Tata Nexon undercuts the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza by Rs 38,000 in India

Tata Motors has launched the Nexon in India at Rs 5.85 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.85 lah for the diesel models. The crossover is available in base XE, XM, XT and XZ+ trims
The Nexon marks the entry of Tata Motors in the popular sub-4m SUV segment and therefore it will be competing with the the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport. The 2017 Tata Nexon diesel is priced between Rs 6.85 lakh to Rs 9.44 lakh while the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is available between 7.23 lakh to Rs 9.69 lakh, all prices ex-Delhi. The Nexon will be in showrooms from mid October and here is how it stacks up against the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza - on paper.

Looks

Tata designers have stayed true to the Nexon's concept line and there is no other car in the Indian market that looks like this compact SUV now. It doesn't have the typical SUV stance but will still grab eye balls due to its design language. Not only the front but also the rear too looks radical.

Maruti too have done a good job with the Brezza. It resembles the bigger Vitara to a great extent and that's a good thing. It has the proper old-school SUV stance that buyers in this segment like and features like projector headlamps with DRLs and dual-tone colour schemes add to the entire buying experience.

Interior

Maruti's Brezza's interior is headlined by the SmartPlay infotainment system that also does duties in other Maruti cars. This apart, even the Brezza seats you high and has a slimmer A-pillar that doesn't restrict your vision during turns. The Brezza also has good leg room as well as head room for all the occupants. The boot capacity is 328 litres, the least in this class. Twin airbags as well as ABS are optional right from the base trim.

A near similar layout with the existing Tatas, exception being the 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system, means you're in familiar space with the Nexon. While Tata does boast a 209mm ground clearance, you don't really sit high up in the Nexon. This aside, the Nexon gets a few useful cubby holes. While space inside looks better than that of the EcoSport, we will have to wait for an actual comparo to find this out

Engines

Maruti offers the Brezza with a lone 90PS/200Nm 4-cylinder 1.3-litre diesel engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. This engine is shared with the other Marutis and suffers from a bot of turbolag in the lower gears. It however revs a bit for a diesel and once on the boil, is a quick performer too.

The 110PS/260Nm 4-cylinder motor is good for cruising and is claimed to deliver a higher fuel efficiency than the Brezza

The Nexon's all-new 1.5-litre diesel motor is good for 110PS/260Nm and is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The engine has lots of torque at the bottom-end and makes do with lesser gear changes. The Nexon can also be ordered with a new 1.2-litre 110PS petrol engine as well.