Tata Altroz will soon join the bandwagon of small turbocharged petrol engines in hatchbacks
Tata Motors is planning to launch the turbocharged petrol variant of Altroz next month, on 13th Jan 2021. Tata’s upcoming premium hatchback has been the talk of the town in recent days. It has also been spotted testing on multiple occasions recently that too sans camouflage; in new colours and that too with a Turbo badge at the rear.
Visual Updates
As earlier seen from the images, the turbo petrol derivative would not have any cosmetic or aesthetic differences than the regular model, apart from the ‘Turbo’ badging. It still gets the same visual treatment outside although there is expected to be subtle differences inside the cabin. However, the Turbo trims of Altroz will be offered with some new colour shades for example a new blue colour.
Powertrain, Transmission
Altroz Turbo will be offered with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder Revotron turbocharged petrol unit. This is the same motor which is on offer with Nexon petrol SUV.
On board Nexon, this motor delivers 118 bhp and 170 Nm. On board the Altroz Turbo, this motor is likely to be slightly detuned to develop 109 bhp at 5500rpm and 140 Nm of peak torque at 1,500-5,500rpm.
Tata Motors is yet tight-lipped about transmission details but it is expected to be mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Along with that, it will also get a 7-speed DCT automatic gearbox. The existing Altroz is powered by the same three-pot petrol unit though in a naturally aspirated form which generates 85bhp and 113Nm of torque. It is also offered with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine which cranks out 89bhp and 200Nm of torque.
Segment Rivals
Altroz will be the third car in this segment to get a turbocharged petrol engine and second one to get DCT automatic. Currently, Volkswagen Polo TSI comes with a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine while the new generation Hyundai i20 gets a 1.0-litre turbo GDi petrol engine. Polo used to get a DCT, but now gets a 6 speed AT. New Hyundai i20 gets a DCT auto option.
Earlier, Maruti Suzuki Baleno also came with a 1.0-litre BoosterJet petrol engine in the RS variant which has been discontinued since it could not comply with the latest BS6 emission norms. The 1.0-litre engine in Baleno RS produced 101 bhp at 5500rpm and 150 Nm of peak torque at 1700-4500rpm.
Expected Price
Also, the Altroz Turbo will be made available in four trim levels- XT, XT(O), XZ and XZ(O). Prices of Altroz Turbo are expected to begin from Rs 7.99 lakh and go up to Rs 8.75 lakh for the top-spec XZ(O) manual variant. DCT Altroz turbo top variant is expected to be priced just under Rs 10 lakhs – making it more affordable than rivals Polo TSI as well as Hyundai i20 Turbo DCT (price range Rs 10.66 lakh to Rs 11.32 lakh) top variants. Altroz is the only hatchback in India to get 5 star safety rating from Global NCAP.
