[PrasannaDhana]

Hello BHPians and readers,

Welcome to my ownership review of the 2021 Tata Altroz XZ+ 1.5 Revotorq diesel.




The Need :

A good-looking, safe, fuel-efficient, comfortable & spacious, manual transmission, punchy diesel car that also handles well

Comfortable driver seats, front armrests and good ergonomics are non-negotiable



Usage :

30000 - 36000 km per year / 100 km daily

7 years / 2 lakh km minimum
90% of usage will be solo

50% on National highways, 30% on rural roads with below average roads, 20% urban traffic

Will be driven exclusively by me and me only. My previous car was driven by no one else but me, all in its 5+ years and 1,34,000 km of service.



Which car is it replacing? :




2015 Maruti Suzuki Ciaz ZDI, sold in January 2021




Absolutely loved that car. It was my second office & second home for 5 years! Spacious, ultra-comfortable, reliable, cheap to run and own!




Link to my ownership review : https://https://www.team-bhp.com/for...-now-sold.html

Budget for the new car: INR 10 lakhs on road (+/- 1 lakh)

Things I did not care about in a car:

1. Segment
2. Road presence, in the sense of ability to intimidate others
3. Features like start-stop button, connected car tech, air purifiers, auto headlamps/wipers etc.

All I need from a car is to satisfy my needs and not make me chokeslam the Service personnel when the car proves to be unreliable.


What the heart lusted upon:

Volkswagen Polo Highline 1.0 TSI in flash red shade



&

Skoda Rapid 1.0 TSI Montecarlo Red




Obviously the Montecarlo was out of my limited budget while the Polo TSI was well under it. I also liked Carbon steel shade of rapid.

My affinity towards both the above cars root from my experience owning them in our extended family & pushing the nuts out of them, both in 1.6 TDI guise.

Sense prevailed, hitting me rather hard in my head, making me realize : my driving habits + 1.0 turbo petrol + high petrol prices + my high daily usage = Disaster!

I still remember August 2021 month-end budget review of mine. Safari had gulped 26,000 rupees of diesel and Kwid another 6000 rupees, all in 1 month. 4300 km of driving. One thing I am sure is that my usage isn't going going reduce. My average monthly fuel expense has been 25k rupees in 2021.

The next car had to be a diesel, a frugal one at that



Cars Considered :

Tata Nexon 1.5 XM(S)

11.5 lakhs OTR

Tata Altroz 1.5 XZ(O)

10.6 lakhs OTR

Nexon XM(S) pros over Altroz XZ(O):

1. Silky smooth 6 speed MT gearbox
2. More power - a lot of fun in sports mode!
3. Better under thigh support in the rear bench
4. Better Ground clearance
5. Sunroof (doesn't matter though)
6. Calmer high speed cruising due to 6th gear, which means the engine runs at lower rpm at 120 kmph when compared to Altroz

Altroz XZ(O) pros over Nexon XM(S):

1. Looks absolutely stunning, much much better than nexon
2. Low seating position - I love sitting low while driving
3. Better fit and finish + interior layout (personally)
4. More fuel efficient
5. Gets front & rear armrests, alloy wheels, rear headrests and many more features when compared to almost barebones Nexon XM(S)
6. Better ride and handling & aerodynamics
7. Bigger footwell
8. Slightly better ride quality
9. Cheaper by 1 lakh for XZ(O). I did change my booking to top most XZ+, even then the nexon XM(S) was 30k more expensive. Altroz, hence more value for money

All my current cars and past cars have always been the top end variants. It made more sense to get the top end Altroz in that perspective also.

Hence it was decided that Altroz is the one! Honestly, looks alone made my decision 80% in favor of altroz. I can't stand the rear design and side profile of the Nexon. No offense to owners.

Booking was done on October 4th 2021 in Kaveri Tata, Trichy.

