Stunning looks Nano's biggest advantage

GREAT LOOKS, GREAT PRICE: Nano will cost Rs 1 lakh when it reaches the showroom.

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New Delhi: Nano means one-billionth and that is the name of the new car from Tata Motors stable. Chairman of Tata Group Ratan Tata, who wants to put each of the 1 billion Indians in the driver’s seat, launched the car at the Auto Expo in New Delhi on Thursday.

The car was born after a gestation of more than a decade and subjected to endless speculation over its size, style and performance. Following a measured disbelief over its proposed price of Rs 1 lakh, Ratan Tata said that he kept his promise.

"The standard car will have a dealer price of Rs 1 lakh only. The AC and transport will be extra. I just want to say a promise is a promise," Tata said.

Nano will cost Rs 1 lakh when it reaches the showroom and after adding taxes, insurance and other incidentals it will finally cost about Rs 1.20 lakh when it reaches the customer, which translates to an EMI of less than Rs 2,500 a month.

That will make it low enough to tempt the two-wheeler owners to switch over. And going by its looks alone, the Nano is a stunner.

"Styling has been a part of the DNA of Tata Motors. Mr. Tata himself has been very focussed on styling. So I am not supposed that it has turned out looking stunning," Hormaz Sorabjee, an auto expert, said.

Despite its low price, the Tatas haven't cut many corners as was being anticipated.

The car is powered by a 623 cc engine that winds up 33 HP, which is more than double of a standard motorcycle and could push the car to over a 100 kilometer an hour.

It is a sleek vehicle and the trimmings are way above the basic stuff that was being expected with the nicely placed eyebrow indicators above the headlamps giving is a cute look. The interiors look fairly slick for the price as well and Tata says it has more space than a Maruti 800 and can seat four adults comfortably.

The Nano meets the legal safety norms, too, but its real advantage is that it's safer than two-wheelers while costing just a little more.

But the windows will have to be kept rolled down because there's no air conditioning in the base model and there is no stereo either.

The engine is at the back and the boot is at the front that gives it a pretty small look. The car might be good for the city but in semi-urban and rural areas, it will call for the celebrated Indian ingenuity - or jugaar - to find ways of carrying luggage.

So it won't exactly cost Rs 1 lakh but if you go by the looks, Nano would be the supermodel in a swimsuit calendar of cars. It is slim, tall and has just the right curves but would be available only from October.

(With inputs from Paromita Chatterjee and Karan Patheja)