Tata has been a leader in the EV space in India, and has been pushing the technology aggressively. They even recently launched a totally new platform for EVs, called ‘acti.ev’ to promote electric cars. The first vehicle from this platform is the Punch.
To start with, the front looks have totally been changed, to mirror that of the Nexon and of course the new Harrier and Safari. People do like the slim light bar with its starting and closing displays in the front. The headlights and fog lights in the front (which also act as cornering lights) are now slim rectangular units with LED lighting. The 16-inch wheels themselves have been redesigned for efficient wind flow with a new pattern and are kitted out with low rolling resistance tyres to make you go that extra mile. The doors open at a full 90 degrees, making ingress and egress a breeze.
The interiors have even bigger changes. Gone is the old instrument console and instrumentation to be replaced by twin 10.25-inch screens. The centre one works for vehicle settings, air con and infotainment whilst the one in front of the driver is for instrumentation. The one in the centre also is part of the excellent Harman sound system with its four speakers and two tweeters up front — its awesome sound quality (best in the segment) is another plus point for this EV.
You also get an air purifier with AQI display and lots of other features, including something called Arcade.ev, that even lets you watch stuff like Amazon Prime in the car when it is at a standstill, besides of course a host of other apps in gaming, OTT, etc. You also get features like ventilated front seats, a jewelled gear selector knob with a built-in LCD and much more. There are two versions here — the standard and the LR. The standard comes with a 25 kWh battery with a 82 BHP motor whilst the LR has a 35 kWh battery with a 120 BHP motor.
The claimed range is 315 kilometres and 421 kilometres, respectively. Put the dial in D, choose Eco or Normal or Sport mode, and she just takes off. You got to be careful with how you put your foot down as the available 190Nm of torque at 0 rpm will make sure you don’t drive fast — you fly low. Charge is also decently regenerated in a way you can control. I just loved driving it — it brings a grin to your face when you slot the Punch EV through traffic. It is definitely one of the better EVs to drive in India.
The company offers up to eight years or 1,60,000 kilometres warranty for the battery pack and the motor, and three years or 1,25,000 kilometres on the entire vehicle, which is pretty good.
If this is the future, I am loving it. By the way, the way that charging port door opens and gets out of the way is an amazing party trick!
Priced from Rs 10.99 –14.49 lakh
(ex-showroom)