Trivia no one would care about, but close to my heart -

The booking receipt no was same as my ciaz's registration number 6592


The sales team lead is my student. He promised me delivery within 50 days. I knew I wouldn't wait so long and asked the team lead as well as the AGM of the dealership to expedite the process. They gave me their word that they will do their best.

[PrasannaDhana]

Tata's sly habit of features deletion & Subsequent Variant change in my booking

Thanks to our forum, I came to know Tata removed certain features from XZ & XZ(O) variants earlier this year.

XZ(O) is just an XZ with a gloss black roof. Both XZ & XZ(O) used to be the most VFM variants which came loaded with almost all necessary features. Tata had different plans though.

They removed the 10 inch TFT instrument cluster, leather wrapped steering/gear knob, rear fog lamp from the XZ & XZ(O).

I spend an average of 3 to 3.5 hours every day inside my car. As important a nice interior is to me, is also the instrument console.

I just could not manage to keep staring at this for the years to come


One thing is that it is bland and uninspiring, another absolutely irritating thing personally, is the odd hexagonal layout of tachometer and speedometer.

In comparison the below TFT instrument cluster felt much much better, though not a fan of that speedo analog hexagonal design.



I did the math, it was just 45k extra for thr top most XZ+ trim, only in which the TFT instrument cluster is being provided.

For 45k extra, what do one get in XZ+ over XZ(O) :

1. 10 inch TFT instrument cluster (fav)
2. Rear fog lamp
3. Leather wrapped steering wheel (fav)
4. Premium leatherette seat covers (also fav)
5. Classy flat blade wipers (fav)
6. Express cool function
7. Auto Up in driver's power window (XZ gets only Auto down)
8. IRA connectivity

Perhaps a lot of value for 45k rupees! I changed my booking to XZ+

Colour : Obviously Red - Downtown Red as Tata calls it.

I decided Red as soon as I finalized on Altroz.

But then, justification had to be given to family

Our Polo GT 1.6 TDI, Rapid 1.6 TDI were white. Currently our Vento 1.5 TDI, my Storme Varicor 400 and Kwid 1.0 are all white. So white wasn't considered.

Grey was amazing in Altroz, but I got a Grey celerio at home and hence Grey was rejected.

Dark was a great colour, which our Harrier too is. But then, Tata does not sell Altroz diesel variants in dark colour. Only petrol N/A and iturbo get dark edition.

Last Red car I owned was in 2006,- a red swift diesel That was a long long time ago.

Yours Truly with the 1st gen swift diesel



On-Road Cost

INR 11,13,500

Discounts & Offers : None

I did shave off 13k from insurance. Effective OTR : 11,00,500.

Opted for Extended Warranty - 3 years/ 75000 km. I will purchase the 5 years / unlimited km warranty next year.

The wait started . . .

[PrasannaDhana]

The Wait & The End of it

10 days after the booking, I receive the message from my team lead that the car has been billed. He sent me this screenshot



I decoded the VIN and was very happy that the car was right out of the oven - October 2021 manufactured car!

The transit time usually was 4 to 5 days, but it was Pooja holidays week and the transit was delayed by a few days.

The car arrived in the yard in Trichy on 23rd October, Saturday.

I went to the yard on the same day with my wife (a lucky charm during PDI) and did a small PDI.

Thanks to my dash cam, our first sight of Altroz was captured on tape

https://youtu.be/2O3WMg-UQ0E

Very first pictures of the meet :









More trivia:

This was in 2018 when I drove my primary ride Ciaz to check my new Storme Varicor 400 in the yard



And 3 years later, I drive my Storme Varicor 400 to check out my next primary ride- The Altroz 1.5



The car was good and I asked the team lead to schedule delivery on Wednesday, the 27th of October 2021. Registration was promptly done on Monday.

