Tata Tigor EV: First Drive Review

Tata is leading the electric vehicle market in our country. Their Nexon EV is the best selling electric vehicle in India. It sells more than the Hyundai Kona Electric and the MG ZS EV. Now, they have launched the new Tigor EV. Yes, we had the Tigor EV earlier too but it was reserved for only commercial purposes.

The new one is based on the facelifted version of the Tigor and it now uses Ziptron technology. This is the same powertrain technology that we saw on the Nexon EV. The previous Tigor EV used Xpres-T technology. The Ziptron technology enables faster charging, more performance and most importantly more driving range.

Looks

Also read: Tata Hornbill HBX micro SUV: What its electric version will look like

The Tigor EV looks very similar to the regular Tigor. However, it is offered in unique paint schemes and gets EV badging. It is offered in Signature Teal Blue and Daytona Grey. There are some subtle changes to the front bumper. For instance, it no longer comes with a grille. Because it is electric, it does not need as much airflow. Tata has very cleverly integrated its tri-arrow elements into the faux grille and the lower half of the bumper. Just like the regular version of the Tigor, the EV also gets projector headlamps and there are LED Daytime Running Lamp near the fog lamps.

At the side, the wing mirrors are finished in black and they have LED turn indicators integrated into them. Tata Motors is using a new style of wheel covers which they call HyperStyle wheels. You won’t really notice that they are wheel covers until you go and touch them. From far, they look like alloy wheels. They also have a blue accent on one spoke indicating that it is an EV.

Overall, they do look very nice and Tata did a great job with them. The rear is very similar to the regular Tigor. The only change you would find is the EV badge and a blue strip that runs across the width of the vehicle and is located in the lower half of the bumper.

Interior

The cabin of the Tigor EV more or less stays the same as the regular Tigor. It gets blue tri-arrow elements on the seats and the AC vents also have a blue surround. The digital instrument cluster is the same as the Tigor and Tiago but has been redone so that it shows information related to EVs. The Tigor EV comes with automatic climate control, a height-adjustable driver seat, a tilt-adjustable steering wheel and a digital instrument cluster as standard. Tata has removed the gear selector from the Tigor EV and has replaced it with a rotary dial. So, you have to rotate the dial to choose the gear.

The instrument cluster shows the battery percentage, speed, drive mode, driving range, odometer, time, two trip meters and two AEC meters, which can be considered as how much electricity are you consuming per kilometre. There are also telltale lights and instrument cluster also shows a battery in bars, regeneration level and how much electricity you are using in the form of bars. It can be considered as a tachometer as the harder you accelerate more bars appear depicting that you are using more electricity.

Other features include keyless entry, push-button to start/stop,  multi-function steering wheel, 12V accessory socket, power windows, cooled glovebox and a flat-bottom steering wheel. There is also a floating 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The lower variants get a 3.5-inch infotainment system. Both the infotainment systems come connected to a Harman sourced speaker setup that sounds amazing.

The boot space is decreased from 419 litres to 316 litres. This happened because the batteries are placed under the boot. Due to this, the boot floor’s height has been increased. Also, there is no storage to keep the spare tyre. So, the spare tyre has been kept vertically in the right corner of the boot. If you have to want more luggage space then you can remove the spare tyre as Tata is offering a puncture repair as standard with the Tata Tigor EV.

Comfort and ride quality

I find the front seats a bit narrow and firm. So, they were not comfortable for me. However, that could be just my body as I know some people who think that the seats in the are quite comfortable. The rear legroom is quite decent and four people should be able to travel in the Tigor fairly comfortably. The rear occupants also get an armrest with two cup holders.

The ride quality of the Tigor EV is stiffer than the regular Tigor but it is not harsh. This is because the suspension also has to handle the additional weight of the batteries. The weight of the Tigor has gone up from 1 ton to 1.2 tonnes. Despite this, the suspension is able to absorb the bumps, but if you go at a high speed then the Tigor EV can get a bit unsettled. There is also some noticeable body roll when you are going around the corners.

Handling and Brakes

Before talking about the handling, it is important to note that the Tigor EV is meant to be used as a city car and it is not aimed towards enthusiasts. The steering feels light at low speeds and weighs up at high speeds. However, it does not provide much feel, feedback and confidence to the driver. Often, you would not know what the front wheels are doing. Twice, it happened to me that the front wheels were spinning, but I did not feel it. It was only when they started squealing, I realized that they have lost traction. Because of the evident body roll, enthusiasts might not enjoy it in the corners.

