Decoding The Tata Nexon Variant List

Including the dual-tone variants, the Nexon has a total of 100 variants, which can be confusing to choose from

The Tata Nexon is the best-selling SUV in India today, and it has held that title for the past three years. Tata offers its subcompact SUV in four broad variants which the carmaker calls its personas - Smart, Pure, Creative, and Fearless. However, if we take engine options, transmission options, dual-tone options, and sub variants into consideration, then the Nexon comes in a total of 100 variants!

While it is true that Tata is offering many value for money options for the customers, trying to deliver on the idea of “something from everyone”, choosing from 100 variants can be very confusing if not extremely frustrating. Even going through the full list of variants can be a big task, so we thought it would be better if we breakdown what each of these extra sub-variants, like ‘Plus’, ‘S’, ‘(O)’, and ‘Pr’ also bring to the table.

Powertrain-wise Distribution

Like in any car, variants of the Nexon are subcategorized based on the engine and transmission options. However, unlike most cars with no more than two gearboxes per engine, it has a lot of transmission options too. While the diesel engine only gets two transmissions – a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed AMT, the petrol engine gets four – 5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 6-speed AMT, and 7-speed DCT, which end up contributing a lot in the elongated variant list.

Here is a breakdown of the variant-wise engine and transmission options:

This distribution of transmission options makes for 16 variants of the SUV, but it does not stop here. All of these variants are further divided into many more sub variants, which get a few extra features over the last one. Let's see what these sub variants are, and how they differ from the normal ones.

Opt or (O) Variant

This is the most recent variant addition and fortunately it is just one (for now). The Smart Opt is the new base-variant of the Nexon and comes with a petrol engine mated to the 5-speed MT. Yes, this variant does miss out on a few features, but it lowers the entry price of the Nexon which helps it compete with its rivals.

Plus Variants

Adding a ‘+’ sign after a variant to make a different variant is not something new, and a lot of carmakers do this. These "Plus” variants generally offer a few more features over the standard one for a small price premium. But Tata has taken it a step further. 

It’s not just one of Plus variants for a mid-spec trim with one each for the engine type. Instead,every persona or variant save for the mid-spec Pure gets its own set of ‘+’ sub variants, which are further expanded due to multiple powertrain options.

To understand it better, look at what more you get with these variants. In the base-level Smart version, the Smart Plus variants offer a 7-inch touchscreen, smartphone connectivity, and a few comfort and convenience features. In the Creative version, the Creative Plus variants bring a bigger 10.25-inch touchscreen, a 360-degree camera, and more creature comforts, and in the top-spec Fearless version, the variants with the Plus suffix adds features like ventilated front seats, leatherette upholstery, and connected car features.

S Variants

The sunroof is one of the most popular, non-essential, features in cars today. Instead of adding sunroof to its variants, Tata gave the sunroof its own set of variants. The standard variants of the Nexon, which do not have ‘S’ in their name, do not come with a sunroof, and this is true for the top-spec Fearless variant as well. If you want to buy a Nexon with a sunroof as a feature, you have to choose the ‘S’ variants of the SUV. 

But, it's not just the sunroof, in some of these ‘S’ variants, you also get additional features to justify the price premium. However, this is just the tip of the Tata iceberg, and the next ones are even more confusing.

Plus S Variants

Yes, the ‘Plus’ variants have their own sub variants which are called the ‘Plus S’ variants. In these variants, you get all the extra features of the ‘Plus’ variants, along with a sunroof. But, for the Smart and Creative variants, if you want a sunroof, you can only go for the ‘Plus S’ variants, which means you not only have to pay extra for the sunroof, but also have to pay the price premium for the ‘Plus’ features.

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#Dark, DT, FearlessPR Variants

These three are cosmetic updates over the standard and sub-variants, and here is brief about all of them.

• #Dark: This is the Dark edition of the Nexon and comes with all all-black exterior, all-black cabin, and #Dark badging inside and out. This edition is available with the Creative and Fearless variants, and commands a premium of 35,000.

• DT: These are the dual-tone variants and come with a white or black roof depending on the variant. The DT variants are available as an option with the Creative variants, but the Fearless variants are available only with the dual-tone option. These variants ask for a price premium of Rs 10,000 over the monotone variants.

• FearlessPR: As the name suggests, this variant is based on the top-spec Fearless variant, and the ‘Pr’ here stands for Purple. With this variant, you not only get a purple exterior shade, but also get a purple-black theme for the cabin. The FearlessPR variants do not ask for any price premium.

Now, these cosmetic-focussed variants get paired with the aforementioned sub variants of the SUV, and create even more sub variants, like Creative Plus S DT, Creative Plus S Dark, FearlessPR DT Plus S, Fearless Dark and so on. With the inclusion of these sub variants, along with numerous powertrain options, the total variant count of the Tata Nexon reaches 100.

Going Too Far?

With these many combinations, it is hard to keep track of all the variants, and it is even harder for the people who are considering buying the Nexon to identify the right one for them. While Tata has added many variants to offer a value for money proposition at various price pints, we believe that it's time for the carmaker to stop adding more variants, and try to reduce the variant count to a reasonable number with a simpler variant-distribution.

However, the Tata Nexon’s variant count is only going to increase, as the carmaker is soon planning to launch a CNG version of the sub-compact SUV. This will increase the variant count well beyond the 100 tally so far, and it will become harder and more confusing to choose from them.

In comparison, the key rivals of the Tata Nexon have a relatively easier palette to choose from. For example the Maruti Brezza has 15 variants, the Hyundai Venue has 24 variants and the Kia Sonet gets 23 to choose from.

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