Tata Motors, although a late entrant into the CNG market, has made significant innovations in the segment. This includes providing CNG options with feature-rich top-end models and introducing dual-cylinder technology. So, when the company invited us for a special plant visit to their ALFA assembly line, I thought this was a great opportunity to witness the making of the iCNG cars.
And I decided to do that by driving to the plant from Mumbai, all the way to Pune, in an Altroz iCNG and in the process see how good is its mileage game.
The Altroz iCNG was the first Tata car to feature the new dual-cylinder CNG technology
The Tata Altroz iCNG stands out with several segment-first attributes. It's the first premium hatchback to feature a factory-fitted CNG kit. Additionally, it’s also the first Tata car to feature the new dual-cylinder CNG technology, utilising two smaller tanks, each offering 30 litres of water capacity, instead of one big 60 litre unit. This setup has helped free up a more usable boot space of 210 litres, which certainly came in very handy for this trip.
Also Read: 2023 Tata Altroz iCNG Review
The setup has helped free up a more usable boot space of 210 litres
The distance between my home in Navi Mumbai and Tata Motors’ Pune plant is roughly about 130 km. And going by Tata’s claim, the Altroz iCNG should deliver 26.2 km/kg. Combined the two tanks can hold up to 10 kg of compressed natural gas. Once filled, it was now time to hit the roads. To ensure accuracy, I exclusively drove the car in CNG mode throughout the journey. The route encompassed highway stretches and uphill sections on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, ideal for testing the real-world performance of the Altroz iCNG.
The engine gradually builds power and it’s only past the 3000 rpm mark that it starts feeling alive
Under the hood, the Altroz iCNG shares the same 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine as its petrol counterpart. However, in CNG mode, there's a noticeable drop in power, with maximum output reduced to 72 bhp and torque to 103 Nm. In petrol mode, it’s 87 bhp and 115 Nm. Transmission duties are handled by the same 5-speed manual unit, however, here too the gearbox is not very refined. The shifts are not smooth, and the slotting too could have been better. That being said, the engine gradually builds power and it’s only past the 3000 rpm mark that it starts feeling alive.
Also Read: Tata Altroz Gets Two New Variants; Adds More Features To Existing Petrol Trims
The Altroz iCNG shares the same 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine as its petrol counterpart
This became extremely apparent when I hit the ghats section with a lot of inclines. However, you do have the option to switch from CNG to petrol at a click of a button. Tata has gone with a single ECU that functions for both, the petrol and CNG, and the transition between these two modes is also quite seamless. In fact, unlike other CNG cars, the Altroz iCNG can start in CNG mode and doesn’t require petrol for ignition. Now this is certainly a useful feature, however, it’s always wise to keep an adequate amount of fuel in the car.
Tata Altroz iCNG allows you to transition between petrol and CNG modes at the click of a button
Despite its focus on efficiency rather than sportiness, the Altroz iCNG handles well. By the time I reached the destination, there was still about 40 per cent CNG left in the tanks. And based on the calculations, the Altroz iCNG gave me a mileage of over 21 km/kg. Now this is certainly an excellent number considering the fact that I had the air conditioning on at all times and a good part of the drive involved ghats and city traffic.
The Altroz is constructed on Tata's Agile Light-Weight Flexible Advanced (AFLA) platform
The Altroz is constructed on Tata's Agile Light-Weight Flexible Advanced (AFLA) platform, which also underpins the Tata Punch. Both models, including their iCNG versions, are produced on the same assembly line. With around 700 employees per shift, the facility manufactures over 800 Altroz and Punch models daily, with the former accounting for more than 40 per cent of this production.
With around 700 employees per shift, the facility manufactures over 800 Altroz and Punch models daily
Talking about the strategy behind developing this technology for the market, Mohan Savarkar, Vice President, Product Line, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited, said, “We found that there was a little stigma attached to people who buy CNG cars as value-seeking customers only. So, we wanted to change that and make CNG available to all our customers. So, the first thing we tried to solve is to make the so visible cylinder start vanishing below the floorboard. And of course, with that, we could also provide a very useful boot space. And once we could do that on Altroz, we have also made sure that we are expanding this to the rest of the car range.”
Both Altroz and Punch, including their iCNG versions, are produced on the same assembly line
To summarise, the Altroz iCNG certainly ticks all the right boxes. It’s an extremely efficient car, and unlike some of the other CNG models in the market, you can get the Altroz, and Tata’s other iCNG models, even in the range-topping variants with all the bells and whistles. And this approach is likely to appeal to a wide range of buyers considering CNG vehicles.
