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RATAN TATA LAUNCHES THE NANO: Here's what happened when the car was launched in Mumbai.
What's the world's cheapest car like to drive? If the basic model of India's Tata Nano is anything to go by, it's going to be hot.
The 100 000-rupee ($2000/R20 000) car, designed to be affordable for millions of middle-class Indians who currently travel on two wheels (often with the whole family on board!), has been stripped down to its bare essentials.
That means one windscreen wiper, a centrally mounted speedometer on the dashboard, a wing mirror on the driver's side only and a solitary switch for the indicators and lights.
Even the mirror on the front passenger seat sun visor has been sacrificed to the god of economy, while the steering wheel is little bigger than an over-sized dinner plate.
There are plastic seat covers, a plastic dashboard and no air vents or air-conditioning - in a country where summer temperatures can push the mercury to 50 degrees Celsius.
Tata Motors opened its doors to the international media in Pimpri, near its factory in Pune, 160km from Mumbai, to let journalists take the Nano for a spin around its test track.
Designers who worked on the car, which was officially launched to great fanfare on Monday, say the lack of air-conditioning and ventilation will not be a problem as most people will drive it with the windows down.
Cruising around an empty track at speeds of up to 80km/h does kick up a pleasant breeze - and cause the seat belts to flap noisily, as AFP found out when it put the snub-nosed "People's Car" through its paces.
But slower speeds are likely to mean scorching temperatures inside - and uncomfortable, sticky backs for drivers and passengers - when the Nano hits India's notoriously traffic-choked streets from July.
The deceptively roomy four-door Nano, which can carry up to five people but not much luggage, is made for the stop-start driving of Indian cities, where sharp wits, a deft touch on the clutch and a fully working horn are a must.
YOU WILL REACH 100KM/H - EVENTUALLY
The little car offers a smooth ride but its rear-mounted, two-cylinder 624cc engine hardly kicks like a mule when the accelerator is floored, though it does do 100km/h - eventually.
No power steering (not yet a feature on any of the three models about to go on sale) makes turning a struggle, particularly when parking, although the car is so small that it shouldn't be difficult.
The two more expensive Nano models - the CX and LX - have extra features such as aircon, electric windows and central locking. The interior upholstery is also plusher and makes for a more comfortable ride, but that fully wipeable, hot-to-touch flimsy plastic still dominates.
Still, what can be expected from a car that costs the same as a top-of-the-range German washing machine?
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
Indeed, Tata Motors and its chairman Ratan Tata remind consumers that they have to be realistic about what they are getting for their cash, warning against unfair comparisons with more expensive cars.
Despite initial scepticism - and jokes that it looks like a fairground bumper car or four-wheel auto-rickshaw - most journalists seemed pleasantly surprised.
"It seems pretty good value for 2 000 bucks," said Financial Times Mumbai bureau chief Joe Leahy. "It looks and sounds like a car, which I think is pretty amazing for the price.
"It gets up to 60km/h okay. It takes its time to reach 100 but it gets there. The big test will be once it gets out on the rough roads of those Indian villages." - AFP