The D-Day - October 27th, 2021

It was a Wednesday, I had chosen 9 30 - 10 15 am as the delivery time as it was considered auspicious time of the day. I don't usually take my family to new car deliveries. It is either me alone or my dad along in the past. I made an exception this time, and took my missus and my mom for the delivery. Life's too short and I had decided to appreciate every moment with everyone in my family

The car was draped in a cloth. Entire sales personnel of the dealer were present. Puja was done and we took off the drapes. There it was, decorated with a garland and ribbon on the bonnet. I wanted my dad to get the keys for the first time (another lucky charm of mine).

Pic from the D-day, with yours truly and family. In frame, sales team lead Mr. Saran & Sales AGM Mr. Nandakumar



The car had 52 km on the odo. Perhaps the only distance that someone else had driven the car in its lifetime with me will be this 52km.

Thanks to all sales people of Kaveri Tata, Trichy for the warm experience during delivery.

https://youtu.be/4INh2YQ8zHc

The car was driven straight to Malaimadha church. It is a ritual of mine for every new car I buy.



Another trivia- same time in 2018 after Storme delivery



First few pics from that day



With my Mighty Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400. 2 Tata cars in the garage after 6 years.




Last time was in 2015 - Sumo Gold and Safari Dicor



Between both the pairs, there is a quantum leap in the quality of interiors, fit and finish, refinement, performance and driving dynamics. Well done Tata, very well done!

Now it's time for the reason for the title. I have owned 6 Tatas before the Altroz.

Tata Estate - Tata Sumo DX - Tata Sumo Grande - Tata Safari Dicor - Tata Sumo Gold - Tata Safari Storme Varicor 400

All large SUVs (except the Tata Estate, which was also a large station wagon). The Altroz is my first small Tata car and perhaps the best looking one yet.

Even in our extended family currently, the other Tata is my brother's big burly Harrier



Tata provided 1 key fob, 1 wearable key and 1 normal key, along with owner's manual, a sweet box tyre puncture repair kit and a car car kit.

The key fob is simple. One button each for lock, unlock, head lamp on and boot release. The fob attached to the very sentimental key chain. I did love the ciaz so much



The wearable key

[PrasannaDhana]

My Ownership Experience

I have had the Altroz diesel with me for 12 days now, having covered 1400 km. These are my observations about the Tata Altroz 1.5 Revotorq diesel.

What I love :

* Looks - Drop-dead gorgeous, at any angle, in any colour, from any side

* Solid build quality - Everything feels built to last

* Excellent paint quality

* 1.5 L Revotorq diesel engine - good driveability, excellent fuel efficiency, good refinement, nice and punchy mid range

* 5 Star Global NCAP Crash rating, Isofix mounts

* Very mature ride & handling - One of the best steering calibrations from Tata. Excellent high speed manners.

* Interior layout, good quality and much improved Fit & Finish - nice switchgear & beautiful leather-wrapped flat bottom steering. Upholstery is superb too. Everything feels upmarket and modern.

* Perfect Ergonomics

* Superb AC unit

* Excellent 6 speaker Harman ICE - A delight!

* Ample space for 4 large, tall adults

* Biggest boot in the segment at 345 liters

* Features - ACC, auto wipers, projector lamps, DRLs, 7 inch ICE with connected car tech - IRA, Cruise control, Voice commands, Digital 10 inch TFT instrument cluster with excellent graphic display of car stats/music track info/step by step navigation instructions, Android Auto, Apple Car play, safety prompts via voice as well as instrument control display, front & rear armrests, cooled glove box, rear AC vent, Express cool feature, Driver door Auto UP & Auto down Feature, proper rear headrests, rear parking assist with camera and adaptive guidelines, height adjustable seat belts,
classy frame less wipers, ambient lighting, adjustable front armrest, 90* opening doors, Start-Stop button, smart key, and ample storage spaces in the cabin

* Beautiful premium looking black leatherette seats with contrast white stitching that also continues on the armrests.

* Effortless to drive - good all round visibility (Thick A pillars don't worry me as I used to drive a ciaz before), very light clutch and very good driveability.

