Ever since the beginning of the Pandemic and the lockdown, people have been getting married like there is no tomorrow. After having successfully skipped many marriages owing to the pandemic, I just had to attend my best friend/colleague's marriage. No escaping this one !
The marriage was to take place in Madurai, which meant a cool 900km roundtrip. I was pumped and we decided to take my Innova as we were six friends travelling together. As per norm one had to drop put in the last minute and hence we decided to take another friends recently acquired 2 month old Tata Altroz XE Petrol for the trip in the interest of a smaller fuel bill. (But government be like LOL
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I was the self appointed driver since my friend is new to driving. Now that I have bored you with above story, lets get to the drive experience.
STATS:
Total distance Driven : 1035 Kms ( I drove about 700 kms)
Fuel Consumed : 68 Liters
Mileage: 15.22 Kmpl
SPACE & COMFORT: * We were five healthy adults in the car and with a boot full of luggage, we had no reason to complain at all. Good Leg room and a nice wide cabin.
* Lots of space to store water bottles, snacks, wallets, handbags, etc.,
* Reasonably well shaped boot ensured we were able to do justice to that 345 liters.
* Front seats were very supportive, the rear seats were angled maybe 2-5 degrees too upright. But both have a common problem, inadequate under thigh support. Not a deal breaker but you do definitely feel the effect after a 450 km trip.
* The Aircon did a great job of keeping us cool on a hot afternoon (36 degrees).
GROUND CLEARANCE:
To be frank I expected the Altroz to bottom out on speed breakers, owing to the relatively long wheelbase and the 165mm ground clearance.
Surprise ! Surprise ! Absolutely zero scrapes thanks to the relatively stiff suspension. Just once my friend ran over a speed breaker quite fast fast and we just heard a very mild thud.
RIDE AND HANDLING:
The base XE version rides on 165/80 R14 Tires. I have mixed feeling about the ride. I would not say it is the best in the segment, I felt a underlying stiffness every time you go over a pothole at city speeds. At highway speeds this is greatly reduced, although you still do feel it a bit.
The Handling is extremely good and almost on par with my Grande Punto. Even the XE that I drove with the puny tires was very confidence inspiring. The way the Altroz masks speed is something you have to experience. Felt absolutely flat and composed between 100-120 kmph. Minimal body roll and the rear of the car does not feel soft or bounce about much when you go over those sudden undulations and expansion joints.
Special mention to the steering wheel. Weighed up nicely at high speeds, relatively light at low speeds. Will not be a deal breaker for a car guy.
ENGINE, GEARBOX & BRAKES:
Now we come to the so called Achilles heel of the Altroz, the 1.2L Revotron Naturally Aspirated engine.
I would start by saying the reviews are quite misleading, this is an extremely decent engine for an everyday point A to B car. The engine was very tractable and I did not stall the car even once with full load, there was no unnecessary revving to get moving as well. Was able to maintain sustained speeds of 100-110 kmph comfortably on the highway.
Not a performer or scorcher in any way, overtakes need a teeny-weeny bit of planning. But overall I can understand why Tata was able to sell 47000+ units of the 1.2L NA Petrol Altroz.
The gearbox is a bit vague, first gear is very short. Third gear is very usable between 20-40 kmph in the city. The clutch has a long travel, but felt light.
Brakes were adequate, maybe it feels a tad better in the higher variants with the 185mm rubber. I had two emergency situations and did not experience any drama inside the cabin.
NVH:
This is where I hate the 3-pot engine. I could feel the minute vibrations on the steering, pedals and gearbox while accelerating. The engine noise inside the cabin makes it sound like a diesel engine at high speeds. Again not a deal breaker but there is a drone. Otherwise the wind noise and tyre noise was nil.
OTHER POINTS * Loved the instrument cluster in the base variant. The analog dials looked sweet with classy white lighting.
* A "High Speed" light starts glowing on the instrument panel when you cross 80kmph. Once you cross 120kmph, an Overspeed message also pops up.
* The high speed warning beep was very classy and not irritating
* Tata being a company that is known for safety at the moment should seriously include the rear wash wipe as standard across the range. This is a big omission.
* A-Pillar creates a bit of a blind spot and the IRVM is tiny.
* Doors close with a nice heavy thud.
* Stock low beams are fine, but the throw from the high beams was not adequate.
* Seat belt reminder for the passenger also with a dedicated warning light. Well done Tata.
* The central locking system (pushing the door handles in to lock and vice versa to unlock) reminded me of my Punto.
* My Friend's car had a weird niggle, the aircon was blowing air to the footwells even though it was set only for the dashboard vents.
IMHO:
The 1.2L Revotron NA engine is an extremely decent engine for a daily car and is not a slouch. I found this base XE variant very decent for the 6.5 odd Lakhs my friend paid. Although my suggestion remains, If you can afford the diesel go for it.
Would I buy this car ? YES ! (If I was in the market for a big hatchback with a budget of 7-9 lakhs)
Can this be my next car ? NO ! Feels like a more modern version of my Fiat Grande Punto but definitely not a significant upgrade over it.