Facelifted Tata Punch CNG Spied Testing Ahead Of Debut

A CNG variant of the upcoming Tata Punch facelift has been spied testing on Indian roads ahead of its expected launch next year. The images showed the camouflaged test mule from the front, providing a look at the updated front end as well as a glimpse of the cabin while revealing some differences over previous petrol car test mules.

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As with previous test mule images, the Punch facelift is set to receive a fascia in line with its electric derivative. We expect the Punch facelift to feature a black panel running between the upper light cluster - a la the ICE Nexon, with a heavily redesigned front bumper housing a large central air vent and slimmer light clusters housed within inverted triangular side vents. What, however, stands out here is the lighting arrangement - the test mule featured pilot lights up top in place of LED daytime running lamps while still receiving LED headlamps. The housings for the fog lamps are covered by the camouflage, so it's hard to tell if they featured on the test mule.

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As for the cabin, it's much the same as the current Punch, save for the new design steering with the illuminated logo. Interestingly, unlike previous test mules, the Punch CNG mule featured the older style LED instrument panel with a dot-matrix style speedometer readout at the centre - similar to the unit in the current internal combustion Punch. A sunroof is also present.

Going by the features, we could be looking at an upper mid-spec variant and not a top variant, though the lack of LED DRLs and the presence of LED headlamps does seem odd. This could likely be attributed to this just being a test mule.

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Mechanically, the Punch petrol and its CNG derivative are set to remain unchanged - a 1.2-litre, four-cylinder naturally aspirated unit paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox as standard. The petrol will get an AMT option too, though it remains to be seen if Tata could introduce a CNG AMT variant with the facelift. As with the current car, we expect the Punch facelift to feature Tata’s dual-cylinder tech to free up space in the boot.

As before, the updated Punch will go up against the Hyundai Exter in the Indian market.

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