Tata Motors drives in sub-compact SUV Punch starting at Rs 5.49 lakh

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Tata Motors on Monday launched its sub-compact SUV 'Punch' in the country, with price starting at Rs 5.49 lakh (ex-showroom).

Designed across Tata Motor's studios in India, the UK and Italy, the model has been developed to herald an entirely new category the sub-compact SUV, to address a growing customer need for a small in size but big on space, safety, performance and features.

Built on the company's Agile Light Flexible Advanced (ALFA) Architecture, Punch would sit below Nexon in the company's product line-up. It comes with a 1.2-litre petrol engine mated to both manual and automatic transmissions.

As per Tata Motors, the manual trims of the model deliver an ARAI certified fuel efficiency of 18.97 kmpl while the AMT (automated manual transmission) variants offer 18.82 kmpl to a litre.

The model comes with SUV attributes like tall seating, high ground clearance, 370 mm water wading capability and traction feature to aid recovery in off-road situations.

It has received 5-star adult safety rating for adult occupant protection in a crash test from Global NCAP, an internationally renowned vehicle safety accreditation group.

Five stars indicate the highest score while zero star rating points to the minimum score during the vehicle crash test.

"With Punch, we have created an entirely new category altogether to address a growing need for small-in-size cars with a true SUV character," Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicles Business Unit (PVBU) Shailesh Chandra noted.

The model offers a tall stance, high ground clearance and commanding driving position to navigate all the unexpected challenges that Indian roads throw in one's way, he added.

"Even ahead of its launch, Punch has already got off to a great start by bagging the GNCAP 5-star rating for safety. This is a proud moment for us not only as an entity but also as an Indian carmaker as we continue to deliver on our promise of safety with almost every new product in the market," Chandra stated.

Punch is the third car from Tata Motors to receive top crash test rating after Altroz in January 2020 and Nexon in December 2018.

Punch has received 16.45 points for adult occupant protection, the highest rating points any vehicle has received in India.

The model comes in four grades with customisation packs to match diverse lifestyles. Feature list includes engine drive modes, idle start stop function, cruise control, push button start, 366 litres of boot space, cooled glove box, Harman Infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple Carplay, fully automatic temperature control, auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers, among others.