[shortbread]

Originally Posted by Carma2017

Increasingly the newness factors in EVs is dissipating and it is becoming just another car. At least that is what the Punch EV review says if we use number of pages of discussion as a metric. A Creta facelift with again no newness has had 8 pages of discussion and chatter already compared to 4 pages here for the Punch.

Sir, going by this 'pages discussion' metric, Wagon R will have no takers and Jimny should've been India's hottest selling car!

[Carma2017]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Sir, going by this 'pages discussion' metric, Wagon R will have no takers and Jimny should've been India's hottest selling car!

I apologise if I hurt you in anyway. It was an observation. I do not mean to demean TATA sales or their products.

I do not know from where Wagon-R or Jimny came into this discussion. But the generic Wagon-R also had 15 pages of discussion!

But since you raised this topic, in marketing, it is said that chatter is good. The worst thing that can happen is if people forget a product or don't take interest. A large chatter mostly converts into good sales. Jimny chatter though was more of angst due to misplaced expectations and poor handling of situation by Suzuki.

My observation was based on the above. I found it strange that Team BHPians, who are generally very excited about TATA products, were too silent for a product that was better than many others in the market. The Tiago EV had 49 pages of discussion. I felt comparitively that the Punch EV felt same old same old. Many parts and design ideas seemed to be shared between Nexon, Tiago etc. Hence, maybe lack of interest.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by thomahawk

Great to know the car is fun even off-road. Did Tata ever do one of these for Nexon EV? Since they seem to be showcasing the off-road capabilities, wish they had also beefed up the underbody protection. Not sure if any damage to motor or battery can be repaired without costing a bomb.

Nexon I don't remember mention of Offroad, whereas Punch ICE there was something. Omkar had mentioned the same during review.

Originally Posted by McLaren_P1

Is the underbody protection not good on the Punch EV?

With regards to underbody protection, glaring omission was at the engine bay side. Though there is nothing protruding out. The lack of a bottom tray was kind of very inviting for rat menace if you ask me. Similarly the amount of dust that will get accumulated on the motor and electrical. They should provide a neat under trey maybe in aluminium that will enhance look and safety. Similarly the Frunk looks like an after thought. So much of space and depth is available, they should really look at providing a bigger one, while covering the entire top area to make it look clean.

Battery seems to be well protected and those enclosure looks sturdy, plus they are IP67 rated IIRC so sealed as well. Would not worry too much. Keep in mind this is a normal hatch back, offloading is not really recommended. This was just to demonstrate capabilities if needed in certain situations.

Originally Posted by Carma2017

Increasingly the newness factors in EVs is dissipating and it is becoming just another car. At least that is what the Punch EV review says if we use number of pages of discussion as a metric.

Originally Posted by Carma2017

My observation was based on the above. I found it strange that Team BHPians, who are generally very excited about TATA products, were too silent for a product that was better than many others in the market. The Tiago EV had 49 pages of discussion. I felt comparitively that the Punch EV felt same old same old. Many parts and design ideas seemed to be shared between Nexon, Tiago etc. Hence, maybe lack of interest.

1- Number of pages may not be really a good yardstick to use, number of views on the other hand maybe better. I can see the YouTube view is at all time high for videos I posted, just another thing I noticed.

2- This is an enthusiast forum, and we are still ICE ICE baby's. Unless we see something remarkable and killing it, participation would be less.

3- Like you rightly mentioned the novelty is running out, but Punch EV USP is all about driving it. No words or video can really explain it. I would strongly advice enthusiasts (irrespective of Tata or not) to go drive this small lil EV. It is worth the effort and sure to bring a grin on your face.

4- Last but not least, review is in EV section which also adds to less numbers I guess. But that's ok, we are clear about the direction and believe that EV's needs to be differentiated and have the separate section.

Edit: 5- A long weekend lol. So let us wait for the week.

Come on guys show us some love!

[v01d]

Thanks to all of you guys for the detailed review!

As far as the thread size metric is concerned, we should also count the older thread (Tata Punch Electric unveiled, bookings open) that was discontinued as soon as the review came in. I guess this thread will receive more love as soon as buyers spend some time with their cars.

I took a test drive and found decent space in the car for its size. I am a 188cm tall slim guy. When the driving seat was adjusted as per me, there was enough space for me to sit in the rear with knee room and head room of about 2-3in. Under thigh support is simply superb! As others have mentioned, the seats are broad (deep) which leaves a smaller knee room. But did not create a problem for me.

