Tata Curvv Diesel DCT First Drive Review

The Curvv is back, not with a vengeance or in the EV avatar, but, in the petrol and diesel forms and to take on rivals in the extremely competitive mid-size SUV segment. Its arsenal for this round includes the striking coupe SUV design, bucket-load of features, unique engine-gearbox combination, and then some more.

But does it have the appeal of a Creta, driving dynamics comparable to the Germans, or yet, incredible value as the Citroen Basalt? We spent a good whole day driving the car on the streets of Goa, and this is what we have to say about it.

Tata Motors is late to the party, but they’ve come with heavy ammunition in tow. The interior of the Curvv can be had in multiple hues based on the choice of variant, and it’s not just black or white, as Tata has experimented with multiple colourways. The top-spec Accomplished + A variant we drove had the maroon theme blended alongside the contrasting black finish.

Starting with the backseat experience, there is a healthy amount of legroom to stretch your legs, even with the front seat set to my comfort. The shoulder room might be a tight fit based on the occupants’ frames, but it is the headroom that proved to be a real challenge. Seated in the standard position of the two-step reclining seat, my head was pretty close to the roof, so much that a small bump and I’d brush against the roof. The lesser said the better for taller occupants like one of our team members who happened to have barely a finger’s width to spare.

But with that out of the way, there is much to like about the Curvv. Tata has thrown every possible feature in the car, including the kitchen sink! Front-row passengers get ventilated seats while the driver’s side gets electric adjustment too. Then there’s the panoramic sunroof with ambient lighting that makes the cabin feel more breathable. There is a digital panel galore inside there, including a 12.3-inch screen for the infotainment, new coloured unit for the driver’s display, one for the AC and multiple other controls, and even one on the steering wheel whose sole job is to reflect the Tata logo.

Then, there is the 500-litre bootspace, which gobbled up four medium-sized suitcases, three backpacks, and camera equipment of the crew, and still had space for another small bag, all in one car. The versatility goes one notch above with the 60:40 split seats. Notably, the quality of plastics, especially on the top side of the dashboard and doors gives a much more premium feel compared to most cars in the segment, and this is one feature that certainly stood out in my books. The Achilles heel, similar to most Tata cars we’ve tested in the past, is the fit and finish. Take the case of the section where the doors meet the dash and you will notice the uneven gaps or something we fondly call ‘Gokhale bridge’ (you’ll get this only if you’re familiar with Mumbai roads).

Safety is paramount at Tata Motors and this is evident with the Curvv too, as it gets six airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, seatbelt reminder system, speed alert system, hill hold control, and three-point seatbelts for all occupants right from the base variant itself.

The Curvv, in its diesel avatar, sources firepower from a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder diesel mill belting out 116bhp and 260Nm of torque. Apart from the six-speed manual gearbox, Tata is also offering a seven-speed DCA (commonly known as DCT) unit, making it the only diesel-DCT combo in the country at the moment.

Unlike all other Tata cars, the Curvv diesel starts in Sports mode, as opposed to the conventional City mode. There is a fair amount of low-end torque, and pottering around in the city is a breeze. The gears are held on to for a longer duration and are not as slick shifting as a traditional DCT, but it will leave you wanting for a quicker run through those cogs during an overtake or the like.

On the run, the Curvv is a little more effortless and you are quick to lose track of speed as we did, hitting triple-digit speeds before even realising it. The smooth tarmac on the roads of Goa allowed us to push it into some corners, and the body roll felt surprisingly lower than the EV derivative, considering the latter has a better centre of gravity. Even after putting this coupe SUV through some broken roads, it managed to hold the fort tight and this was inspite of the larger, 18-inch wheels that it runs on.

Time and again, as the transmission made its way through the gears, the NVH made its presence felt, and even though it wasn’t bothersome, it did tend to grab a fair bit of my attention during the course of the drive. Manoeuvering the car is rather simple, courtesy of not just the light and smooth steering, but also the three-point lock-to-lock steering.

It also has a Level 2 ADAS suite, but the folks at Tata admitted that the cars at the drive only had select functions available to test. We happened to test the automatic emergency braking and further realised that the rear collision warning feature works pretty well too, courtesy of another Curvv that was ahead of us. That said, the one thing we missed on the highways was the adaptive cruise control, a feature that Tata has confirmed will be offered for customer cars right from the start.

The Tata Curvv has a lot of tricks up its sleeves to convince customers to go for it. There are a variety of variants that spoil customers to the point of confusion, and it even looks the part with the glossy black cladding and the flush door handles. It has an impressive safety suite, and Tata has hinted that the car has already undergone an NCAP test, with the results being just around the corner.

What remains unknown at the moment is the mileage of the Curvv diesel DCA, and this is something a customer of this version will have in mind when making a buying decision, more so due to the traditional fuel-sipping nature of a DCT. On the other hand, Tata has taken a big step ahead by offering hundreds of accessories, including a few for furry friends at home, right from the launch. With all this in mind, the Curvv certainly makes for a compelling package at the end of the day if you can ignore the small niggles and have clarity in terms of which variant to get.

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi