Tata Motors, on February 20th, launched the facelifted Punch.EV in India. It has an introductory starting price of Rs 9.69 lakh, ex-showroom. Clearly, the new Punch EV has become more affordable than its predecessor, and also comes with significant improvements, While that’s something we appreciate, the new Punch.EV has in a way, rendered the Tiago.EV irrelevant! It offers more a better cabin experience, more features and a notably better powertrain for a similar price as the Tiago.EV. Let’s take a closer look.
Tata Tiago.EV: What Does The Current Model Offer?
The Tiago.EV was positioned as India’s most affordable electric car when it was first launched- a title it would later lose to the MG Comet. Today, the Tiago.EV has a starting ex-showroom price of Rs 7.99 lakh. Four trims are available with the range-topping one priced at Rs 11.14 lakh, ex-showroom.
Tata Motors offers two battery pack options on the outgoing Tiago.EV- 19.2 kWh and 24 kWh. These have MIDC range figures of 223km and 293km respectively. The C75 (real world) range figures are 168km and 205km respectively.
The smaller battery version has 60hp and 110Nm on offer while the other produces 73.5hp and 114Nm. And finally, Tiago.EV is an electric hatchback that offers a decent line of features. We will discuss these in detail, later in this article.
Why The Punch.EV Is Better Than The Tiago.EV?
Now, let’s pit the Punch.EV facelift against the Tiago.EV and see how the two compare. First of all, the Punch.EV is an SUV- it looks and feels like one. Upright stance, high ground clearance (195mm), more water wading capacity (450mm), and comfortable, high-set seating. Ingress and egress are also easier that those of the Tiago.EV.
Next, the pricing. The Tiago.EV variants are priced at Rs 7.99 lakh, 8.99 lakh, 10.14 lakh and 11.14 lakh respectively. The Punch.EV variants, on the other hand, are priced at Rs 9.69 lakh, 10.29 lakh, 10.89 lakh, 11.59 lakh, 12.29 lakh and 12.59 lakh respectively. Clearly, there is a visible overlap, especially in prices of the mid-variants.
A person who has Rs 12 lakh (ex-showroom) to spend on an EV, can either buy the range-topping XZ+ Tech LUX LR variant of the Tiago.EV or the mid-spec Adventure 40 variant of the Punch.EV. While this pricing strategy seals price gaps in Tata’s EV portfolio, it would also lead to some amount of cannibalisation due to the practicality advantages that an SUV brings along. Let’s face it- most people prefer SUVs over hatchbacks, especially in EVs!
On the powertrain front, the Punch.EV has a clear superiority over the outgoing Tiago.EV. It comes with two battery packs- 30kWh and 40 kWh, with the latter being the biggest talking point. The 30kWh unit is offered only on the lower variants.
The 40kWh battery has a C75 range of 355km and an ARAI range of 468km per charge. More importantly, the charging speed has increased significantly. 15 minutes at a 65kW fast charger can replenish 135km of range. Additionally, 20-80% charging takes just 26 minutes. 10-80% DC fast charging of the Tiago.EV takes around 58 minutes- almost double!
The powertrain output stands at 128hp and 154Nm- a sizeable increase over the range-topping Tiago.EV’s.
The Tiago.EV is based on an electrified Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) platform, while the Punch.EV continues to be underpinned by the Acti.EV architecture.
On the new Punch.EV, the electric motor, gearbox, inverter, DC-DC converter, onboard charger and a few other key components are packaged into a single ‘e-drive’ module. While the buyer may not directly benefit from this, it has reduced complexity and helped in cost optimisation. The takeaway here is that the Punch.EV is much superior to the Tiago.EV, despite having a visible price overlap.
And finally, it is the Punch.EV that wins when we compare features. A 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected car tech, 10.25-inch instrument cluster, wireless charging bay, ventilated front seats, blind spot monitor, cruise control, i-High Beam Alert, 360-degree camera and voice-assisted sunroof are offered on the top-spec electric SUV. The presence of six trims ensures an even distribution of these within.
The Tiago.EV isn’t as well-kitted as the Punch and misses out on features like sunroof. High beam alert, and ventilated seats even on the range-topping trim. Features like the digital instrument cluster would also look inferior to those of the e-SUV.
All in all, the facelifted Punch.EV and its aggressive pricing has made the Tiago.EV redundant. Most buyers would save up and ‘upgrade’ to the Punch.EV facelift than invest in the current Tiago.EV. Tata Motors is known to be working on a comprehensive update to the electric Tiago, which will likely address these issues and give the model a fresh lease of life.
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