Happily Married! 3 Years & Counting With My Tata Nano Twist

[suntosh10]

First car in the family ! The TATA NANO TWIST came home in Aug 2014. And as we turn the corner of our 3rd anniversary, here is my journey with it so far…

1. Dec 2012 : Indica and i10 are the only 4wheelers I have driven till date: My friend of 2 years, Bajaj Discover 100cc, has held me in good stead. The long dream of owning a 4 wheeler finally comes true when I test and buy a preworshipped alto. I make payment and take home the car, only to learn from the car documents (which i missed to check thoroughly in the first place) that I be the 4th owner of it ! I was told by dealer I would be the 2nd owner before taking delivery! Returned car next day and got refund.

2. June 2013 : blessed with a daughter.

3. April 2014 : I park my bike in the building, and as wife gets down with baby, some kid comes running, wife loses balance and falls with baby in her hands !! Luckily nobody hurt. I decide that very day to buy a car come what may!

4. June 2014 : My faith on dealers shaken, i plan to buy new but without loan, I had only 2.5lakhs in MFs; redeemed all (impulsive and foolish). twist seemed only option. Family asks to go for used swift. maruti, you know etc... etc... Test drive of twist and initial reports reassure me. Negotiated good deal with Fortune cars, Thane. 2.6L OTR with 3 years insurance and some accessories in July 2014 !

5. Aug 2014 : Delivery.The very first day, what with me not confident on driving, I hit the wall while parking! The small dent near the rear fog lamp remains to this day!

6. Oct 2014 : I keep practicing, and take it to office first time. Colleagues tease. Nano?? Why? O Why??

7. Nov 2014 : 1st free service @ 867km

Initial impression : nimble and effortless to drive. Not very confident on braking, but slowly got adjusted to the rhythm of “predictive braking”

8. Dec 2014 to Nov 2015 : Only city driving. 1 trip to Dahanu and 1 trip to Pune is all by way of long drive. Iam confident of driving the nano now.

9. Dec 2015 : 2nd free service @ 5218km

1 year into owning the nano, I feel a little down when I see office colleagues in their bigger vehicles and more so with lady colleagues. Slowly I develop the feeling that I made the wrong decision with Nano. Mind you the car is doing good; its only this feeling of being belittled…gradually I outgrow the feeling and decide on doing long distance trips.

10. Mar 2016 : First real long drive; work based visit. thane-Surat-Bharuch-Dahej-thane. 836 km, 2 days. First Flat tyre (front left) the 2nd day morning. Drove 6 kms on flat tyre slowly till nearest pp and got it swapped with spare. 80kmph max speed on the trip.

11. July 2016 : 1 trip of Nashik and back. Another trip of thane-Kevadia-kamrej-Kim-Surat-thane in heavy rain ! 882km 2 days. work based visit. More confident @ 90kmph max speed on the NH8.

12. July 2016 : 3rd free service @ 16325km

13. July 2016 : water leakage problem inside the cabin ! water getting accumulated at the base of the battery. Initially I thought rain water. After 2 trips to TASS and 7 days in the workshop, problem solved. Faulty AC condenser replaced FoC under warranty.

14. Sept 2016 : thane-bharuch-dahej-kamrej-surat-thane. Work based trip. 819km 2 days. This time touched 100kmph max speed !

2 years into owning the nano, I like it and feel happy about it since it has not given me much trouble…but still that feeling of having made a mistake lingers… and the mind wavers into why not sell this and buy a preowned sedan.


15. May 2017 : rattling noise inside the cabin. paid service @ 21107km, noise problem solved with some setting of the doors..

16. June 2017 : seat covers and flooring done. Thane-surat-ukai-surat-thane trip. 657km in same day! Bouncy ride and car swaying above 70 kmph against crosswinds. Opened the engine bay first time and checked the suspensions based on my limited tech knowledge; couldn’t deduce much, looked okay. With some googling, got “Rogerab” suspension buffers installed. Good improvement in driving experience and rear seat experience.

17. July 2017 : 617km, thane-hazira-thane same day. Well behaved. Touched 105+ max speed occasionally. A quick trip to Lonavla and back with family on a weekend.

