2021 Tata Punch review, road test

Buyers aspiring to own an SUV on a hatchback budget are exactly those that Tata is targeting with its all-new ‘sub-compact SUV’ christened Punch. The company is going to lengths to drive home the point that the Punch’s SUV classification isn’t a misnomer. Even though it is a front-wheel-drive-only model, it has been designed to take on the worst of Indian roads, as well as mild off-road trails.

Size-wise, it sits between the Tiago NRG cross-hatchback and the Nexon compact SUV, and with a sole non-turbo-petrol engine offering, paired with manual and automated manual transmission (AMT) options, Tata even delivers on its aggressive price promise with a mouth-watering Rs 5.49 lakh for the base variant. Prices of other variants of this sub-compact SUV overlap with larger, turbo and non-turbo-petrol compact SUVs like Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger, and even with some variants of the Tata Nexon. So, does the Punch really punch above its weight? We put it through our exhaustive tests to find out.