With the reveal of the Tata Altroz, the automaker has marked its foray into the premium hatchback segment. Till date, this segment was solely dominated by the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Honda Jazz and Hyundai i20, but the new entrant is expected to draw some attention away from these long standing stalwarts.
The first offering from Tata Motors to be positioned on the new ALFA (Agile, Light, Flexible and Advanced) platform, the Altroz has now arrived at authorized Tata dealerships. Tata Altroz is offered in XE, XM and XT variants and stands 3,990mm in length, 1,755mm in width and 1,523mm in height. It gets a 2,501mm long wheelbase with ground clearance of 165mm and kerb weight of 1036-1150 kgs. Boot space is at 345-665 liters while fuel tank is of 37 liter capacity.
The exteriors of the new Altroz are inspired by the world of Laser. It boasts of a sharp design with an aesthetic stance and refined performance. Its front end is dominated by sleek, swept back headlamps with dual chambers that help in lighting up the darkest of road conditions.
The interiors of the new Tata Altroz boast of the PICASA standards, enhancing its comforts and space and elevated level of on-board technology. Being the widest car in its segment, the Altroz gets a floating island layout with blue ambient lighting surrounding the dashboard which also extends to the foot-well and console.
The dual tone black and grey coloured dashboard is metallic finished with chrome accents and dominated by a 17.78cm digital instrument cluster with functions also controlled via steering mounted buttons. Other notable features also include cruise control, automatic AC, multi drive modes of City and Eco and push button start/stop feature.
Tata Altroz is powered by a BS6 compliant engine options. The 1.2 liter naturally aspirated, 3 cylinder, petrol engine offers 86hp power at 6,000 rpm and 113 Nm torque at 3,300 rpm mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. The 1.5 liter, 4 cylinder turbo diesel engine is borrowed from the Tata Nexon, but detuned to deliver 90 hp power at 4,000 rpm and 200 Nm torque at 1,250-3,000 rpm – mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. Suspension is via independent MacPherson dual strut with coil spring and shock absorbers while braking is via disc and drum brakes at the front and rear respectively.
No pricing of the Tata Altroz has been revealed as on date but a price tag within the range of Rs.5.5-9 lakhs is what is expected so as to allow the Altroz to compete aggressively with Maruti Baleno, Hyundai i20, Toyota Glanza, and Honda Jazz. It is also to be noted that Hyundai i20 new generation is going to debut at the 2020 Auto Expo.
