Tata Altroz iTurbo unveiled | Prices to be revealed on January 22
To celebrate the Altroz’ first anniversary, Tata has expanded the range with a turbo-petrol variant, aptly named the Altroz iTurbo, to woo enthusiasts. Besides the new power unit, the iTurbo gets a suite of upgrades on the inside, including connected car features. The Altroz iTurbo will be available in three variants, with the pricing set to be announced on January 22. Though pre-bookings open today for a token amount of Rs 11,000, your nearest Tata dealer may have the Altroz iTurbo available for test drives within the next few days.
The 1.2-litre turbo-petrol unit makes 108bhp and 140Nm, 12bhp and 27Nm more than the 1.2-litre nat-asp petrol engine. There’s no news of an automatic yet, so the iTurbo engine is currently only available with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Thanks to the added oomph, Tata claims the Altroz iTurbo will do the 0-to-100kmph dash in under 12 seconds. The iTurbo also gets a Sport mode that delivers upto 30 per cent more torque and sharpens throttle response.
On the surface, not much seems to have changed over the standard Altroz. However, it does get a new Harbour Blue paint scheme, with a quite a few but significant additions on the inside as well. For starters, the iTurbo gets leatherette seats, new black and light grey interiors and also an ‘Xpress cool’ feature which, Tata says, cools the cabin 70 per cent faster than the regular AC. The range-topping XZ (O) variant also gets two additional tweeters with the Harmann sound system.
The Tata Altroz iTurbo also gets the iRA connected car features with functions like geofencing, intrusion alert, live car diagnostics and a personalised driving score, along with many others that you can access from the iRA mobile app. While the 7-inch infotainment screen is unchanged, it now allows you to set a personalised wallpaper. Another party piece on offer on the iTurbo is the voice command function tailor-made for India, as it understands English, Hindi and even an informal mix of the two (hinglish, if you may). A similar feature was recently seen on the new MG Hector.
Further, the Altroz iTurbo also gets the ‘what three words’ feature seen on other Tata vehicles, which essentially allows you to search for a location by voicing out three keywords.
The updates to the Altroz iTurbo will also carry over to the rest of the Altroz range, although a few features like the Sport mode and the additional tweeters will be available only on the iTurbo variants.
The Altroz iTurbo will be available in XT, XZ and XZ (O) variants, so while the entry-level variant of the iTurbo will be relatively costlier than the nat-asp petrol and diesel engines, buyers will get features like the 7-inch infotainment screen, reverse parking assist with cameras, push button start/stop, LED DRLs as standard.
The iTurbo will be Tata’s answer to the Hyundai i20 turbo-petrol and the Volkswagen Polo GT TSI, easily two of the warmest hatchbacks around. You can watch our comparison video of the i20 and the Polo here.
We’ve loved the Altroz’ ride and handling on our numerous drives and we have high hopes that Tata’s newest turbo-petrol offering adds the much-needed sprinkle of sportiness the Altroz was lacking. Just like you, we can’t wait to get behind the ’wheel!
Stay tuned for our review of the Altroz iTurbo which drops on January 20.
