Tata Altroz

Vivek Venugopal is one of India’s top automotive writers with over a decade’s experience in road-testing and reviewing cars. He is currently the Editor of Quarter Mile magazine and a columnist in several leading magazines and newspapers. He is also a highly sought after consulting engineer and market analyst for many automobile manufacturers.

- Vivek Venugopal

The Altroz is a key product in the Tata Motors’ path of reinventing itself. It is the latest offering in the new era of Tata products built from the ground up and aims squarely at the premium hatchback segment dominated by the Baleno, i20, Jazz, Polo, Glanza, etc. While the official launch will happen sometime in January 2020, we got to sample one in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The readers of the Unique Times will be among the first to read it this time.

This is a new platform for Tata Motors, which they call the ALFA architecture – short form for Agile, Light, Flexible and Advanced. It will form the basis of many future cars in various body styles and has provisions for an electric power-train to be fitted in later. Making it light was one of the top priorities, and the result is a body shell that weighs a lot less than that of the smaller Tiago. It uses a high grade of steel that makes it lighter without compromising on strength. Tata says it is their safest car ever, and going by their recent crash test results, we have every reason to believe them. It feels very solidly built and there is a sense of robustness and indestructibility that is missing in others.