The steering felt light but I could not try it at higher speeds. Just a small stroll in a typical urban colony.

The top variant has gorgeous off-white/oxide interiors!

Looks like a perfect city EV for a family of 4. Or even 5 if they're built like us

[TorqueAddict007]

Went for a pretty long test drive today of the Empowered + LR variant, and I have quite a few observations. I am in a bit of a unique spot as I had taken a TD of the ICE Punch MT a little under a month ago so it was good to have that comparison. The points below are mainly my comparision's between the Punch EV, the ICE Punch MT, my 2019 WagonR MT and the 2022 Nexon EV Max my friend owns which I have driven quite a few times.

1. Driving experience of the Punch EV is simply unmatched. There really is no way to describe it and do justice unless one has experienced it. The smoothness and power on tap is just mind blowing, even in city mode, I feel that the torque on demand is thrilling, perhaps I am so wowed because this is only the second EV I have driven after the pre-facelift Nexon EV Max but still, compared to the ICE Punch, which I feel has a very lazy, and quite noisy engine( no offense to any ICE Punch owners), or my WagonR, which while peppy, doesn't hold a candle to the Punch EV. Whether it be NVH, power, torque delivery, the Punch EV easily gives the best combination of all those at this price point I feel.

2. Apart from that beautiful 121 bhp 190 Nm torque delivering motor, the driving dynamics are also fantastic. Suspension is wonderful and soaks up potholes and bad roads like it's nothing, excellent stability. It's also sprung at the right balance where it's not too stiff and bumpy but at the same time stability hasn't been compromised, a wonderful complement to the motor. Build quality is great, the doors have a heft to them and shares the platform with the ICE Punch which scored 5 stars in the GNCAP test. So no complaints here. The paddle shifters to control regen, along with the rest of the driving experience really give you the feel and look that you are driving a vehicle from a segment above.

3. Coming to Regen, what I feel is that 0 is best for constant cruising at highway, 1 works fine for spare traffic and 2 is good for everything else. I found the regen on this to be much stronger than the pre facelift Nexon EV, and regen 3 was downright nauseating for my mother. Also, 0 and 1 are the best settings for older drivers who are not used to the concept of regen, especially if they are more used to braking hard, just escaped a scare today when my dad hit the brakes while the car was at regen 2 and the car came almost to a complete halt. So just a warning for those considering a TD. The cluster showed that there was 157 kms left at city mode, regen 1 and at 54 percent charge, which extrapolates to around 290 kms at full charge, which is pretty much in line with expectations, although I do guess it is heavily dependent on driving style and mode.


4. While the different drive modes may not be used a great deal practically, in the sense that most people choose one mode and tend to stick to it, it is still amazing how differentiated the modes are. Economy is the perfect for those heavy bumper to bumper traffic days, and the response is a little dulled for sure, but at no point did it feel like I was driving a CVT and forced to live with that dreaded rubber band effect. I would honestly compare the experience to driving a well tuned torque converter, smooth and effective, but not explosive, good enough for 90 percent of city driving.
Switch to Sports though and the car is a beast, I never had the guts to floor the A pedal due to the sheer explosiveness of the power delivery. It is unbelievable and will most certainly put a smile on the face of those who drive it, if they enjoy it that is. City mode, which is what the car always starts in, feels like an appropriate balance and would take of the rest 10 percent of time where you would feel the lack of power in Economy.

5. Interiors do have a very modern look, according to my mother, and the two spoke steering wheel has a very elegant design. But of course, you'll find the car full of scratchy plastics but at least they seem to be of better quality than the ones used by Maruti. Still feel the Korean twins have better interiors, although I would say Tata has come very very close. But the Punch EV's interiors are still way better than the ICE version's, that's for sure. The Nexon does have better interiors but at the same time, I did feel the back at the Punch was less congested than it feels in the Nexon, although my point of reference is the pre-facelift and I cannot compare it with the facelifted version. Also, the base level LR variant of the Nexon is 50 percent more expensive than the base level variant of the Punch, which I feel sort of makes it a terrible value proposition when you can get the Punch giving you 70-80 percent of that feel at 6 lakhs cheaper. Again, I mean no offense to those who have a Nexon EV, these are just my subjective opinions.