18. July 2017 : 265km, thane-pali-bhira-pali-thane. Monsoon magic at its best !

19. Aug 2017 : 3rd anniversary celebrations planned on 26th August 2017 !!!

3 years into owning the nano, it is practically family now !
it is the like silent friend who has stood by you all along… watching you learn, watching you make mistakes, watching you grow, watching you not wanting it; and yet silently absorbing everything without complaining…


now ZERO thoughts about selling it.
far from it, now planning to try some DIYs on my twist.
Also planning ‘thane-alleppey-thane’ soon !! 3000 kms !
(iam sure thats very bold: but also sure my twist will hold!!)

24k km, 3 years and counting...it surely has been a happy marriage !!

 

[Nanofreak]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

First car in the family ! The TATA NANO TWIST came home in Aug 2014. And as we turn the corner of our 3rd anniversary, here is my journey with it so far…

1. Dec 2012 : Indica and i10 are the only 4wheelers I have driven till date: My friend of 2 years, Bajaj Discover 100cc, has held me in good stead. The long dream of owning a 4 wheeler finally comes true when I test and buy a preworshipped alto. I make payment and take home the car, only to learn from the car documents (which i missed to check thoroughly in the first place) that I be the 4th owner of it ! I was told by dealer I would be the 2nd owner before taking delivery! Returned car next day and got refund.

2. June 2013 : blessed with a daughter.

3. April 2014 : I park my bike in the building, and as wife gets down with baby, some kid comes running, wife loses balance and falls with baby in her hands !! Luckily nobody hurt. I decide that very day to buy a car come what may!

4. June 2014 : My faith on dealers shaken, i plan to buy new but without loan, I had only 2.5lakhs in MFs; redeemed all (impulsive and foolish). twist seemed only option. Family asks to go for used swift. maruti, you know etc... etc... Test drive of twist and initial reports reassure me. Negotiated good deal with Fortune cars, Thane. 2.6L OTR with 3 years insurance and some accessories in July 2014 !

5. Aug 2014 : Delivery.The very first day, what with me not confident on driving, I hit the wall while parking! The small dent near the rear fog lamp remains to this day!

6. Oct 2014 : I keep practicing, and take it to office first time. Colleagues tease. Nano?? Why? O Why??

7. Nov 2014 : 1st free service @ 867km

Initial impression : nimble and effortless to drive. Not very confident on braking, but slowly got adjusted to the rhythm of “predictive braking”

8. Dec 2014 to Nov 2015 : Only city driving. 1 trip to Dahanu and 1 trip to Pune is all by way of long drive. Iam confident of driving the nano now.

9. Dec 2015 : 2nd free service @ 5218km

1 year into owning the nano, I feel a little down when I see office colleagues in their bigger vehicles and more so with lady colleagues. Slowly I develop the feeling that I made the wrong decision with Nano. Mind you the car is doing good; its only this feeling of being belittled…gradually I outgrow the feeling and decide on doing long distance trips.

10. Mar 2016 : First real long drive; work based visit. thane-Surat-Bharuch-Dahej-thane. 836 km, 2 days. First Flat tyre (front left) the 2nd day morning. Drove 6 kms on flat tyre slowly till nearest pp and got it swapped with spare. 80kmph max speed on the trip.

11. July 2016 : 1 trip of Nashik and back. Another trip of thane-Kevadia-kamrej-Kim-Surat-thane in heavy rain ! 882km 2 days. work based visit. More confident @ 90kmph max speed on the NH8.

12. July 2016 : 3rd free service @ 16325km

13. July 2016 : water leakage problem inside the cabin ! water getting accumulated at the base of the battery. Initially I thought rain water. After 2 trips to TASS and 7 days in the workshop, problem solved. Faulty AC condenser replaced FoC under warranty.

14. Sept 2016 : thane-bharuch-dahej-kamrej-surat-thane. Work based trip. 819km 2 days. This time touched 100kmph max speed !

2 years into owning the nano, I like it and feel happy about it since it has not given me much trouble…but still that feeling of having made a mistake lingers… and the mind wavers into why not sell this and buy a preowned sedan.


