Transport Minister Drives And Talks About The New Tata Punch (Video)
Kerala’s transport minister KB. Ganesh Kumar is an avid car enthusiast. Recently, he made big headlines by buying Kerala’s first new Tata Sierra. A video of him taking delivery of the mid-size SUV was shared on the dealer’s official Instagram handles and is now racking up views. A more recent clip shows him sharing his experience after driving the new Tata Punch. The Minister himself launched the facelifted Punch in Kerala.
Tata Motors launched the Punch facelift in India on January 13th. It has its ex-showroom prices in the range of Rs 5.59 lakh to Rs 9.79 lakh. The Minister launched the updated Punch in Kerala and even drove it for a couple of kilometers.
The micro-SUV appears to have impressed Ganesh Kumar with its compact size and smart packaging. The biggest highlight of the new Punch is its value proposition. The minister seems to like it too. He says that it is a great buy for the price.
Ganesh Kumar talks about the powertrain options of the new Punch. He says that the CNG makes a lot of sense. It is more fuel-efficient, offers more savings, and is more environment-friendly. He even recommends people to choose the CNG version. Ganesh Kumar then talks about how the Punch manages to address one of the biggest concens of most electric cars- loss of usable boot space.
In the Punch, the CNG is stored in two interconnected cylindrical tanks, placed smartly in the boot. Avoiding a single, large tank has helped in generating space. These cylinders have been so packaged that the boot offers ample room for daily commutes, even though it may not be as capacious as that of a regular petrol car.
Ganesh Kumar then talks about the new Punch’s music system. The higher variants now come with an 8-speaker audio system (4 speakers+ 4 tweeters) and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The overall audio (and entertainment) experience has improved.
The minister also talks about the safety levels offered by the micro-SUV. It has scored a five-star Bharat NCAP safety rating, and Tata Motors even demonstrated the safety levels by crashing it against a truck. The passenger compartment remained intact and almost unaffected.
Ganesh Kumar also touched upon Tata’s initiatives to expand its sales and service outlets. He mentions that the carmaker recently set up 84 new service centres in the state. He then says that the new Punch feels more fun-to-drive. Interestingly, he did not speak about the new iTurbo engine in detail. This powertrain is, in fact, one of the biggest highlights of the new Punch.
The updated Punch is available in three engine options- a 1.2 -litre naturally aspirated petrol engine making 88hp and 115Nm, and a CNG-petrol dual-fuel engine that produces 73.4hp and 103Nm. Both these engines can be had with a five-speed manual and a five-speed AMT automatic transmission. Previously, the automatic box was not available on the CNG version.
Now, the biggest highlight- the new 1.2L turbocharged petrol engine that has an output of 118hp and 170Nm. It is, however, available only with a six-speed manual transmission. This engine is reserved for only the Adventure and Accomplished Plus S trims of the facelifted Punch.
Talking of other changes, the new Punch comes with a revised design and an improved cabin. It gets a redesigned front fascia, new wheels and a tweaked rear end. Inside, the overall layout remains similar to that of the pre-facelift. The new model, however, sees the addition of features like a larger instrument cluster, bigger touchscreen, better audio system, auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, 360-camera and more.