6. Decent back seat comfort. I wouldn't say it's a comfortable 5 seater, but if it's five averagely built adults, then it wouldn't be extremely uncomfortable either. But whoever is planning on doing long trips with 5 people, will find it difficult. Surprisingly, my mom and I felt that it was a little less spacious in the rear as compared to our WagonR, but it's by no means a tight squeeze. Driver and front passenger get good treatment and as long as you're not above 6 feet, at which point the high driving position relative to the roof height would be an issue for rear passenger comfort. You do get quite good under thigh support and the seats are the right balance between soft and firm, and 4 people can be very comfortable if they are averagely built. The driving position is wonderful as it gives you a view of the bonnet, but that's a point that goes to the ICE Punch as well. Overall, fantastic for maneuvering in the city.

7. Adventure LR with no sunroof or 7.2 kW charger is the most VFM offering in my eyes. At around 13.8 OTR in Bangalore, it certainly has almost all the creature comforts one looks for. The LR variants are much better in my opinion for those who want to keep their cars longer, plus an additional lakh when spread out over an EMI isn't a huge premium. Plus it will be useful for those occasional short distance trips. While I am no expert on battery chemistry, I would assume that over a longer period of time, for the same distance covered, since the LR battery would be going through less charging cycles, it could be better for the battery health. Maybe could help with resale as well, but again, I am no expert and I feel MR vs LR is going to be about personal preferences and needs, so a very subjective decision. For me personally, I find it's worth it. One glaring omission though is a reverse camera option on the Adventure variant, which I feel is really a stupid cost cutting measure, rather I feel it's a measure to push people to pay that one lakh premium for Empowered. A car costing almost 14 lakh OTR should at the very least come with a reverse camera in my opinion, and this is made worse by the fact that you cannot retrofit it in. It's not a big bother for me since I rely more on IRVM and ORVMs for reversing but those who are used to it will miss it. Apart from this though, I don't really find any of the other additional features in the Empowered LR to be worth that additional one lakh. They're all just cosmetic and I feel we will not notice the difference 99 percent of the time. The Adventure itself is quite well stacked in a lot of features, except the sorely missed reverse camera.

Despite all this, I am a little afraid of booking the vehicle as I don't want to be on the receiving end of umpteen number of niggles that Tata has unfortunately become famous for with its new launches. But at the same time, there is a need at my house for this vehicle and the price isn't as inflated as I expected it to be, at least not yet. Plus I simply fell in love with the driving dynamics, the smoothness and the convenience it offers for city commute, as well as that juicy 121 bhp motor.

[thomahawk]

Originally Posted by TorqueAddict007

A car costing almost 14 lakh OTR should at the very least come with a reverse camera in my opinion, and this is made worse by the fact that you cannot retrofit it in.

You might want to cross this one out. Tata now has a good number of essential electronic accessories available for EV's. The reverse camera with a TFT screen (IRVM) is listed under accessories (885732002905), costs around 6k.

[v01d]

Originally Posted by TorqueAddict007

One glaring omission though is a reverse camera option on the Adventure variant, which I feel is really a stupid cost cutting measure, rather I feel it's a measure to push people to pay that one lakh premium for Empowered. A car costing almost 14 lakh OTR should at the very least come with a reverse camera in my opinion, and this is made worse by the fact that you cannot retrofit it in. It's not a big bother for me since I rely more on IRVM and ORVMs for reversing but those who are used to it will miss it. Apart from this though, I don't really find any of the other additional features in the Empowered LR to be worth that additional one lakh. They're all just cosmetic and I feel we will not notice the difference 99 percent of the time. The Adventure itself is quite well stacked in a lot of features, except the sorely missed reverse camera.

There was a reverse cam on the adventure variant that they showcased in the media drive. Check out walkaround videos on "Gbhp" and "Ask Carguru" channels. Besides, Tata's digital showroom also shows cam in adventure mr and lr variants. With that consolation, my sore miss had shifted to the rear defogger.

[TorqueAddict007]

Originally Posted by v01d

There was a reverse cam on the adventure variant that they showcased in the media drive. Check out walkaround videos on "Gbhp" and "Ask Carguru" channels. Besides, Tata's digital showroom also shows cam in adventure mr and lr variants. With that consolation, my sore miss had shifted to the rear defogger.

A rear defogger would surely be a nice feature to have, but I feel like the delta between the Adventure and Empowered is simply too much to justify the additional features, especially if reverse camera can be fitted in as an accessory. Of course, the alloys on the Empowered are surely a head turner but in case we do decide to go ahead with the car, it would be our second one and used exclusively for the city, and the Adventure variant is more than an apt replacement for my WagonR which is remarkably barebones.