15. May 2017 : rattling noise inside the cabin. paid service @ 21107km, noise problem solved with some setting of the doors..

16. June 2017 : seat covers and flooring done. Thane-surat-ukai-surat-thane trip. 657km in same day! Bouncy ride and car swaying above 70 kmph against crosswinds. Opened the engine bay first time and checked the suspensions based on my limited tech knowledge; couldn’t deduce much, looked okay. With some googling, got “Rogerab” suspension buffers installed. Good improvement in driving experience and rear seat experience.

17. July 2017 : 617km, thane-hazira-thane same day. Well behaved. Touched 105+ max speed occasionally. A quick trip to Lonavla and back with family on a weekend.

18. July 2017 : 265km, thane-pali-bhira-pali-thane. Monsoon magic at its best !

19. Aug 2017 : 3rd anniversary celebrations planned on 26th August 2017 !!!

3 years into owning the nano, it is practically family now !
it is the like silent friend who has stood by you all along… watching you learn, watching you make mistakes, watching you grow, watching you not wanting it; and yet silently absorbing everything without complaining…


now ZERO thoughts about selling it.
far from it, now planning to try some DIYs on my twist.
Also planning ‘thane-alleppey-thane’ soon !! 3000 kms !
(iam sure thats very bold: but also sure my twist will hold!!)

24k km, 3 years and counting...it surely has been a happy marriage !!

Hello @Suntosh, nice detailed write up, this color was my first choice, but settled on the dazzle blue.

Peoples perceptions are well perceptions, until they have driven a Nano, and the perception change.

A couple of my neighbor has bought a GenX XT after seeing my NMG.

Did you take the AMC package?

Regards

Vinod

 

[suntosh10]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

Hello @Suntosh, nice detailed write up, this color was my first choice, but settled on the dazzle blue.

Peoples perceptions are well perceptions, until they have driven a Nano, and the perception change.

A couple of my neighbor has bought a GenX XT after seeing my NMG.

Did you take the AMC package?

Regards

Vinod

Thanks sir ! No. the sales person did push me amc package back then, but i did not opt for it. In Hindsight i should have. While I do not have any major issues with TASS, it is their insensitivity that bugs me. For instance the last service, the dashboard was a bit dirty with grease fingerprints! When I pointed out, the fellow says "woh toh pehle se tha". not only this, I pointed out brake squeal before giving for service, but not solved. Fellow says "thoda chalta hai, brake lining achha hi hai" !

A friend has given reference of a FNG. Plan to go to him for any checkups, instead of Tass.

 

[vdm295]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

Very nicely written the 3 years of Nano ownership report.
You have been doing the long runs in this car, how many fuel break happen during this runs?
I can't imagine you are planning a 3000 km drive in this car.
Enjoy your drive & do update on your experience about it.

regards
vdm295

 

[suntosh10]

Hello @Suntosh, nice detailed write up, this color was my first choice, but settled on the dazzle blue.

Peoples perceptions are well perceptions, until they have driven a Nano, and the perception change.

A couple of my neighbor has bought a GenX XT after seeing my NMG.

Did you take the AMC package?

Regards

Vinod

And yes, perceptions! OMG! What people talk without even knowing or experiencing! Anybody and everybody who has sat in my twist, the first reaction has been "wow ! So much space"
My cousin owns an alto and his aged parents always complain of how difficult is the Ingress and egress. In my twist however they find it very easy to get in and out.
And now with the suspension buffer, the handling is quite good and improved. It feels stable even at 90.

And although boot space is very limited, it still is good for 2 3 people go outing for 3 4 days.
It carries 4 dmart bags of 2 months grocery shopping!

My only wish is the braking be better. My stock jk tyres are good: maybe an upgrade to Bridgestone 155/65 on all 4 wheels will improve braking. That's on my mind...for some time.

Very nicely written the 3 years of Nano ownership report.
You have been doing the long runs in this car, how many fuel break happen during this runs?
I can't imagine you are planning a 3000 km drive in this car.
Enjoy your drive & do update on your experience about it.

regards
vdm295

Thank you ! For my Gujarat drives 2 to 4 fuel breaks max. On the nh8 last I got was 22kmpl. In 2016 Gujarat drives I even touched 27kmpl!

