Tata Punch gets a 5-star adult safety rating and a 4-star child safety rating in the Global NCAP crash test, which is impressive for a budget car
Tata Motors has announced that its new micro-SUV, Punch, has been awarded a 5-star adult safety rating by Global NCAP and a 4-star rating for child occupant protection. The Punch is the third car from Tata Motors to receive this recognition after Altroz in January 2020 and Nexon in December 2018.
The Tata Punch was designed across Tata’s studios in India, UK, and Italy. As per the test report, the head, neck, chest, and thighs of the front seat adult occupants had good protection, while the legs had adequate protection. Also, the bodyshell integrity was rated as stable. It should be noted that the published results are for the frontal collision test performed at 64 kmph.
Even before the test results were published, the safety rating of the Punch was leaked online via the official configurator. Tata Punch gets the following safety features as standard – dual front airbags, seatbelt pretensioners, seatbelt reminder (front), ISOFIX child seat mounts, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, and brake sway control. On higher variants, the car also gets a rear parking camera, auto headlamps, and automatic wipers.
There are plenty of convenience features available as well, like power windows, power-adjustable ORVMs (auto-folding), a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, cooled glovebox, puddle lamps, push-button start/stop, cruise control, height-adjustable driver seat, projector headlamps, front foglamp, LED DRLs, LED taillights, 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, and optional iRA connected car tech.
Under the hood of Tata Punch sits a 1.2-litre, naturally aspirated, inline-3 petrol engine, which is capable of developing a peak power of 86 PS and a maximum torque of 113 Nm. Transmission choices consist of a 5-speed manual gearbox and a 5-speed AMT. Engine start/stop system comes as standard, and the AMT variants also get a Traction Pro mode.
Tata Motors is yet to officially declare the prices of the Punch. However, as per speculations, the vehicle will be priced from Rs. 5.5 lakh to Rs. 8.3 lakh (ex-showroom). Upon launch, its closest rivals in the Indian market will be Maruti Ignis and Mahindra KUV100 NXT.
Tata’s passenger cars are known for their high safety factor. Even the budget models like Tiago and Tigor have an adult safety rating of 4-stars, while the Altroz and Nexon have a 5-star adult safety rating. Global NCAP is yet to test the Harrier and Safari, but we expect these two SUVs to have high safety ratings as well.