What I am okay with :

* Tata A.S.S - This is my 7th Tata car! You must understand how prepared I would be with Tata service. Honestly the last few ownerships spanning over 12 years have been perfectly trouble free.

* 1.5 diesel is not rev-happy. You would not enjoy taking taking this engine beyond 3500 RPM

* Stiff low speed ride- you will feel the bad roads at low speeds. Pick up the pace, the car rides flat

* 5 Speed MT is an average gearbox. Not slick by any means. Does the job well though.

* Rear bench is set low and hence underthigh support for anyone over 5'10 will be low

* No 60:40 split either, while the rear bench could have been reclined a tad bit more

* No scuff plates on the foot board. Adding to it is the tall bottom lip which might rub on your shoes often while getting out

* Clutch pedal and Brake pedal are set a little bit higher to my liking

* Power window switches should have been illuminated. But they arent.

* Boot though big enough, has a nice practical loading space, the loading lip is tall. One has to lift the luggage up and then load into the boot

* Elbow rests on the door pads could have used leatherette padding. It's just fabric now, which will wear off within a few years

* 37 liter diesel tank. A bigger tank would have been welcome. But then, no complaints given the excellent fuel economy

* That mild sound from EGR when upshifting at 1400 rpm when you take off your foot from A pedal/ low rpm coasting. More info about it here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post5183646 (Tata Altroz 1.5L Diesel : Official Review) Solution : Upshift/ coast at higher rpm


* ConnectNext app and TMSC apps work flawlessly. IRA still not syncing with my car as Tata had messed up same credentials to 2 customers. Waiting for it to be resolved

* 165mm Ground clearance - not the best, but again, no complaints here as I am used to 170mm Ciaz which had a longer wheel base and a softer suspension

* Dual tone Hella horns - average, but does the duty. No plans to upgrade to my favorite Roots Windtone 90 as i can't stand the FNG guys dismantling the front bumper

* Stock Goodyear Assurance tyres are audible at highway speeds, more than the engine note. Michelin/Contis have to wait till stock tyres wear out

* Steering can be adjusted only for rake and not for reach

* Projector headlamps throw and intensity are just about average

What I don't like :

* Pathetic rear camera and just 2 parking sensors- how difficult is it for Tata to get better vendors for camera?

* 7500 km service intervals. That is 2 active months' usage for me, which means I will have to visit them 5-6 times an year. I would have loved 15000 km service intervals like in my Safari Storme

* Sunglass holder is just a cavity and not a dedicated enclosure. My ciaz had a nice sunglass holder with felt lining & soft open/close action. I will have to admit though, this one holds the glass in place.

* Handbrake location is towards the passenger seat instead of towards the driver. Anyways it's still better better the one our Harrier has.

* No cabin lighting for the rear passengers

* Auto dimming IRVM isn't a luxury nowadays, it's a necessity! Altroz gets manual IRVM

* Car keeps honking intermittently when you walk away from it with the smart key in your pockets. Say, I get down in front of my house to open the garage gate, it will start honking as soon as I leave the car. Beats the purpose of smart key in my opinion. My ciaz would just show a warning icon on the console if key isn't present in the car. Tata could have made a setting that the car honks once or even twice. But continuous intermittent honking is just too much.

* I am paranoid about the overly large gaps in the bottom grill in the front through which the radiator is nicely exposed. The gaps are large enough to let stray stones on the highways hit the radiator.

[PrasannaDhana]

How does the Tata Altroz look and feel



Exterior

Altroz is the first product through Tata's ALFA modular platform. The car looks sharp & handsome from all the angles.



The front grille area is smaller than usual, and the projector headlamps get tucked in the humanity line (Tata calls it so) along with the front grille. There is a chrome line at the bottom that runs through the entire length. Perhaps one of the only two places(thankfully) you can find chrome in this car, the other being the ORVM base.

Fog lamps are prominent, DRLs are kept in the lower region of the fog lamps. I must say, the DRLs look super cool.



