Tata Motors, which is market leader in the electric vehicles four-wheeler segment in the country — it sold four out of every five EVs in the beginning of the year — has given the Nexon compact SUV, the vehicle that has been at the forefront of its success, some more juice so that it can go the extra mile, well, an extra 80-odd miles to be precise.

Out in a new avatar as the Tata Nexon EV Max with the last bit added on to the name, it now offers essentially the same vehicle with a battery that is about a third bigger than the one that is installed in the regular Nexon EV. While the Lithium-ion battery pack of the EV has about 30kWh of capacity, the one in the Max version is of 40.5kWh.

The result primarily of the bigger size of the battery is an increase in driving range on a single charge that is more than commensurate with the increase in battery size. The range is now 437km under test conditions compared with the 312km of the Nexon EV. For those who travel long distances, think intercity, that is greater peace of mind.

Typically, these distances are difficult to achieve in the real world, the fact is with a certified 437km one can realistically expect to achieve somewhere between 300km and 320km is our guess. The Max that we were driving around was showing a range of 150-odd km on about 50 per cent charge in the city with the air-conditioner going full blast all the time. So, yes, there is a significant improvement there.

The other improvement is in power output. Nexon EV Max produces 143ps (105 kW) of power and torque of 250Nm available at push of the pedal, resulting in 0-100kmph times in under nine seconds. So, power and torque are up by about 14ps and 5Nm over the standard Nexon EV and the zero to 100kmph sprint time is marginally better as well.

On the road all of that translates into pretty perky performance. While it might not burn rubber, it’s no slouch at all, the only thing is it is quite silent and one doesn’t feel the performance on good roads.

The cabin remains more or less the same as that of the standard Nexon EV but is a comfortable place to be

Visually, however, there are hardly any cues that the EV Max is different from the EV. Apart from the Nexon, EV and Ziptron monikers, there is nothing written on the outside. There is a new colour exclusive to the Max and it is a dark shade of blue. The wheel design is different too and there are four-wheel disc brakes.

The EV Max is be available with options of a 3.3kW charger or a 7.2kW AC fast charger. The latter can be installed at home and has a charging time of 6.5 hours. The SUV also supports charging from zero to 80 per cent in 56 minutes from any 50 kW DC fast charger.

The connected car technologies have been loaded up in the Max

There are other changes as well. The rotary drive selector is now lit up with a little LED screen on top showing the chosen mode. Next to that on the centre console are two buttons for selecting the Sport or Eco modes. The default is the City mode.

Then there is an electronic parking brake with auto hold function. This is very useful and particularly in city driving takes out the strain of keeping the brake pressed at traffic signals or in slow traffic. There is also the hill descent control function on this model.

Many of the additions, like regen level control and electronic parking brake are seen on the central console

The level of regeneration can also be adjusted through a couple of switches next to the parking brake. With regen level set to the highest, the vehicle brakes pretty quickly when the accelerator pedal is released, allowing the brakes to be used at a comparatively later stage.

The Tata Nexon EV Max comes with ventilated seats

New features also include ventilated seats, wireless charger and air purifier.

All good things come for a price and this is no exception. The EV Max prices start at Rs 17.74 lakh ex showroom, a little above that of the top spec standard EV model, and goes up to Rs 19.24 lakh. While the Max may seem a little pricey unless one is planning to do intercity trips regularly, the thing is the other features are actually quite tempting in terms of driving comfort. The Max has quite a few creature comforts fitting its price point, and might look attractive even if one isn’t doing very long distances regularly.

Pictures by the author

THE NEXON EV MAX IN NUMBERS

Form: Compact SUV, electric vehicle

LxBxH (mm): 3,993 x 1,811 x 1,616

Wheelbase (mm): 2,498

Unladen ground clearance (mm): 190

Peak power (ps): 143

Peak torque (Nm): 250

Transmission: Direct drive

Brakes: Disk brakes all around

Boot capacity (litres): 350

Price: Rs 17.74 lakh to Rs 19.24 lakh ex showroom in Calcutta