Tata Motors Ltd does not build many cars like the Tata Altroz: a 5-door hatchback with Petrol engine, built from 2020 in the decade the industry is turning electric. Its designer of record is Pratap Bose (pre-facelift) / Martin Ulharik (facelift).
The background
The Tata Altroz is a subcompact car/supermini manufactured by Tata Motors. The Altroz was revealed at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show alongside the new Buzzard, Buzzard Sport, and H2X compact SUV concept. It was launched to the Indian market on 22 January 2020.
The name "Altroz" was inspired by the name of bird species, Albatross. At present, the Altroz has three engines on offer, which are 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol, 1.5-litre turbodiesel and a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol. There is a 5-speed manual transmission on offer, with an optional wet-clutch DCT automatic known as Altroz DCA.
The engineering
Under the skin sits Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1036–1150 kg. The gearbox is a 5-speed Manual transmission / manual / 5-speed automated manual transmission / AMT / 6-speed Dual-clutch transmission / DCA. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2501 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Tata Motors Ltd's history is not in doubt: the Tata Bolt came before it; it was built at Pune, Maharashtra, India. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Tesla Model Y, the Porsche Taycan, the Kia EV6. Its Tata Motors Ltd stablemates include the TaMo Racemo and the Tata 407.