Tata Altroz Diesel More Economical Than Baleno, i20, Jazz, Etc

The Indian car market is dominated by buyers looking for one thing from their cars- Fuel economy. While recently the trend has shifted a little towards other factors as well, fuel efficiency still remains on top the wishlist for a majority of the buyers, followed by a value-for-money proposition. Safety has also become a priority for many lately. Surprisingly, Tata Altroz scores no all these fronts, as we shall explain below.

With the BS-VI emission norms in effect, diesel-powered vehicles have mostly disappeared from small passenger vehicles. Maruti Suzuki has completely discontinued diesel engines from its entire line-up. As for Hyundai, the Grand i10 Nios still offers a diesel engine, but the i20 doesn’t have one at the moment, but its upcoming next-gen model will reintroduce one when it launches. As for Tata, the Tigor and Tiago used to have one as well, but that too was discontinued. The Honda Jazz has been temporarily discontinued until the facelift model arrives, but reports suggest that it will also not have a diesel engine anymore.

Tata Altroz First Drive (Hindi) | Detailed Review

Thus, Tata Altroz is the only vehicle in its class that offers a diesel engine. Its competitors, which include the Maruti Baleno, Toyota Glanza, Honda Jazz, and Hyundai Elite i20, are all exclusively petrol-powered vehicles. This gives the Tata a straightforward advantage in terms of fuel economy, as its diesel model can deliver up to 25 kmpl, which is the best in class figure. The petrol variants are good for 19 kmpl, which is impressive too, but segment-leading.

The diesel engine on the Altroz is a 1.5-litre, turbocharged, inline-4 unit with 90 PS and 220 Nm on tap. As for the petrol motor, it is a 1.2-litre, naturally aspirated, 3-cylinder unit, capable of generating 85 PS and 114 Nm. A 5-speed manual transmission is the only gearbox on offer. We had also reported that a turbo-petrol version is also in the making, the test vehicle of which was spied earlier this year. We expect the same 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine as the Nexon to make its way here, along with an automatic gearbox. Reports suggest that this could be a dual-clutch transmission, but we can’t be sure until there is an official word about it.