Indicators are found in the inner part of the headlights. The bonnet has a bulge and two prominent likes on the either side. Same way, the area above the head lights flare up a little.



As we move towards the side, the prominent thing we can notice is how the window/shoulder line rises up towards the rear



The gloss black treatment is on all sides - The top of the front grille, on ORVMs, on the window belt line, on the roof and on the rear. B pillar is blacked out



The rear bumper is non-existent. 2500 mm wheelbase means that there is literally least overhang at the rear.



The 16 inch alloys look cool. The 4th Gen Honda City was a sharp looking car. Altroz just looks sharp(er)




Chevrolet Beat style rear door handles give it a 3 door car look

A handsome rear! There is a small spoiler too. The indicators are transparent, also double up as reverse lamp (only one though).

Tata has stuck a "Vocal for local" sticker on the rear windshield. Rear has a wash and wipe. The ALTROZ badging sits below the big Tata logo, with the rear cam placed in the middle of T and R.

Even with 185 sections, the car doesn't look undertyred. Petrol XZ, XZ+ get 195 section tyres. Tata does not give 195 mm tyres, 2 extra tweeters and dark edition shade for diesel variants in an attempt to keep sticker price in check.



Single fog lamp at the rear, in the middle.



Notice how thick these doors are! The doors shut with a very euro "thud". In comparison, my BIL's 5th Gen Honda City doors shut with a cheap feeling "thunk"



Notice how tail lamps are jutting out a little



Love these classy frameless wipers


I would have loved a shorter antenna, like the shark fin. Reception is great though



Sufficiently large ORVM, with chrome base. Indicators are not integrated. Side indicators are fit on the side panels directly



Request sensor only on driver's door, not cool Tata! And that key slot should have been concealed



That small protrusion in the rear fender is a splash guard or so I believe. The car came with 185/60 R16 Goodyear assurance tyres.



How many cars can look stunning and exude this presence, even when parked besides a gorgeous dark Harrier?





This, I dislike totally. Large gaps in the bottom grill. High probability of stones damaging the radiator on the highway



Torquier pair of my current garage - 400 Nm & 200 Nm



Tata did a minimal use of chrome on my Storme's rear. Totally happy they dismissed the idea of chrome anywhere in the rear of Altroz

[PrasannaDhana]

Interior

Altroz interior is a nice place to be. Love the use of various colors and textures. Though the plastics are hard, the texture makes up for it and nothing feels cheap. Notice the large ORVMs in the above pic.


It's a smartly laid dashboard, with the 7 inch ICE jutting out in the middle. Notice the Handbrake near the passenger seat instead of driver's



All colors and textures in the dashboard in one pic. Also notice the buttons for front and rear fog lamps.



Personally love the longer area between windshield and steering. Altroz definitely has one long dash. Gives a sense of safety to me. I hated my uncle's Scorpio for the exact opposite reason






Textured black on the top of the dash, shiny Grey in the middle with dull Grey surrounding the ICE. Dull black surrounding the switch gear and silver surrounding ac vents and gear lever console

Totally love the fact that the wipers and wash nozzle are concealed from cabin



Overall greenhouse area a bit large to my liking. Window tint application helps though



The color scheme isn't new to me. My storme and our dark Harrier carry similar themes too.

From the Harrier Dark



From my Storme - the storme may be the least modern, but the interior has held up superbly and it has the softest of the plastic on the top of the dash amongst the 3 cars here



Lovely flat bottom Steering wheel - the leather wrap is a delight to hold. The contours are very useful and the steering Overall is great to hold. On the left, the steering mounted controls are for the ICE and calls, while the right gets cruise control buttons and trip navigator.



Only gripe is the horn pads, which are thin and at the extreme sides. Quite weird for the first few days. It's also sad Tata missed out on reach adjustment with the steering

Ergonomics

Finding the perfect driving position is quick and easy in the altroz. For reference, I am a 6'2 guy with a large build.

