2026 Tata Altroz Long-Term Review: Initial Impressions After 45 Days

The Tata Altroz has been one of the most recent additions to the car&bike long-term fleet. Launched in its current avatar in India in the first half of 2025, the latest Altroz looks even sharper and packs in more tech too, but after spending weeks behind the wheel, it still feels like there is some scope for improvement.

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2025's styling update has sharpened the Altroz's looks.

The 2025 styling update has really sharpened up the hatchback’s looks – it was already a well-proportioned hatchback before that too, I admit. The sharper front fascia is quite eye-catching, and the new LED headlamps are powerful and illuminate the road well too. The rear styling with the full-width lightbar too is more modern, though the execution may not be to everyone’s tastes – look close enough, and you can see the panel that takes up the room vacated by the older tail lamps.

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Altroz always had good proportions; rear lightbar might not be to everyone's tastes.

As with all new-age Tatas, the Altroz is not short on features, particularly in this fully loaded petrol-DCA (dual clutch automatic) spec. On the tech front, you’ve got a 10.25-inch digital instrument screen that can mirror Google Maps, a large 10.25-inch central touchscreen with wireless smartphone integration, a wireless phone charging pad and 360-degree cameras with blind spot monitoring. While on the comfort side, you get bits such as a height-adjustable driver seat, cruise control, auto climate control, rear AC vents, a sunroof, rear centre armrest and more. The 8-speaker audio system also offers very good audio quality, and there is room to tune the audio to your taste, too.

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Cabin loaded with a lot of tech in top DCT trim.

The seats themselves are comfortable, and there are adequate spaces to store odds and ends around the cabin, including cupholders in the centre console and in the fold-down rear centre armrest. That said, the light fabric tones, while aiding in the cabin feeling airy, do feel prone to staining quite easily, and you still find the odd rough edges on some of the plastics used – fit and finish isn’t quite up to Hyundai & Kia levels.

Space is decent, and seats are comfortable, though light fabric does attract stains.

Following last year’s update, Tata chose to discontinue the turbo-petrol option of the Altroz that arrived with the short-lived Racer, so now petrol buyers only have the 1.2 NA petrol to pick from alongside its CNG derivative and the 1.5 diesel. In our test car, the unit was paired with a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and from my experience, the marriage still needs some fine-tuning.

Features offered include a voice-activated sunroof, rear centre armrest with cupholder, rear AC vents and 65W Type C charging outlet & a 10.25-inch touchscreen

The DCA unit is not as smooth as those offered by Hyundai and Kia, and at times you feel a notable interruption in power, which we particularly noticed under downshifting between third and second gear during part throttle inputs. The engine’s 87 bhp and 115 Nm are more than adequate for city use, and it will get you up to speed on the highway too, though don’t expect to set any blistering 0-100 kmph sprint times. Refinement is decent too, though once you get a move on, a fair bit of engine and road noise does enter the cabin.

The DCA is not as smooth as units from Hyundai and Kia; sometimes takes a while to shift gears.

Tata has really nailed it when it comes to the ride and handling mix in its range of cars, and the same holds for the Altroz as well. The steering feels nice in the hand, and there is decent feedback too from the front wheels. The suspension irons out all but the largest road imperfections quite nicely, though you might feel the suspension bottom out on the occasional sharp edge. The car also holds its poise well in the corners, though it’s the gearbox that will really stop you from being enthusiastic with the car on a good winding road.

As with its larger siblings, ride and handling are well sorted.

The Altroz is set to remain with us for a few more months still, and we will share more insights on our time with the car – including its highway performance and real-world fuel economy – going forward.