Tata Punch EV Long Range: 2 months long term review
We had India’s highest-selling EV from 2024 in our fleet, the Tata Punch EV to answer whether it deserves the title?
Punch EV's is gifted with a robust chassis which shines at lower speeds, handling pothole ridden surfaces effortlessly
Tata Motors has always had a knack for staying in the headlines. Whether it was the Indica being India’s first indigenously developed car, the Safari’s pure SUV DNA, the Sierra’s cult-like fanbase, or the Nano’s audacious ₹1 lakh price tag — there’s always been a story. And now, it’s their EVs grabbing the spotlight. The Nexon EV still holds the title for India’s highest-selling EV but in 2024, Tata Motors brought out something more focused, more futuristic — the Punch EV.
Unlike the Nexon EV, which started life as an ICE car, the Punch EV is underpinned by Tata’s all-new Acti.ev platform. It has a dedicated EV skateboard architecture and that’s a big deal. It allows for clever packaging — like a 14-litre frunk, a completely flat floor in the second row and proportions that are perfect for navigating tight urban spaces. That’s probably why the Punch EV quickly climbed the charts to become the highest-selling EV in the country in 2024.
When Aatish’s Nexon EV long-termer drove off into the sunset, we welcomed the Punch EV into the evo India fleet with open arms. And I say open arms because honestly, it’s just as capable as the Nexon EV – only more compact and city-friendly. It also fills the void left by our dearly departed MG Comet long-termer, which had gotten us used to the joys of silent, compact, city commuting. And this is perfect to drive in a city such as Pune, where the roads are narrow, traffic is bad and craters masquerade as potholes.
We’re testing the Long Range variant which gets a 35kWh battery pack and a claimed MIDC range of 425km. While that figure is farfetched – these figures usually are – we were able to get a range of 270km on a full charge. On the performance front, it gets a motor placed on the front axle which is capable of pushing out 120bhp and 190Nm. This much electric power in a micro-SUV clearly means that the car is rapid too. 0 to 100kmph comes up in just 9.5 seconds (VBOX tested) and that’s pretty quick. Now, it hasn’t spent too much time with us yet – just a few hundred kilometres and a couple of days – but that’s enough to form some early impressions.
We were able to extract a range of 270km on a full charge from its 35kWh battery, contrary to the claimed MIDC range of 425km
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first, as all honest reviews should. The charging port is now on the nose (yay), but the release switch is inside the cabin and wildly inconsistent (not yay). Sometimes you press it once and nothing happens. You press it again, still nothing. Then you walk out to check, only to realise it did open... but now it’s shut again. It’s like playing a game of hide-and-seek with your charge port. Not ideal when you’re in a rush or in the rain. Then there’s the gear selector – a rotary dial with a digital screen that looks cool but isn’t particularly intuitive. It’s slow to respond and occasionally you’ll think you’ve slotted it into Drive when it’s actually chilling in Neutral or, worse, Reverse. It demands your attention when all you want to do is drive. While the range is pretty good for a car that does city jaunts, a little more would have done it good. Taking it out of town would certainly mean charging the car at least once and that’s something that not all of us would like; especially during our shoots when we have tonnes of work on our hands and barely any time to have lunch, let alone charge the car.
But let’s not lose the plot – because there’s a lot that the Punch EV gets right. It’s loaded like a plate of loaded nachos. It has everything – ventilated seats, twin 10.25-inch screens, connected car features, steering wheel with controls, paddles to adjust regen levels, wireless charger, sunroof and more. The chassis is robust and at lower speeds it handles everything that you throw at it effortlessly. It has three driving modes – Eco, City and Sport, and I found myself driving it in City mode with a level 2 regen setting; that best suited my driving style. The new 16-inch wheels have also been well-designed and they look beautiful, especially when you see them in motion.
We have a few months with the Punch EV, but first impressions are mostly positive. It feels like a product built from the ground up with EV sensibilities, not just retrofitted into the mould of a hatchback or crossover. And if Tata Motors’ track record is anything to go by, it won’t be long before this one becomes a household name too.
Date acquired: June 2025
Total mileage: 12,965km
Mileage this month: 342km
Costs this month: Nil
Overall km/kWh: 7.7
