Tata Punch EV Long-Term Second Report: Highway Performance, Pros & Cons

Having spent a week behind the wheel of the Tata Punch EV Long Range, including a Mumbai-Nashik-Mumbai highway run, I've gathered plenty of real-world insights into this electric compact SUV's strengths and weaknesses. Here's what impressed and what disappointed me during my 700-kilometre journey with India's most affordable electric SUV.

Also read: Tata Punch EV: 45 Days Long Term Review

What Works

Ride Quality

The Punch EV's suspension setup is one of its best features, delivering a smooth and stable ride that exceeds its compact size. Whether driving through Mumbai's pothole-filled streets or tackling the rough patches on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, the EV handled road bumps with impressive ease. Body roll stayed surprisingly low through the sweeping corners of the tricky Kasara Ghat section, giving me confidence while taking bends at speed. The planted feel and overall ride comfort made long-distance driving far more enjoyable than expected from a sub-four-meter electric SUV.

Also read: Tata To Enter Rs 40 Lakh Passenger Car Market With First Avinya Electric SUV In End-2026

Performance

For a compact SUV, the Punch EV delivers surprisingly strong performance that makes highway driving genuinely fun. The instant electric power makes overtaking slow-moving trucks effortless, and getting up to speed feels almost addictive. Whether you're pulling away quickly or zipping through sudden traffic patches, the surge of power turns a boring highway drive into something engaging. This peppy performance is perfectly suited to Indian highways, where you constantly need to speed up or slow down based on changing traffic conditions.

Also Read: Tata Harrier, Safari Petrol Variant Details Revealed: Get New Range Topping Ultra Trim

Real-World Range

While Tata's official claimed range of 421 kms sounds great on paper, the Punch EV Long Range delivered a solid real-world range of 265-270 kms on a full charge. This figure, achieved through a mix of city traffic and highway driving, works out to roughly 63-64 percent of the claimed range. For perspective, this efficiency is quite good in Indian driving conditions, and the steady range delivery across different roads—from slow-moving city traffic to 100 kmph highway cruising—shows that the battery management system does a fine job of managing energy use in various driving situations.

Also Read: Tata Harrier EV Fords Beas River In Red Bull Extreme Stunt

What Doesn't Work

Fit and Finish

At just 13,000 kms on the odometer, the Punch EV is already showing signs of early wear, raising questions about long-term quality and build standards. The right-side regenerative braking paddle shifter has started to hang loosely from its mounting point, causing it to work only sometimes, which is annoying. Just as irritating is the infotainment system's poor performance—both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay navigation don't provide accurate directions, taking away from one of the car's key convenience features. These quality issues, appearing so early in ownership, raise doubts about the overall build quality and manufacturing standards.

Also read: 2026 Tata Harrier & Safari 1.5 Hyperion Review: By The Power Of Petrol!

Absence of Rear AC Vents

While the air conditioning system produces good cooling power, the missing rear AC vents seriously affect comfort for back-seat passengers. In India's hot and humid weather, front passengers get cooled quickly, but rear passengers have to wait much longer to feel comfortable. This missing feature is especially disappointing since the Punch EV positions itself as a family electric SUV, and rear AC vents are now standard even in budget petrol hatchbacks. The uneven air flow becomes particularly noticeable during highway drives with a full car, where rear passengers struggle with poor ventilation despite the AC running at full blast.

Slow Charging

Despite having a relatively small 35 kWh battery pack, the Punch EV takes around 1.5 hours to charge from 0 to 100 per cent. While Tata claims a peak DC fast charging capacity of 50 kW, offering a 10 to 80 per cent charge in just 40 minutes, our vehicle peaked at around 26 kW on public chargers. This means it takes just as long to charge as EVs with much larger battery packs, which was disappointing.

Keyur Joshi