Tata Altroz vs Hyundai i20 - Ground Clearance Test

Ground Clearance is one important consideration while making a car purchase as Indian roads are known to offer the biggest of speed humps and deepest of potholes. For the same reasons, compact-SUVs have outperformed every other car segment in India. However premium hatchback space still confines some profit in itself, thus new entrants can be seen here. The latest offering in this segment is the Tata Altroz, which gets a ground clearance of 165 mm, which is similar to the last-gen Hyundai i20. However, the outgoing Elite i20 sits 170 mm above the ground. Is the 165 mm ground clearance of the Altroz enough for hovering around the country roads? Here’s a video that packs in the answer.

This video was uploaded by Vinnie Bawa on his YouTube channel.  The host takes his Tata Altroz along with the last-gen Hyundai i20 on a couple of bad patches. At all the obstacles, both the cars performed similarly. However, the Hyundai i20 was struggling to find traction because of its limited wheel travel. On the same obstacle, the Altroz performed without any hiccup, whatsoever. It also had both of its wheels on the ground. In the end, the host takes both of these cars on a large ramp, built over a drain. Interestingly, both Altroz and Hyundai i20 cross the ramp with ease, but with one wheel in the air.

While the last-gen i20 is out of production now, the current one is also set to be replaced by the 3rd-gen model. The Altroz, on the other hand, enjoys all the attention of being the newest contender in this segment. Tata Motors offer Altroz with 2 engine options – 1.2L petrol and 1.5L diesel. The 3-pot N/A petrol motor is capable of pushing out a peak power output of 86 PS and 113 Nm of peak torque. The oil burner, however, churns out 90 of peak power and 200 Nm of max torque. These engines are currently offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox only. At the launch of Tata Altroz, the carmaker said that Altroz will get an option of automatic, which is likely to be a DCT unit.