Tata Altroz DCA Performance

Tata is offering the Altroz DCA automatic with only the 1.2 naturally aspirated petrol engine that puts out 86 horsepower and 113 Nm of torque. Tata says cost was a big factor for this move. Mating the dual clutch with the turbo unit would push up the price significantly. Start off driving and this gearbox is fairly smooth and seamless in shifts. This makes it great to drive in urban city commute with upshifts happening quickly with light throttle inputs. Tap the accelerator and the Altroz will quickly go down a gear or two. But I wouldn’t  call the gearbox lightning quick when say compared to the DSG of the Polo GT TSI, which incidentally is my daily driver. Try doing a kick down at the higher end of the rev band and there is a delay of a second or two before the gearbox responds.  The three pot engine feels noisy at that point. This motor works best at low and the mid-range. When you come to standing still you do at times feel a slight jerk from 2nd to 1st similar to what is felt in my Polo. The car is also rather eager to creep forward when you let go of the brake pedal and might catch one by surprise at times. The Altroz automatic is best enjoyed in a relaxed way and will cruise effortlessly at speeds between 80 to 100 kph on a highway. And as I said before, it is perfect in the city, the light steering adding to the experience. That said, there is no Sport mode and no paddle shifters either. You can however take manual control via the gear lever.