Quest for a driver-focused hatchback: Test drove the Tata Altroz Racer

The fond memories of Figo flashed. We took a longish test drive, on busy crossroads, over a relatively traffic-free flyover, a bit of highway, and then back again to the starting point.

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First Post, Long Post!

Hello BHPians, In today’s sea of SUVs, pseudo SUVs, micro SUVs, and MUVs, I am in the market looking for a driver-focused hatchback which should have good driving dynamics and be a hoot to drive. It needs not to light the tarmac on fire but should be sure footed when the machine and I are at relatively high speed, inspire confidence on curves, keep vertical movements at bay, and bring a smile on the face whenever we are together on the road.

My benchmark: Yesteryear’s Ford Figo

Why Figo? Because back in the day, when I was driving a borrowed Figo on Maharashtra’s curves in monsoon, I remember the feeling when the seat side bolstering snugged me on the winding roads, the chassis shined its road manners, gunning me to go further; the minimal body roll assured me that we were within limits, and the survival instinct kicking in when I took a quick glance at the speedometer to check what speeds were we doing. I was grinning, and the car maneuverability manners were fantastic.

In search of the same experience, I took a test drive of the newly launched Altroz Racer, and this is my first impression. My showroom experience was good. I went on a lazy weekday afternoon and was promptly attended and assigned a representative. She took the details and shared a pdf with prices and features. Within 10 minutes, I was assigned a test car and we were asked to come downstairs and have a look at the vehicle.

My initial thoughts when I saw the vehicle were that I may or may not be okay with the dual paint job or the name Racer, as it will reveal and reflect on my mid-life crisis; but I am definitely not okay with those dual stripes, which I used to adore as a kid on a car poster but don’t want it on a brand-new car. I pondered upon the thought of owning this flashy paint job vehicle and could surely see myself saying “'sup” to everyone just like Joey said in the 90’s sitcom Friends while trying to be a teenager again with flashy clothes.

I touched those white lines. They turned out to be stickers, and it should be a straight-forward job for a detailing studio to remove them if I end up buying the Racer. My better half also expressed that she is not a fan of those racing stripes and they need to go if we are going ahead with the car.

Inside was a different story. Things were in place, and nothing was as gaudy as those racing stripes. I was happy to see that the fit and finish have improved in the Racer, and thankfully there were physical buttons in the console for all climate-related operations. Ergonomically, everything was falling into place, and I was acquainted with the majority of controls within no time. Me and my better half sat in the car, and as I was happily lowering the seat to its minimum setting, telling her that this car has its ergonomics sorted, when she pointed out that her side has no such seat adjustment and that she doesn’t have much headroom all thanks to the sunroof and its controls.

Why Tata? In the majority of Indian scenarios, the co-driver is as important as the driver, and they are big influencers in the decision-making process. Please pamper them too, as they don’t like the scenario where they don’t have control over something, which we have.

I cranked the engine, and the dashboard lit up with cool animation. I was liking what I was seeing. There were no vibrations on the steering wheel or on the gear lever. A throaty sound from the exhaust egged me to slot the car in gear and experience the drive. The gear slot was smooth, and the gear hold was perfect. Thanks to the all-black cabin, I didn’t have to look much at that gear lever, which looked like a straight lift from my school going bus some 30 years ago. On the other hand, Tata has not given that game console-inspired, logo-illuminating steering wheel to this machine, and the eyes were treated to an functional non LED steering wheel and a readable console behind it.

I pressed the pedal, slotted the gear lever into first, released the clutch, and the car jumped to show off its low-end torque prowess like an old friend whom you meet at a reunion party who is too eager to show that his/her life is all sorted. The clutch was light, the travel was long, and the biting point was a wee bit high. It takes some time to tame that sudden surge.

This car is tractable! Very easy to nip around in city traffic. I switched on the ventilated seats with the air conditioner blower set to front and lower, and the seats got chilled in no time. I found that I am no longer bothered by mad Pune traffic, where a bike rider decided to go from extreme left to take a right U turn, just in front of me on a traffic signal. My mind was relaxed as my lower half was cooled. The ventilated seats worked fine, but I need to try this in proper hot weather, as the Pune monsoon is too forgiving and makes any air conditioner feel the best in the world.

The 10-inch screen is crisp with good UI, and my wife decided to fiddle with the controls. I was focusing myself on the drive, and the car was sure-footed with lovely handling and linear power delivery. Now the gear shifts were happening smoothly, and that sudden jerk forward on clutch release was tamed with a few minutes of drive. This steering wheel coupled with the chassis is one of the better handlers in the hatchback territory and requires a special mention. This car requires a better set of tires to shine its handling capabilities, as what is good now can be great with better wheel-wear.

The car was stable over high speeds and inspired confidence. The fond memories of Figo flashed. We took a longish test drive, on busy crossroads, over a relatively traffic-free flyover, a bit of highway, and then back again to the starting point. The wife was happy with the response of the center console touch controls, music quality, air conditioner and I was happy with the low-mid power delivery. She mentioned that on the go, she was no longer bothered with the headspace and was comfortable.

We came back to the showroom & drank a much-required coffee as the lower half was properly chilled. What I was looking for in a car, which I mentioned in the first paragraph, was getting fulfilled by this machine.

All is okay except its Racer name, those stripes, available dual colors, and that headspace-eating roof window. If only Tata releases some solid color options like they did with iturbo.

Now I need to test drive the i20 N Line manual and the Virtus Manual.

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