For the long Kerala trip, family dissuading me. But Iam determined. It's only a question of getting a 2 week break from work. That happens when I don't know��

 

[vijay_968]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

First car in the family ! The TATA NANO TWIST came home in Aug 2014. And as we turn the corner of our 3rd anniversary, here is my journey with it so far…

1. Dec 2012 : Indica and i10 are the only 4wheelers I have driven till date: My friend of 2 years, Bajaj Discover 100cc, has held me in good stead. The long dream of owning a 4 wheeler finally comes true when I test and buy a preworshipped alto. I make payment and take home the car, only to learn from the car documents (which i missed to check thoroughly in the first place) that I be the 4th owner of it ! I was told by dealer I would be the 2nd owner before taking delivery! Returned car next day and got refund.

2. June 2013 : blessed with a daughter.

3. April 2014 : I park my bike in the building, and as wife gets down with baby, some kid comes running, wife loses balance and falls with baby in her hands !! Luckily nobody hurt. I decide that very day to buy a car come what may!

4. June 2014 : My faith on dealers shaken, i plan to buy new but without loan, I had only 2.5lakhs in MFs; redeemed all (impulsive and foolish). twist seemed only option. Family asks to go for used swift. maruti, you know etc... etc... Test drive of twist and initial reports reassure me. Negotiated good deal with Fortune cars, Thane. 2.6L OTR with 3 years insurance and some accessories in July 2014 !

5. Aug 2014 : Delivery.The very first day, what with me not confident on driving, I hit the wall while parking! The small dent near the rear fog lamp remains to this day!

6. Oct 2014 : I keep practicing, and take it to office first time. Colleagues tease. Nano?? Why? O Why??

7. Nov 2014 : 1st free service @ 867km

Initial impression : nimble and effortless to drive. Not very confident on braking, but slowly got adjusted to the rhythm of “predictive braking”

8. Dec 2014 to Nov 2015 : Only city driving. 1 trip to Dahanu and 1 trip to Pune is all by way of long drive. Iam confident of driving the nano now.

9. Dec 2015 : 2nd free service @ 5218km

1 year into owning the nano, I feel a little down when I see office colleagues in their bigger vehicles and more so with lady colleagues. Slowly I develop the feeling that I made the wrong decision with Nano. Mind you the car is doing good; its only this feeling of being belittled…gradually I outgrow the feeling and decide on doing long distance trips.

10. Mar 2016 : First real long drive; work based visit. thane-Surat-Bharuch-Dahej-thane. 836 km, 2 days. First Flat tyre (front left) the 2nd day morning. Drove 6 kms on flat tyre slowly till nearest pp and got it swapped with spare. 80kmph max speed on the trip.

11. July 2016 : 1 trip of Nashik and back. Another trip of thane-Kevadia-kamrej-Kim-Surat-thane in heavy rain ! 882km 2 days. work based visit. More confident @ 90kmph max speed on the NH8.

12. July 2016 : 3rd free service @ 16325km

13. July 2016 : water leakage problem inside the cabin ! water getting accumulated at the base of the battery. Initially I thought rain water. After 2 trips to TASS and 7 days in the workshop, problem solved. Faulty AC condenser replaced FoC under warranty.

14. Sept 2016 : thane-bharuch-dahej-kamrej-surat-thane. Work based trip. 819km 2 days. This time touched 100kmph max speed !

2 years into owning the nano, I like it and feel happy about it since it has not given me much trouble…but still that feeling of having made a mistake lingers… and the mind wavers into why not sell this and buy a preowned sedan.


15. May 2017 : rattling noise inside the cabin. paid service @ 21107km, noise problem solved with some setting of the doors..

16. June 2017 : seat covers and flooring done. Thane-surat-ukai-surat-thane trip. 657km in same day! Bouncy ride and car swaying above 70 kmph against crosswinds. Opened the engine bay first time and checked the suspensions based on my limited tech knowledge; couldn’t deduce much, looked okay. With some googling, got “Rogerab” suspension buffers installed. Good improvement in driving experience and rear seat experience.

