Few cars carry as much institutional weight for their maker as the Nexon does for Tata. Before it arrived in 2017, no Indian car had managed a genuine 5-star Global NCAP rating. The Nexon changed that conversation almost single-handedly, becoming the first domestic model to score a 5-star Global NCAP rating. The Nexon has since gone through two facelifts, added a diesel automatic, brought in a turbocharged CNG nobody else offers, and recently even gained ADAS tech. It has time and again topped the SUV sales charts, a crown it often shares with its own smaller sibling, the Punch. However, with rivals like the Hyundai Venue and Maruti Brezza all recently refreshed, and newer names like the Skoda Kylaq joining the fight, I spent time driving the Nexon to see if it continues to deserve the top spot. 

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

1. This is the car that rebuilt Tata's reputation, becoming the first India-made car to score a 5-star Global NCAP rating in December 2018, and everything the brand has launched since rides on that credibility.
2. Three separate engines, including India's first turbo petrol CNG unit, cover nearly every kind of buyer, though a confusing variant matrix makes picking the right one harder than it should be.
3. Ride quality is solid, ground clearance is towering for the class at 208 mm, and the twin-screen cabin looks properly modern, though a handful of ergonomic misses give away the platform's age.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

EXTERIOR DESIGN - 4/5

The Tata Nexon has been through three nip-and-tuck treatments without losing the plot. The latest facelift that arrived in 2023 borrowed enough of its face from the Curvv and Harrier EV concepts. A thick upper grille houses the badge, a band-like sequential LED DRL wraps around it, and the headlamps sit lower in a trapezoidal housing. The coupe-like roofline survives from the original car, still one of the more unusual shapes in this bracket, paired with sharper V-shaped tail lamps and a larger spoiler out back.

Park it next to a Hyundai Venue and the Nexon feels a lot more curvacous, though the Venue wears its cleaner lines with a touch more polish. The Kia Sonet or something like the Toyota Taisor leans sportier, while the Maruti Brezza plays it safest of all with a conservative crossover stance built to age well. The Nexon's 208mm ground clearance, however, ranks among the highest here, and that stance does a lot of heavy lifting for buyers who equate height with capability.

Tata keeps the design conversation alive even this late in the car's life. The 2026 Camo edition, launched to mark nine years on sale, brought new colour options alongside a bigger twin-screen dashboard, while the separate Dark edition adds Atlas Black paint, dark chrome trim, and ventilated leatherette seats.

INTERIOR & COMFORT - 3.5/5

Front seats are broad and well bolstered, and in top trims, soft-touch or leatherette trim shows up at most points your hands actually land on. Fit and finish tell a less flattering story, though, as plastic quality could be sharper in places, and some misaligned panels feel a size too budget for a cabin otherwise trying to look upmarket.

Rear seat comfort is where the Nexon actually shines. The cabin is wide enough to seat three across in genuine comfort, the seat base runs unusually long, and legroom itself is quite decent.

Infotainment and Technology

Twin 10.25-inch screens, one for infotainment and one for the driver's cluster, dominate the dashboard. A panoramic sunroof now arrives from the Pure+ PS trim priced under 10 lakh. Higher variants add a 9-speaker JBL system, ventilated seats, wireless charging, and Tata's iRA connected car suite.

NVH Levels

The 1.2-litre turbo petrol carries the typical 3-cylinder engine vibrations, most noticeable as a slight body shake right at startup and a faint rattle at idle. It settles down quickly once you're rolling, and the cabin is sufficiently insulated for the price. In the case of the diesel, the engine noise stays reasonably composed through idle and regular commuting revs, then turns audibly coarser past 3,000rpm, though tall gearing means cruising speeds rarely need to visit that zone. Wind noise is kept out of the cabin well at highway pace.

ONE THING BUYERS SHOULD KNOW

The gloss black surfaces around the touch controls pick up fingerprints within a day of ownership, and the oversized drive mode knob feels like an afterthought bolted onto the centre console.

ENGINE & PERFORMANCE - 3 / 5

1.2 Turbo Petrol

Best For: All-Round City and Highway Use

• Power: 120 PS
• Torque: 170 Nm
• Transmission Options: 5-Speed Manual, 6-Speed Manual, 6-Speed AMT, 7-Speed DCT

This remains the volume engine and the most flexible one, offered with four separate gearbox choices depending on the variant. Outright acceleration off the line is merely adequate, and rivals with turbo petrol engines feel sprightlier, but around town the engine does just fine, staying refined and eager enough that most drivers won't go looking for more.

1.5 Turbo Diesel

Best For: High-Mileage, Highway-Heavy Drivers

• Power: 116 PS
• Torque: 260 Nm
• Transmission Options: 6-Speed Manual, 6-Speed AMT

Strong and unfussy on the highway, with enough torque low down to make overtakes easy, though it's noticeably more vocal and vibration-prone than the diesel options in the segment. The bigger miss is the gearbox choice: the automatic option is still an AMT rather than a proper torque converter, which the Hyundai Venue or the Kia Sonet offer. However, there is one benefit for diesel buyers in the Nexon, which is the use of an LNT system alongside the DPF instead of the more commonly used SCR system, eliminating the need for periodic AdBlue top-ups. 

