The Altroz is a good-looking car. And, up until now, you could only buy it in a diesel avatar because with the 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol motor it felt a bit too underpowered. Well, Tata Motors has just introduced a third engine option – a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol. Yes, it comes from the Nexon. But, in the Altroz it produces 108bhp/140Nm. That’s about 10bhp/30Nm less than what it puts out in the subcompact SUV. On the positive note, the newly-introduced powerplant offers 23bhp/27Nm more oomph than the naturally-aspirated motor.

Surprisingly, Tata Motors has chosen the “iTurbo” badge to differentiate the new variants from the rest. The “i” stands for ‘intelligent’. At the moment, the new engine will come mated to a 5-speed manual transmission only. Expect it to gain an automatic option (a DCT, hopefully!) in times to come. Performance? Well, Tata Motors says that with the new powertrain under the bonnet, the Altroz can hit 100kmph from a standstill in 11.9 seconds. Drive with your sensible shoes on and the car could return as much as 18.13kmpl.

The new powertrain will be available in three trim levels – XT, XZ and the newly-carved XZ+. As you’d expect, the XZ+ derivative packs more features to claim the range-topping trim title. The list includes an 8-speaker JBL sound system (4 tweeters and speakers each), Xpress Cool function, Doodle feature for touchscreen wallpaper customization, Tata’s IRA (Intelligent Real-time Assistant) which offers an array of connected-car features, multiple drive modes (City and Sport) and leatherette seats. All those widgets accompany other stuff such as a 7.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic climate control, auto headlamps, mood lighting and 16-inch alloy wheels.

To make things a bit more exciting, Tata Motors has introduced a new paint shade for the Altroz. It is called Harbour Blue. Other colours include gold, silver, red, grey and white. Prices? Those will be unveiled on January 22, 2021. As for the bookings, they open tomorrow. The minimum token amount has been set at Rs 11,000. Once launched, the Altroz iTurbo will mainly compete against the Hyundai i20 and the Volkswagen Polo GT, both of which are available with turbo-petrol engines. Other options in the segment include the Honda Jazz, Maruti Suzuki Baleno and the Toyota Glanza.