Tata Punch.EV vs The Urban Jungle: A Real-World Road Test For You

What happens when you try to live with an EV in an urban setting? Most importantly, what happens when that EV is based on a compact crossover SUV? What if that crossover wears the coveted Tata Motors logo on its hood?

Nothing special. Nothing unique. Just the same old life!

And no, that’s not a bad way to describe a modern-day affordable compact electric vehicle like the Tata Punch.EV. Electric cars have come a long way since the days of the Maini Reva and while the more expensive ones are focused on offering a sweet balance of performance and luxury, the more affordable and compact ones are all about efficiency and practicality. Hence, when Tata Motors electrified the Punch a year ago, it all seemed correct. The marriage of a practical and cost-effective sub-compact SUV with a responsive electric powertrain was what the automotive Gods had sought for humanity!

Like most of humanity, I too was excited to drive the Punch.EV and get a taste of what Tata’s modern compact EV had to offer. Starting at INR 9.99 lakh, it makes for a great deal as the first car to run your errands and commute from Monday to Friday. Tata Motors was gracious enough to lend us the top-end ‘Punch EV Empowered Plus S LR AC FC’ variant (we know that’s quite the mouthful) for a whole week and we made the most out of it. 

The electric Punch changed hands between the three car enthusiasts of Hardwire and our goal was to find out whether it painted its opinion green in our minds. 

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Tata Punch.EV road test: What did we do with it?

For a road test with a more democratic approach, we each had the car for two days. The car was exposed to varying urban scenarios with three utterly different styles of driving and entirely different use scenarios. Our test car used a mix of slow home-based AC charging and the superfast CCS2 DC fast charging to fill up its battery. Hence, you can be assured that none of the test drivers at Hardwire spared this cutesy Punch.EV to have an easy week. 

I, however, had a couple of questions to answer and hence, approached my part of the road test a tad differently. 

Question 1: Is the Punch.EV punchy to drive?

Yes. The electric powertrain in the Punch.EV gives the Punch all the performance it deserved from day one. The Long Range variant with its 35kWh battery pack and the beefy motor makes 122 hp at the wheels, which in the real world makes this baby crossover eager to gain momentum and dart through the traffic. The availability of 190 Nm of peak torque right from the get-go allows the Punch.EV to leap from traffic lights and aim for the gaps between long lanes. It is not exactly a hot hatch but if you have a thirst for hooliganism, this car fulfils that criterion.

To exploit this kind of performance though, you need to check one criterion – put the Punch.EV in Sports mode. The range takes a notable dip but you have all the 120 hp available under your right foot. The acceleration, while being rapid, isn’t going to push you in the driver’s seat but this is a sprightly vehicle. The City drive mode restricts the power output and the acceleration, thus making the Punch.EV feel like a regular petrol-powered Punch. The Economy drive mode is totally lackluster that barely provides any grunt for overtakes and is best reserved for crawling traffic during rush hours. 

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Question 2: Does it handle like a hot hatch?

Hot hatches are sprung tightly and sacrifice comfort in favour of superior body control. The Punch.EV never had the intention to do so and hence, it isn’t a handling expert like the Hyundai i20 N-Line or Maruti’s new Swift. However, the new Acti.ev platform underpinning the Punch.EV benefits from a lower centre of gravity and when paired with a softly sprung suspension, it makes for great ride quality. Add to this the fact that the battery pack is part of the vehicle’s structure adding to the torsional rigidity, the Punch.EV offers excellent body control for a vehicle with a tallboy profile. 

In layman’s English, it simply means that the Punch.EV handles like a sporty hatchback without giving up the SUV feel’. It’s not a hot hatch though. 

Question 3: Is it more comfortable than the Punch petrol?

While most people will struggle to differentiate between the Punch petrol and Punch electric as far as comfort is concerned, the electric version with its superior chassis and softer dampers allows the EV to be more pampering than the petrol version. I deliberately crashed the Punch.EV over numerous broken speed breakers and corrugated patches of tarmac around Gurgaon – the car absorbed most of the discomfort and in the extreme cases, it communicated what I went over without dislodging me or my occupants from the seats. 

Question 4: Is range anxiety still a thing?

Unfortunately, yes. The Long Range variant that we had on test promised 421 km of driving range. While we couldn’t do a full charge in our limited time, an 84 per cent charge translated to a real-world range of 220 km in the City driving mode. With a careful right foot, the Punch.EV generously devoured the battery and managed to make it through an entire day, leaving over 100 km of range after driving approximately 100 km. With occasional use of the air conditioning system and cheeky exploits of the Sports driving mode in clear stretches of tarmac, the range estimation dropped substantially (and so did my heart rate in the opposite direction). 

