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10,000 km with my Altroz CNG: Likes, dislikes & mileage

4th July 2024, 17:36 by Ananth Iyer

The car gives a mileage of 25 kmpl to 27 kmpl on highway drives. The car is seldom used in the city so I can’t comment on the FE there.

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The Inception

The car we were previously using was a Maruti Suzuki Alto 2010 model which was bought second-hand. This car stayed with us for 9 years, from my 8th grade till my 4th year in college. As time went on, the car started to show its age and everyone in our apartment started buying new cars, which created an urge in me to look for an upgrade. Discussed this with my family and started looking for a new car that would suit our needs.

The Needs

Need to be a premium hatchback or a micro-SUV as we are upgrading from a basic hatch.
Usage will be mostly on the highways, so need a fuel efficient one.
Need to be a manual because it will be primarily driven by my mother and she isn't a huge fan of automatics.
Need to be a really safe car.

Why CNG?

Our previous Alto was an LPG one and was offering us good mileage, so we cannot imagine going back to petrol with 15 to 18 kmpl. So CNG was the alternate option for LPG.

Cars Considered

Baleno, i20, Exter, Altroz, Kiger, Magnite, and Amaze were the cars considered.

Rejected Baleno because of poor safety ratings and didn't want to go for a Suzuki again, also they don't offer CNG in top variants. Same for the Exter as it didn't have CNG in top variants. Really liked the i20 and the features it offered but didn't have a CNG option and the top spec is way above our budget. Kiger and Magnite seemed to be really VFM cars but rejected due to lack of dealerships in my hometown. Amaze was rejected due to the lack of features for the price offered.

Why Altroz?

The main reason for going with the Altroz is the i-CNG technology which offers a considerable amount of boot space. Coming from a huge cylinder in the boot of the Alto with no boot space, this i-CNG seemed like a boon. Also, TATA was offering the i-CNG with all the variants including the top spec one.

Buying Experience

We went to the True Sai Works Tata Motors Showroom at Namakkal, where one of my close relatives works as a service manager. We took a test drive of the car with him and the salesperson. Most of the driving was done by my mother and she felt comfortable with the size of the vehicle.

Then we decided to go ahead with the purchase. Now all that is left is to choose the variant. We chose the XZ+S variant which comes with all the top spec features except the air purifier, leather seats, and iRA connected tech which is reserved for the XZ+S (O) variant.

After comparing the prices with nearby district showrooms, we decided to go with the Namakkal one itself. We paid an advance amount of Rs. 5000 and booked the Avenue White XZ+S model.

The total price of the vehicle, including the RTO and insurance, was Rs. 11,60,000.

Now the wait began, and after 20 days, the salesperson contacted us and informed us that the car was in stock and we could pay the full amount and take delivery after the registration process. We decided to take delivery on 28th September 2023 evening at 7:00 pm.

On the day of delivery, the process was smooth. The car was washed cleanly and was standing inside the showroom with ribbons attached. After our arrival, the car was taken outside and pooja was done by the manager and my grandmother. Then we started the car and took it to the nearby Sai Baba temple. Finally, we reached our home and parked the car.

Likes after 10,000 km

The car is a serious looker and has a timeless design. I could even say it’s one of the best-designed TATA products.
The driving dynamics are well sorted and it has a gem of a steering wheel which is light in the cities and hardens well on the highways.
The car masks speeds very well. Coming from the Alto, my mother was surprised when she was cruising at 100 kmph which felt like 60 kmph.
It has a fantastic sound system.
The car gives a mileage of 25 kmpl to 27 kmpl on highway drives. The car is seldom used in the city so I can’t comment on the FE there.

Neutral Points

The engine is a 1.2L NA 3-cylinder. This is not an enthusiastic engine. But suitable for linear driving. In case of overtakes, you can switch from CNG to petrol with the touch of a button and can get the increase in power.

Dislikes

Usual Tata niggles. The car has uneven panel gaps, not a visible eyesore but still need to improve their QC.
The normal petrol and diesel variants get a semi-TFT and analog display but the CNG versions get a basic monochrome display from the Tiago and Tigor models even in the top variants. How difficult is it to just indicate the CNG levels in the same TFT display as the petrol and diesel versions?
Lack of certain safety features like Hill Hold and Traction Control. The car only comes with two airbags.
The halogen headlight setup was faulty and the light throw was inclined to an angle. The issue remains even after changing the entire setup under warranty and even upgrading to LED.
There was an issue with the infotainment system which kept getting reset randomly when starting the car, which was resolved by a software update.
The top spec petrol and diesel variants get cruise control; don’t know why they can’t implement the same for CNG variants.

Accessories Installed

Didn't opt for any showroom accessories. Instead, went to an outside car decor shop and installed Nappa leather seats, noodle mats, side window sun shields according to the law, and side skid plates.

Bought and installed a 70mai dashcam Pro Plus by myself for both the front and the rear.

Overall Conclusion

This is a really good highway car with good fuel efficiency and driving dynamics. Not suitable for enthusiastic drivers. The service experience till now didn't have any issues since the service manager is my relative.

Note:

The latest 2024 Altroz versions have been updated with Hill Hold and Traction Control along with six airbags and new Lux variants introduced with the new 10.25-inch touch screen from Nexon, digital display, and 360-degree parking cameras.