Front seats

Front seats are well designed, with adequate underthigh support, good lateral support. I love the side bolstering and specially the classy dark black leatherette seats with contrast white stitching. The headrests are long and soft, positioned perfectly



Driver's seat is 8 way adjustable while passenger seat is 6 way adjustable



Close up of tri-arrow pattern and contrast white stitching of the leatherette seats that comes in XZ+ variant (also in dark edition, with blue stitching)



Adjustable front armrest, again with leatherette treatment is a pleasure to use



Gear lever is positioned at the perfect height, that you would not even have to move your shoulders while changing gears. It's just a small elbow movement as the arm rest and gear lever are aligned and it's quite comfortable



To understand what I am saying, here is a pic from my storme. I will have to get my arms down from the armrest to access the gear lever



Foot well is large! Larger than even my storme. A useful large deadpedal (even for my size 12 shoes) and nicely spaced ABC pedals



Height adjustable seat belts



The front door sill is tall and the foot rubs on it 6/10 times I get out



Worse, there is no scuff plate too

[PrasannaDhana]

Storage Spaces

Glove box



Among the largest glove boxes I have experienced. It is cooled too. Gets a tray, a pen holder, two cup holders and a light

Lovely how the glove box button is almost concealed



Big and Useful. The tray can be removed too





Some interesting patterns. Peacock pattern(same can be found in the front windshield at left bottom) in the bottom and hex pattern under the tray. You can also notice the switch to turn on/off the cooling vent, along with the light.



Other storage spaces:

Space ahead of gear lever, good enough to place a smartphone. Gets illumination too



Storage space under the armrest



And the space ahead of the armrest



Space under the start stop button. Deep enough to hold a XL size wallet



Front door pad - space for 1 liter bottle, umbrella and still more for storing knick knacks. Notice the elbow pad. White background thankfully is plastic and not fabric, hence easier to clean.

Elbow pad placed at perfect height. I found my perfect driving position within seconds



The sunglass holder is just a cavity with a raised top. Does the job and holds the glass in place. Also notice the Bluetooth Mike



Grab handles get hooks (except driver side). Also can be seen is the nice quality upholstery




Good looking door handles. Push to lock, pull to unlock. The tweeter like pattern is just for aesthetic purposes. The pattern from the top of the dash continues on the top part of the door pad



Actual tweeter is placed beautifully on the A pillar. Notice the thick A pillar and the large ORVM



Very effective cabin light. Shame the altroz gets only one for the entire cabin.



This is how good the cabin light is





Air vent to the windshield. It is not noticeable from the cabin unless you notice carefully



An important miss here. No auto dimming IRVM. Just manual IRVM



Physical buttons for the ACC. Notice the beautiful Altroz badging and ambient lighting



Talking about ambient lighting, this is how cool it is

[PrasannaDhana]

Interior - Rear

The rear bench is wide enough for 2 large adults and a kid, or say 3 average built adults. Tata markets the rear row to have a flat floor, but there is a small hump in the middle. Moreover the rear ac vents takes up some space in the middle too. Under thigh support could have been better.

Nicely contoured bench with soft and large adjustable headrests



Max and min legroom. Good enough for 4 six footers



Same smart design in the rear door pad too. Elbow rest useful.



Rear AC vent and 12V socket. Front has a 12V socket and an USB slot. Rear AC vent gets air volume control on the top



Window area at the rear is vastly smaller when compared to front. Good for people who want privacy



For everyone who complains the lack of middle headrest, this is how the rear view is from the IRVM. With a third headrest, you see nothing.

Rear armrest placed at perfect height and thankfully no cupholders to mess with your elbow. Notice the isofix mounts on the either side



Just an ugly lap seat belt for the middle passenger





Mildly scooped seat back with a pouch

Boot

335 liter boot, among the most spacious in the segment. The loading lip is a bit too high for ease loading though

Not one exposed nut/bolt



The tailgate gets cladding too



There is a couple of velcro straps to keep stuff in place. Maybe something like a 5 L water can



Boot also gets 2 hooks on the either side with a 3 kg load limit



Boot gets its dedicated light too.

