Tata Altroz To Be Offered With Three Engine Options — Said To Offer ‘Class-Leading’ Performance

Tata Motors recently unveiled the production-spec version of their latest premium hatchback, the Altroz at the Geneva Motor Show last week. The Tata Altroz is scheduled to launch in the Indian market sometime in July-2019.

Now, ahead of its launch, Autocar India has reported that the Tata Altroz will be offered with three engine options: two petrol and one diesel. Although, the diesel engine option hasn't been officially confirmed yet by Tata Motors.

In terms of petrol engines, the base variants will come powered by the 1.2-litre unit seen on the Tiago hatchback. This engine is said to churn out 85bhp, however, with the Altroz weighing 15kg less than the Tiago, it will offer a better power-to-weight ratio.

The other petrol engine is the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol unit borrowed from the Nexon SUV. However, the engine on the Altroz will be slightly detuned to produce 102bhp and 140Nm of torque. This is 8bhp and 30Nm less than on the Nexon SUV.

The diesel option for the Altroz hatchback is yet to be officially confirmed by Tata Motors. However, if introduced it will be the 1.5-litre unit from the Nexon as well. This engine will also be de-tuned for the Altroz, churning out 90bhp, which is 20bhp less than Tata's compact-SUV offering.

Although the engines on the Altroz have been de-tuned, Tata Motors is confident that it will still offer 'class-leading' performance. This is mainly due to the light weight of the Tata Altroz; offering a better power-to-weight ratio compared to its other models.

Tata Motors state that one of the reasons for detuning the engines is to balance power and fuel economy on the Altroz hatchback. However, insiders did mention that the de-tuning of the engines is mainly because of the torque limitations of its five-speed manual gearbox.

Apart from the Tata Altroz, the brand also showcased three other models at the Geneva Motor Show, including the Altroz EV hatchback. The Tata Altroz EV is expected to be introduced in the Indian market, sometime in 2021 and claims to offer a range of around 300km on a single charge.

Thoughts On The Tata Altroz Engine Specifications

The Tata Altroz is the first premium hatchback from the Indian carmaker. It is also the first Tata product to be based on the 'ALFA' platform and the second product to be part of the 'Impact 2.0' design language. The Tat Altroz premium hatchback, one launched in India will rival the likes of the Maruti Baleno, Honda Jazz and the Volkswagen Polo.