Statistically, India loves subcompact SUVs. The segment is one of the most hotly contested ones in the country. To entice customers away from competition, every player in the said space has something unique to offer. One of the products in that segment is the Tata Nexon. It not only received BS6-compliant (Bharat Stage 6) powertrains last month but also a mid-life refresh. Tata Motors, it seems, wasn’t too happy with the final recipe. Hence, the automaker has made some changes.

The first noteworthy difference is in the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine, which produced 108bhp earlier. Now, however, the power-plant pumps out 118bhp. The torque figure, however, remains at 170Nm. As before, the motor is available with both a 5-speed manual and an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission). Although Tata hasn’t mentioned it, the increase in power would have hurt the mileage. As far as the diesel-fed variants are concerned, they remain mechanically unaltered.

Falling under the second category of changes is the updated list of features. Starting with the XE and XM/XMA derivatives, they now get moulded black ORVM caps instead of those finished in Piano black. They also miss out on chrome finishes on the air vents indoors and a rear defogger. The latter has even gone from the XZ trim, and so have adjustable back seat headrests. Except for the entry-level XE derivative, all others have gained speed-dependent volume control feature.

Tata couldn’t have changed the prices so soon. And so it didn’t. The petrol-powered Nexon starts at Rs 6.95 lakh and goes up to Rs 11.20 lakh, whereas the diesel-powered range falls between Rs 8.45 lakh and Rs 12.70 lakh. For the record, none of those prices includes taxes.

You have to say that the changed features list isn’t too alarming. But will the increase in power help the Nexon petrol bag more sales? Frankly, it is a battlefield out there, with fierce rivals such as the Mahindra XUV300, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Hyundai Venue and the Ford EcoSport.