The Tata Nano has been voted Car of of the Year by Autocar India.
The prestigious award was presented to Ratan Tata by Autocar editor Chas Hallett.
Autocar India said: "The beauty of this car is not its cost, but how much it delivers for so little. Tata had to think out of the box and use innovative engineering to create a car that was desirable, comfortable and safe.
"What is great about this car is the refusal to compromise despite the small price tag. Yes there is evidence of creative cost-saving: flat side glass, a single wiper, no tailgate, no rear wiper, three wheel-nuts instead of four, one door lock instead of two - but it’s not something you can’t live without.
"The Nano also has an unbelievable amount of interior space. It has more space than some cars that are a segment above.
"Despite its lack of size, the 624cc engine does an impressive job. The ultra-light clutch, the crisp shift action of the gearbox along with the car’s incredible turning radius makes it extremely easy to drive. You soon forget you are driving a micro car and the sense of stability is terrific."
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Re: Tata Nano's Autocar India award
this is the car that, at least, the major automakers should all of them have in their range...
in spite of that, they keep themselfs "inside the usual box", that means: generation upon generation, the cars get bigger and bigger, fatter and fatter and with a lot of useless equipment, such dozens of cup-holders, millions of airbags, parking control devices, bluetooth gadgets and the like...
if really funny nowadays to see that the humble Megane is by far, bigger, widder and pointless than an RS2 Avant quattro.
their strategy (automakers) is to create generation upon generation bigger cars from the same models, so that they can introduce new ones in the vacant place...
if the Clio wasn`t so big, the Twingo could only exist with the Clio`s same size...
in the same path, there will be no place for Dacia, if the Clio could stand as the low-budget Renault...
by the way, I don`t have any concern with Renault, I just gave their example because it`s easier to get the point of my opinion concerning this subject.
and related to the Nano itself: "three wheel-nuts instead of four"
do you (Autocar) think it is like that because of cost reduction, really?
ok, what size the rims are? hum?
small size, few bolts, don`t you agree?
otherwise, we will see Volvo, DAF and the likes moving their multiple bolts in their 22 inch rims to 4 or 5, according to your way of thinking, just for saving and cost reduction purposes...