The main highlight of new Tata Altroz now RDE compliant, is its refinement and smoothness along with repositioned air filter housing
There were just 2,119 units short for Tata Motors to retain its second position in car sales for the month January 2023. Hyundai now takes the 2nd position below Maruti Suzuki. Now that Phase II of BS6 transition is kicking in from April 2023, manufacturers are making their powertrains RDE (Real Driving Emissions) compliant.
Tata Motors has a 1.2L 3-cylinder engine that powers Tiago, Tigor, Altroz and Nexon. This engine is found in a naturally aspirated state in Tiago and Tigor. Altroz gets turbo options (upcoming Altroz Racer & i-Turbo) while Nexon is turbo only. This engine is of stark importance for Tata Motors and is now made compliant with RDE norms.
New Tata Altroz RDE Compliant Engine
Automotive enthusiast Vaibhav Rathi took to social media to reveal he test-drove an Altroz petrol model recently and was surprised at its smoothness and refinement. On further inspection, he was told it was the newer RDE compliant unit. Vaibhav swears that it was significantly more refined and far less jerky than before.
This might be due to a new counter balancer installed to reduce the harshness generated by a 3-cylinder engine. Only Tigor used to come equipped with a counter balancer shaft as it is a premium proposition as opposed to Tiago. Given that Altroz is even more premium, Tata Motors must have used a more sophisticated counterbalancing shaft over that of Tigor’s.
Or Tata might have used better-quality engine mounts and bushes to achieve this. Insulating materials might have been updated too. Images show that Tata Motors have changed air filter positioning too. In earlier models, air filter housing was supposedly known to make rattles. That should be addressed too. Take a look at the detailed walkaround of new Altroz 2023 below, shared by Anubhav Chauhan.
Specs & Pricing
It is likely that Tata Motors will launch a facelift of Altroz soon. There were test mules spotted before. This facelifted model might offer the larger 10.25” free-standing touchscreen along with a fully digital instrument cluster, a sunroof and ventilated seats. These features were showcased on Altroz Racer at 2023 Auto Expo.
Come April 2023, Tata Altroz will lose its diesel engine. With Altroz Racer likely to launch soon, i-Turbo variants might be discontinued too as the latter offers more of everything over i-Turbo. Prices of the new Tata Altroz have been updated for Feb 2023.
Standard Altroz premium hatchback will get the same 1.2L NA 3-cylinder petrol engine. This engine will be tuned to make the same 85 bhp of power and 113 Nm of torque. Transmission choices include a 5-speed MT and a 6-speed DCT. Rivals include Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai i20 and Toyota Glanza.
