Tata Punch EV Facelift Vs Tata Tiago EV Compared: Which Tata EV Is Better?

Tata Motors has launched the new Punch EV Facelift with a lot of upgrades and slashed its prices as well, which is rare to see. However, this lower positioning has now placed a larger threat on its smaller sibling, the Tiago EV, which was otherwise the choice of buyers seeking affordability. So, which one should you bring home? Here is a full comparison:

Price

All prices ex-showroom pan-India

• Although the Punch EV is now more competitively priced, the base variant still costs Rs 1.7 lakhs (ex-showroom) over the base Tiago EV. 

• The difference is narrowed at the top, and the top-end trims of the cars have a Rs 1.45 lakh (ex-showroom) difference with the Punch EV still being the more expensive.

• That said, Tata is offering a Battery-as-a-service (BaaS) scheme with the Punch EV, which brings down the price to Rs 6.49 lakh (ex-showroom) + Rs 2.6 per km. With this, it gets a lower entry-point than its hatchback sibling, which doesn’t benefit from any such offer.

Dimensions

• Being a micro-SUV, the Punch EV is significantly larger than the Tiago EV in terms of length, width and height.

• It also has a 45 mm longer wheelbase, which should translate to better legroom inside.

• If you intend to carry a lot of luggage, it is important to note that the Punch EV has a much larger boot at 366 litres. 

Colour Options

• Out of the 7 colourways in the Punch EV, and 6 in the Tiago EV, both cars are offered with Pristine White and Supernova Copper shades.

• The Punch gets more colours, and the palette is distinctly more vibrant with options like Caramel (Dark Orange), Bengal Rouge (Red) and Fearless Yellow.

• The Tiago EV on the other hand, has the Chill Lime (Neon Yellow) and Teal Blue shades for those wanting to make a statement.

• Both cars get monotone or dual-tone options based on the variant chosen.

Check out this story to see how the Punch EV’s colour palette looks like in real life.

Features

• The Tiago EV gets all the essential features, but the Punch EV clearly wins the battle here with a much more modern feature-list including equipment like a 10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster, larger alloy wheels, 3 drive modes, voice-enabled electric sunroof, ventilated front seats and LED lighting all around.

• When it comes to safety, the Tiago EV falls significantly behind with just dual airbags and a reverse parking camera as opposed to 6 airbags and 360-degree camera on the Punch EV. Additionally, the SUV also gets hill descent control and electronic parking brake with auto-hold (EPB) which is not offered on the hatchback.

• However, other features like hill hold control, rear wiper and washer with defogger, rear parking sensors and electronic stability control (ESC) are available across both cars.

You can also check out this story for a deep dive into the Punch EV’s variant-wise feature list.

Electric Powertrain

*Under certification

MR- Medium Range, LR- Long Range

• Under the hood, the Tiago EV has much smaller battery packs compared to the Punch EV, significantly lower power figures and a paltry 293 km of claimed range even with the LR spec.

• The Punch EV’s LR variants make more than double the power as the Tiago EV’s MR version. Even in terms of torque figures, the Punch EV’s 154 Nm beats the Tiago EV’s maximum of 114 Nm by a huge margin. 

• Notably, the 24 kWh battery pack in the Tiago EV LR is still much smaller than the 30 kWh one found on the Punch MR.

Check out the Punch EV’s variant-wise powertrain spread here.

Charging Options

^Sold separately

• The Punch EV naturally takes more time to charge on both the 3.3 kW and 7.2 kW AC fast charger, given its much larger battery packs.

• But when it comes to DC fast charging, it takes almost half the time to charge up its much larger batteries owing to the 65 kW charging capabilities. Tata has not specified the DC fast charging speeds of the Tiago EV, but we can clearly see that it's much slower despite the smaller battery sizes.

• Overall, the Punch EV despite charging slower on AC chargers in terms of percentage stills beat out the Tiago EV in terms of the range added.

CarDekho Says…

The new Punch EV with its larger battery packs, new features and larger dimensions is certainly a tempting proposition, and now that prices have been slashed it becomes a great value-for-money offering. The Tiago EV is an option that brought electric hatchbacks into fore, but in this fast-evolving world of EVs, and shifting buyer interest towards a SUV offering, it has unfortunately been left behind, even within the Tata lineup. It does not offer much except a lower price point. With the Punch EV also getting the BaaS rental scheme, the threat of Tiago EV losing sales to its SUV sibling looms even larger. Interested customers should check out our Ultimate Buying Guide of the Tata Punch EV before signing on the dotted line. 

If you were to ask us, we would suggest going for the Punch EV almost unanimously, unless budget is a big constraint and the BaaS scheme does not work for you. That said, you should also check out these options if you're in the market for a new Punch EV: 

• Tata Nexon EV: Gets some more nicer features and is a size larger. What extra does it get? Find out here. 
• MG Windsor EV: One of the best options in the market for chauffeur driven owners (detailed comparison with Punch EV here). 
• Tata Punch: If you like the Punch EV, but want the same package in an ICE avatar. 
• Citroen eC3: Consider for a plush ride quality and good rear seat experience. But it does miss out on some features.