August 2022 - Tata Nexon Diesel Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

Updated: A few months ago, Tata Motors added some more variants to make the Nexon buying decision quite complex for the buyers. They also removed the XZ variant and shuffled some features. This Tata Nexon diesel variants explained article includes the latest August 2022 prices along with updated buying recommendations for all variants.

Also Read: Tata Nexon Petrol Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Tata Nexon Diesel?

The pros or advantages of Tata Nexon diesel are:

• Healthy torque output and satisfactory fuel efficiency figure from the 1.5-litre turbo diesel engine
• A fairly wide and tall body gives it a great road presence
• Best-in-class ground clearance of 209mm
• Best-in-class safety feature and 5-star Global NCAP rating
• The option of manual and AMT automatic transmissions with the diesel engine
• Gets a respectable number of features for its class, at least with the top variant

The Tata Nexon diesel has the following shortcomings or problems:

• At Rs. 1.30 lakh price jump over the turbo petrol engine seems too high as Venue and Sonet offer diesel engines for a very low premium over their turbo petrol engines
• Diesel-automatic is not available in the XZA Plus (HS) variant, which is our top recommendation for diesel-manual buyers
• Poor feature distribution and several missing features in lower variants
• The 6-month interval for the service centre visit is too short to keep your warranty intact when 1 year is the industry standard

You can watch the Hindi Tata Nexon petrol variants breakdown and recommendation in the video below:

What Is The Price Of Tata Nexon Diesel Variants?

The Tata Nexon diesel is available in a total of 7 main variants with prices starting from Rs. 9.90 lakh and going up to Rs. 13.75 lakh (ex-showroom). The diesel-manual range costs between Rs. 9.90 lakh and Rs. 13.10 lakh. The Nexon diesel-automatic is available in 5 of the 7 variants with prices ranging from Rs. 11.15 lakh and going up to Rs. 13.75 lakh. It carries a flat premium of Rs. 65,000 over the comparable diesel-manual variant.

Tata Nexon Petrol Vs Diesel - Should You Buy Nexon Diesel?

The Tata Nexon diesel variants cost Rs. 1.30 lakh more than the comparable Nexon petrol models. To recover this additional upfront cost over the petrol-manual, you’ll need to drive the Nexon diesel-manual for 1,00,000 lakh kilometres during the ownership.

For the Nexon buyers choosing between the petrol-automatic to diesel-automatic, this km-to-breakeven figure is smaller. This is because the Nexon petrol-automatic has a slightly lower mileage than the manual. On the other hand, the Nexon diesel-automatic has a slightly higher fuel efficiency than the manual. So, you only need to drive the Nexon diesel-automatic for 70,000km to recover the Rs. 1.30 lakh higher upfront cost over the petrol-automatic.

You can use our Fuel Cost Calculator to see how much any petrol, diesel or CNG car will cost to run based on the latest fuel price in your city.

Fuel Cost Calculator in India

After factoring in the value of higher torque output of the diesel engine, these km-to-breakeven figures become roughly half. For petrol-manual to diesel-manual, the figure becomes 47,000km and 33,000km for automatic buyers. So, you should buy the Nexon diesel-manual if you intend to drive the car for at least 50,000km during the ownership. For diesel-automatic buyers, even 35,000km of driving is enough to recover the higher upfront cost after factoring in the higher performance and torque output of the diesel engine.

The Rs. 1.30 lakh price gap between the petrol and diesel variants is on the higher side considering that both the engines get a turbocharger and intercooler. The diesel variants of the Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet carry a nominal premium over the comparable turbo petrol trims.

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Tata Nexon Diesel XM - Base Model Features

The base XM variant of the Tata Nexon diesel costs Rs. 9.90 lakh (ex-showroom). It’s only available with a manual transmission and has the following notable standard features:

• Halogen projector headlamps
• LED DRLs
• LED tail lamps
• 16-inch steel wheels with covers
• 3 drive modes
• All power windows
• Tilt steering
• Traction control
• Electronic stability control
• Hill start
• Umbrella holder in front doors
• 1.0L bottle holders in all doors
• Body-coloured bumpers
• Black door handles and outside mirrors
• Digital instrument cluster
• Music system
• 4x speakers
• Power mirrors with auto power folding
• Remote central locking
• Follow-me headlamps
• Roof rails
• Boot lamp

Some of the features you might miss in the XM variant are:

• Rear camera
• Touchscreen infotainment
• Steering-mounted controls
• Day/night inside mirror
• Power mirrors

The base XM variant of the Nexon diesel is only suitable for buyers who are on a very tight budget and can’t cross the Rs. 10.0 lakh ex-showroom price barrier. For a decent ownership experience, we strongly suggest stretching the budget for a higher variant.

