Introduction
The world of Indian hot hatchbacks has a new competitor in the form of the Tata Altroz Racer. It’s a high-performance version of the premium hatchback and comes as a new top-spec model for the car. Prices start at Rs. 9.49 lakh and it can be had in three colours and across three variants.
Tata’s product looks strong but has a lot of work to do in terms of facing up to its major rival, the Hyundai i20 N Line. To give you an idea of how the cars stack up against each other, here is a product deep dive.
Design highlights
Both cars take the same route when it comes to an external appearance by way of dual-tone paint schemes and badging. The Altroz gets stripes on the outside. In silhouette and basic design, they retain the shape and identity of their standard siblings letting them not only stand out but also keep the family identity. The Altroz’s colour schemes are brighter than what is offered on the i20 but the latter has a larger number of design elements to make it stand out just that little bit more.
Feature list
As products competing for the same segment space, both the Altroz Racer and i20 N Line are fully loaded models with features such as a 360-degree camera, large touchscreen, customisable digital cluster, sunroof, connected car technology, and a wireless charger. Over the i20 N Line, the Racer has ventilated front seats and a bigger touchscreen system. Both cars are evenly matched in terms of safety, with six airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, headrests for middle-rear occupants, and highline TPMS
Under the hood
Then, there’s the performance itself with the Racer’s 1.2-litre Nexon-derived turbo petrol that produces 118bhp/170Nm, while the i20’s 1.0-litre three-pot turbo petrol produces 118bhp/172Nm. A six-speed manual comes as standard for both, but the i20 N Line also gets a seven-speed DCT. We expect a seven-speed DCT for the Altroz Racer, too, later as this setup exists with the Nexon.
Pricing
The Altroz range (MT only) starts at Rs. 9.49 lakh and tops out at Rs. 10.49 lakh, while the i20 N Line (also MT only) starts at Rs. 9.99 lakh and tops out at Rs. 11.42 lakh (ex-showroom). The price difference between the variants amounts to a range of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 80,000 and this is for MT only. We expect a similar undercut when the Altroz Racer gets a seven-speed DCT later in the year.
