Diesels were once the go to choice even in small cars in India. It was not always like this though and in the 90’s, diesels were considered too unrefined and rudimentary to be put into passenger cars. It was only preferred in large SUVs and trucks but the technology improved and the efficiency benefits were incredible.
The Indian government has been cracking down on diesels and people have stopped preferring diesels over petrol engines. While most manufacturers have given us an option for a turbo petrol now, there is still no beating the diesel efficiency and currently the Altroz is the only hatchback which is being offerred with a diesel engine.
The History Of Diesels In Small Cars
Many manufacturers tried giving a diesel option in their cars. Maruti tried plonking in a Peugeot diesel into the Zen and the Esteem but that was not really successful. Tata also offered a diesel engine with their Indica which did take off but nothing stirred the market like the introduction of the Swift diesel in 2007. Maruti borrowed the 1.3L Multijet diesel mill from FIAT and nearly plonked it into all of its cars. It was an instant success. People were in love with the efficiency that the diesel engine offered and even though the buying cost was quite a bit higher, it never deterred the customers.
Many manufacturers followed suit, cars like the Getz CRDi and Polo TDI’s were incredible machines which offered incredible performance. Ford came up with the 1.4 Tdci, Hyundai had its CRDi, and slowly every small Indian cars featured a diesel option.
Why Diesels Lost Popularity
Diesels never really lost popularity. It was the Indian government who came cracking down on diesels and put stringent emission standards. Then the NGT decided that diesel cars are only good for 10 years and put a blanket ban on them in Delhi NCR. There were constant bans on diesel vehicles for plying on Delhi roads with rising pollution. People lost hope in diesels as they did not know when the government will crack them down and render their car useless without much reasoning.
After the 2020 BS6 emission norms, Maruti Suzuki killed off the diesels from its lineup completely. Hyundai was offering diesel i20’s and the i10 but that got discontinued with the BS6.2 emission standards as sales for small diesel vehicles dropped considerably.
The Altroz Is The Last Hatchback To Offer A Diesel
Tata has kept the diesel alive in its hatchback still and we are glad that it exists. The diesel Altroz might just be one of the best versions of the Altroz even. It features a 1.5L Revotorq engine which produces 90 bhp and 200 Nm of torque. While many of the manufacturers have given up on small diesels, the Altroz is going strong still.
A small car with a diesel still makes a lot of sense. They are highly efficient, have ample power and the low down torque is almost addicting. You can run them for thousands of kilometers and they are great for someone who has very high running.
We are glad the the Altroz diesel still exists and we do hope that it stays for some time. With stringent emission norms, diesels are not to stay here for long and we have only a little time enjoy them.
Are Diesels Really That Polluting
One of the major reasons why the government has been cracking down on diesels is because they think that they cause quite a lot of pollution. This is actually not true and modern diesels are quite clean. In some cases, they are actually cleaner than a counterpart petrol engine. The government as usual has carried on with its smaller vision and short term goals to promote electric vehicles but that has backfired mostly as EV sales have dipped down quite a bit.
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