Tata Nexon EV Prime

Is It a Compromise Over the EV Max?

The Tata Nexon EV has led EV sales charts in India for multiple years. It had the early mover’s advantage initially, but it remains the go-to choice for most EV customers thanks to a decent range figure, the practicality of an SUV, and affordability against other luxury EVs. With all of its success, Tata Motors has now added the Nexon EV Max to its lineup, with the existing model being renamed the Nexon EV Prime. The Prime is the cheaper of the two and misses out on a few features and the larger battery of the EV Max. Is it still a considerable option with the existence of the EV Max? Let’s take a look.

Tata Nexon EV Prime Pros and Cons 

Tata Nexon EV Prime Exterior Design

The Tata Nexon has been in the Indian market for a while now, but the mid-cycle facelift and a few other design changes have kept the Nexon’s design fresh. The electric siblings get blue inserts all over the body too, including on the front grille and fog lamp cavities, along the door sills on the sides, and between the two tail lights. The Nexon EV Prime is a sub-4-metre SUV, but the compact dimensions don’t hurt its proportions in any way. The 16-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 215/60 sized tyres also look properly sized for the car, unlike a few other SUVs nowadays which look under-tyred.

As is the case with most new Tata cars, the Nexon gets plenty of Tata’s signature ‘tri-arrow’ inserts as well. The headlights and tail lights, both have tri-arrow LED inserts, and the front grille is also covered with blue coloured tri-arrow elements. Even the door claddings have the 3D shape of a tri-arrow. Overall, the design of the Nexon EV Prime remains pleasing to the eye, with no elements that stand out as eyesores. 

Tata Nexon EV Prime Interiors 

The Nexon EV Prime’s interior has a very premium fit and finish, which makes it comparable to larger compact SUVs. There are plenty of tri-arrow design elements throughout the cabin — on the door panels, seats, dashboard… you name it, it probably has a tri-arrow element to it. This being the electric counterpart of the Nexon, it also gets some blue inserts around the cabin, most notably around the AC vents, instrument cluster, and the centre console. The cabin retains its dual-tone finish with the dashboard sporting piano black inserts, and the seats are finished in a premium light beige leatherette finish. The Nexon EV Prime, however, misses out on a few features when compared to the EV Max, the most notable of being ventilated seats and the new 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment display. 

Tata Nexon EV Prime Comfort 

The Tata Nexon EV Prime’s front seats are well cushioned, providing good comfort to passengers even over longer trips. The rear seats can easily accommodate three passengers as well. There’s ample knee room and headroom, and since the EV Prime has a smaller battery pack, the floor of the car is 10 mm lower than the EV Max, liberating some legroom in the rear. While 10 mm doesn’t sound like a lot, the added under-thigh support improves the rear seat experience greatly.

On the suspension front, the EV Prime benefits by being lighter than the EV Max, and hence has a softer setup. It is not as comfortable as its ICE-powered counterpart, but the Nexon EV Prime can round off bumps and potholes pretty well, and coasts over small undulations effortlessly.

Tata Nexon EV Prime Performance and Handling

The Tata Nexon EV Prime gets 127 bhp and 245 Nm torque on tap. While these figures are slightly lower than the EV Max, they are more than enough for city use, or even an occasional highway run. Tata Motors claims a 0-100 kmph acceleration time of just 9.9 seconds, which is brisk by subcompact SUV standards. However, the top speed is restricted to just 120 kmph. 

The Nexon EV Prime gets two drive modes — Drive and Sport. Drive mode does its job well in city runarounds, but it's the Sport mode that puts a big grin on your face. The Nexon EV Prime also gets multi-mode regen, with 3 different levels of regenerative braking. You can also turn the regen all the way off if you are on the highway and want to coast. The battery pack’s placement under the floor gives the EV a low centre of gravity as well, making it a very happy handling car. However, it tends to spin the inside wheel when taking tight corners under hard acceleration. 

Tata Nexon EV Prime Key Specifications

Tata Nexon EV Prime Safety Features

While there is no separate crash test rating for the Nexon EV Prime yet, it is based on the same platform as the ICE-powered Nexon, which famously became the first Indian car to score a 5-star crash test rating at the Global NCAP. The Nexon EV Prime gets all the basic safety features like ABS, EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, TPMS, and more, but gets only two airbags. Traction Control is also missed on the EV Prime, which is on offer on the EV Max.

Technology and Infotainment

The Nexon EV Max gets a 7-inch infotainment system that has started to show its age. The system gets basic connectivity features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and is paired to an 8-speaker Harman sound system, which sounds great. The instrument cluster is part-digital, with the analogue speedometer sitting next to a 7-inch display that shows all the necessary readouts. It does miss out on the wireless phone charger though.

Is the Tata Nexon EV Prime for You?

All electric vehicles come with the same set of advantages and disadvantages. EV running costs are significantly lower than ICE-powered vehicles and they have no tailpipe emissions. However, EV charging infrastructure is still poor when it comes to inter-city travel, and range anxiety remains a thing. However, if your travel doesn’t exceed city limits beyond a certain extent, or if you have another car in your garage that can handle longer distances, then the Nexon EV Prime could be a value pick for you.