Tata Punch EV: 45 Days Long Term Review

If you are in the market for a small car suitable for regular city drives, there are plenty of options. However, if you wish to do it in style, while keeping running costs to the bare minimum, then it would be impossible to ignore the small EVs. We recently added one such interesting car to our long-term garage - the Tata Punch Long Range EV. Launched in January 2024, Punch EV sits between Tiago EV and the Nexon EV, as Tata Motors’ SUV-styled premium hatch, with an impressive 190 mm of ground clearance and loaded with electronic features.

The car that came to us for testing is equipped with a 35 kWh battery, promising 365 km of range on a single charge. The other battery pack option offered in the market is the 25 kWh option with a claimed range of 265 km. Read on to know about our initial experience with Punch EV after having spent a month with the car, and clocking a little over 1000 kilometres on the odometer.

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EASE OF DRIVING

The compact size and a tall stance make the Tata Punch EV a strong contender for one of the most convenient city cars. A small footprint and all-around visibility supported with the 360-degree surround camera view (top-end trim only) make it easy to slot it in tight parking spaces and a breeze to run on busy roads infested with unruly city traffic.

Driving an EV during the office rush hours, navigating through daily traffic, will certainly make you realise its advantages over a regular ICE-powered car. Punch EV’s silent cabin and quick, effortless speed gain are indeed impressive. It absorbs bad roads efficiently and doesn’t get unsettled easily on nasty speed breakers despite its small wheelbase and tall structure.

However, I am not a fan of the rotary-style gear shifter. The response is delayed, and there have been one too many misses when trying to shift from reverse to drive and back. It’s also easy to overshoot the park mode. I would have preferred a shifter lever instead.

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Also, the video footage from the blind spot view monitor is displayed on the infotainment screen, instead of the driver display. I found it a little non-intuitive, considering that the driver will never look at it while taking a right turn or a U-turn, as it is completely not in the usual line of sight.

SENSE OF SPACE

The cabin is decent when it comes to space, and a large window area, together with light colour interiors, adds to the perception of roominess. The large 10.2-inch touchscreen on the Empowered+ variant, with the presence of physical switches for important functions, is a nice touch. However, the switch quality didn’t give confidence for a long, uninterrupted performance. One of the paddle shifters for regen mode changes was found to be loose and shaky. Also, one of the steering-mounted control switches sticks sometimes when operated in quick succession. Mind you, all this when the car has just about 12000 km on the odometer.

The wide 90-degree door opening makes ingress and egress relatively easier. It’s a great boon, particularly in some specific situations like trying to get in, holding a toddler in your arms or trying to place grocery bags or some package after having run out of space in the boot. Rear seats are comfortable for two; however, they may feel slightly tight if three fully grown adults are seated at the back. But if you are a large person, then the seats might feel a tad small.

GADGETORY & GIMMICS

Tata Punch EV boasts of a range of features, with some of these seen in cars belonging to a segment above. Front ventilated seats, cruise control, sunroof, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Wireless Smartphone Charger, to name a few.

The graphics used on the central touch panel and the IP are legible and nicely laid out. However, on one of the occasions, the touchscreen became unresponsive, and the back-light illumination for control switches on the steering wheel also went off unannounced once. But none of it posed a major threat or inconvenience; thankfully, it came back to its normal functioning form after a simple restart. We assume these are minor software glitches that should be rectifiable post a software update at the authorised service centre.

So far, Punch EV has been a delight to take on the regular daily commute, keeping you comfortable and engaged. But what about inter-city trips? Real-world driving range and overall ownership experience? Well, we’ll be covering all these aspects in our next report, so keep watching this space.

Written By: Aashish Bhardwaj