strip connecting the DRL which gets a nice welcome function during start-up. On top of this, the 16-inch alloys as well as the angular rear bumper with connected LED tail-lights from its ICE counterpart allows the electric SUV to attract attention around the city.

Inside, there's a major overhaul with a flatter dashboard, sleeker air-vents and a new two-spoke steering wheel with an illuminated Tata logo. Behind the steering wheel is a new, minimalistic, and easy-to-use 10.25-inch digital driver's display. More importantly, it mirrors Google/Apple Maps on the screen. Most of the centre controls are now touch-sensitive but the fan speed and temperature controls continue to be conventional; which I prefer as they are easier to operate.

The biggest change is the sleek 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system with lag-free operation, crisp graphics, and which is larger than its ICE counterpart. While it gets everything from the ICE Nexon, including wireless Android Audio and Apple CarPlay as well as connected-car tech, the EV exclusively gets "Arcade.EV", an app store where one can download games and apps such as YouTube and Hotstar and use them while the Nexon. ev is being charged. A nice entertainer during a charging stop.