Tata Nexon SUV, a better buy over the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport?

The compact SUV segment is booming in India, a reason why every car manufacturer already has or is working on entering it. The Nexon SUV that was launched yesterday at Rs 5.85 lakh for petrol and Rs 6.85 lakh for diesel marks the entry of Tata Motors in these segment. The Tata Nexon is the fourth product after the Tiago, Tigor and the Hexa to get the new impact design language. While the price and features of the Tata Nexon makes it an impressive offering, the crossover has to battle it out with two of the most popular offerings, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport in India. Here is a look at how the different variants of the Tata Nexon SUV are placed against its competition in India

Base variants

Tata Nexon:
Rs 5.85 lakh (P) XE / Rs 6.85 lakh (D) XE

The base trim of the Nexon will have white accents on the front fog lamps, side belt line as well as the tail gate. There will also be the standard LED tail lights. Tata also offers side body protection in the form of mouldings. There will be a three-tone interior scheme with a full fabric upholstery. The umbrella holder will be available with both the front doors, driver information system with fuel efficiency display and other details, multi drive modes, manual AC, steering wheel with tilt adjustment as well as front power windows. The tyre size is 195/60-R16

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza:
Rs 7.23 lakh (D) LDi / Rs 7.36 lakh (D) LDI (O)

The base trim or LDi gets twin podheadlamps with the turn indicators on the bumper and will get 15-inch steel wheels. The Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza SUV gets side cladding. Front power windows, a parcel tray, manual AC, tilt steering, manual day/night IRVM, speed sensitive door locks, Bluetooth-enabled music system and a driver foot rest will be offered. Driver airbag is standard across the range.

Ford EcoSport:
Rs 7.21 lakh (P) Ambiente / Rs 7.91 lakh (D) Ambiente

The base variant of the Ford EcoSport comes with Bluetooth with 4 speakers, driver and passenger airbag, speed sensing locks, manual AC and tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel.

Mid variants

Tata Nexon:
Rs 6.49 lakh (P) XM / Rs 7.39 lakh (D) XM
Rs 7.29 lakh (P) XT / Rs 8.14 lakh XT (D) XT

The Nexon XM gets all the features of the XE plus a centre antenna, dual tone wheel covers, non-touchscreen infotainment system with four speakers, steering mounted controls, rear sensors as well as Park Assist, remote central locking, all four power windows, electric adjustment for the outside mirrors and a USB charger. Tata offers the Nexon XT with roof rails, shark fin antenna, body coloured door handles and mirrors, automatic climate control, rear vents with adjustable air flow, electric folding function for the ORVMs, illuminated and cooled glovebox and rear 12V power outlet.

Maruti Suzuki Vitata Brezza:
Rs 7.77 lakh (D) VDI / Rs 7.90 lakh (D) VDI (O)

Blacked out floating A,B and C pillars, front-rear black skid plates, black roof rails, full wheel cover and body-coloured door handles are the features which distinguish the VDi from the LDi. Maruti is also offering keyless entry, a gear shift indicator, rear power windows, driver-side seat back hook which can carry loads up to 3kg, seat back pockets, passenger vanity mirror, rear seat headrests, fabric insert on door and fabric roof lining. Additionally, an electromagnetic tail gate and security alarm are also available. The O trim is usually the safety options pack that Maruti now offers for almost its entire range of cars in India. This one brings in the same safety features like the LDi (O) - passenger airbag and ABS with EBD.

Ford EcoSport:

Rs 7.94 lakh (P) Trend / Rs 8.61 lakh (D) Trend
Rs 8.67 lakh (P) Trend+ / Rs 9 lakh (D) Trend+

The updated Ford EcoSport Trend trim now comes with ABS and EBD as standard safety equipment. The Trend+ variant comes with signature light guides, chrome grille, fog lamps and contrasting roof rails. This comes comes equipped with automatic climate control, distance to empty, ambient temperature display and average speed. The rest of the features that were seen in the previous model have been carried over on the new EcoSport as well.