17. July 2017 : 617km, thane-hazira-thane same day. Well behaved. Touched 105+ max speed occasionally. A quick trip to Lonavla and back with family on a weekend.

18. July 2017 : 265km, thane-pali-bhira-pali-thane. Monsoon magic at its best !

19. Aug 2017 : 3rd anniversary celebrations planned on 26th August 2017 !!!

3 years into owning the nano, it is practically family now !
it is the like silent friend who has stood by you all along… watching you learn, watching you make mistakes, watching you grow, watching you not wanting it; and yet silently absorbing everything without complaining…


now ZERO thoughts about selling it.
far from it, now planning to try some DIYs on my twist.
Also planning ‘thane-alleppey-thane’ soon !! 3000 kms !
(iam sure thats very bold: but also sure my twist will hold!!)

24k km, 3 years and counting...it surely has been a happy marriage !!

Wow Wow Wow ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading every line of your post !!! Few of your words kindled my own memories ... as below:

3. April 2014 : I park my bike in the building, and as wife gets down with baby, some kid comes running, wife loses balance and falls with baby in her hands !! Luckily nobody hurt. I decide that very day to buy a car come what may!

My daughter was reason for my Car purchase. I never wanted to buy a Car, when I was in Delhi. As a 26 months' old bundle of energy, my daughter loved cars. She was even able to identify few models. Once, she ran towards a friend's car, friend's wife slammed the car door and walked away. The Matiz became Family soon.

5. Aug 2014 : Delivery.The very first day, what with me not confident on driving, I hit the wall while parking! The small dent near the rear fog lamp remains to this day!

On the 1st day, driving from Dealership to residence, I stopped for Red light at the Mohan Nagar Chowk (near Ghaziabad) and Matiz refused to move on Green light. People helped push the car to side and I was scratching my head. It refused to start either. Someone touched the bonnet and told me that the Engine was already ON and asked me to engage gear. Eeeeeeeeeeeee... Me stupid.

6. Oct 2014 : I keep practicing, and take it to office first time. Colleagues tease. Nano?? Why? O Why??

It was prestigious to own a M-800 (back in 1995-99) and most of my colleagues had it. I was not sold for Maruti offerings and refused to buy a Car. Colleagues used to tease me "No Car ? Only Bike ?? Why, ... Poor ??"

9. Dec 2015 : 2nd free service @ 5218km ... I feel a little down when I see office colleagues in their bigger vehicles ...

I came to B'lore in 2005. Soon my colleagues were driving their "i10, Swift, i20 etc" and started having fun at my Matiz. I was not interested. Their wives started bringing Car into conversations with my wife. It was fun for others and sort of became an irritation. To escape, I declared that I did not have money for new car. Wife got really angry and did not speak to me for quite some days. To make her happy, we started trying various cars. After owning the SPACIOUS and CUTE Matiz, NO existing car was appealing to us. The search for a new car started in 2007 and ended in 2012. Skoda Rapid caught my attention, but Verna won the contest.

3 years into owning the Nano, it is practically family now ! it is the like silent friend who has stood by you all along… watching you learn, watching you make mistakes, watching you grow, watching you not wanting it; and yet silently absorbing everything without complaining…

POETRY Bhaiya, poetry. We had/have similar feelings with Matiz. It was with us for more than 12 years. Even now, who ever sees a Matiz shouts M...A...A...T...E...E...E...E...E...Z...Z. and other two join the chorus. We did it on 17th, while driving back from Kukke.

======================

Not all posts touch one's heart. Yours touched mine. Thanks for it.

 

[suntosh10]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

Thanks a ton sir ! Glad you enjoyed reading the post! The twist has indeed done well for me.

 

[suntosh10]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

19th July, i write good about her... and 20th July she gives me a flat tyre !
on the potholed NH66 bombay-goa route !

BTW, i bought a tyre pressure monitoring system from roger motors. will share the usage experience shortly.

 

[Rahul401]

Re: Happily Married ! 3 years & counting with my NANO TWIST !

