When compared head-to-head, Tata Punch EV vs Citroen eC3 tables indicate a significant shift in favour of the former
India’s best-selling EV maker, Tata Motors, has added yet another vehicle to its already impressive lineup. We’re talking about the recently launched Tata Punch EV (marketed as Punch.ev). The car is poised to disrupt the market taking on any car (ICE or EV) of any segment within the Rs. 11 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh price bracket.
Tata Punch EV Vs Citroen eC3
Punch EV is launched in India recently starting from Rs. 10.99 lakh to Rs. 14.5 lakh (ex-sh). The car has all the qualities and potential to be a market disruptor. We’re not talking about only electric cars in India. We’re talking about both EV and ICE realms alike. Such is Punch EV’s expected uproar in popularity and demand.
However, comparing apples to apples, Tata Punch’s primary rival is Citroen eC3 and to some extent, we can also compare it to Tiago EV, which is India’s current best-selling electric car. MG Comet is a 3-door (2 side doors and a tailgate) vehicle and comparing it to Punch EV makes very little sense.
Punch EV is acing the rivals by offering more of everything. Tata is offering Punch EV in 5 trim levels. Or Personas, as Tata calls them. These are Smart, Smart+, Adventure, Empowered and Empowered+. Tata is cleverly offering a 7.2 kW AC charger and sunroof as optional extra each costing an additional Rs. 50,000.
The standard Punch EV gets a 25 kWh battery, while LR model gets a 35 kWh unit. Called Acti.ev, this is India’s first dedicated EV platform that is not shared with its ICE counterparts. With LR model, peak power is 120.7 bhp and peak torque is 190 Nm. Performance is properly zippy too, with Tata claiming 0-100 km/h in 9.5 seconds with LR model. Top speed is 140 km/h with Punch EV LR, which is higher than both the rivals.
What makes Punch EV better?
With added performance, Tata has also offered rear disc brakes with LR. Boot space is 366L, which is more than 315L of eC3 and 240L of Tiago EV. The claimed range with Standard Punch EV is 215 km on a single charge and 421 km with Punch EV LR. For context, Citroen eC3 claims 320 km and Tiago EV’s range maxes out at a claimed 315 km.
All cars get CCS 2 standard charging socket. Owing to larger battery packs, Tata Punch EV’s charging time with AC chargers are slightly longer. With fast DC charger, Punch EV boasts the quickest 10-80% charge at 56 minutes. Punch EV has the biggest wheels at 16-inchers and fattest tyres at 195-section and ground clearance is highest too, at 190 mm.
Best-in-class interiors
Where interiors and features are concerned, Punch EV blows the other two out of the water. Especially Citroen eC3 which doesn’t really offer all that much except for a 10.2-inch touchscreen display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In comparison, Tiago EV comes off as a significantly feature-rich product.
But Punch EV emerges the champ with the fattest brochure among these three. Punch EV has ventilated seats, leatherette upholstery, new steering wheel from Nexon with illuminated logo, optional sunroof, auto headlights, auto wipers, projector LED headlights, TPMS, an air purifier, full-width LED DRLs with welcome and goodbye function, 360-degree camera with blindspot monitoring, fully configurable TFT instrument screen, mood lighting, cornering lights and a ton more features.
Given the pricing between Rs. 10.99 lakh and Rs. 14.49 lakh (ex-sh), Punch EV easily justifies the added extra than Tiago EV’s pricing and makes a much stronger proposition where performance, range and features are concerned. The base price of Citroen eC3 looks higher, but it offers a sole 29.2 kWh battery pack.
But Citroen eC3 absolutely takes the final blow from Tata Punch owing to lack-lustre features list, performance (on paper) and range (on paper). Citroen India should probably consider launching Shine trim with eC3 like it does in Indonesia.
Source: Electric - rushlane.com
