Tata Punch AMT Review: Is This the Best Car Under ₹10 Lakh? | Times Drive

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Tata Punch, but you don't need me to tell you that because you know this car very well unless you're living under a rock. It took only 10 months for Tata Motors to sell 1 lakh of these and in 2024, over 2 lakh of these were sold in the Indian market which ended Maruti Suzuki's 40-year reign at the top of holding the spot for India's best-selling car because that year, it was the Tata Punch. Fast forward to today, over 8 lakh Tata Punch has been sold in the Indian market. So, without a doubt, this is a car that has brought success to Tata Motors, unlike ever before, especially the segment it competes in. And talking about it, well, what is this segment? Is this an SUV? Is this a hatchback? Well, the answer today is very simple. This is the segment of the Tata Punch. Now, I spent time with the new Tata Punch petrol automatic to find out just what it brings to the table and whether you should still consider it in 2026. Now, here at Times Drive, we keep trying to find out answers to such questions like why are these cars so popular as they are today? Well, if you like such videos, make sure you subscribe to the Times Drive YouTube channel. It means a lot to us. Now, back to the car. The first thing, of course, that stands out is the way this car looks. it's unlike anything you've seen on the road although with the facelift i think it's a bit more muted than before but it could also be because of the fact that we are now used to what tata punch is as a package and what i think of the design even though it's a subjective matter is that now it's much more mature and even after years from now this will be still a gracious design that we see on the car talking about some of the design elements i really like the slim indicator lights that merge with this black bar at the top and of course you have the split headlamp setup I really like the accent on the bumper at the front which adds a bit of muscle to the car and overall the stance of the car is as upright as it gets it's a proper SUV in terms of road presence and stance and that's also one of the reasons why people like it so much there's also very good ground clearance on offer which you can see right from the get-go even from distance because this is a tall car so speed breakers and all are not a problem but coming back to the design i really like that the top model comes with 16 inch alloy wheels it fills the wheel arches very well and gives the car a bit of a sporty look as well from the sides you continue to get the door handle which is concealed up here at the top and i really quite like the double tone color option that you can see on our test unit adds a bit of character to the car now Now, coming to the back, I really like this connected light design at the back. This black surround around it adds a bit of sportiness to the package. And overall, I really like the layered look that it has going at the back. All in all, in terms of design, this is a car that aces the design and pretty much sets the benchmark in the segment. But it is on the inside where the Tata Punch actually impresses more than what it would on the outside. I know a lot of people see the Tata Punch on road and like it already for what it brings on the road But it is actually here from the inside where it actually I think seals the deal for a lot of people This is of course the top spec variant and you can see this is a properly modern Interior experience everything seems to be put together Well, I really like what they've done in terms of textures and the color options all across the cabin it really speaks to me i also really quite like the large touchscreen infotainment system that we see over here very easy to use great touch response there's no lag whatsoever and very impressively it also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto and if you were to use Google Maps on it which of course you would you have a lot of real estate so reading maps is a very comfortable experience you of course get an all digital instrument cluster as well it gets the job done i don't think it's anything out of the ordinary it serves its purpose i am someone who likes their dials if you haven't guessed already but there is nothing to complain in this department very easy to read the font size is not a problem in the Tata Punch the distance is okay and it's very easy to read the information on the screen and all in all it's a very good experience the highlight of course is the inclusion of features inside the cabin in this top spec model wireless Apple CarPlay wireless phone charging that means no cable inside the cabin at all and that is something that i personally quite like and you also get a sunroof in this car which is of course a very impressive thing what i also quite liked and it was a bit of a surprise honestly is the inclusion of auto dimming IRVM now this is a feature that you really have to pay for in other cars and it can get quite expensive getting this particular thing in your car i I really appreciate this being there because it really helps in everyday driving conditions. Some of the things that could have been better is the HVAC control panel. It also includes buttons for things like door control and your eco mode and so on, your fog lamp control. All of that happens from this gloss black panel. In the showroom, it will look good but it will be difficult to maintain it scratch-free for years to come and dust is also seen on it quite quickly. above all, I don't like touch-based buttons that much. I like physical buttons. Thankfully, you get two toggle switches for temperature and fan control, which make using the HVAC operations a little bit easier. I also have to talk about this new steering wheel. I like that it's two-spoke. I can really rest my hand here if I want to, if I'm using cruise control out on the highway. This was a good experience. I also get paddle shifters over here, which makes the driving experience a little more engaging. And one thing that I have to talk about is the placement of the horn it's right here in the middle i wish there was a way of pressing the horn with your thumb you really have to take your hand off the steering wheel to press the horn it's just something that i noticed but all in all you also get other good things like an armrest over here you get cup holders there's enough space to keep your knick knacks all in all it's a very good place to be in coming to the rear seat experience to give you an idea of space i've set the front seat as per my height for reference I'm five foot ten and you can see i have decent amount of knee room on offer i can slide my feet under the seat and all in all i sit a little higher up i of course have adjustable headrest two of them at the back not three two adjustable headrests and you don't really need three because i would say this is a cabin best left for two passengers three will be a bit of a squeeze if you have two you will be fine and if you are just two passengers you can always drop down the armrest for a bit more comfort you of course get rear AC vents as well and a 15 watt USB-C port over there at the back to charge your electronic devices. In terms of headroom it's decent but I think people over six feet tall might find it a bit of a squeeze so if you are taller than six feet make sure you visit the dealership to have this experience but all in all I don't really have much to complain. The size and the packaging of the car and the entire value I think this is not an area that I would like to to complain about one thing that I quite like is the fact that the door of the car opens almost to all the way to 90 degrees not almost it actually opens up to 90 degrees I remember being impressed with this feature when the Altroz came they used to call it the Albatross doors it's there in a bunch as well it makes coming in and out of the car very easy something that perhaps aged people in your family will appreciate even more so that is something to keep in mind last but not the least the boot space is also decent there's decent amount of space but do remember the loading lip is a little bit higher so you really have to pick up your luggage to keep it inside if you don't mind doing that i don't think you'll have anything else to complain about well now let's talk about the driving experience of the Tata Punch let's start with what's under the hood i'm driving the 1.2 liter naturally aspirated engine option yes there is a turbocharged option on offer now as we'll come to that in a bit but i'm driving the naturally aspirated version this engine makes 88 horsepower and about 115 newton meters of torque is this enough i wouldn't necessarily say so it does the job uh No one will give you a chance to complain but if you are someone who wants a spirited driving experience and quick overtakes then there might be situations where you're left wanting for a bit more I'm driving the AMT gearbox equipped version and this obviously does not help the case even the gearbox is very calm it's very relaxed it's sedate in its operations it likes to take its time deciding what it wants to do and well yeah that's that's what it is if you like performance make sure you check out the turbocharged version I haven't driven that car personally but I think it'll be a much better performance offering from the house of Tata but one thing to keep in mind that only comes with a manual gearbox it does not come with an automatic gearbox option I know price will be a little more Tata Motors if you give an automatic gearbox with a turbocharged variant but I think there is a good market for that as well but if we talk about the driving experience of this particular variant well I really enjoyed it you see I'm someone who likes to drive comfortably you know with a light foot I don't like to drive here and there I like driving with my peace of mind and of course I live in Delhi so there's a lot of traffic to go around as well so there aren't a lot of opportunities to really go gung-ho with the driving experience so keeping all of that in mind I didn't really mind it I mean this car is supposed to be a good city car and on that front it does its job well I don't really have much to complain yes when I did want to take those quick overtakes I did wish there was a little more on offer but it is something that you have to keep in mind and relate to your requirements of a driving experience from this car. But the best thing about this car is its ride quality. The ride quality, the chassis suspension setup that Tata Motors does is genuinely fantastic. I'm a big fan of how these cars are set up and it's no different with the Tata Punch as well. It's actually surprising how composed this car is even under hard cornering, understeer comes much later than you would expect it to. It's a great car to drive, bad patches of roads is not a problem, speed breakers is not a problem, ground clearance is a lot so you can drive this car tension-free. The highway manners of this car are also quite good, if you want to go long distance, you can take this car without worrying, you don't really have to worry about that. It does not get bouncy and wallowy over road undulations on the highway which some cars tend to do. This one actually is very well composed in that department. One area where I wish it could have been a bit better is the ergonomics. I'm not a big fan of how I'm seated. It's really a very commanding driving position. I know a lot of people really like that but for me I like being a little bit under in the cabin and having the steering wheel a bit higher up this is not something that speaks naturally to me so make sure you check that out i wish the ergonomics would have been different also my knee keeps touching the center console that's not something that i enjoy at all also something that you need to keep in mind all of these things you have to check out with a test drive before you make the decision so there you have it this is the Tata Punch for you now it's time for the verdict it's time for my opinion and of course it's a positive one 8 lakh people can't be wrong about choosing a car this is clearly a package that works but here's my opinion on where the Tata Punch fits today in the larger scheme of options available in the Indian market if you're someone who drives mostly alone and most of their driving is office commute and they spend time in urban driving conditions i would say that the Tata Punch makes fantastic sense it's safe it has all the features that would give you a premium driving experience and the size of it actually adds a lot to the ease of usability about the car the packaging itself is great but these are the perks that come with it i would suggest that if you're looking to buy a car today the Tata Punch is a fantastic first car and i would say go check out the top spec model because i would say this particular combination of features in the top-spec model actually makes it better value than even bigger cars that are available at this price tag. So if you're looking for a new car, the Tata Punch is a very good place to start.