1.2 Turbo Petrol CNG

Best For: High-Mileage, Low Running Cost Buyers

• Power: 100 PS (CNG mode)
• Torque: 170 Nm
• Transmission Options: 6-Speed Manual only

This is a rare first for the segment: the earliest turbo petrol CNG engine sold in an Indian SUV, and it doesn't feel like the compromise CNG engines usually are. Twin cylinders sit low enough in the boot that usable luggage space barely suffers. Torque stays identical to the petrol engine's figure even in CNG mode, and switching fuels is rather smooth. The CNG is much more efficient on the highway and the fuel economy number drops sharply when driven primarily in traffic conditions.

RIDE & HANDLING - 4.5 / 5

This has long been one of the Nexon's strongest cards since 2017, and the current car hasn't lost that thread. The suspension soaks up broken city roads with good composure, steering stays light enough for easy manoeuvring, and the car holds up confidently once you pick up pace, with corners taken with noticeably less lean than the tall stance suggests. 

Highway Stability

The Tata Nexon holds a straight line past 100kph without feeling nervous, and expansion joints or undulations don't upset its composure. The suspension stays quiet at speed too, going about its business without the clunks or thuds that creep into some rivals on the same stretch of highway. Diesel buyers get an added benefit here, since the torque on tap makes overtaking a relaxed, single-gear affair rather than something that needs planning.

Handling

The tall stance never quite disappears in fast corners, but body control stays tidy for something this high off the ground, and 208mm of clearance shrugs off rough patches well. The Nexon isn't the last word in outright driver engagement, but for a car that spends most of its life in traffic and on average Indian roads, this remains one of the more convincing packages in its class.

FUEL EFFICIENCY - 4 / 5

ARAI figures span a wide range depending on engine and variant, from around 17kmpl on the automatic petrol ARAI figures span a wide range depending on engine and variant, from 17.01kmpl on the DCT petrol to 24.08kmpl on the diesel AMT, while the CNG claims 17.44km/kg.

SAFETY - 4.5 / 5

Safety is where the Nexon's legacy actually began. Back in January 2018, it became the first India-made car to score a full 5-star Global NCAP rating. The current facelift carries a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating too, with 6 airbags now standard across every single variant, up from just 2. Standard and available safety kit includes:

• 6 airbags (front, side, and curtain)
• Electronic stability control
• Hill assist
• ABS with EBD
• ISOFIX child seat anchors

Higher trims add a 360-degree camera and a blind spot monitor, and the 2026 Camo edition introduced a dashcam that pairs with the surround view system, storing up to 256GB of footage and automatically saving a clip if it detects an impact.

Level 2 ADAS is available on the Nexon's top petrol Fearless Plus A (PS) variant. The package bundles Forward Collision Warning, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Centering, High Beam Assist, and Traffic Sign Recognition, seven functions in total. Tata restricts all of it to the Fearless+ trims.

WHICH TATA NEXON SHOULD YOU BUY?

CARS24 EXPERT PICK

For buyers with a strict budget, the Smart +  S variant offers a good combination of basic and feel-good features. It also opens the option for the AMT transmission. For buyers specifically looking for the largest sunroof under an ex-showroom price of Rs 10 lakhs, the Pure + PS variants offer the panoramic sunroof.

If we have to give an overall verdict on the best variant, it would be Creative. This is the trim line we'd point most buyers toward. What you get is a good list of features, and every transmission Tata offers on the petrol, including the DCT.

RIVALS

Maruti Suzuki Brezza

The safest, most conservative design here, backed by Maruti's reliability reputation and a refined petrol option, though it has skipped diesel for years now.

Hyundai Venue

Freshly updated and feels a notch more premium inside, though it costs more for the equivalent kit, which leaves the Nexon looking like better value at similar spec levels

Kia Sonet

Bolder-looking, with its own turbo diesel and torque-converter combination the Nexon can't match, though it trails on outright ground clearance and boot space.

Mahindra XUV 3XO

One of the most commonly cross shopped competitors when it comes to safety-conscious buyers. Strong on performance and ride-handling balance, a properly strong ADAS suite, and a more spacious cabin, though, just like the Nexon, the diesel engine is offered with an AMT option only. 

Skoda Kylaq

The newest name in the fight, bringing the European reputation for driving athleticism at an accessible price. Turbo petrol with a proper torque converter automatic is more fun to drive, though it simply can’t match the versatility of the Nexon in terms of overall options.

FINAL VERDICT - 4 / 5

Safety got the Nexon into this conversation back in 2018, but it isn't the only reason to recommend it in 2026, not when a 5-star rating and 6 standard airbags have become close to the price of entry across this entire bracket rather than a point of difference. What actually separates the Nexon from a crowded field consisting of the Venue, Sonet, Brezza, XUV 3XO, and more today is the sheer width of what's on offer under one roof. A proper turbo diesel that Maruti Suzuki or Skoda has completely walked away from, the only turbocharged CNG option sold in the country, great ride and highway composure, and solid rear seat space. Add a panoramic sunroof pushed down to under 10 lakh, and it's a car that keeps finding new ways to earn its keep nine years into a single generation.

None of that means it's without compromise. ADAS stays locked to one specific trim, fit and finish still lags a notch behind Hyundai and Kia's equivalent cabins, and performance paired with refinement isn’t something to write home about either. But taken as a complete package today, especially considering how well Tata packages its mid variants, the Nexon remains a solid option.