The Drive Report: Tata Punch EV

The Punch EV is a spirited, well-engineered car that’s here to make its rivals redundant

What a year 2023 has been for Tata Motors. Having sold over 69,000 electric vehicles, a 59 percent uptick, it achieved all this on the back of petrol/CNG cars repurposed as EVs.

Which is what makes the Tata Punch EV significant, as it marks the next phase for Tata’s EV division. The platform, dubbed Acti.ev, is Tata’s first pure EV platform, serving as a mid-point between the Nexon and the Tiago EV and the upcoming Avinya, which will feature a proper skateboard platform.

So, what are the advantages of having a dedicated EV platform? Manifold, as it turns out.

The Gen 2 Acti.ev platform is a modular one, which means it can be expanded to include larger battery packs and serve different form factors. Unlike a pure, skateboard EV platform, however, it has a second layer serving as a more conventional chassis, while the first layer holds batteries, spread out evenly across the floor board at right angles.

Each pack has more lithium-ion cells than before, using cylindrical pouches that allow for greater range, even on the Punch with a relatively smaller footprint.

Let’s zoom out a bit. On the surface, the Punch EV is quite similar to the original petrol/CNG version in form and silhouette. It’s got a body-wide daytime LED, vertical headlamp cavities mounted above the front bumper and all-new 16-inch alloys.

Not wanting to forego the practicality quotient of the original Punch, Tata retained its proportions, entry and departure angles. Despite a floorboard stacked with battery packs, the Punch EV has the same ground clearance as the original version (190 mm). At the back, the only thing that distinguishes it from the original version is the absence of an exhaust pipe and a metallic garnish at the bottom of the rear bumper.

Tata Punch EV

On the whole, it’s a much cleaner design than the standard Punch, which has headlamp units that border on the ungainly. The Punch EV, on the other hand, looks future-proof with its neat, grille-free front-end.

There’s still plenty of plastic cladding around the sides, as Tata Motors doesn’t want to rob it of its SUV form factor. Another unique aspect is that the charging port is located front and centre and can be opened using a touch-sensitive button on the centre console. If this doesn’t seem terribly convenient, do keep in mind that the Punch EV is the first to come with a “frunk” or a front trunk, with 14 litres of storage, allowing you to comfortably stow away the charging cable.

INTERIORS

Those familiar with the new Nexon EV will find many similarities here. A floating 10.2-inch touchscreen, a 10.2-inch gauge cluster, a 360-degree camera – the top-end, long range Punch EV is absolutely stacked with features.

The 360-degree camera allows you to view the car in 3D and 2D, with six camera angles that can spot an errant rodent straying close to your car. The touchscreen has features such as voice-activated functions and a native app full of streaming and gaming services to help kill time in a traffic jam.

There’s Alexa and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, the latter allowing you to view Apple Maps in full, high-resolution on the instrument cluster. Permission to use Google Maps still remains hard to come by, and using both maps on either screen results in an information overload that’s best avoided.

Tata Punch EV

There’s a blind spot monitor that activates the moment you turn on the indicator, but it does occupy all of the real estate on the touchscreen, which can be annoying if you’re using SatNav to find your way around a turn.

The dashboard, in an effort to manage costs, remains bathed in hard plastics, and claims that a certain portion is laser-etched, it does tend to look a bit flimsy. That said, storage space is plenty, the seats are well bolstered (and ventilated) and although slightly raised at the back – thanks to the battery packs underneath – they do not compromise the rear seat passenger’s position.

You get a sunroof, but as an optional extra that costs Rs 50,000. But it does open using voice activation, so at least you don’t have to perform the laborious task of pressing a button.

Packing a Punch

The Punch EV is available with two battery pack options: a 25kWh one and a 35kWh “long range'' one. With the test unit featuring the latter, I had about 122 bhp and 190 Nm of torque available.

Given the Punch’s compact proportions, we finally have a winning combination of small car, big power. The Punch EV’s acceleration isn’t neck-snappingly quick. But there’s a certain fullness to its power delivery that suggests it has plenty more to offer. Switch to “Sport” and you get a clean, heady surge of power that has triple digits flashing above the steering pretty quick.

Tata Punch EV

Even the suspension set-up for the Punch EV has been completely retuned. The suppleness was expected, but what wasn't expected was how agile this car felt around corners. A brief lap around a karting circuit in Bengaluru proved the effectiveness of the Punch’s low centre of gravity. It’s no corner-carver, but it's the most dynamic any car has been in this category.

The Punch’s suspension seems to have been set up for India’s bi-polar infrastructure. On the new and smooth roads and highways, it absolutely soars, showing great composure at high speeds. On bumpy, uneven and battered surfaces, its ground clearance, entry and departure angles can be utilised in a way that the Tiago EV’s simply cannot.

For its segment, the Punch EV has many firsts, including four disc brakes. Thankfully, in an effort to manage costs, Tata Motors decided to skip the ADAS (advanced driver-assistance system) functions, even though the new electric platform has been designed to feature Level 2 ADAS.

That doesn’t mean the Punch EV isn’t full of surprises. While the likes of the new Nexon EV dispensed with button mashing to increase the potency of regenerative braking, you can now long-press the right paddle shifter and go straight to the top level of regen.

VERDICT

Tata Punch EV

The Punch EV is structurally and empirically superior to any EV made by Tata Motors so far. Yes, the Nexon EV might be more plush and roomy, but with the Punch, we’ve officially entered new territory from which there’s no going back. Its weight distribution, driving dynamics and feature list are enough to future-proof Tata’s EV division in a year where it’s likely to see some real competition.

The only question that needs answering is: Who will buy the Tiago EV? The base version of the long-range Tiago costs Rs 10.24 lakh. For an additional Rs 70k, you now have a vehicle with a bigger battery, a new and more powerful electric motor (110kw vs 45 Kw), more power, greater range and more standard safety features (six airbags). For now, it’s perfectly clear: the future of Tata’s EV division belongs to the likes of the Punch.