Higher-spec variants

Current Ford EcoSport sold in India

Tata Nexon:
Rs 8.44 lakh (P) XZ+ / Rs 9.29 lakh (D) XZ+
Rs 8.59 lakh (P) XZ+ Dual tone roof / Rs 9.44 lakh (D) Dual tone roof

This is the top-spec trim of the Tata Nexon and brings with its machined alloy wheels sitting on wider 215 section tyres, dual-tone roofs, projector headlights, LED DRLs, antenna with GPS, front arm rest and sliding storage space, two cup holders with the rear arm rest, 60:40 split rear seats, 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with eight speakers, Android Auto, Tata Motors app, door open and service due reminders, day-night IRVM, park assist system with rear camera and guidelines, front fog lamps with cornering function, rear fog lamps and defogger, driver seat height adjustment, seat belt adjustment for front passengers, push button start with sensors on the door for unlocking and locking the car.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza
Rs 8.70 lakh (D) ZDI / Rs 9.69 lakh (D) ZDI+

Bigger 215/60 R16 tyres on alloy wheels, projector headlamps with LED DRLs, front fog lamps, chrome front grille, gunmetal grey roof rails, front and rear silver skid plates. The cabin gets auto AC, a piano-black centre console with side louvre rings, 60:40 split rear seats, driver-side seat height adjuster, steering wheel with audio controls, rear window washer and wiper, speedometer with mood lighting,an overhead console with a sun glass holder, chrome door handles, higher grade fabric seats, and a vanity mirror lamp. The boot comes with a power socket as well as lamp. On the safety front, dual front airbags and ABS with EBD are available. The top-end trim gets auto headlamps, rain sensing auto wipers and electric folding ORVMs with turn indicators on the outside. Features inside include keyless entry and push button start, reverse parking camera, Smartplay infotainment with CarPlay, inbuilt navigation with Mapcare (which updates your map data with every service), a cooled upper glove box, cruise control with a switch on the steering wheel, sliding front armrest with storage and a front seat belt height adjuster. The ZDi+ also gets dual-tone paint options.

Ford EcoSport
Rs 9.07 lakh (P) Titanium / Rs 9.75 lakh (D) Titanium
Rs 9.99 lakh (P) Titanium+ / Rs 9.99 lakh (D) Titanium +
Rs 10.49 lakh (P) / Rs 10.82 lakh (D) - Platinum Titanium+

Sitting at the top of the variant range of the Ford EcoSport in India is the Titanium trim. This trim comes with Smart Keyless entry with push button start. The automatic transmissions are offered only on this trim. Placed above this is the Titanium+ trim which now comes equipped with automatic lights with DRLs, rain sensing wipers. Ford also offers chrome pack with detailing on the door handles, AC as well as on the dash. In addition, there is also the premium leather seats and handbrake.

All Tata Nexon variants are powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged 110PS/170Nm petrol and 1.5-litre 110PS/260Nm turbodiesel engines. Both the engines send power to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission. In our review, we found the Nexon to be high on features as well as driveability with respect to the diesel engine. The engines are refined and there is also sufficient space inside the cabin. The SUV too looks fresh. Fuel tank capacity stands at 44 litres while the boot space is pegged at 360 litres. Amongst the colour options available for the Tata Nexon SUV, the Morrocan Blue as well as the Vermont Red are available with dual tone and only with the XZ+ trim. Other trims can be also ordered with Calgary White, Seattle Silver and Glasgow Grey colours.

While on paper, the Tata Nexon does look more attractive than its rivals, the Ford EcoSport and the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, only a real world comparison can  settle this question. The Ford EcoSport in particular is due for an update. A refreshed version was recently shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show that will be heading to Indian shores later this year. That leaves us with the Tata Nexon and the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. Stay tuned to OVERDRIVE for a detailed comparision of the two offerings,