Tata Punch pros and cons — The devil is in the details

We recently had the Tata Punch on test and it came across as quite a refresh given our last memories with it dated back to 3 years. The one we drove was the AMT in the Tornado Blue colour, which looks rather good in my opinion. However, as you would expect, there were some things that didn’t strike the right chords and somewhat baffled the otherwise impressive experience. Allow me to break down the details for you up ahead in the Tata Punch pros and cons list.

Tata Punch pros

As our attention span is worsening every passing day, let’s start with the pros first:

Surprisingly stylish

The Tata Punch fills the void—a miniscule one—left by the Mahindra KUV100. Even Mahindra wouldn’t have thought that their half-baked body style would eventually give birth to the best-selling car in India (referring to calendar year 2024 sales). Since its first launch, the Punch has been perceived as a well designed and more importantly, a proportionate small SUV—something neither the Hyundai Exter nor the Mahindra KUV100 have managed to achieve. The Tata Punch also looks modern thanks to the split LED headlights, tri-arrow LED tail lights and machined dual-tone alloy wheels.

Impressive ride quality

The only vivid memory from the drive of the Tata Punch—apart from a nasty puncture—was the impressive ride quality. It may come across as slightly stiff when going over bumps at low speeds but once you pick up the pace or load up some weight into the cabin, it becomes genuinely absorbent without feeling wallowy. What’s even more impressive is the sense of robustness it carries—like other Tata cars—despite measuring under four metres in size.

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Feature-packed

Even though the Punch has remained the same from the outer shell, Tata has made a boat load of changes on the inside—everything from practicality addons to new features. The 2025 Tata Punch features include an electric sunroof, 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, digital driver’s display, automatic climate control, front armrest, tyre pressure monitoring system and a lot more. 

Multiple powertrain options

You might question how come the Punch has multiple powertrain options, but the reality is, it does. The 1.2-litre petrol engine comes with both 5-speed manual and AMT transmission options. One could also spec the same engine with the dual-CNG-tank option, enabling impressive fuel efficiency without any compromise on boot space. Those who want to be kinder to the environment can move to the Punch EV, which further offers two battery pack options.

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Tata Punch cons

Oh, you have made it till here? Well, here is your reward—if you can call it that. Let’s check out the Tata Punch cons:

Glitchy electronics

To understand the depth of it, I must bring to your attention that our test car was near-brand-new, with just 2,000 km on the odometer. Despite that, it was plagued with a slew of glitchy electronics. To begin with, Tata’s “innovative” horn mechanism that requires you to press the edge of the steering rather than the centre feels like a good idea, only if it works, which is the case 10% of the time.

Furthermore, other glitchy electronics include faulty front-left-side indicator that made an unsynchronised sound inside the cabin and control for the power-folding ORVMs that had a mind of its own. Saving the biggest one for the last, the faulty tail gate sensor, which may not sound that big a deal but turned out to be a deterrent in locking the car on several occasions. All these glitches, combined, in a nearly-brand-new car is downright concerning. 

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Not-so-smooth AMT

We, the Indian automotive industry, have always managed the fact that AMTs are not the smoothest among the automatics in the market. However, over the years, AMT transmissions have come a long way—from sluggish low-cost solutions to sensible affordable alternatives to costly automatics. However, the Tata Punch AMT fails to match the smoothness offered by its Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai alternatives. It does get the job done but misses out on the finesse one would expect, especially at this price point.

Lack of crucial safety features

This may come across as a shocker since the Punch is the only car in its segment to score five stars in the Global NCAP. But it misses out on a few crucial safety features. The first one is six airbags—a feature that’s being offered as a standard fitment in cars even like the Maruti Alto K10 and Eeco van. Furthermore, the Nissan Magnite and Citroen C3 also offer six airbags as a standard fitment. The Punch also misses out on hill hold control—a rather basic but extremely useful safety feature, which should be a standard fitment in all automatic cars.

This was our experience with the Tata Punch AMT and if you have made it till here, I would love to know your thoughts on the Tata Punch and your experience if you own one. Join our Autoverse Whatsapp community where like minded people share their thoughts and experiences with everything on wheels.