Brakes lack the initial bite and you have to press the brake pedal quite a bit to make the Tigor EV stop. Lack of initial bite may be there because of the regeneration. So, whenever you take your foot off the accelerator pedal, the electric motors start regeneration which in turn starts charging the battery. The regeneration kicks in gradually and it is only when you are going downhill or using the brakes, you will see more than two regeneration bars appearing in the instrument cluster.

Performance

Tata Motors is offering two drive modes with the Tigor EV. There is the normal “Drive” mode and a “Sport” mode. The Drive mode is meant for city use. In it, the throttle response is muted, but is still enough for daily commutes and overtakes. The acceleration feels just like a regular ICE vehicle. For most of the time, this will be the mode in which you will be spending time.

Then there is the Sport mode in which I found myself at every stoplight. The acceleration and pick-up are noticeably quicker. You can feel the punch from the electric motor as all that torque is delivered to you instantly as soon as you tap the accelerator. The overtakes are also very quick, you step on the throttle and Tigor just goes. The tyres can often break traction in Sports mode especially if you are making a turn. So, you will have to be careful while doing that. Also, Tata Motors claim that the Tigor EV can hit 60 kmph in 5.7 seconds.

Battery and range

Tigor EV gets a 26 kWh High energy density Lithium-ion battery pack. It is liquid-cooled and is IP67 rated. So, it is protected from dust and water. Tata is using a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor. It produces 74.7 PS of max power and 170 Nm of peak torque. The numbers might not seem huge but you must remember that it is an electric vehicle and can deliver power instantly.

Tigor EV comes with Smart Regenerative Braking, Hill ascent assist and Hill descent assist. Tata is also using CCS 2 charging standard. There is an 8 year/1.6 lakh kilometres warranty on the battery pack and electric motor while the vehicle itself gets 3 year/1.25 lakh kilometre warranty.

Using the regular 15A charger would charge the batteries from 0-80 percent in 8 hours 45 minutes. If you are using a 25 kW DC charger then the batteries can be charged up to 80 percent in 65 minutes. As per ARAI, the Tigor EV’s driving range is 306 km.

In my test, I often found the driving range on the instrument cluster to be near the 250 km mark whenever the batteries were fully charged. Tata Motors did say that the driving range displayed can change depending on the driving behaviour of the driver. So, every time you charge the vehicle up to 100 percent, the computer takes the driving behaviour into consideration and then calculates the range. In real-world conditions, it should be able to deliver around 150 km to 200 km which should be enough for daily commutes.

Safety

Just like other vehicles, Tata Motors has given special attention to safety. It scored 4 stars in the Global NCAP crash test. It gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Cornering Stability Program and rear parking sensors as standard. On the higher variants, you get a rear defogger, fog lamps, follow me home headlamps and a rear camera.

A Few Niggles

There are few niggles that I found while driving the Tigor EV. The left speaker made the door rattle which can get a bit annoying. The driver side rearview mirror was shaking at high speeds. The rear parking camera does come with adaptive guidelines but the camera quality itself is not very good. Also, an error popped up once while I was reversing the car. The plastic piece below the steering wheel was not aligned properly and there was a significant panel gap there.

Tata Motors also has an application that enables connected car features for the Tigor EV. The application was slow to respond and the vehicle often lacked signal strength. Due to these, the commands were not getting completed. These were the only quality issues that I noticed and it seems like they can be resolved.

Conclusion

The Tigor EV makes a very good argument for itself if you will be using it for daily commutes or as a city car. It has a decent driving range, punchy performance and ample space for four adults. The prices of the Tigor EV starts at Rs. 11.99 lakhs ex-showroom and goes up to Rs. 13.14 lakhs ex-showroom. There are four variants on offer.

So, it has been priced well, if you are going for the lower variants then it is alright. However, if you consider the higher variants then you get close to the price of the base variant of the Nexon EV. It is priced at Rs. 13.99 lakhs ex-showroom and SUVs are selling like hotcakes right now so there is a possibility that the person will just wait and buy the Nexon EV instead.

Also read: Citroen”s 3 new cars for India DETAILED