Tata Altroz Petrol DCA Long-Term Review: Intercity & Highway Driving Report

Our long-term Tata Altroz has been part of the car&bike garage for about two months now, and you have already read our 45-day report. In that, we spoke about our initial impressions of the car, the feature highlights, and some of the pros and cons of living with an Altroz. Here, I am going to talk about the Altroz Petro DCA’s highway manners, intercity performance, and real-world fuel efficiency.

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Highway Performance

Before I talk about the Altroz's highway performance, it's worth remembering that this is primarily a city car. So naturally, there are some limitations. That said, it handles highway duties better than you might expect. Our test route was the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, including the Missing Link, which meant a good mix of long, fast stretches and flowing corners.

For highway driving, two things matter most: the ability to cruise comfortably at speed and enough pulling power for quick overtakes. My long-term Altroz gets the 1.2-litre three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, producing 87 bhp and 115 Nm.

Those numbers may not sound exciting, but in the real world, the engine feels adequately capable. Power builds progressively, and while getting to triple-digit speeds takes some patience, cruising at 100-110 kmph is effortless.

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The bigger issue remains the Dual-Clutch Automatic (DCA) with its electronic shifter. It's not the smoothest gearbox, and the e-shifter can occasionally miss a shift when trying to move between R-N-D. At cruising speeds, that's hardly a problem, but during quick overtakes, the gearbox is a bit slow to downshift, which interrupts the flow. Thankfully, Tata offers paddle shifters, so you can take control when needed. Or, once you get familiar with the gearbox's behaviour, overtakes become much easier to time.

Dynamics & Comfort

Anyone who has driven on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway knows it's far from perfect. There are bumpy sections, expansion joints, and the occasional smooth stretch in between. Despite those changing road conditions, the Altroz feels composed. The suspension does a good job of soaking up undulations, while the car remains stable and planted at highway speeds, making long-distance drives feel relaxed.

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So yes, I did miss having ventilated front seats. The Altroz's AC also didn't feel as effective as I'd have liked, although I'd put that down more to the extreme heat than the car itself. That said, the seats are well-cushioned, the driving position is comfortable, and cabin insulation is good, making long hours behind the wheel fairly relaxing. I could have simply used the Max Cool mode, but that would've had a noticeable impact on fuel efficiency. And that was the whole point of this drive: to answer the all-important question, "Kitna deti hai?"

Real-World Fuel Efficiency

To get a real-world fuel efficiency figure, I started with a proper city run in Mumbai, covering a mix of open roads and stop-go traffic. The AC was set to 21 degrees with the fan at speed three, and average speeds hovered around 20-25 kmph. Over 53 km, the Altroz consumed 4.4 litres of petrol, returning 12.05 kmpl. The on-board computer, meanwhile, displayed 14 kmpl.

Next came the highway run. After refuelling to the brim and resetting the trip meter, I covered 82.5 km on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, cruising mostly between 90 and 100 kmph. The car consumed 4.01 litres of fuel, giving a highway efficiency of 20.5 kmpl, while the MID showed 17.9 kmpl.

Finally, I verified the numbers over the entire trip. Across 273 km of mixed city and highway driving, the Altroz returned a real-world fuel efficiency of 15.2 kmpl, with the MID indicating 16.6 kmpl.

So, if you're wondering "Kitna deti hai?" the answer is simple: expect around 12 kmpl in the city, over 20 kmpl on the highway, and about 15 kmpl in mixed driving. Frankly, when it comes to fuel efficiency, the Altroz certainly exceeded my expectations.

Conclusion

The Altroz may be designed with the city in mind, but it handles highway duties with ease as well. Add respectable real-world fuel efficiency to the mix, and it continues to prove itself as a practical all-rounder. It'll remain in the car&bike garage until September, so stay tuned for our final report, where we'll wrap up our long-term ownership experience with the Tata Altroz Petrol DCA.