While there is no 60:40 split, the rear seat can be tumbled forward if there is a need for moving more luggage.

The button to tumble the seat forward is present on top of the rear seatback on either side. It looks and feels classy.

[PrasannaDhana]

How is the Altroz 1.5 diesel to drive

The 1500 cc Revitorq diesel mill is a 4 cylinder unit producing 90 BHP and 200 Nm. It is mated to a mediocre 5 speed manual transmission, which is the major reason for Tata not being able to bring the 108 BHP 260 Nm tune to the Altroz.

That being said, the Altroz diesel in its current tune is more than adequate. Even when you are in a mood for fun and enthusiastic driving, the 1.5 diesel delivers!



That is one neatly packed engine bay! The revotorq is refined inside the cabin, while the engine note on the outside might be more (like all other diesels).

There is very minimal lag and combined with that light clutch, Altroz diesel is one easy car to drive in B2B traffic. You can navigate over large speed breakers in 2nd gear and you can manage driving through urban traffic in just 2nd and 3rd gears.

Driveability is excellent (not as much as Ford's 1.5 TDCI though, but comes very close) when compared to Maruti's 1.3 DDIS.

Refinement is impressive even at highway speeds. The car does 100 kmph at 2250 rpm and 120 kmph at 2650 rpm, and refinement levels are very good at both those speeds.

There are 2 drive modes - Eco and City



The button beneath the gear lever is the one to engage Eco mode. Eco mode dulls down the throttle response. The Rpm climbs rather gently and the NVH is even more impressive in eco mode.

Driveability is above average even in Eco mode. This explains how good Altroz diesels driveability is! In the City mode, the car accelerates more aggressively, RPM climbs faster and the engine note gets more vocal, in a sporty way

The 5 speed MT is an average gear box. Not slick and neither notchy. The throws are average too (I would consider it short in comparison to Storme). No complaints there.

When you want to drive Very aggressively, the engine's reluctance to Rev as freely as say a VAG 1.6 TDI or even Maruti 1.3 DDIS is obvious.

The best way to enjoy the 1.5 Revotorq is to exploit the creamy punchy power band from 1500 RPM to 3500 RPM. The progress is fast and the car reaches silly speeds effortlessly. The engine will deliver till 4250 RPM, but there is no point in going over 3500 RPM.

Braking is good. I haven't experienced any panic braking situation so far.

Ride & Handling

Altroz steering is light at slow speeds and weighs up nicely with pace. The car has a stiffly sprung suspension when compared compared older Tatas and it shows. While the slow speed ride over bar roads can be felt inside cabin, the car gets better with speed.

Where Altroz shines is in handling triple digit cruising and tackling curves. The car behaves like a large sedan, meaning, it rides planted at triple digit speeds, dismissing road undulations with aplomb! It sticks to the line you want to. The body roll is minimal and it is one enjoyable car to drive if you like pushing your car at speeds.

Cruise Control

Works like a charm. The speed can be increased or decreased by 2 kmph through the steering mounted controls.



With interference from the driver the cruise disengages. When you re-engage it, there is a sense of urgency to get back to the set cruise speed. For an example, if you had set the cruise speed to 120 kmph, and had decelerated to 70 kmph, the car speeds to 120 kmph aggressively once you re-engage the cruise.

Kitna Deti hai?

With atrocious fuel prices in our country today, this question is an essential one to ask.

