Tata Punch EV real world range tested, explained

The Punch.ev is one of four electric vehicles in Tata Motors’ range and it’s currently priced between Rs 10.99 lakh-15.49 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The company says that its electric SUV has a MIDC range of 315km for the Standard variants (25kWh battery) and 421km for the Long Range variants (35kWh battery). We put the Long Range (LR) version through our instrumented real-world range test to verify its claim. 

1. Punch EV gets three drive modes and four regen levels
2. Long Range variants get more power, bigger battery
3. Test was conducted in Eco mode

Tata Punch EV real world range

The Tata Punch EV Long Range variants make 122hp and 190Nm that's sent to the front wheels, while the regular variants get an 82hp, 114Nm motor. For our range test, we drove the car as per our testing standards – we had it set in Eco mode and the regen was set to its maximum setting in the city, and mid setting on the highway.

In the city, this levied a huge penalty on its efficiency, as the car slowed down far more and earlier than expected thanks to the strong level 3 regen, which warranted a longer time spent on the throttle, robbing it of charge. Furthermore, ambient temperatures of around 40 degrees made the climate control work hard to maintain a cool cabin temperature. As a result, the Punch EV’s average city efficiency was only 5.43km/kWh. However, repeating the test with the regen set at the mid setting (level 2) felt more natural in its operation and we achieved an average city efficiency of 6.92km/kWh, extrapolating to a real world range of 242km. On the highway, we achieved 6.17km/kWh, translating to a range of 216km.

We also charged the Punch EV from 15-100 percent on a 60kW DC fast charger. The battery was topped up in just over 1 hour 38 minutes, with the Punch accepting an average charging speed of around 19.50kWh. However, it is worth noting that beyond 90 percent levels, the battery management system (BMS) automatically reduces the charge rate for cell balancing and SOC calibration, in the interest of the battery’s health.

Autocar India’s range testing

Before our real-world range test, the battery of our test car was fully charged, and we maintained tyre pressures in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation. The car was driven in a fixed loop in the city, and on the highway, and we maintained certain average speeds. This test was conducted with two people in the car, and we swapped drivers after each loop to further neutralise variations in driver patterns. At the end, we calculated the range based on the percentage of charge consumed. Throughout our test, the climate control was set to 22 degC in full-auto setting, and other electricals like the audio system, lights and ventilated front seats were used when required, just like how a regular user would. We take pride in our testing data, which isn’t merely consistent, but also gives users an accurate indication of what they can expect in the real world.