Originally Posted by thomahawk

You might want to cross this one out. Tata now has a good number of essential electronic accessories available for EV's. The reverse camera with a TFT screen (IRVM) is listed under accessories (885732002905), costs around 6k.

Apologies, I was not aware of this, when I asked the SA, he actually told me that it's not possible for me to even get the reverse camera as an accessory, I am not sure if he wasn't aware himself or if he was trying to capture on my mother's disappointment of not having a reverse camera unit and push us towards the Empowered variant, although I lean towards the latter. This does make the choice quite a bit simpler for me and rules out any prospects of buying the Empowered, thank you very much.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by TorqueAddict007

One glaring omission though is a reverse camera option on the Adventure variant, which I feel is really a stupid cost cutting measure

Originally Posted by thomahawk

The reverse camera with a TFT screen (IRVM) is listed under accessories (885732002905), costs around 6k.

Originally Posted by v01d

There was a reverse cam on the adventure variant that they showcased in the media drive

Reverse Camera is available even on the Smart-Plus variant as per latest brochure. To my knowledge itself, Tata has made 3-4 revisions to the brochure. Latest brochure was released on 27-Jan (attached below)

[King_Julien]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Reverse Camera is available even on the Smart-Plus variant as per latest brochure.

Cant really trust on what is written on the brochure.

The specs mentioned here

https://ev.tatamotors.com/punch/ev/price.html still says punch higher variants have 45W mobile charger and rear armrest has cup holders. Looks like they copied details from Nexon or some other model

[TorqueAddict007]

Took another test drive today, and we decided to book the vehicle. As of now we're booking the Adventure LR variant, but the SA still said that it will not come with a reverse camera and said the brochure information is wrong. But either way, it doesn't really make a big difference to us. As long as it comes with rear parking sensors, which I'm told it does, the car is compact enough for us to make do with. He says that it will be available in 6 to 8 weeks at maximum, and if available, in as less as 4 weeks too.

My only remaining concern is that I'm scared of buying it and getting stuck with a whole bunch of niggles, but I did reach out to a contact who owns the facelift Nexon EV and is having a trouble free experience till now. I am a little concerned about TASS as well, but we do have a contact at the service centre. Only thing to do now is hope we get lucky

[psbali]

I guess with the ZS EV and Comet price cut the entire line up of Tata.EV will get a price adjustment. I was considering Punch and negotiating for Nexon EV Creative plus 2023 model. Will wait and see how things work out.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by psbali

I guess with the ZS EV and Comet price cut the entire line up of Tata.EV will get a price adjustment. I was considering Punch and negotiating for Nexon EV Creative plus 2023 model. Will wait and see how things work out.

What needs to be understood is that ZS EV is not a competitor to Punch EV in any way. It’s between Nexon and ZS. And the only real advantage of the ZS over the new Nexon is the bigger battery pack and 50kw fast charging. Rest, everything is either about par or a little better on Nexon.

There are uncertainties around MG’s very future in India, with stalled investments and a factory purchase forever stuck in limbo. I am in no way defending the Tata’s EV pricing, I’ll be the first one to say they are fairly overpriced. But it also a fact that ZS EV was even more obnoxiously priced and its sales have basically died off since the updated Nexon LR 3.0 came into the picture. MG’s hand has been forced.

As for Comet, a car this wacky is never going to cut it in India. It is built to solve a purpose, and it does that perfectly. But a car purchase is a big deal and an emotional event in India. No amount of discount or buy back schemes or cold logic will help when your wife refuses to even sit in it for a test drive. Trust me I know!

[Ferrari1976]

I too decided to book the car in Empowered + model. Has anyone got the insurance done from outside? The insurance charges offered by the dealer are extremely high.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by psbali

I guess with the ZS EV and Comet price cut the entire line up of Tata.EV will get a price adjustment. I was considering Punch and negotiating for Nexon EV Creative plus 2023 model. Will wait and see how things work out.

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

What needs to be understood is that ZS EV is not a competitor to Punch EV in any way. It’s between Nexon and ZS.

This is what happens if there is overlapping between segments in terms of price (Top end of lower segment vs. entry variant of higher segment). If it is going to be a second/city car, I would go with the Punch and if it is going to be the only car, ZS EV makes sense (assuming there will be some highway/out station trips).