Tata’s Punch has been a success in the Indian market. They have sold more than 8,000 units of Punch in just two weeks of launching. Now, Tata Motors is planning to add a diesel engine to the Punch. Recently, a Punch was spotted filling diesel at a fuel pump in Pune. So, there is a possibility that Tata might launch the Punch with a diesel engine.
Cosmetically we can see there are no differences to the diesel Punch. It looks identical to the petrol Punch that is currently on sale in our market. We expect Tata Motors to use the diesel engine from the Altroz in the Punch. It is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder unit that produces 90 PS of max power and 200 Nm of peak torque. It will be offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox only. There are chances that Tata tunes the engine differently for the Punch.
Currently, the Punch is offered only with a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, It is a three-cylinder unit that produces 86 PS of max power and 113 Nm of peak torque. You can get it with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed AMT. There are two driving modes on offer, Eco and City. The engine also supports Idle start/stop technology that helps in saving fuel.
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According to the rumours, Tata is also working on a turbocharged petrol engine for the Punch. It will be a 1.2-litre unit that will be turbocharged, we have already experienced this engine on the Altroz. It produces 110 PS of max power and 140 Nm of peak torque. As of now, it is not known whether Tata will be further retuning the engine or not. It will be offered only with a 5-speed manual gearbox and it could get City and Sport driving modes just like we have seen on the Altroz. The turbo petrol engine will be offered only on Accomplished and Creative variants.
Punch prices and rivals
Tata Punch starts at Rs. 5.48 lakhs ex-showroom and goes up to Rs. 9.08 lakhs ex-showroom. It competes against Maruti Suzuki Ignis, Mahindra KUV100 NXT and lower variants of Renault Kiger, Nissan Magnite, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet.
Safest car in India
Tata Punch is currently the safest car in our country. It scored 16.453 points of out 17 in adult occupant protection and 40.891 points for child occupant safety. The total rating of Punch is 5 stars in the Global NCAP crash test. Punch is based on the ALFA platform. ALFA stands for Agile Light Flexible Architecture. It is the same platform that is used on the Altroz premium hatchback. Altroz itself is currently the safest premium hatchback in the segment.
Safety features
Tata offers dual airbags, an Anti-lock braking system, rear parking sensors, ISOFIX child seat mounts and Brake Sway Control as standard on the Punch. On the higher variants, you get a reverse parking camera, front fog lamps with cornering function, light-sensing headlamps and rain-sensing wipers.
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