Test driving the Tata Nano
Questions
Watch the video, answer the questions on a piece of paper, then check your answers.
- In India the car costs 1 lakh. How much is that in pounds?
£1,300
- “Now, as you can see, it’s a
bubble
- “It’s one of the
cleanest
greenest
- How big is the engine?
624 cc
- What does he describe as smooth?
Gear-changing
- What things does he say you get for your money?
A steering wheel, four seats, plenty of room at the back
- How tall is he?
5 foot 10
- What does the little dial on the dashboard tell you?
How much petrol is left
- How many wipers are there?
Only one
- “What’s really great about this car – it’s very
nippy
black cab
size
- What sort of driving does he say the car is built for?
Urban
- What would you be crazy not to do?
Buy one
Transcript
we’re at Pune. This is the Tata test site. And we’re here to see the world’s cheapest production car. This is it, the Tato Nano. [I’m] one of the first British journalists to drive it.
Now this car is about the size of a Fiat Panda and it retails here in India for one lakh or just above. That’s about £1,300. Now, as you can see, it’s a bubble-shaped car, it’s a car that is jelly-beaned. But it’s done so for aerodynamics. It’s one of the cleanest and greenest cars on Indian roads, in fact on any roads. There are only about two dozen British cars that will do any better.
Although the car’s only got a 624 cc engine, it’s quite nippy. Gear-changing is smooth and you kind of have a bit of acceleration, but it soon runs out of puff. Now you don’t get much for £1,300 in India, but it does have a steering wheel, the essential four seats - only mine can be moved back, of course - and plenty of room at the back. Now I’m 5 foot 10 and you can easily fit in here. The real difference between any other car that you might see on the roads is the dashboard. Little more than a speedometer and a little dial that tells you how much petrol you’ve got left. Bar the window wiper, of which there’s only one of them, and a few little knobs here and there, that’s it. Still, the horn works.
But what’s really great about this car – it’s very nippy, it’s got the turning circle of a black cab in London, and it’s the size of a Fiat Panda. So it really is a car built for urban driving in a British context and I would buy one. At this price, you’d be crazy not to. See ya!