2023 Tata Nexon EV MAX Review, Road Test

The Tata Nexon EV MAX. The SUV from the manufacturer has been taking the market by storm month after month. Tata has an aggressive strategy of giving a lot of features to models to make sure they stand out and grab attention. With the EV Nexon though, it has increased its range twice with the bigger battery and a software update as well. Tata also has taken the price down by almost Rs 80,000 over the regular Nexon EV Prime. All this makes the Nexon EV Max very tempting. Be it on the inside or outside, it has what it takes to impress a set of consumers as always. Like always there are core strengths and weaknesses of any product that comes from the Tata stable. We find out what Tata Nexon EV has to offer and doesn’t to its prospective buyers after driving it over 450 km.

On the outside, the SUV is full size in height, length and width. The design elements of the car make it stand out. The large grille, the futuristic LED DRl and low mounted headlights look well-placed. The build quality on the outside seems and sounds excellent and as we know, most Tata cars score the highest marks in crash tests despite the Safari has not made it yet. The diamond-cut 18-inch wheels and the unique tail lamps over the Harrier, the C-pillar design LED DRL and LED Bar at the rear make it look premium. Overall, distinguishable enough over the Harrier.

On the inside, the build and quality are good and so is the expansive feature list we have explained in our launch report. With an electric parking brake on offer to cruise control and a sunroof to Apple Car Play and Android Auto, the Nexon EV MAX is the most loaded car in its class by a long shot. The new white-ish interior is downright brilliant with the dashboard being black along with brown inserts. You get a basic infotainment screen which is dated and does the job, with nothing inspiring, fast or vivid screen quality on offer. Space is good with excellent Leg and headroom along with shoulder and knee room.

The boot space continues to be good by segment standards. Road and wind noise inside the cabin is also well-controlled and it is a pleasant place to be. The safety kit continues to be high with electronic stability control and Hill Hold Assist is on offer. ABS and EBD with two airbags come as standard. The Nexon is 5-star rated. The EV has not been tested separately yet. However, it should continue to deliver top-notch safety as changes are minimal.

The battery-powered Nexon EV MAX is smooth and low on NVH as expected. Be it in any part of the rev range, there is some noise that creeps inside the cabin in the form of an A/c blower, road and wind noise. The automatic gearbox shifter is slow to respond and can be much quicker. It does look good but it needs a serious update ASAP. Low and mid-range are good and top-end isn’t that electrifying on electric cars anyways.

Despite that, it can end up cruising easily at legal speeds. This makes the Nexon EV good enough for highway duties, within the city that is. The Nexon EV MAX can feel very easy to drive in the city thanks to light steering, low turning radius and compact dimensions. Range has increased by almost 45 km in real life over the prime. In our drive, we could do 280 km max before we found a fast charger of 30kw and it topped up from 20% to 80% in under one hour which was impressive enough. However, we think 60Kw is ideal as it makes it more in tune with ICE cars. No, we are not asking for 120 or 180-kW chargers for the Nexon EV Max.

The low to medium ride quality is stiff, but the high-speed ride is brilliant as it stays solid and is pliant enough to deal with anything at those speeds. As the suspension has been tuned the same way The body roll increases as speeds get higher while taking a corner or changing lanes at high speeds. Steering is precise and has good feedback on offer which makes the car fun and confident but not at outright sportier SUV as the ICE counterpart because you do feel the weight of the battery pack if you start pushing it harder.

Since the weight is well managed and kept lower it is confidence inspiring. The brakes have a good pedal bite and enough power to stop at high speeds, even with regen on offer. Overall, a fun, solid SUV to drive by far compared to its rivals that feel light and not great to drive.

2022 Tata Nexon EV Max Review, Verdict

The SUV gets a welcome change over the Prime version when it was launched. As of road testing the SUV now, the price cut, the large features list, and the solid package the Nexon EV MAX offers put it in the right spot in the market. Something that Tata has created and benchmarked. The SUV makes the brand stronger along with its ICE counterpart. Something that is also set to expand, making it even stronger. There is no denying the Nexon EV MAX is a promising SUV, with packaging and pricing just right. The quality and safety are here along with the eco-friendly performance and creditionals with it just make it the most tempting EV to buy in the Indian market and rightly so, the market has responded the same way too.