Adil Jal Darukhanawala  Images: Kunal Khadse  Graphics: Shivaji Mane & Manoj Kumar Nair  23 Mar 2009

View :Tata Nano Special Coverage

The rivals!

The Maruti 800 is the logical closest rival to the Nano but the Indian product is light years ahead of it in every sense of the term. Yes this mighty warhorse put Indians on wheels like no other car before but the Nano is another car which has the capability to weave its magic in the micro-mini class by delivering a king-size feel to its occupants. That it will do so in an era where innovation using logic and simplicity coupled to lean manufacturing practices sets it apart.

The original tall boy established Hyundai in this country and the Santro continues to pile on decent numbers for its maker even today. Its packaging was what set it apart from the Maruti hordes, especially its upright seating stance which delivered a spacious cabin and optimized knee, leg and head room. Of course style-wise it was a mish-mash but clever positioning and catchy marketing turned that into a virtue. Check out the Nano which is taller than the Korean tall boy and has a very contemporary world style. Apart from looking good it has more head room and shoulder space than the Santro while also having better ground clearance - the latter being a key detail in Indian motoring given our indifferent roads.

Another Korean smallie (an Italian design first destined for Fiat before Daewoo bought the rights from Italdesign) sporting a Yankee badge has established itself as a credible small car in the Indian car bazaar in the form of the Chevrolet Spark. We knew of this earlier as the Daewoo Matiz but in its latest and most modern avatar the Spark has been doing the business consistently for its maker. The miniscule Nano however shades it when shoulder space up front is factored in and of course it is no contest when it comes to pricing or fuel efficiency.

Move on next to the Suzuki Alto, probably the best selling car in the country for the better part of a few years now and essentially a more modern derivative of the original 800 (itself badged as an Alto in Japan and other world markets then). The Alt has been a strong performer for its maker all thru the last decade but clearly the Nano takes the game forwards, not just in terms of pricing and nimble handling but also in interior roominess.

And just to see where the small car paradigm has progressed to, we decided to include the Hyundai i10. With the base Nano priced around the Rs. 1.07 lakh mark you need to factor in whether the difference in pricing between it and the i10 - three to four times more - also gets you triple or quadruple benefits. This I must say is no yardstick at all for comparison's sake with the aware enlightened class but when you speak to the man with just so much money to satisfy his car-ownership aspirations, this is one among the first few questions he would surely have.

Overall as a product, the Nano is frugally equipped but brilliantly engineered. It has class leading space making it more than a match for cars above it - Alto, Spark, Santro, i10. It is contemporarily styled and is quite clearly a packaging marvel. Its drivetrain is clever and adequate as is its performance. It bests all rivals on fuel efficiency and trumps every car in the country in terms of tail pipe emissions and overall lifecycle CO2 emissions.

View :Tata Nano Special Coverage

View :Tata Nano Comparo