A Weekend With The Tata Punch: A Tough Little Package

You see, with Diwali right around the corner, we at ZigWheels were running at full steam with the recently announced GST price cuts, numerous launches and other news pouring in. So, when I got to know that the Tata Punch was available for the Diwali weekend, I grabbed the keys of the plucky little crossover and decided to head on a short drive from Pune to Mumbai for a quick trip.

And so it began, at 6 AM on an uneventful Saturday, I set off with the Punch. Wanting to avoid traffic, the early start meant I could get on quickly, listening to my vintage Bollywood playlist over the 6-speaker Harman sound system, which, by the way, is quite impressive for a car of its class.

Over the broken roads that lead to the (not so) expressway, I realised what an impressive job Tata has done with the suspension. I must say, it was quite the surprise feeling the confidence with which the car dealt with potholes. And this is a quality that remained a major confidence booster throughout, with the Punch sailing past the notorious Mumbai traffic on potholed roads all weekend. Pair that with the predictable handling manners and the high-speed stability offered by this platform, and it is no surprise that Tata sells these by the truckloads.

Everything is not rosy, because the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol feels like a unit which is not engineered for performance, especially on the highway. The Punch just feels a lot more comfortable being left to its own devices, rather than being hustled along. And then there is the 5-speed manual gearbox. While it, too, goes about its business as it should and is easy to use with a light clutch, I must mention that our test car had a slightly imprecise 3rd gear slotting action. It might not be something that would be present in other production cars.

One redeeming factor of the Punch’s powertrain, in my opinion, is the excellent fuel efficiency figure of 18kmpl that I saw, which is a nice figure after a lot of in-city grind and should keep your wallet quite happy as well. Overall, I really liked the Punch, but I fell short of being able to enjoy it. All the car needs is that ‘punchy’ 1.5-litre diesel from the Altroz (ironic, huh), but till then it will remain a nice car, falling short of being a great one.

Positives:

• Tall driving position and supportive seats offer superb comfort for long trips

• Suspension inspires a true ‘SUV-feeling’ when driving over bad roads

• 6-speaker Harman sound system, though bass-heavy, is unparalleled for the segment

• Great fuel economy figures of 18kmpl with some hard driving and a lot of in-city grind

Negatives:

• The drab engine is a killjoy, especially for a car with such sorted road manners

• Minor tech issues still exist; our car had an Apple CarPlay connectivity issue

• Thick C-pillar restricts rearward visibility while reversing

Kms Driven: 368 Km

Route Covered: Pune-Mumbai-Pune

Fuel Efficiency: 18.5kmpl

Fuel + Toll: Rs 2740

Stay tuned to ZigWheels for more such stories, and let us know in the comments what you feel about the Tata Punch!