Tata ALTROZ!! Best hatchback under 10L

                                      

The Altroz is Tata’s latest, most modern, and the best looking car yet. It will go up against the Hyundai i20 and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Now when launched sometime next month  if it is priced significantly less then both the Baleno and the i20  then it will make really sweet deal. And we say that because to begin with the Altroz is based on a new,  modular platform called Alpha. It is lighter than what Tata Motors has been producing so far. The platform is also better built in terms of safety and overall stiffness. Needless to say it meets all future safety norms in India. But you can’t really see the platform or its underpinnings. What you can see is this beautifully designed car and the uniqueness of the Altroz’s design comes from its  front end which is more cliff like instead of sweeping thing that we are used to. Plus the flared wheel arches front and back  and this upswept shoulder line  and this edgy tail lamp line all of comes together to give the Altroz a very purposeful,  a very sporty and very desirable aura. It has a decently large footprint too. It is wider than most of its competition, if not longer. And the wheelbase of over 2500mm is comparable too. Plus, when you add the not-so-long-hood and the negligible rear overhang to the equation, you get both a large boot that measures over 340 litres, and good interior room.  Now let’s start at the rear. And the first thing that you will noticed it how wide these doors open.  Now that with wide opening door and the seat  that’s not exactly low that it is very easy to get in and out of the Altroz. The wide opening door means if you are short  it’s quite a reach to get there and that’s more sure at the front.  Now, but  once you sitting inside you will find that the seat itself is quite comfortable you have good thigh support you have good back support and the seat back angle  is also it helps towards adding comfort. You have adjustable rear headrest which again work well for safety and for comfort  and you get central armrest. You can use that armrest and you can seat comfortably. Now we said that the Altroz is a specious car it has low over hang,   it has short bonnet and all that means you get good space on the inside. Now the driver seat is set to my driving position and we’ve matched this too  in terms of where they place and then you can see how much more room there in this car. Passengers of height around 6 feet have more than fist of headroom there  and shoulder room wise you can easily seat three people. Plus you get flat floor that doesn't get way either At the front, the driving position is agreeable but the seat back design isn’t very comfortable. Plus, with the seat in its lower most position, thigh support is almost absent. Ergonomically though, the Altroz isn’t half bad.  The steering is well positioned; the gear shifter location feels natural;  the floor pedals don’t feel awkward; and all the buttons including those for the  power windows and the audio system and the climate control  fall easily to hand.  The indicator and wiper stalks, however do feel oddly high placed.  In terms of equipment, this top of the line XZ trim gets  keyless entry and start, electric ORVMs, and cruise control. It also gets a flat-bottom, tilt adjustable steering with controls for audio and voice commands. The driver’s seat is height adjustable.  There’s a single zone digital climate control system with rear AC vents. And you get a Harman touchscreen multimedia system complete with  Bluetooth telephony, USB connectivity,  and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. And it sounds fantastic. There’s a full colour driver information system or DIS as part of the instrumentation as well. The DIS looks good and it gives out decent info. The speedometer however looks boring and old school,  which doesn’t go with the car’s overall design.  Otherwise, the dash design looks good. It is clean. It is functional. And it is pleasing to the eye. Nothing seems out of place or forced. And it has umpteen number of storage spaces.  There is some in the central console, there is some in the central armrest,  then there is on the door pockets front and rear  and a large glovebox which also cools.  There are umbrella holders on both front doors as well. What we would have liked added however, includes  metallic outlines for the power window switches,  a 60:40 split for the rear seat,  turn indicators on the ORVM instead of the front fender,  and less exposed rear struts in the boot. Now when launched the Altroz will come with two engine options. It will have a Petrol and a Diesel.  The petrol is 1.2-litre three cylinder  which makes 86bhp and a little under 115Nm of peak torque. Now in terms of engine capacity and the output figures  it is more less what the competition offers so its just par for the course..  The one we are driving here is the diesel.  And the diesel is almost 1500cc it’s a four cylinder unit.  And it makes 90bhp and 200Nm of peak torque. There is also a Turbo variant starts from XT+, XZ and XZ+. The turbo petrol is a 1.2L engine which generates 110bhp and more than 140nm of peak torque. So the output figures are more than what the Baleno delivers but it is less that the i20. So its more middle of the road if you will. But on the road this engine actually feels more than adequate.  If you are drive it between 1500 to 2000-2500rpm its quite,  it feels refined and it has enough meat in its torque to just pull you along. Even when you drop under 1500rpm the engine doesn't feel dead. I mean am sure the progress is slower then it turbos spooled up  but it doesn't feel dead or slow or lethargic  you still have some amount of momentum going. But if you try and drive the engine hard try to rev it, if you go over 3,000rpm,  and you know you rev it and then it gets noisy and not just the engine  some plastic pieces in the car also protest against that. Let me show ou, now you but I don't know whether you’ll be able hear it but. So we are now at 2000rpm if we go  3, 4, 4.5  and you can not only hear the engine but you can hear  some plastic bits with makes some noises well.  Now you need to rev it, now if you drive between 1500rpm to 2500rpm that’s all you need.  The gear shifts on the 5speed gearbox are light,  the clutch is light, the shifts aren't exactly super precise  but doesn’t take too much effort to use that. It has an alert throttle response all the same.  And the power delivery, even with the turbo, is surprisingly linear.  And it is a meaty power delivery. The car’s acceleration wouldn’t make you go ‘wow!’  but it keeps you interested and involved.  It also comes with two driving modes - Eco and City. We prefer the City mode.  Now, when it comes to ride and handling, you drive the car and it’s immediately evident that this is a stiffer newer platform.  The Altroz is lighter then what Tata motors has produced in.  That automatically means the handling will be better as well. So as the result the ride on Altroz, the low speed ride isn’t exactly very plush.  when you go over small pumps or pot holes, at lower speed you can feel that firmness in ride.  But it does get better as you go faster and faster. And not just the ride, the stability of the car also doesn't get worst with speed.  So the car feels planted and stable now we are driving Rajasthan.  We got this undulating roads, we got this off camber roads  and one off jump that comes and even three digits speed  it just feels flat planted so that’s the good things. Braking wise it’s got discs at the front, it’s got drums at the back,  but brake feel the progression the power all that is a par than the course if you will. So you can brake harder, you can brake better you can modulated better.  And steering that only things left out the dynamics departments isn't full of feel.  So it’s not a very talkative steering but it is a quick steering  its less than 3 turns lock to lock so the car response almost immediately.  If you want I will show it to you, so you turn there is hardly any delay in the way it response.  Like we said at the start, the Altroz when launched in January  will compete against the Hyundai i20 and the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Both very very strong brands well entrenched brand in the hatchback space. And the Altroz actually starts off on the back foot.  I mean if you were to look at the spec sheet you’d find that this isn’t as long as the other two,  it doesn’t sit on a wheelbase that’s as long and the ground clearance on this car is lower too Now what works in Altroz’s favour is of course its design.  You’d want to buy it just for its looks. And it has spacious interior, you can seat five, you have a big boot  and it has a decent set of features as well. 

The price for Altroz starts from 5.94 lacs and varies upto 9.45 lacs