Tata Altroz iCNG Review — CNG Car With None Of The Issues
One of the biggest issues of a CNG car is the lack of boot space which a CNG tank takes up. Tata Motors instead have come up with a nice solution for this.
With diesel starting to lose favour within the Rs 5-15 lakh space, the attention has moved towards CNG and EVs. While Tata Motors already has the largest EV range and is the market leader, it has also started to increase its CNG range too. Hence, it has moved upmarket with the Altroz iCNG and entered the premium hatchback space. This segment already has some contenders but Tata Motors has done it differently as we discovered during our first drive. One of the biggest issues of a CNG car is the lack of boot space which a CNG tank takes up. Tata Motors instead have come up with a nice solution in the form of splitting the 60l tank and instead putting in two 30l ones beneath the boot floor.
This enables one to actually use the boot space and increases its practicality. Compared to a standard petrol Altroz, the boot space is less at 210l but it is intelligently packaged and took all of our luggage very well. The spare wheel is placed beneath the car and accessing it is very easy too. While Tata Motors have also placed a puncture repair kit in the boot.
On the outside, save for the badging, there is not much to distinguish the Altroz iCNG from other Altroz variants while inside too you get a 7-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay plus other features like automatic climate control, leatherette seats, an 8-speaker audio system, rear ac vents, height adjust drivers seat etc. However, notable additions include wireless charging, an air purifier plus a sunroof which can be opened by various voice commands.
Another crucial highlight is that you can start right away in CNG mode which is convenient and here you get 74PS and 103Nm when compared to 88bhp in standard petrol mode. It features a single ECU and starting in CNG hardly seems any different from the petrol car. At low speeds, there is a decent amount of power and you feel as if you are driving a petrol. It is smooth and easy to drive with performance being good enough for being a city runabout.
The gearing and the amount of torque in CNG mode is actually more than rivals hence makes for easy driving as you do not need to downshift or struggle for power. Honestly, you do not need to drive in petrol mode at all and performance is adequate-even when on highways.
The gearshift is slightly heavy but the clutch is light and the suspension is also compliant for our roads. The official efficiency figure in CNG hasn't been revealed but you will get 20km/kg plus which is decent too.
The Altroz iCNG is a well rounded value for money offering because you basically lose nothing when driving in CNG with near petrol like performance while even the boot space is not a massive compromise. Plus the Altroz iCNG is available in six variants, XE, XM+, XM+(S), XZ, XZ+(S)and XZ+O(S) which means you do not need to compromise in terms of features either.
While the top-end variant at Rs 10.5 lakh plus is pricey, you get more features and the range starts from a reasonable Rs 7.55 lakh. We think if your running is high, this is a brilliant proposition since it removes CNG problems at one go.
What we like — Design, performance is near petrol like, intelligent twin cylinder design, feature list,
What we do not like — top-end variant pricey
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