And yes, perceptions! OMG! What people talk without even knowing or experiencing! Anybody and everybody who has sat in my twist, the first reaction has been "wow ! So much space"
My cousin owns an alto and his aged parents always complain of how difficult is the Ingress and egress. In my twist however they find it very easy to get in and out.
And now with the suspension buffer, the handling is quite good and improved. It feels stable even at 90.

And although boot space is very limited, it still is good for 2 3 people go outing for 3 4 days.
It carries 4 dmart bags of 2 months grocery shopping!

My only wish is the braking be better. My stock jk tyres are good: maybe an upgrade to Bridgestone 155/65 on all 4 wheels will improve braking. That's on my mind...for some time.

All the Nano owners are spoiled by the space inside it

Go for stock size Bridgestone tyres once your JK tyres worn out. All the Nano owners I know change to BS. It makes a sky earth difference. Good to see you doing long trips. I have done Pune Goa once and have done 'n' number of Pune Nasik trips.

 

[suntosh10]

"Tyremate" from Roger motors installed on my twist. Attached snap. 4 sensors fit on the tyre valves. and the display on 12V socket. live pressure is shown, with alarm sound on pressure drop below threshold. threshold default was 27psi.i had it reconfigured for 22.

The sensors have to be removed for filling air. Last week i had one hell of a time removing the nuts that hold them ! i called up the customer care and they sent me a new set of nuts for tightening. I refit the sensors yesterday.

p.s. - hope its okay to write about accessories in this thread...?

 

[Prakritij]

Lovely review. Really enjoyed reading it.
I once took delivery of a Nano for a friend who didn't knew driving.
At that time I had a humble 17yrs old(20 now) Maruti 800 as my daily drive. Sitting in the Nano gave me the idea of how spacious a small car can be. Really loved it.

 

[Nanofreak]

"Tyremate" from Roger motors installed on my twist. Attached snap. 4 sensors fit on the tyre valves. and the display on 12V socket. live pressure is shown, with alarm sound on pressure drop below threshold. threshold default was 27psi.i had it reconfigured for 22.

The sensors have to be removed for filling air. Last week i had one hell of a time removing the nuts that hold them ! i called up the customer care and they sent me a new set of nuts for tightening. I refit the sensors yesterday.

p.s. - hope its okay to write about accessories in this thread...?

Tyremate is a good accessory, but for the price.

I would suggest you to write a review in the dedicated 'Accessory/or TPMS' thread for others interested in this product.

Regards

Vinod

 

[suntosh10]

iam hastening replacement of the front tyres (stock 135/70/r12 JK). reason being a couple of 'brake slips' over the last weekend and thereafter an inspection of the front tyres. the local puncturewala also agrees.

from a lot of googling, 'Bridgestone B290' is the shortlisted candidate.

this is what i have in mind. [thinking] upgrade the front ones to B290 155/65/R12 and retain the rear stock JK (they seem to be good). observe for about 1000 kms. if all seems well, good. If on the other hand, FE/drive quality/steering emerges as a concern, then use the B290 155s at rear, and get new B290 135/70/R12s for the front.

suggestions, precautions, advice, solicited.

 

[suntosh10]

iam hastening replacement of the front tyres (stock 135/70/r12 JK). reason being a couple of 'brake slips' over the last weekend and thereafter an inspection of the front tyres. the local puncturewala also agrees.

from a lot of googling, 'Bridgestone B290' is the shortlisted candidate.

this is what i have in mind. [thinking] upgrade the front ones to B290 155/65/R12 and retain the rear stock JK (they seem to be good). observe for about 1000 kms. if all seems well, good. If on the other hand, FE/drive quality/steering emerges as a concern, then use the B290 155s at rear, and get new B290 135/70/R12s for the front.

suggestions, precautions, advice, solicited.

Bridge stone dealer recommended change of all 4 tyres. He recommended stock sizes only. But I asked him to fit155/70 on all 4. Initial impression good.will keep updating further

 

[teamsachinf1]

Fantastic write up buddy ! Thoroughly enjoyed your ownership review, wish you many happy miles.
Get all the 4 tyres changed at the same time, don't hang on to the stock Jk's.