Tata Punch AMT Review — What’s in a name?

I mean, we can straight away hop on to the part with the overused puns around the Punch, but I have a question for you before that. What do you think goes on the minds of people while they christen a car? Like, I understand that Thar refers to The Desert, the Elevate is an elevated City, and the Land Cruiser…well, are we that dumb? But what about cars like the Taigun, or the S-Presso for that matter?

Coming back to the point, the Tata Punch has, in my humble opinion, been aptly named. For the segment that it belongs to, it takes your expectations and punches a notch above. Mostly. Let’s take things one at a time. 

Tata Punch ride quality

The car punches up in terms of ride quality, and it has to be the standout factor for the Punch. Tata has put in a suspension setup that works flawlessly to absorb undulations and rocky surfaces with the occupants not feeling much of what is down there. Even at slightly higher speeds, the ride quality is smooth and movements are well contained. It is, in fact, better than some cars from a segment above, and that’s despite sitting on 16-inch wheels. 

Tata Punch design

The car punches up in terms of its form factor. While most cars today try too hard to look like SUVs, the Punch does this neatly. Its raised stance, large wheels, and muscular styling make it look and feel premium. There are triads spread all over the exterior, and they give the car a character of its own. 

Tata Punch interior and features

The interior is a mixed bag, with its pluses and minuses. There are no soft-touch materials on the dashboard, but none of the hard plastics used look odd. The triads that we see on the outside are carried over into the cabin, too, and they look nice to me. Tata offers a gazillion variants for its cars, and the one that we had on test was the top-of-the-line Creative + S variant, which gets a leather wrapped steering wheel and gear lever, both of which felt pretty nice to hold.

What stood out as a sore thumb was the electronics. You don’t expect a new car with just 2,000 kilometres on the odometer to come with a faulty boot lid sensor and a horn that has a mind of its own. The sound system of the SUV was pretty good in itself, and Tata did not have to add mismatched indicators, with the right one playing to a 2/2 time signature and the left one to a polyrhythm.

To my surprise, the touchscreen unit was pretty slick to use, and the user interface looked neat. You also get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that are missing on certain SUVs that cost hyun-dreds of thousands more. Sound system, as we spoke of, is pretty good. Though not the sharpest, but more than acceptable for the price point.

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Tata Punch performance and driving

Probably the weakest link in an otherwise sorted package is the car’s powertrain. It certainly does not try to punch above in this aspect. Equipped with a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, the car feels a bit short on power and behaves the best when driven calmly. The AMT takes its own sweet time to shift gears, and that’s amplified when you press the accelerator a bit hard. When driven gently though, it feels smooth and convenient. High speed stability is decent as well. 

Refinement levels are reasonable, but you do hear the three-cylinder motor growl at higher RPMs. While the car has secured a 5-star safety rating from GNCAP, the brakes aren’t particularly confidence inspiring, something which should be paid more heed to in a car that is marketed heavily on safety. There’s no hill-hold control or six airbags either, both of which are expected at this price point. Height adjustability for the driver’s seat is a big plus though! 

Tata Punch mileage

Amit and I drove the SUV for almost 700 kilometres between us, and we churned out a fuel economy of 15.0kmpl. Most of our testing was done in the city, with occasional highway runs. The Punch can easily deliver higher figures when driven judiciously, as we did on a highway journey with two people on board and a full boot, churning out 20kmpl. 

Tata Punch rear seat experience and boot space

Rear seat space is comparable to other cars in the same segment, and the seats are fairly comfortable with adequate bolstering. There’s a teeny-tiny transmission tunnel that makes the middle seat more usable when the need arises. The 90-degree opening doors aren’t a gimmick as they make ingress and egress easier. Putting in large stuff is also convenient. We would have appreciated it more if there were 60:40 split seats. The boot is also fairly spacious, though the loading lip is a bit high. 

Verdict

The name makes sense now, doesn’t it? So do the sales charts. Tata broke Maruti Suzuki’s years-long streak with the Punch last year, and it still consistently ranks among the top ten cars every month. It honestly isn’t tough to understand why. 

Tata has curated a fundamentally strong and sensible product that appeals to the masses. Is it the right fit for you though? If you’re on a budget and all you need is a practical family car for four, the Punch seems just right. But if you’re the enthusiast-kind, we would recommend you to look elsewhere, perhaps a good hatchback in a similar price range would suit better. With that aside, for the average buyer, the Punch is almost perfect. The only thing that holds us back from outrightly recommending it is the uncertainty with reliability. Otherwise, the car is economical, well-built, and easy to drive, making it a good first car for beginners too. 

Also Read: MG Comet review — Dodging rickshaws, turning heads in purani Dilli!

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