It’s been a little over two months that the Altroz Race entered our test fleet and the vehicle came with just about 75 kms on the odo to us. Yes, brand new with all the plastics still on. What joy it is unwrapping a car and experiencing the “new car smell”. The Racer has been racking up kms pretty fast and right now it stands at 2800 kms.
The Tata Altroz isn’t something that’s new to us. This hatchback has been around in the market since 2019 and it has received a few updates over these years. The Racer is Tata’s attempt at making it a little sportier. I started using the Altroz Racer for my daily commutes to work and the very first thing that got to me was the clutch which has a long travel and a very sharp release point. The manual gearbox also isn’t too slick and feels notchy. Tata should really offer an automatic here.
The manual gearbox apart, I’ve found no major shortcomings with the Racer. In fact I’ve started liking this car now all thanks to the fact that it is so comfortable. The ride quality is simple stellar and probably one of the best out of all hatchbacks on sale. The Racer feels smooth over bad roads and the seats also hold all the passengers firmly in place. I really like the quality of the upholstery in this car but the ventilation function of the seats could be a little more powerful.
What makes daily drives entertaining is the fabulous audio system. It really packs a punch and offers great clarity. The 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine is tuned decently well but feels a little gruff at times. The vehicle drives well in the city and the strong mid-range when the turbo spools in, ensures that you can have some fun on your commutes.
I did manage to take the car out on a couple of long highway drives and those were fun. Driving a manual hatchback is always engaging and I had fun pushing the car. The engine managed good speeds for a long duration and on these drives I started liking the Altroz more. Very, very stable car and amazing driving manners. The steering though a bit hefty has good feel and the braking also feels sure-footed.
Fuel efficiency? The Altroz Racer is delivering around 9-10 km/l in day to day driving. What I’ve noticed on many occasions is that the tank becomes full with just about 25-litres of refuelling and the indicator is back to empty with around 220-250 kms of driving. The Altroz Racer was a part of some of our big shoots and it even played the role of support car on the Thar Roxx vs Scorpio-N vs Harrier vs Creta shoot, that too rather well. The boot swallowed all the camera equipment easily and the high ground clearance helped matters.
All in all, the Altroz Racer is a nice hatchback to have. The lack of an AT is the biggest downer for me but otherwise the car is pretty sorted. It’s also priced well and if you’re looking to buy one, I’d say get one of the lower variants since they offer more value and come equipped with most features anyway. That’s all for now, but if you guys have any questions, feel free to shoot in the comments below.
