Road Racer

The Tata Altroz Racer has been positioned as the enthusiast-focussed offering in the shrinking (yet still important) hatchback space. Its appeal lies not only in the way it drives but also in how it nicely differentiates itself from the regular iteration of the car. It has the Hyundai i20 N Line in its crosshairs, but to make matters worse for its rival, the Altroz comes loaded with features while also enjoying a substantial price advantage. We get into the driving seat to see how much of an improvement the ‘Racer’ badge has given the car, and more importantly, to understand if this top-spec Altroz can be a good choice for someone looking for a fast, fun hatchback.

Design

Let’s start with the looks. As the more premium of the two hatchback offerings by Tata, the Altroz has done fairly well. First showcased as a concept at the 2018 Auto Expo, the Altroz still looks fresh, and the Racer makes things even better. The pursuit of a more visually striking appearance for added ‘hot hatch’ personality hasn’t led Tata to take any foolish steps in the design department. The well-calculated approach has yielded a nicely designed car which carries all the good bits from the standard model but with a handful of tell-tale signs giving away its more focussed intent.

The added new rear spoiler is surprisingly discreet, the ‘Racer’ badges aren’t too loud, either, bits like the sill cladding and racing stripes (for the bonnet and the roof) are a welcome touch and the new two-tone paint choices (black and grey, black and orange, and black and white) are quite cool, too. The twin-tip exhaust rounds up the list of visual updates quite nicely.

The two-tone cabin looks nice, especially with the inclusion of racing stripes on the seats and the new accents

Cabin

That’s on the outside, but Tata Motors hasn’t forgotten about the interior. In fact, it’s the cabin where you can sense that more effort is made to differentiate the Racer from the lesser versions. First impressions are good: the two-tone cabin looks nice, especially with the inclusion of racing stripes on the seats and the new accents. It has a solid feel to it, this car’s interior, which is complemented further with the Altroz’s highly respectable five-star racing from Global NCAP — so it’s hardly a surprise that six airbags are standard. The range-topping R3 variant also comes with ventilated front seats, a feature that’s found its place in many new SUVs but for a hatchback in this segment, it’s new and from my experience, completely worth it.

The instrument cluster is digital now and looks good. Elsewhere, the list of useable features includes connected car tech (iRA in Tata speak), a high-res infotainment screen from the Punch EV, wireless charging, cruise control, rear A/C vent, a 360-degree camera and a sunroof which can also be operated using voice commands. The only downside is that some plastics still look and feel downmarket.

Engine

In comparison, Tata’s choice for the Racer’s powerplant is anything but downmarket. It’s a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine from the Nexon which adds vigour to this new hatchback. This 3-cylinder engine makes 118 bhp and 17.3 kg-m of peak torque — respectable numbers and nearly identical to that of the i20 N Line. A new 6-speed gearbox is the only transmission choice and it comes with a new hydraulic clutch.

We’ll come to how this setup transforms the Altroz in a bit. Before that, it’s worth noting that the Altroz definitely has a louder exhaust note. The ride quality at slow speeds is excellent and as it picks up speed, the steering weighs up rather nicely, the wide torque band ensures that you don’t have to constantly change gears, and there’s no doubting the car’s overall stability. The new hydraulic clutch has a distinctly snappy bite, which takes some getting used to, though.

On the whole, as an everyday road car, which is how a large percentage of Altroz Racers are likely to be used, it promises to be easy to live with, albeit still offering dollops of fun. Having said that, it wouldn’t do justice to the car’s name, if it were to not perform well at the racetrack. Thankfully, the first drive organised by Tata Motors also included a session at the new CoASTT High-Performance Centre, based near Coimbatore, which proved to be a great playground for the Altroz Racer. I can also confirm that it’s definitely a better environment to test a high-performance car like the Racer, because you can focus on what the car has to offer, without being worried about say the jaywalkers.

The quick takeaways from the 15 laps around the CoASTT track have to include the car’s unending ability to surprise. Its snappy clutch isn’t a problem around the circuit. In fact, it worked really well with the short-throw gearbox. The steering feels pretty accurate and the car went exactly where I pointed it. The Altroz Racer’s turbo-petrol engine never felt out of breath, and with only a little body roll, the car felt at home when driven hard.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise because a) it’s a car made for enthusiasts, and b) more importantly, Narain Karthikeyan has had its hand in developing the car. The former Formula-1 driver was present at the track, offering hot laps to help us understand the Altroz. By flicking it into corners, showing how the slightly sharper suspension copes up with it every time. The improvements are also visible in the way the car reacts when you bite more than you can chew; the Altroz Racer seems to be quite forgiving in that regard. It doesn’t try to be the ultimate track weapon, neither in the way it looks nor in the way it drives. What it does beautifully is allow you to enjoy driving irrespective of whether or not you have a nice, technical racetrack at your disposal. Yes, it’s more exhilarating around a circuit, but even as an everyday car, it promises to be massive fun. Plus if you aren’t the most experienced behind the wheel, especially at the racetrack, it’s quite friendly in the way it reacts to inputs and mistakes both.

It doesn’t scream for attention, which is another big positive. While not exactly a true hot hatch, the Altroz Racer makes a strong case for itself. Given what it has to offer in terms of driving, performance and overall looks and feature set, the Altroz Racer has nearly all it takes to appeal to the enthusiast on a budget. Some of the interior plastics deserve to be improved regardless of where the Racer is going to be driven, whereas for the road, especially for stop-go traffic, its clutch might seem a touch too snappy, while for the track, its MRF tyres might seem lacking in outright grip. Despite its handful of shortcomings, it’s an extremely enjoyable machine which is great to drive, good to look at and promises to be not too bad to live with, either. Priced at ₹9.49 lakh onwards, it’s going to be cheaper than its main rival, the Hyundai i20 N Line, and that makes it an even more lucrative proposition. There aren’t many hatchbacks around — and powerful ones, even fewer — so it’s not just refreshing to see someone taking the segment seriously but also that they’ve created a car which can quite effortlessly find a fast way to win people’s hearts. A Racer, no doubt!

©Motoring World