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The future of mobility is electric and the entire auto industry has been making strides towards an all-electric goal. We have seen all-electric cars from a large number of manufacturers, from the likes of Tesla to the Taycan. But what they have in common is that upper-mid to upper-tier price bracket that has now been saturated with EVs. While that bracket has its pool of consumers, its numbers are dwarfed by the pool of consumers in the mid-tier and lower-tier brackets which frankly hasn’t seen much in EV development and offerings.
Today we are looking at one such vehicle. The Tata Tigor EV, coming in at an affordable price tag of a proper everyday hatchback, the Tigor EV has its mind set on appealing to that large pool of consumers that would otherwise get an entry to a mid-level hatchback or a sedan. Intending to be the EV most people can afford, is the Tigor EV worth considering? Let’s find out.
Exterior
Visually, the Tigor EV looks exactly like its ICE twin with the only differentiating element being the blue accents to let you know that it is powered by electricity.
Let’s start with the skin, the Tigor EV comes in this exclusive and striking blue color that the ICE twin misses out on. Upfront, the car gets a new glossy black panel that replaces the traditional grille, the panel gets the Tata logo on the center, a blue EV badge on the right, and Tata’s tri-arrow motif engraved on either side of the panel. You get angular headlamps with projectors and these headlamps also get those blue highlights. Down below you get a grille for the air-dam finished in tri-arrow pattern cutout, you get fog lamps with blue housing and LED DRLs integrated right next to it.
Move over to the side and you will not find any differences here to differentiate the Tigor EV from the Tigor ICE. If you are taking the blue paint out of the equation then the only differentiation would be the blue EV badging under the outside rearview mirror and 15-inch alloy wheels with blue highlights. Upping the ante on the profile further is the chrome strip tastefully housed on the window line and door handles.
The back of the Tata Tigor EV also doesn’t do much to stand out. You get a shark fin antenna, a spoiler integrated on the roof, reworked taillights, and a large strip of chrome on the boot lid that completes the look.
Interior
The interior design looks very similar to the standard Tigor. However, to differentiate the Tigor EV from its ICE-based sibling, it carries over the blue accents on the inside as well. You get blue accents on the A/C vents and around the instrument cluster. The fabric seats get the blue and black Tri-arrow pattern with blue stitching. The driver seat comes with plenty of adjustment and finding a decent driving position is easy, however, people over 6 feet might find it quite snug. The rear seats are comfortable and hold you in really well but we don’t recommend 3 adults in the back for really long journeys. Kids and small humans however should be fine.
In terms of features, the Tigor EV gets a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 4 speakers and 4 tweeters, a multi-function steering wheel, automatic climate control, a digital instrument cluster, and much more. One thing that kept grabbing our attention was the screen embedded in the A/C control panel… or that’s what we thought. It’s not a screen sadly, just a spacious piano black panel that would have been so much better if it was a screen.
Storage spaces in the Tigor EV feel well thought out, you get a decent space right under the A/C control panel that can store your phone and other bits. All doors come with spacious bottles and file holders. You get two cup holders in the front console which we wish were big enough for bottles, you get a small cutout that conveniently holds your car key. You get another decent space for other small bits and bobs. Apart from that, you get a large glovebox that has a vent pass through for cooling, and lastly, you get a decently sized boot that has, yes, a spare tire.
Performance
The Tigor EV is powered by a 26kWh Lithium-ion battery pack and gets Tata’s Ziptron high-voltage architecture that uses a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor producing 75hp and 170Nm. These output figures allow for a 0 to 60kph time of 5.7 seconds. The Ziptron Tigor EV has a claimed ARAI range of 306km and is capable of fast charging and can be topped up from 0 to 80 percent in just 60 minutes. To offer its customers peace of mind, Tata also offers an 8 year/1,60,000km warranty on the battery and motor.
On our drive, the Tigor EV surprised us. Although the battery is small and the power figure doesn't look like much, this car packs a good punch. There's a decent surge of power, the steering is light and easy to maneuver, and the car handles itself well both on good roads and bad. Braking energy regeneration is also available, but it isn’t strong like in other EVs. The regen level is also not adjustable and the motor has a limited capacity for regeneration.
We can easily say that the Tigor EV packs more than enough performance credentials for your daily urban commute. The normal Drive mode is good only if you’re keeping pace with city traffic, if you want to hurry or even overtake, you’ll have to shift to Sport mode which you can switch via the dial. Speaking of which, the dial that changes the drive on the Tigor EV isn’t the most tactile we have seen. It works the way it is supposed to but don’t instinctively rotate it three paces to the right from Sport and expect it to be on Reverse. You have to give it time.
Being synonymous with safety Tata has gone to lengths to make the Tigor EV as safe as possible. The Tata Tigor EV, which is the first EV to be tested by Global NCAP, has achieved a 4-star crash rating for both adult (12.00 points out of 17.00) and child (37.24 points out of 49.00) occupant protection. In terms of safety features, the Tigor EV gets dual airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking sensors, a rear parking camera which could have been better, seat belt reminder, and more.
Verdict
The Tata Tigor EV starts at Rs 29.99 Lakh in the Nepalese market. Tata Motors Nepal is offering the new Tigor EV in two variants: XM (Rs 31.49 Lakh) and XZ+ (Rs 32.99 Lakh), and what you are getting for the price is a robust car that looks good, feels comfortable, drives safe and brings minimum running and maintenance cost.
But more importantly, as the world is heading into electrification, the Tigor EV with its price tag is one of those cars that is making the switch to electric mobility more accessible to an even wider pool of people. Large, expensive, and luxury electric cars are one thing but it is cars like the Tata Tigor EV that attract the masses and act as one of the pillars of that electric future that the auto industry is imagining. And for that, the Tata Tigor EV has become a great pick in our books.
