Tata Motors showcase Zest, Bolt and concepts at 2014 Auto Expo

Tata showcased its recently unveiled Zest, compact sedan and Bolt, premium hatchback on the opening day of the 12th edition of the Auto Expo. Apart from these two offerings, it also unveiled two new concepts Nexon and ConnectNext, which according to the carmaker gives an insight of its future products based on its Horizon Next strategy. Although, the Zest is a compact sedan and the Bolt is a hatchback both have the same underpinnings, which is a modified X1 platform. As part of updates on the existing platform it receives improved engine, suspension and transmission. Both cars will sport the new 1.2-litre Revotron engine. 

This engine in its current state of tune will offer 85PS of peak power and 140Nm of peak torque. The Zest compact sedan gets a new ‘F-Tronic’ Automated Manual Transmission mated to the 1.3-litre quadrajet 90PS diesel engine. This is a first AMT in the country in a diesel car and follows closely on the heels of the first AMT ever on a petrol car in India in the Maruti Celerio. The interiors have received a complete revamp with premium features like the 5-inch touch-screen Harmann infotainment system with satellite navigation, Bluetooth, voice recognition and text to speech and phone enabled navigation. The Indian carmaker will launch these two products by mid-2014.

The Nexon concept is Tata’s take on sub-4 metre SUV, which has been designed to appeal to the younger generation with its futuristic and bold styling. It features DLO (day-light opening) doors that were created with the Megapixel concept and lens-less LED lamps. The Nexon concept is powered by a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine producing 110PS of power and 170Nm of torque. Top speed of the car is 180km/h, while Tata claims it has a fuel efficiency figure of 17.6kmpl. The car has also been equipped with an electronic four-wheel drive system.To increase interior space, the Nexon adopts a cab forward design and boasts a ‘floating’ instrument panel with a wrap-around tub.

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The other concept car showcased by Tata at the Auto Expo was the ConnectNext Concept, which is an electric car. The concept car measures four metres in length and is a 5-seater. To further enhance the cabin space, it sports flexible interiors to adapt to the various requirements in terms of interior space. The electric car has been loaded with features like infotainment, keyless entry, heads-up display etc. As its nomenclature suggests, the ConnectNext will offer cloud connectivity facilitate seamless home-to-car and vice versa connectivity to the passengers at the rear. Other benefits the rear occupants get are video conference facility, video streaming and access to cloud services.