Tata Nexon, Altroz Lose Physical Buttons For Infotainment Controls

The physical controls have been replaced by the respective model’s lettering on the dashboard

• Both the Altroz and Nexon get a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

• The buttons were of Home, Favourites, Previous, Next, Smartphone, and Back while the knobs controlled volume and tuner.

• No other change made to the equipment list of both models.

• Tata continues to offer both the cars with the same petrol and diesel engines as before.

Tata has removed the physical controls on the 7-inch touchscreen systems in the higher-specced variants of the Altroz and Nexon and integrated them into the units themselves. Both models get their name spelt out in place of these buttons. The six buttons were Home, Favourites, Previous, Next, Smartphone, and Back while the knobs controlled the volume and tuner.

While it does lend a clean and minimalistic appearance to the dashboard of both models, it also hampers the ease of using the touchscreen unit while driving as the driver has to take his eyes off the road. That said, the infotainment systems in both the cars are positioned at the driver’s eye level so accessing them should be easier. However, this does rob away some brownie points that physical controls offered such as convenience and avoidance of the touchscreen’s UI-related issues.

Apart from this, both models continue with the same equipment list with common features such as cruise control, auto AC, push-button start/stop, connected car tech, and rain-sensing wipers. They also share safety features such as a reverse parking camera, ABS with EBD, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

The Nexon comes with either a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine (120PS/170Nm) or a 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine (110PS/260Nm). Tata offers both these engines with either a 6-speed MT or AMT.

On the other hand, the Altroz gets three engine options: a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol (86PS/113Nm), a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol (110PS/140Nm), and a 1.5-litre diesel (90PS/200Nm). All three engines are offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard, while a 7-speed DCT automatic is expected to be introduced later.

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The Altroz is priced from Rs 5.69 lakh to Rs 9.45 lakh and the Nexon between Rs 7.09 lakh and Rs 12.79 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). While the Altroz rivals the Hyundai i20, Honda Jazz, Toyota Glanza, VW Polo, and Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Tata’s sub-4m SUV faces competition from the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, and Kia Sonet.

Read More on : Altroz on road price