Multi Mode Regen
The Nexon EV has regen level buttons, which enable you to increase or decrease the regen levels. Level 3 will set it to most aggressive setting, where the car stops rapidly as soon as you let go of the accelerator. Level 0 will ensure you coast, without any regen. Level 0 is perfect for highways, when you don't want to loose momentum. Level 3 is perfect for city traffic when you have start and stop traffic. This customization of regen was not available in the 2020 Nexon EV but we are glad they added it in the 2022 Nexon EV Max!
Auto Vehicle Hold Button
The next feature is called Auto Vehicle Hold. This comes into play during crazy start and go traffic in city conditions. Once you arrive at a traffic signal, simply tap on the button and the brake pressure is maintained even after your foot is off the accelerator pedal. When you stop at a signal, you either keep your foot on the brake pedal or engage the parking brake. In this case all you need to do is just tap on the button and relax. Do note that the Nexon EV MAX has creep mode built in that automatically takes you forward if you take your foot off the pedal and this Auto Vehicle Hold button counters that too.
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Ventilated Leatherette Seats
The next feature is called Ventilated Leatherette Seats. This cools your seat and keeps you comfortable even if the outside weather is baking hot.
This is a very important feature. This is not a gimmick! The ventilated seats enable localized cooling that makes you comfortable instantly. On hot days, if you don’t want to use AC, you can turn on this setting which will keep you comfortable and at the same time give you fantastic efficiency numbers |
Electric Sunroof
The sunroof looks very cool. I’m not sure what its function is, but it does add an airy bright luxurious feel when you are inside the car. As you can pull the back seats down like that. Then, you can do some star gazing. If stargazing is not your thing, that you can do this
7.2 kW AC Charging
We wanted to test the speed of the onboard charger. So after driving around and getting the SOC to 60%, we decided to visit a 22 kW AC public charger hosted by our friends at goEgo network. Let’s find out if the onboard charger really charges at the rate of 7.2 kW as claimed. If you opt for the 7.2 kW charger, you will need the 7.2 kW AC charging equipment which will be provided by Tata Motors. But you will need to install a 3 phase connection at home.
The goEgo AC charger did not show the charging speed when we plugged in the Nexon EV Max. But the awesome team there investigated the logs, crunched some numbers and arrived at a charging rate of 6.2 kW with 25 Amps and a power factor of 95%. It is not quiet 7kW but still its better than the classic Nexon EV.
50 kW DC Charging
We visited the DC fast charger installed by our friends at goEgo Network. This is a dual gun 60 kW charger.
We used the goME mobile app and initiated the charge session. Our SOC was 64% and to our surprise we found the Nexon EV Max charged only at a rate of 30 kW. We expected the car to charge at around 50 kW. Maybe the SOC needs to be lower to unlock faster speeds or maybe there was a power issue here. We don't know. This needs more testing. Nevertheless, the claimed 50kW charging speeds are way better than the 20-25 kW speeds we have seen with the classic Nexon EV.
Cruise Control
When cruising on highways, press a button on the steering wheel and let the car do the acceleration, while you focus on steering. Keeping your leg free will take the stress out of highway driving. Apart from comfort, cruise control amps up the efficiency of the drive. If you're cruising along, on a mostly level highway, electronics in the cruise control system generally are far better at avoiding the little speed-up/slow-down events that are inevitably caused by a weary accelerator ankle or an inattentive mind. It's those changes in momentum that waste energy. As you just saw there was a significant reduction in energy consumption when we used cruise control.
Final Thoughts
The Nexon EV Max is packed with features and we loved driving it. What do you think about the Nexon EV Max? Do write in the comments below.