On why we think that the Tata Nano Micro Hybrid is a terrible idea!

Tata Nano Car

Alright, we ain’t no green energy haters. In fact saving some fuel to enjoy the thrum of the internal combustion engine for longer makes all the more sense as the liquid gold won’t last forever. But what doesn’t make a bunch of sense is go around fitting every other engine in this world with that little contraption called start-stop system or idle-stop system, which nowadays get a fancy set of words, the Micro Hybrid, thanks to Mahindra naming one of their Scorpio Variants thus. This even when there’s nothing hybrid really about the entire shebang.

We’re hearing that the Tata Nano might sport a start-stop system by the time 2011 rolls in 2012 and while the Nano is most certainly a car that will spend more than 70% of it’s working years on city streets, imagine being stuck in midday Bombay traffic jam in peak summer with the start-stop system continuously cutting the engine for every third meter you crawl ahead. Or for that matter, Delhi, Calcutta or Madras. A start-stop system is being plonked onto most cars with the owners simply turning them off at most times.

Bosch Start-Stop System

Why wouldn’t they when the sultry Indian conditions in summer and the icy conditions up north makes cars either become ovens on wheels or freezers? So, the Nano sporting a Start-Stop system which cuts off the car’s ignition when it is idling stationary for a few seconds and then helps start the car even as the driver presses the clutch or the accelerator seems like a not so good idea for the half a kilometer extra it can improve fuel consumption by.

So, expect to pay a couple of thousand rupees extra which may finally bring back returns in say about 20-30,000 kilometers of driving the Nano. Now, that is a real lot of driving you’ll have to do to recover back the 2-3 thousand premium for the start-stop system in terms of fuel savings. Low resistance tyres which work almost all the while would be a better and a more viable option in our humble opinion. What say, Tata?

Via AutoCarIndia

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May 20, 2011 | By Jay Prashanth · Tags:

Comments

One Response to “On why we think that the Tata Nano Micro Hybrid is a terrible idea!”

Niraj on March 25th, 2012 2:05 pm

the cost recovery is pretty fast(1000-2000 Kms) than what you are considering…in mumbai kind of traffic, vehicles are typically being idled for atleast 30 min. a day which amounts to thousands of rupess in fuel as well as lots of pollution..if not about the present cost of fuel, I think people should think about impact on environment

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