Tata Motors has launched the Altroz iCNG at Rs 7.55 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The Altroz is the first CNG-powered hatchback to offer a sunroof, and also debuts Tata’s new dual-cylinder set-up for the CNG tanks.
Visually, there is barely any difference between the petrol-powered variant and the Altroz CNG, except for the addition of the ‘ICNG’ badge on the tailgate of the latter. For more space, Tata has placed two CNG tanks of 30 liters each under the boot floor. Earlier, the CNG tank occupied almost all the available boot area. The Altroz CNG has a 210-litre boot, which is 135 liters less than the standard Altroz’s 345-litre boot.
On the inside too, not much has changed compared to the petrol Altroz. It gets the same 7.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, an air purifier, a wireless charger, automatic headlamps and more. However, the biggest difference is the addition of a voice-activated, single-pane sunroof on the XM+ (S), XZ+ (S) and XZ+ O (S) trims.
The Altroz CNG is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. In petrol mode it makes 88hp and 115Nm of torque, while in CNG mode it produces 77hp and 103Nm of torque. In comparison, its direct rivals – Maruti Suzuki Baleno CNG and Toyota Glanza CNG – make the same 77hp in their CNG mode with only 98.5Nm of torque. Also, unlike its rivals, the Altroz can be directly started in CNG mode.
The Altroz CNG competes with the Maruti Suzuki Baleno CNG (₹8.35 lakh to ₹9.28 lakh) and the Toyota Glanza CNG (₹8.50 lakh to ₹9.53 lakh). The starting price of Altroz CNG is Rs 80,000 less than Baleno CNG and Rs 95,000 less than Glanza CNG.
Since the Altroz CNG is offered in more trims than its rivals, the top-spec Altroz CNG XZ+ O (S) costs Rs 1.27 lakh more than the Baleno CNG and Rs 1.2 lakh more than the Glanza CNG.