Tata Nano reaffirms as the most fuel efficient passenger vehicle

Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO) recently organised the second Tata Nano Mileage Challenge Rally for Tata Nano owners in Colombo.

The rally was flagged off from Colombo, with the objective of raising customer awareness and reassuring the position of Tata Nano as the most fuel efficient passenger car in Sri Lanka. Twenty five Tata Nano owners took part in the rally, including few lady drivers. The rally started off, opposite the Colombo Municipal Council and included a route going down to Wadduwa and back.

S.P.S. Sampath won the challenge by clocking an incredible fuel efficiency of above 50 kmpl, in his Tata Nano. A.M.P. Priyankara won the second place while K.S.P. Kumara achieved third place. The average fuel efficiency of the participants was above 30 kmpl during the event.

The Tata Nano Mileage Challenge Rally is part of a program by Tata Motor and DIMO to increase awareness and educate customers on driving habits for obtaining maximum mileage from their Tata Nano.

During the rally, the participants were provided with a time chart, route map and riding tips, which had to be followed to reach the final destination. ‘Top-up to top-up’ method was used to calculate the fuel efficiency. This method ensured accurate measure on the fuel consumed and mileage achieved.

In November 2011, Tata Motors introduced the Nano 2012 in India, with a bouquet of features – of new colours, new interiors, a more powerful gasoline engine and even greater fuel efficiency of 25.4 kmpl (under standard driving conditions), further improving on its record as India’s most fuel efficient petrol car.

Making the Tata Nano even more desirable, the car’s 624 cc engine has been made more powerful delivering an impressive 38PS of power (earlier 35 PS) and 51Nm of torque (earlier 48 Nm). Yet fuel efficiency, already a high point with Tata Nano owners, has been taken to a new high of 25.4 kmpl (earlier 23.6 kmpl) as certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). The high fuel efficiency, with a low kerb weight of 600 kg, ensures that the Tata Nano at 92.7 gm/km has the lowest CO2 emission among cars in India.

With a top speed of 105 km and ability to negotiate inclines with a grade ability of 30%, and a class-leading turning radius of just 4 meters, the Tata Nano is a perfect combination of power and performance.

This event was also the occasion to the introduction of the Tata Indica Xeta in Sri Lanka, with the best-in-class fuel efficiency of 16.84 kmpl (under standard driving conditions). Its 1.2 litre MPFI engine delivers 65 PS at 5000 rpm and 100 Nm torque at 2700 rpm. The new Tata Indica Xeta gets a fresh new look on the exteriors and interiors. According to Tata Motors Head International Business, Passenger Cars Johnny Oommen, “Sri Lanka has traditionally been an important market for Tata Motors and we constantly upgrade our products to meet customer requirements in this market. With the addition of Tata Indica Xeta in our product offerings, we intend to provide our customers with smart solutions for their mobility needs in Sri Lanka. We hope that the Tata Indica Xeta will further help us achieve a significant share of the new car market, in Sri Lanka.”

The car will be available in two variants – Tata Indica Xeta GLS and Tata Indica Xeta GLX and in four new attractive colours – mint white, apple green, arctic silver and neo orange. 

While the Tata Indica Xeta GLS comes with air-conditioning, power steering and body-coloured bumpers, the top-end variant, the Tata Indica Xeta GLX offers all features of the GLS and in addition comes with features such as heating, ventilation, ORVMs, front and rear fog lamps and stylish alloy wheels. The Tata Indica Xeta will be available for sale in all DIMO branches, shortly. The car comes with a warranty of 02 years or 50,000kms, for private usage. 

Tata Motors has thus far exported over 70,000 commercial and passenger vehicles. The company’s portfolio of commercial vehicles in the country comprises the entire range from sub one-tonne small trucks to 49-tonne prime movers and from 14-seater buses to luxury coaches. The passenger vehicles portfolio, which started in 2004, includes the Tata Indica Vista, the Tata Indica Vista 90, the Tata Indigo CS, the Tata Indigo Manza and the Tata Safari.

DIMO and Tata Motors celebrated 50 years of relationship in 2011.

DIMO is the authorised distributor for Tata passenger cars, including the Tata Nano in Sri Lanka. With more than 20 branches across the country and an island wide network for parts and servicing, DIMO is confident that Tata Nano can be introduced to all levels of the urban and rural sectors in the country, thus enabling public to travel safer and faster in the most cost effective way.