TATA Altroz DCA: The Gold Standard of Automatic versus the rivals

TATA Motors has finally launched the automatic variant of its premium hatchback Altroz with the introductory price starting at Rs. 8.09 lakhs and goes up till Rs. 9.89 lakh exshowroom. The petrol automatic of premium hatch will be available in XMA, XTA, XZA, XZA+ and XZA(O) trims. Only the XTA and XZA+ will be available with dark theme. The automatic variant is 1.07 lakhs pricier in each trim as compared to the petrol manual variant.

TATA Altroz uses the 1.2 Litre naturally aspirated petrol 3 cylinder powerhouse which churns out 86 HP and a peak torque of 113nm. The Indian Carmaker claims that the 6 Speed DCA (Dual Clutch Automatic) transmission is specifically designed for India. It is a wet clutch type transmission that uses active cooling technology to give the best results in hot Indian conditions. The DCA also gets features like Shift by wire technology, Machine learning, Auto park lock and Self-healing technology. TATA claims to have used 35% fewer components than the conventional DCT to ensure better shift quality along with reliability.

The TATA Altroz DCA rivals MSIL Baleno AMT, Hyundai i20 DCT, VW Polo TSI automatic and Jazz CVT.

The main competitor of the TATA Altroz DCT is the i20 1.0 DCT as it the only other hatchback with DCT other than the Altroz itself.

The Hyundai i20 petrol comes in 2 engine and gearbox options i.e. 1.2 NA Petrol with IVT transmission and 1.0 Turbo with DCT. The power figures of the 1.2 NA IVT petrol of i20 are comparable to the TATA Altroz. The 1.0 DCT of the Korean Automaker is almost 1.5 Lakhs pricier as compared to the top trip of Altroz DCA.

The top trim of Altroz DCA boasts of features like Ira connectivity, Semi Digital instrument cluster, R16 alloy wheels, automatic wipers and headlamps.

TATA Altroz also gets tough competition from the bestselling hatch in the segment the MSIL Baleno which got its facelift a few days ago and comes with a 5 speed AMT transmission delivering power of 88.6 BHP and ARAI mileage of 22.94 kmpl from its 4 cylinder 1197cc engine.

Although the competition is quite tough in this segment, TATA Altroz has been doing well with consistent sales figures and now it has added the advantage of an advanced DCA transmission for the comfort and convenience of the customers. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that the TATA Altroz has a 5 Star GNCAP safety rating which makes it the safest car in the segment.