[Maxton07]

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

Don’t think they will mate the current petrol engine to DCA. The 1.2 and 1.5 TGDi will be mated to DCA. I don’t understand why TATA chose not to go with the newer engine for the Racer edition. 125 hp and 220 nm would have made a hot hatch!

As per Mohan Savarkar, VP of Tata Motors said in a interview that these tgdi engines are still under development and won't see its launch anytime till the end of 2024. Seems like it will be launched with the tata curvv. That's why I guess tata decided to plonk the same turbo petrol engine with nexon's tune.

[Benoit]

Even if the 1.2 TGDI makes a debut, i highly doubt it will be introduced the Altroz, even if they introduce a 'jet' edition in Altroz.

Jokes apart, as per reports, 1.2 TGDI is set to debut in the Curvv and 1.5 TGDI is set to debut in the ICE Sierra. So, it makes less sense to plonk the same engine in a mid size SUV and a hatchback.

Same goes with diesel. The Curvv and Sierra would get the 1.5L diesel from Nexon and in a higher state of tune respectively. So, it's unlikely the Altroz gets the Nexon state of tune in the diesel guise. Either the same lower state of tune or no diesel at all. Seems it has gotten only 5 percent more expensive to make the diesel engine. So it's possible the same engine is retained.

[VikramCS]

Will Tata provide a reliable automatic gearbox mated to this 1.2L Turbo petrol engine plus the paddle-shifters (mandatory as per me ? Or, will they disappoint again by plonking AMT? They can certainly take a cue from MS's Fronx - 1.0L booster-jet engine producing 100PS mated to 6 speed TC+ paddle-shifters....seems Kiger, Magnite will have a tough time ahead. I still think MS could have bumped-up the power output to ~115PS...

Anyway, in my opinion, Tata should provide good auto gearbox to make it a sporty, hot hatch.

[PetroHeado]

Finally, Hot hatches are gaining traction. This is a dream come true for budget enthusiasts. Hope Tata will spice up the design, though the all-black version looked menacing.

All in all, 2023 is full of good news' for the Indian car scene.

[Garud]

My only gripe with the Altroz showcase is how little they changed the front and rear fascia. The design was great in 2020 but things have moved forward a lot in the last 2-3 years. I wish they got rid of the halogens and replaced them with LEDs.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Seems like the ugly stick has returned with a vengeance at Tata motors now that Pratap Bose is gone....Looks like the designers of the indica sport (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ta-sports.html (New Indica Xeta Sports) are back

C'mon!!! What is that abomination!!!

This is the image that comes to my mind when I read Indica Sports.



At least the Indicab we had the same traffic light taillights.

Or even the Vista S.



They had all these decades of turning out tasteful concepts, but when it came to one that has an actual chance of launching, they botch it up. Could have just used the Victory Yellow of Tiago and put some tasteful alloys.

[greenhorn]

Tata motors had always had good looking concepts . It's just that the production versions look like they're designed by committee. And having been responsible for a couple of such products myself that I'm not proud of, I can certainly empathize.

[HighRevving]

A very disappointing attempt at making a sportier version of the Altroz.

Instead of leaking ugly pictures of the car, I wish they had disclosed the specifications and performance parameters. The name is so wannabe-like, it makes me think anyone who buys it will immediately plonk a Ferrari sticker on the fender and install a rotating knob on the steering wheel. Even the best performance cars are not named race or racer, not sure who came up with the idea.

If they really wanted to bring out a sportier version of the car, they should have highlighted something like speccing it to 150+ bhp turbo-petrol + good gearbox combination with paddle shifters, nice bucket seats and firm up the suspension with some good wheels. It appears they just want to do some dual-tone paint and sticker job and sell it as a sportier car, pretty sad.

[Asoon]

Frankly speaking TATA is yet to prove in the performance segment, all its previous attempts were duds, be it JTP or the 118 Hp 170 Nm petrol sub 4 meter car (Nexon)

1.2 GDI Look promising and has killer on paper specs, let's see how it translates to road

[GTO]

I, for one, am super happy to see 120 horses under the hood of the Altroz. It's my favourite hatchback thanks to the build, mature suspension, nice cabin, top safety & handsome styling. I've always been an i20 fan, but the Altroz is now my no.1.

The turbo-diesel was always good. It was inexplicable why the petrol didn't get the same tune as the Nexon. Happy to see the correction, cheesy "racer" badge notwithstanding.

Originally Posted by anshumandun

The ideal warm hatch, in my dream, should have the VW 1.0 TSI engine, i20 styling and exhaust and Tata chassis.

Ah, that VW 1.0 TSI is a wild motor.

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

Hope Altroz doesn't have to go through same fate as its cousins, the Tiago JTP and Tigor JTP.

No chance because this is a 100% Tata effort (not a JV). In fact, I think eventually, 120 HP will become the default tune for the Altroz (like the Nexon).

[Vik0728]

For what it's worth, here's an attempt to show how the Altroz Racer would look like in an all black scheme with the stripe and the new wheels.

IMHO TATA must get this rendering to production, looks better than any hatchback in India today

For Indian road conditions, Warm hatches must come with MT only.

One biggest flaw that I saw with Altroz exterior design was the placement of that roof antenna in the front, which looked like a two decade old design. The Altroz Racer has sorted this out, and boy it now looks better than every other car in its segment and beyond.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Warm hatches are getting popular in India!

The ideal warm hatch, in my dream, should have the VW 1.0 TSI engine, i20 styling and exhaust and Tata chassis.

Just a small addition,

1.0 TSI engine + that 6 speed MT gearbox

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by GTO

I, for one, am super happy to see 120 horses under the hood of the Altroz. It's my favourite hatchback thanks to the build, mature suspension, nice cabin, top safety & handsome styling. I've always been an i20 fan, but the Altroz is now my no.1.

They've also added 6 airbags and covered up the feature gap with the new i20. Hopefully it also comes with 4 disc brakes.

That said, I have seen you praise the Altroz Diesel and as soon as I saw these "Racer" specs, I immediately thought "Well GTO is going to be happy."

The torque is similar to the TSI, let's see how the two motors stack up against each other. As an owner of the Polo 1.0 TSI, I'm definitely excited for a hot hatch with sufficient leg room for the rear passengers.

[ashutoshb]

Originally Posted by VikramCS

Will Tata provide a reliable automatic gearbox mated to this 1.2L Turbo petrol engine plus the paddle-shifters (mandatory as per me ? Or, will they disappoint again by plonking AMT? They can certainly take a cue from MS's Fronx - 1.0L booster-jet engine producing 100PS mated to 6 speed TC+ paddle-shifters....seems Kiger, Magnite will have a tough time ahead. I still think MS could have bumped-up the power output to ~115PS...

Anyway, in my opinion, Tata should provide good auto gearbox to make it a sporty, hot hatch

Tata AutoComp's unit for manufacturing DCTs is expected to be operational in the next six months.

If you remember, Tata AutoComp had signed a JV, back in September 22, with Punch Powertrain to manufacture transmissions in India.

Hoping that we will see more Tata cars with DCTs and at a lesser price premium than before.

I will not be surprised if this Altroz also comes with a DCT.

[arjab]

My personal feeling is that the ALTROZ 120 will not be able to compete with the competition in its segment just because of its powertrain.

ALTROZ's competitors: i.e. the warm hatch segment now consists of (considering only new models available on sale):

1. Hyundai i20 N-Line variants
2. Hyundai i20 Turbo Petrol (that is the non-NLine)
3. Citroen C3 1.2 Turbo Petrol
4. Maruti FRONX 1.0 Turbo petrol

Now if we were to subjectively assess these models: (only from a driving enthusiast's point of view)

1. Hyundai i20 N-Line variants:
+'ves:
Free revving direct injection petrol engine, choice of gearboxes, feelsome steering, compliant ride, beautiful front-end grip, fruity sounding exhaust note, strong brakes
-ve's:
rear end ride tends to get choppy over broken surfaces at speed, wooden brake pedal feel

2. Hyundai i20 Turbo Petrol Non - NLine:
+ve's:
Free revving turbo petrol engine, choice of gearboxes
-ve's:
mediocre ride & handling, very light and vague steering feel, over-servoed brakes, rear end tends to get bouncy on hitting undulations on the highway at speeds

3. Citroen C3 1.2 Turbo Petrol
+ve's:
Lovely engine and seamless power delivery, Low end torque, ride and handling, seats
-'ve's:
Wooden brake pedal feel, Steering self centering action too strong, body roll when really whipping the car through bends

4. Maruti FRONX 1.0 Turbo petrol
Cannot comment as the vehicle's yet to be launched. But if the erstwhile Baleno RS Turbo is to be taken as a reference point, the power delivery in the mid range was nice. The ride and handling remains to be assessed after the vehicle's launched.

Now: Compared to all this the weakest point in the ALTROZ's link is the Nexon derived 1.2 litre indirect injection turbo petrol. Having owning an driving a Nexon petrol for the last three years, i can summarise the salient points of this powertrain:

1. Poor "revv-ability". Upto 3500-3750 rpm it is ok. Anything beyond that is a strain.

2. Narrow powerband. The "meat" of the torque-band is quite slim. Just when you feel that things are getting frisky, the engine runs out of puff! . A Citroen C3 Turbo or the old Ford 1.0 litre EcoBoost it isn't!

3. Flywheel effect. Too high. Particularly if you want to execute a quick downshift by "blipping" the throttle. The revs take an age to fall to acceptable levels for you to execute a smooth revv-matched downshift.

4. Fuel calibration: The BS-6 turbo petrol Nexon's are much better calibrated compared to the BS-4 models but there is still some ground to cover. Low down the rev range, especially when you stomp on throttle, in 3rd gear, Sports mode, say at around 40kmph, the ECU gets befuddled, gives a momentary snatch and then girds up its loins for the run.

5. Fuel consumption: Agreed. All turbo petrol's are throttle sensitive and guzzle fuel when driven hard. The problem with the Nexon/Tata 1.2 turbo petrol is that it takes a long time to "free - up" on a newly purchased car. Till 3500-4000 kms one should not expect good fuel efficiency from this powertrian be it the Nexon petrol or the naturally aspirated Tiago/Tigor. During this "run-in" period, expect anything between 8-8.5 kmpl in city(Nexon) with AC on and 14-14.5kmpl on the highways with speeds in the 90-100 kmph range.

TML has to upgrade itself out of this power unit as compared to the competition as this powertrain it is outdated in terms of smoothness, driveability, outright power, powerband and efficiency.

This feels all the more frustrating because the rest of the ALTROZ is very, very impressive. Excellent stability, feelsome steering, good balance of ride and handling and very competitive levels of safety.

The ideal ALTROZ should carry the old HONDA CITY 1.5 Litre VTEC with a close ratio 6 speed manual gearbox!

Dream on!