Tata Nexon Diesel XM vs XM (S) Variant - Price, Features Comparison

The XM (S) variant of the Nexon diesel is available with a manual and automatic transmission. It costs Rs. 10.50 lakh with the manual and 11.15 lakh with the automatic transmission. The Nexon XM (S) diesel is Rs. 55,000 more expensive than the XM diesel. The XM (S) variant of the Nexon diesel gets the following notable extra features:

• Steering-mounted controls
• Auto headlamps
• Auto wipers
• Sunroof

It doesn’t get several must-have features such as:

• A touchscreen
• Front and rear armrests
• Height-adjustable driver seat
• Day/night inside mirror
• Auto AC

Except for steering-mounted controls, the XM (S) variant only adds good-to-have features. However, on the value front, expensive features like the sunroof justify the incremental asking price over the lower XM variant. This is the minimum variant we can recommend to Nexon diesel buyers if the on-road price jump from the lower XM variant is up to Rs. 65,000. If your state adds more taxes for cars above Rs. 10.0 lakh, then you should instead consider a higher variant.

Tata Nexon Diesel XM (S) vs XM Plus (S) Variant - Price, Features Comparison

The XZ Plus variant of the Nexon diesel costs Rs. 11.05 lakh with the manual and Rs. 11.70 lakh with the automatic. It carries an incremental price of Rs. 55,000 over the XM (S) trim and adds the following important features for this cost:

• Cooled glovebox
• 7-inch touchscreen
• Voice commands
• Rear AC vents

The XM Plus (S) variant adds some important features but still doesn’t get some must-have features like:

• Android Auto and Apple Carplay
• Day/night inside mirror
• Front and rear armrests
• Height-adjustable driver seat
• Split-folding rear seatback
• Rear defogger
• Tyre pressure sensors (TPMS)
• Auto AC

While value-wise, the XM Plus (S) is not a terrible deal, we think you should instead go for a higher variant. This one doesn’t have several must-have features we expect from a car at this price.

Tata Nexon Diesel XM Plus (S) vs XZ Plus Variant - Price, Features Comparison

The XZ Plus variant of the Nexon diesel costs Rs. 11.60 lakh with the manual transmission and Rs. 12.25 lakh with the automatic. It’s also Rs. 55,000 more expensive than the lower XM Plus  (S) variant. Following are the notable extra features of the Nexon petrol XZ Plus variant:

• Rear defogger
• Auto AC
• 60-40 split rear seatback
• Front and rear armrests
• Keyless entry with push-button start/stop
• Height-adjustable driver seat
• 16-inch machined alloy wheels
• Adjustable rear headrests
• Android Auto and Apple Carplay
• Day/night inside mirror
• 4x tweeters
• Rear camera
• Fog lamps

Even this variant doesn’t get some features we expect from a car at this price such as tyre pressure sensors (TPMS) and cruise control.

On the value-for-money front, the XZ Plus variant is not a good deal. It also drops some good-to-have features, which are available in the XM (S) and XM Plus (S) variants. Instead, the XZ Plus variant gets more useful and must-have features for a balanced ownership experience. If you’re not interested in features like cruise control and sunroof, then this is the variant to buy. Else, you can consider the XZ Plus (HS) variant, which will offer better value.

Since the higher XZ Plus (HS) variant is not available with an automatic transmission, the XZ Plus becomes our top recommendation for diesel-automatic buyers.

Tata Nexon Diesel XZ Plus vs XZ Plus (HS) Variant - Price, Features Comparison

The XZ Plus (HS) variant of the Nexon diesel is only available with the manual transmission and costs Rs. 12.35 lakh. It’s Rs. 75,000 more expensive than the lower Nexon XZ Plus diesel-manual and adds the following notable features:

• Tyre pressure sensors
• Auto headlamps
• Auto wipers
• Cruise control
• Sunroof

For the incremental price, this variant better justifies the value than the lower XZ Plus variant. This is our top recommendation for Nexon diesel-manual buyers. It offers a very balanced ownership experience with a good mix of good-to-have and must-have features.