ARAI claim for 1.5 Altroz diesel is a stupendous 25.11 kmpl. Mine is just 1400 km old and has not even run in completely. It is hence no metric for accurate fuel efficiency calculation. But then, let's see how the 1.5 diesel has fared so far :

Actual fuel efficiency by tankful to tankful method through Fuelio App

Best : 21.55 kmpl
Worst : 17.2 kmpl

Overall : 19.77 kmpl

All this, from a brand new engine, driven enthusiastically (DPF clogging is something I don't want). For sedate drivers, altroz diesel will easily give 22+ kmpl.



This, is as good as my ciaz diesel. With the engine setting in, the figures will improve. The car is yet to go on a long journey involving only highways. We will know how good it can deliver when we do the next highway trip

The variation between MID Fuel efficiency and actual fuel efficiency is 2-3 kmpl, with the MID showing lesser.

Other Stuff

If I can use only one word to describe rear camera quality, it will be - " Pathetic "



As I have already mentioned, the TFT instrument cluster has excellent graphic quality and clarity. Mobile pics don't do justice to the graphic instructions it displays

Like this one


& this


When Tata can do such a splendid job in displaying animations of Altroz on the instrument cluster, I wonder why they did not care to print a simple line diagram of Altroz here -



Tyre pressure 32 psi for 2 passengers, 35 psi for 4 + luggage.

Only old gen Safari owners like me can understand our love for the classy analog clock on the dash. Well , this makes me happy. Also notice how Tata mentions "Clinate Off" when the AC is turned off, instead of showing "ACC OFF"



A nice shot of the Altroz



A pic with my beautiful beater car - The Kwid 1.0



With the OG Baleno



You can use the connectnext app to control the car's ambient lighting, music settings, can set sticker as well as start up image.
What 3 words is a navigation feature which I am yet to try.



And this is how the sticker shows on the ICE touchscreen



First Service

Sent the car for 1st free service at 1200 km on odo. Just a routine check up involving fluids top up if necessary. Service advisor is a trust worthy guy. I asked him not to apply dash polish.

Bill was 583 rupees for consumables and Covid precautionary measures.

The car is kept parked in the garage due to heavy rains here. My Storme is doing the duties presently.





I will frequently keep updating this thread with updates on the car's performance, IRA features, Fuel efficiency, service details and so on.

Thanks for reading my Ownership review.

For now, a parting collage

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[TheHelix0202]

Any thread written by the wonderful Prasanna always turns out to be wonderful and informative! Clicked on it as soon as I saw “Prassy”. This one needs a few more sessions of revision with a nice hot drink and something to much on.

Loving the pictures, sir. Enjoy the car for many miles to come! Vaazthukkal!

[VW2010]

The pocket rocket. Enjoy the ownership and we should meet and exchange drive the endeavour soon. I love the Altroz and the pocket rocket diesel. Had they plonked an auto transmission on that diesel my Nano would have been replaced long back. Beautiful car and only Tata owners will know the worth of Tata cars. Enjoy miles of happiness.

[COMMUTER]

Another brilliant review and a treat to read. Keep piling up the miles and have a great ownership for years to come. I like the way you had put down the comparison with Nexon. This will help a lot of future car buyers have a bird's eye view of these two wonderful cars.

[Asif 6959]

Kudos on your new steed!!!Moving from the Ciaz am sure you would have missed the space. But I see your buying decision is clear and since 90% of the time its you alone in the car - Altroz is a good choice.


One obvious question that comes to my mind - What do you do for a living?
"Usage : 30000 - 36000 km per year / 100 km daily".

That's high even by my standards, since I come from a sales background and do an average 12-15k annually. I suddenly felt am not working hard or what?

Next obvious question is what not an EV, you would have easily recovered the fuel cost in maximum 18 months time by your running.

[Abhi_abarth]

Great review Sir, re-ignited my car upgrade itch. I am bored of my Baleno 2017 petrol and desperately looking at diesel options in the market. I too don't like Nexon's rear profile, but otherwise it is a great package with that 6 speed gearbox and the power bump.

It's a different thing if I will be able to purchase the altroz or not but I will be closely watching this thread for your ownership experience.

Wishing you many happy miles.