Bye Bye Tata Punch EV! You Made Urban Grinds Enjoyable!

Small, nippy and quick on its feet! The Punch EV feels at home in the daily urban grinds.

It’s been some time since the Punch EV entered our long-term fleet, and it has quickly risen to become one of our favourites. However, its time with us has come to an end, and I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss it. Afterall, the plucky little crossover is always more than happy to work its way through the worst of traffic jams, and even those occasional Pune-Mumbai runs are made clean, easy and effortless.

An EV That Feels Like A True SUV

Don’t be fooled by the small size of the Punch EV, for it feels like a true-blue SUV conquering over the pesky potholes and otherwise irritating flyover joints. A rugged suspension, tough underpinnings and the instant torque delivery all ensure that you glide past any but the roughest of obstacles on the roads.

However, what impresses me more is just the ease with which it cheerfully carries on; no drama, no complaint. 

Power Ranger

Whenever there is a mention of the word ‘EV’, the instant response is ‘Range?’, and we are glad to report that our answer to that is quite good. On a single charge, our long-range variant comfortably provided a range of 250-270 km, which is sufficient for a round-trip between Pune and Mumbai, provided you are gentle on the throttle.

Unlike the petrol-powered Punch, it isn’t slow either, and performance is quite brisk, whether on the highway or in city confines. It can also be quite efficient when driven at speed, making light work of short inter-city runs beyond just urban limits.

Some Good, Some Bad

It’s not all rosy, though, and some minor issues still show their head once in a while. Some of the niggles we faced include the charging randomly shutting off, low-voltage battery errors, a stuck charging lid and some minor software glitches. While these weren’t too frequent and had easy fixes, they still introduced some anxiety into the experience, which could be easily avoided otherwise.

Tech That Isn’t Intimidating

For me, the Punch EV hits the sweet spot in terms of the technology onboard. You still have some convenient stuff like ventilated seats, a 360-degree camera, a nice sound system and wireless charging, which make life on the road a lot easier.

That said, it doesn’t overwhelm you in any way, and the on-point driving position, seat comfort and overall natural layout of the controls integrate themselves seamlessly.

Verdict

The Punch EV has been surprisingly easy-to-live with, and I totally see why it has quickly risen to be one of Tata’s most popular EVs on sale. It’s not perfect, but it's lovable enough that I’m sure folks at the CarDekho office (me included) will surely miss it.

Positives: True-blue SUV Feel, Tech-loaded without going overboard, real-life range

Neutral: Feature execution could be better

Negatives: Minor glitches do exist. White seats are a problem to upkeep.

Date When Received: 29/7/25

Kilometres When Received: 10,625 km

Kilometres Till Date: 11,792 km

Battery Degradation: Not seen