Tata Nexon Diesel XZ Plus (HS) vs XZ Plus (O) Variant - Price, Features Comparison

The XZ Plus (O) variant of the Nexon diesel is once again available with the manual and automatic transmission for an ex-showroom price of Rs. 12.60 lakh and Rs. 13.25 lakh, respectively. This variant is Rs. 25,000 more expensive than the XZ Plus (HS) and it adds the following additional features to the mix:

• Telematics (connected car tech)
• Live vehicle diagnosis
• In-built navigation with what3words

The XZ Plus (O) variant doesn’t add enough compelling features to warrant an upgrade over the XZ Plus or XZ Plus (HS) variants. You should consider buying a higher variant.

Tata Nexon Diesel XZ Plus (O) vs XZ Plus (P) Variant - Price, Features Comparison

We’re finally with the top-spec XZ Plus (P) variant of the Nexon diesel, which costs Rs. 13.10 lakh with the manual and Rs. 13.75 lakh with the automatic transmission. These prices are Rs. 50,000 more than the lower Nexon XZ Plus (O) diesel variant. It offers the following notable extra features:

• Air purifier
• Ventilated front seats
• Auto-dimming inside mirror
• Leather upholstery

For an upmarket ownership experience, the top-spec XZ Plus (P) variant is our top choice as it offers more functional features than the XZ Plus (O). Although, value-wise, it’s on par with the lower trim.

However, even in the top model, you might miss features such as:

• 360-degree camera
• Front side thorax and curtain airbags
• Puddle lamps

Which Variant Of The Tata Nexon Diesel Should You Buy?

The base XM variant is the only one under Rs. 10.0 lakh. So, if you absolutely can’t stretch your budget to accommodate the XZ Plus variant, then you can go with the XM trim. Although, you will have to make big compromises in terms of ownership experience because of several critical missing features. The higher XM (S) and XM Plus (S) offer decent value because of high-value features like sunroof. But, the ownership experience is far worse considering the ex-showroom price of about Rs. 11.0 lakh because of the several missing must-have features.

For the Nexon diesel-manual buyers, the XZ Plus (HS) is our top recommendation as it offers the best value for money and a good number of good-to-have and must-have features. If you’re not interested in some high-value features like sunroof and cruise control, then you can buy the lower XZ Plus variant, which has mostly must-have features with high usability.

For buyers interested in an upmarket ownership experience, the XZ Plus (P) is a better choice than the XZ Plus (O) as it has more usable features.

For the Nexon diesel-automatic buyers, the XZA Plus is a suitable choice if you’re not interested in cruise control and sunroof. However, if you want these features, then it’s better to jump straight to the XZA Plus (P) variant as the XZA Plus (HS) is not available with the diesel-automatic powertrain.

For buyers interested in the Dark, dual-tone or Kaziranga editions, we’ll have to leave it up to you to decide because these are cosmetic upgrades over regular Nexon variants.

What Are The Engine Specifications Of The Tata Nexon Diesel?

The Nexon gets a 1.5L turbo diesel engine, which is standard for this class of cars. It has good power and torque figures, which are also on par with the rivals. The Nexon diesel’s torque output is not too high like the XUV300 nor too low like the WR-V. However, its heavy weight may give it a slight disadvantage in terms of torque-to-weight ratio, thus slightly affecting its drivability. It also has a decent fuel-efficiency figure of 21.19kmpl and 22.07kmpl with the manual and automatic transmissions, respectively.

*Estimated

What Are The Dimensions Of The Tata Nexon?

In terms of dimensions, the Nexon is amongst the widest cars in its class and it also has the best-in-class ground clearance of 209mm. Its 350-litre boot space is also good-enough for a sub-4m SUV. It offers 16-inch wheels as standard on all variants but higher variants get alloys with a slightly wider contact patch.

Find out how you can get the best mileage or fuel efficiency from your car:

10 Tips To Get Better Mileage From Your Petrol, Diesel Or CNG Car

What Are The Colour Options Of The Tata Nexon Diesel?

The 2022 Nexon diesel is available in the following 7 colours:

• Blue
• Green
• White
• Red
• Grey
• Black (available with Dark edition only)
• Beige (available with Kaziranga edition only)

Note: Here is a quick look at our length-based segmentation of cars to give you an idea of how we classify cars based on their size.