The new 1.2 L turbocharged petrol BS6 engine, which is borrowed from the Tata Nexon, takes the petrol version of the Altroz from a mere 86PS of power to a much needed 110PS of power, finds Rajesh Karkera.
One year after it was launched as a premium hatchback from Tata Motors, the Altroz is back in its anniversary in a new turbocharged petrol avatar, something that was needed from day 1 in the feeble petrol version which was launched then.
The new 1.2 L turbocharged petrol BS6 engine, which is borrowed from the Tata Nexon, takes the petrol version of the Altroz from a mere 86PS of power to a much needed 110PS of power.
Although the Nexon makes more, the Altroz has been tuned lower, for no plausible reason. The build of the Altroz could surely have handled the extra punch, but maybe the company thought Indians cannot?
On offer is a 5-speed manual gearbox in the Altroz iTurbo and this one now comes with a sports mode.
The older 'City' and 'Eco' drive modes have been changed to 'City' and 'Sports' mode in the new Altroz iTurbo.
The Altroz in Tata's stables will now have an equal to match its diesel engine which in its 1.5 Litre turbo diesel is also quite powerful.
The differences in the new Altroz are more noticeable when you sit in the driver's seat.
Apart from the new black and light grey interiors which look quite nice, one major point is the start-stop of the engine.
Use the start-stop button and there is barely any vibration in the car.
And the idling 'Start/Stop' system, which switches the engine on and off when the car comes to a halt, is not very noticeable. The system works much much better than in some other cars we have driven.
Feedback from the steering is quite good, as it weighs up and becomes heavier when you speed up your drive.
And in park mode, the steering is very light which helps in manoeuvring the Altroz making it a breeze!
A new 'Xpress Cool' feature on the Altroz i-Turbo allows the cabin to be cooled quickly with a sudden burst of the blower. If you are parked at this time the windows will roll down themselves when the 'Xpress Cool' button is pressed. This can mainly be used when entering a car parked out in the hot sun. Good thinking by Tata Motors.
Quite impressive was iRA, Tata's connected car tech works quite well and recognises Hindi, Engish and Hinglish accents without an effort.
Want to see how the drive turned up? Check out the video below.
WATCH: Driving the Tata ALtroz iTurbo
Add to all of the above to the safest hatchback tag in India of a car which already has a 5 Star Global NCAP rating, if that doesn't make the new Altroz a reliable buy, what will!
The Altroz iTurbo is available now for ₹ 7.73 lakh to ₹ 8.85 Lakh ex-showroom, which comes to approximately ₹ 8.98 lakhs to ₹ 10.27 lakhs on-road in Mumbai depending on how much you can negotiate with the dealer.
