Tata Altroz iTurbo First Drive

The petrol engine could only churn out 85hp@6000 rpm and a peak torque of 113Nm at 3300 rpm. With the turbo petrol engine, this power has been bumped up to 108.5hp@5500rpm and the peak torque has been bumped up to 140Nm and that too at a decent rpm range of 1500 to 5500.

The iTurbo petrol engine will be available in variants XT, XZ and XZ+. We got the XZ+ for a short drive and this is the only iTurbo variant that also comes with some new technology features. The XZ+ i-Turbo variant is priced at Rs 8,85,500 ex showroom. Tata Motors has also introduced a new Harbour Blue colour for the Altroz which is available in all variants from Altroz XM+ upwards. We too had a harbour blue colour Altroz for our review.

Now let us quickly take you through some of the significant additions in the new Tata Altroz intelligent turbo or iTurbo. This 1.2 litre turbo engine is mated to a five speed manual transmission.

Now to dodge the speed cameras and find a decent stretch with no cameras and no speed limits is virtually impossible in a city like Delhi. But we did manage to find that and we simply floored the accelerator pedal on that short strip. This variant gets multi-drive modes, sport and city. Even city mode has tons of juice in it to take you at high speed. This machine moved as though it was on Red Bull. The way it accelerated it was proof enough that the Altroz has truly grown wings. This new iTurbo is an enthusiast’s delight. The car handled well, the ride quality we experienced was brilliant and the brakes too were precise and confident.

Now coming to the other changes, the new 2021 Altroz i-Turbo also sports a new Black and light Grey interiors with perforated leatherette seats. This makes the car interiors look and feel premium.

On the technology front the XZ+ variant gets an intelligent Real Time Assist or iRA. This is an app based technology which offers a plethora of functions. It offers 27 features with 5 layers of connectivity.

It has remote commands like lock and unlock. This function, however, refused to work with us. Then there are commands like remote headlights on/off, hazard lights, remote horn, etc. We tried many of them and they all worked. Then there are Vehicle Security Intrusion alert, Location Based Services, Gamification and Live Vehicle Diagnosis. Also keep in mind, this app cannot be downloaded and used by any tom, dick and harry but is meant for only those who buy the Altroz. In order to download the iRA app on phone, one must Click on register in iRA app home screen, then enter the vehicle chassis number. An OTP will be sent to the registered mobile number, the one that you shared at dealership while buying the vehicle. Once you enter the OTP, you need to set a 4 digit login pin to secure the app. After that one needs to enter one’s personal details.

The vehicle also now comes with natural voice tech, through which the car understands and processes voice commands not only in English or Hindi, but also in Hinglish. Interesting feature, as you can give out more than 70 commands.

A new feature called What 3 Words too comes with this variant. It’s basically a precise and simple way to reach your locations. What 3 Words is a technology that has assigned each 3m square in the world a unique 3 word address. They are easy to say, share and are accurate too.

So, what else is new in this car? It gets an Xpress Cool feature which helps cabin to reach comfort temperatures quickly by optimally setting the air conditioning to maximum cooling. There was no way this feature made sense right now to us as the temperature outside was freezing in Delhi and the fog had set in when were out testing the vehicle.

Other new features include personalised wallpaper on your infotainment screen, one shot up power windows and 2 additional tweeters by Harman which is again only in iTurbo.

Now that we are through with the new features of the Altroz iTurbo, let me reiterate on some of the existing features of the car which I thought is really cool. 

Tata Altroz is the first product on the ALFA architecture and is India’s safest hatchback with a 5 star rating from Global NCAP. It comes with dual front airbags, advanced ABS 9.3 with EBD and corner stability control, reverse parking sensor and a reverse camera that has dynamic guidelines. 

In front you have dual chamber projector headlamps and LED DRL, while this variant sits on R16 laser alloy wheels which are dual tone. This model also has black contrast roof. The car gets superior quality wiper blades. Then there are these c pillar mounted rear door handles. Incidentally all doors open 90 deg which is so welcoming.

You get keyless entry, thanks to a remote lock and key, you also get a skeleton kind of key which helps you get inside if the remote key batteries are dead. You also have a stylish wearable key which allows you to drive around just by strapping this contraption around your wrists. No need of carrying any other key with you as this allows you to lock, unlock and drive this car.

Inside there are a lot of interesting and practical features like the 15 litre cooled glove box with a retractable tray in glove box.  This box is so voluminous that it can even turn into a snack bar of sorts.

Then there is this open sun glass holder on top. There is plenty of storage for bottles in front and rear doors and there is even an umbrella holder in front doors. That’s so unique.

The car gets a flat bottom steering wheel.  The steering wheel and gear lever are leather wrapped. You get steering mounted infotainment control, cruise control and steering mounted cluster control. The steering wheel is tilt adjustable. For the driver, the front arm rest is sliding and it has a small storage space too.

The car gets a 7 inches TFT digital instrument cluster and a 7 inches floating dashboard infotainment system by Harman with 4 speakers and 4 tweeters. There is mood lighting in driver and co driver side footwell area as well in the dashboard area. The driver gets a foot rest even though this is a manual. This will ensure that he moves his foot off the clutch and keeps it to rest, in the process avoiding riding the clutch by mistake when you are not using it. 

As for the seats, they are comfortable with the driver seat being height adjustable. The rear seats come with an arm rest and an almost flat floor at the centre so that even the person sitting in the middle at the rear is able to keep his feet planted on the floor quite comfortably. At the rear, there is plenty of leg and knee room. You get rear ac vents with a scroll button to adjust the blower speed. Then there are front and rear power outlets.

When it comes to fun driving and a car that is ideal for a family or youngster, the new Tata Altroz with an iTurbo gets a lot more powerful and offers a wide range of convenient technologies to experience.

TATA ALTROZ – SPECIFICATION SHEET