New Delhi: Normally I would reserve the verdict till the very end of this article but I would rather say it here itself, that the Punch is an SUV. That is something I can say after going off-roading in it along with entering a narrow trail just for the heck of it. I would not have done all that had it not been an SUV.




The Punch is an all new product but also an all new sort of segment being a micro SUV but not being a hatchback that has been raised. You can say that unless an SUV has 4x4 you cannot say it is an off-roader but then that discounts pretty much all of the compact SUVs which do not have 4x4.




According to me an SUV at least should have the ability to go over no roads or tackle nasty road surfaces with ease. If it falters here then no point having an SUV in the first place! I thought the Punch was going to be a raised Altroz at best but I was proved wrong!




I'll start with the best bit of the Punch and that is its healthy 190mm ground clearance which proved useful when going through a rocky trail while the tough suspension was a surprise too. The Punch can take a beating as I found out with a sense of toughness about it. Over bad roads, the Punch was confidence inspiring along with not being too firm or soft. The ride and the suspension along with the ground clearance is a Punch USP no doubt.




It also looks like one. In the real world, the Punch does not look tiny with only being a bit smaller than the Nexon while the Harrier like front-end is what gives it the personality along with a healthy amount of cladding all over plus 16-inch alloys. The dual-tone effect and funky colours make this an attractive car no doubt. Small it might be, but it does pack a punch in terms of design!




Other bits? Yes, the engine. Currently the Punch would be sold with a 1.2l petrol with 86PS and 113Nm. I'll answer it straight away, is it enough? Yes, just about with one more passenger and lots of luggage. In the city the Punch did not struggle and I was not downshifting all the time. Tata seems to have tuned the engine well for better driveability. In my opinion, the engine feels better than the Altroz 1.2l since low-end responsiveness is there. Hence in the city it does not feel too slow or needs to constantly be driven on a very low gear to be moving.




I liked the compact size, nice steering and the way the Punch gave me a high SUV driving position too. Yes, that said, acceleration is slow if you put your foot down and that is expected. That said, it will work as a city SUV along with occasional highway driving duties. It does the job, this engine but a turbo petrol like in the Altroz iTurbo would make the Punch a lot more enjoyable to drive. There are two drive modes but it is best to leave it in the city mode. We tested the manual gearbox first which has a decent shift quality along with a light clutch too. Mileage figures revealed to be 14kmpl with some really hard driving and off-roading- you can get more in the city.




At traffic lights, I had plenty of time to check out the cabin. The interior has the similar steering wheel and part digital instruments from the other Tata cars but I like the white middle layer to the dash along with the tri-arrow markings plus the air vent design. It does look different. Quality is decent too. The space bit is more impressive with a flat floor at the rear making three passengers a possibility and it is indeed more spacious than bigger subcompact SUVs.


The wide opening doors also make getting in and out easy. The touchscreen is a 7inch one with a decent list of features while the rear camera display is quite good I must add. There are parking sensors,a climate control feature, 6-speaker audio system, smartphone connectivity, voice recognition, navigation mirroring, auto fold mirrors, auto headlamps, cooled glovebox etc. The connected technology is part of the option pack for the top-end Creative version along with OTA map updates, remote commands, location based information and even a valet mode!


Overall, the Punch turns out to be quite a nice package with good looks, spacious interiors and a surprising amount of capability in terms of being a small SUV. We do wish for a more powerful engine which would further enhance its appeal but with competitive pricing, expect this car to be quite popular on our roads.


What we like- looks, space, capability, features


what we do not- needs a turbo petrol engine to further enhance its driveability


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