One of the primary reasons behind the appalling range performance is Tata Motors’ reliance on the dated LFP battery tech. This chemistry in the battery is certainly not the most efficient in terms of capacity and retention. However, LFP battery is cost-effective and on a mass-market-centric car, it makes a lot of sense. 

Question 5: Does public fast charging help?

The Punch.EV comes with a universally acceptable CCS-2 charging port, which makes it compatible with both slow AC chargers and fast DC chargers. We have a Tata Power-backed DC fast charger next to the office and on two occasions, we plugged the car at 19 per cent battery charge and topped it up to 84 per cent. The 1 hour 15 minute session cost us INR 643 (INR 180 for 15 minutes). 

For the rest of the time when we had to settle for a slow charger system, the waiting time was painfully slow (approximately two hours), costing INR 27 for 15 minutes. This could be fine if you find slow AC chargers are shopping malls and offices but when needing a quick top-up in the middle of a long journey, such a long wait could prove unbearable.

Hence, when driving within city limits, ensure that your Punch.EV fills up its battery overnight via your home charger. If you need a quick recharge, the fast charging solution, despite being a costly affair, is the more convenient solution. 

For those seeking quicker refills, the Punch petrol is the only way to go (you can gain 100 per cent range in 5 minutes! LOL!).

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Question 6: What about the practicality aspect?

Other than the limited range factor, the Punch.EV is as practical as the vanilla Punch petrol. This means that the Punch.EV is spacious and provides ample boot space to tow a small family’s luggage. The tallboy profile allows for a greater sense of headroom and on the top variant, the presence of a small sunroof elevates that sense further. The cabin offers ample cubbyholes and storage spaces to store handy items like phones, purses, the remote key fob, sunglasses and anything that an urban driver has to live with. 

The cabin too is pretty ergonomically designed. All the crucial HVAC controls and general vehicle feature buttons are within reach and don’t require you to take your eyes off the road. The steering wheel, however, is a complex mess of buttons, which paired with the glossy inserts tends to make it worse. Unless you figure out a way to live with the overtly intrusive buttons, you might find yourself accidentally pulling up menus on the instrument cluster out of the blue. 

Question 7: Does it command attention?

In our short time with the Punch.EV, none of us saw onlookers hooked to the trendy design elements (the wraparound LED head and tail lamp units, the aggressive side body cladding and the fancy colour accents). That’s given considering that Tata Motors moved a lot of Punch-es over the years and it is no longer a rare sight. 

That said, the Punch.EV is an attractive car compared to everything else that’s available in its segment. The Tiago.EV might be a bit more accessible as far as the price is concerned but it looks bland in comparison. The MG Comet is far from what you can call handsome and the Windsor EV looks more like a bus than a car. The Punch looks trendy and the design is evergreen – it is likely to age well.

Question 8: Are there any teething issues?

Sadly, there are some. The Punch.EV relies highly on in-house software and unknown chipset, all of which sound exciting on paper. The implementation, however, isn’t quite as sorted as more expensive electric cars and that leads to occasional glitches spoiling the drive experience. 

One particular issue that plagued us was the wonky drive selector knob. The small circular LCD screen nestled in the dial certainly looks cool but is a lot laggy with its animations and takes a lot of time to update what mode you are in. This also messes up the vehicle starting procedure – it asks you to stomp on the brake pedal and switch the dial to Drive mode, all while you have depressed it with the might of Thor! What’s worrying is that the issue has been around for over a year and Tata Motors is yet to come up with a solution. 

Then there are the occasional issues with infotainment screen software, random squeaks and interior panel rattling. The glossy inserts in the cockpit are a smudge and dust magnet, which along with the spoiled white inserts on the steering wheel and the dash trims thus adding to the sense of a dirty car. 

Verdict on Tata Punch.EV

Is the Punch.EV a great recommendation for urban dwellers with a long list of vehicular needs?

Yes, if you want to drive around the city in supreme comfort and the convenience of a compact car while pampering yourself with modern tech features. Yes, if you want to put it in Sports mode and settle in for a session of spirited driving, with the promise of a rewarding go-kart-like performance profile. Yes, if you want to tow around limited luggage and some people across the town while keeping them cheerful and happy. The Punch.EV checks almost all the key aspects that one expects a value-centric car to fulfil, especially one that relies on an electric powertrain. 

For those coming from an older electric car, the Punch.EV is a delight to live with. However, for all those who wish to leave behind the good old fossil fuels for their vehicular needs, the Punch.EV’s electrical aspect prevents it from being recommended wholeheartedly. The range is still a matter of concern the moment you want to engage yourself in the luxury of air conditioning or some spirited Sports mode driving. The charging infrastructure is pricey and impractical as of January 2025. Lastly, the additional acquisition cost for the vehicle over the standard petrol model makes it tough for budget car buyers to swallow. 

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