Tata Punch EV Ownership Review | Whether EV is something to go for!

Are you considering switching to an electric vehicle (EV) but have doubts and apprehensions? No need to Look further! In this blog, I have shared crucial points to be taken into consideration during the decision making process. 

Further you will be getting a detailed ownership review of the Tata Punch EV Empowered (Long Range), which will help answer many of your questions.

Dear Friends some time back one of my friends had purchased a new Tata Punch (EV) Empowered Long Range (LR) car. I thought why not have a closer look of the same and to experience what it's all about. He too was willing to share his experiences just immediately after the car was purchased. 

However, I decided to go for it couple of months later so as to have a better understanding of the car as by that time the owner would have experienced more about his car and would be in a position to share more information and data. 

Before beginning with I would like to make it clear that this blog has been written from the perspective of a first time goer for an EV car and should not be taken as an expert advise. Further the datas are in approximate sense and for the precise details about the car one should check it from the website of the company. 

So here we go..

Why Choose an EV Car: 

The major reason to go for an EV car at least in India as of now is the running cost difference when compared to its petrol counterparts. The difference is humongous. But, before proceeding further, lets understand some other related aspects as to what are the reasons and the circumstances leading to increase in buzz for the EV cars.  

Below pointers would be helpful in appreciating the changing market dynamics: 

• The environmental concerns and Government policies are such that they are making the things problematic for the diesel cars. The compliance of the stricter emission norms are making them increasingly costly. The Diesel cars are treated as if they are the villain. Additionally, Delhi-NCR owners face the prospect of a 10 year usage limit. Recent winters have also seen temporary bans on diesel cars to combat high pollution levels under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
• CNG cars have been a popular choice for the people as the running cost is quite cheaper when compared to running on petrols. 
• However, the prices of CNG has been raised considerably in recent times. Now the difference between petrol prices and CNG gas has narrowed down substantially. So its no more a lucrative affair in going for a CNG version of the car, especially taking into consideration that company fitted CNG model comes at higher price than the sole petrol models and the CNG tank eats away useful boot space. 
• With time there has been advancement in battery technology. Now they are more power packed, reliable, stable and long lasting. Prices of the EV cars are also going down.
• With Government Policy to promote Made in India in general and encouraging indigenous production of the EV Cars in particular, the auto car makers of the country had been putting their efforts to bring innovation in the field and to launch newer EV cars with better features and better reliability. They are also putting their efforts and resources in popularising the EV cars.
• Government giving tax and duty cuts on the purchase of the EV cars.
• Newer charging points coming at public places leading to an increase in confidence among the customers. (much need to be done in this field though. This I would be discussing in later part of this article). 
• The purchasing power of the customers are also on rise in addition to craze for newer technologies Needless to say, some short of pride is also associated with someone having an EV car and a feel of him that he is contributing towards cleaner environment. (though whether EV cars are actually clean or not is a debatable issue; Please check this article Electrifying India: Challenges Ahead ). 

The Reason for going for Tata Punch EV : [Decision making process]:

This was the most vital question that popped up in my mind. It has two parts. 

First Question: Why going for an EV car?

Second Question: Why he selected Tata Punch EV (LR) car?

The Reason for going for an EV car by the owner (answer to First question):

Background: The owner already has a sedan Skoda Slavia 1.6 Litre petrol car. He was overall satisfied with the car and since I had also personally driven that car so I can say you that the car is one of the best cars in its segment. Very refined, powerful, high tech and spacious car. He was thereafter looking for a second car for his day to day city drive. His monthly running was about 1600-2000 km in city drive. His fuel cost in petrol was somewhere around 13-15 thousand rupees per month. So what prompted him to go for an EV car? The reasons are enumerated below.

• His monthly running was quite high. So going for a car with better fuel economy makes sense.
• Since he was already having a primary car with him (Skoda Slavia), so this car was going to be his secondary car with primarily having a city drive.
• Since the drive was mostly going to be within the city, so there was no concern for the range anxiety which is mostly associated with an EV car.
• As per the research done, the running cost of EV car was even much lower than a CNG car. So this also was one of the reasons for going for EV car.
• For any out of station family trip, a bigger and spacious car was already at home. 
• Wanted to take a risk with the new technology. [I think this was because it was going to be his second/additional car as such the apprehensions and concerns which one carries with an EV car was not the same with him]. 

The Reason for going with Tata Punch EV Empowered (LR) car:

Once any buyer/customer gets a clarity in his mind that he is ready to go for an EV car. People often ask which is the best EV car available in the market. However, that will lead you no where and will cause unnecessary confusions. Best is to first decide your budgeting and then to move forward. Its actually a question of your likings, your budget, your brand love, the specification which you are getting for the price etc. 

There are several brands coming with EV cars with different price bands. However, the choice for going with Tata Punch EV Empowered (LR) was because of the following reasons:

• Tata is a leading brand in EV car manufacturing (indigenous) in India. Its known for maintaining high safety standards. The owner was having considerable faith in the brand of Tata. He was earlier having a Tata Tiago too and he was overall satisfied with the car. 
• This model is just lower to the highest model. The major difference is that the top model has sun roof where as Empowered model doesn't have. The owner was clear in his thoughts that sun roof is practically of no use in the crowded city drive with high pollution level so there was no point in spending extra bucks for the higher model. 
• The price which he was willing to spend for his second car was around 15-16 lacks rupees. Punch EV was fitting best in the budget.
• The car interiors, features and range which it was offering were good for the price at which it was coming. 

Experiences after purchase of Tata Punch EV (LR) car:

Friends what I discussed above were all related to the decision making process as to the reasons for going with the EV car and how he went for Tata Punch EV car. Now I will be sharing with you his ownership experience about the car. I know, you all have been eagerly waiting to know about the same.  

I have covered all these in a detailed ownership review video which was published in my youtube channel. The video was widely viewed in the youtube and it gave lots of valuable inputs to the viewers. I would suggest you to first view the video below so to get a much involving and thorough experience about the car. 

Check the video below:

I hope you must have found the above video to be quite useful. Now moving forward, I would like to summarise the things as below:

Price Tag and Range: The Tata Punch EV Empowered (Long Range) comes with a price tag of around 15 Lac (the model which he selected) (note: Prices keep on varying so I have just given an approximate one), and it was within his budget. He was getting at least a range of 300 km on single charging. Which was sufficient for his city drive without worrying about running out of juice.

Lower running costs: With electricity being significantly cheaper than petrol, my friend has noticed a substantial reduction in his fuel expenses. As per his calculation, per km running cost on his EV car was below 1 Re. Whereas in his petrol car it was some where around Rs 8-9. So you can understand the reduction in monthly fuel bill after switching over to the Tata Punch EV car. Would like to add here that the charging point was installed by the company in the parking area of the owner from where he charges up his car. (It's not a fast charger).

Smooth and quite ride: Smooth and quiet ride: The EV's electric motor provides a seamless driving experience, making it perfect for daily commutes. 

Limitations and Myths: While EVs have come a long way, there are still some limitations and myths surrounding them. During the discussions in the above youtube video we have covered these aspects in detail.

Interior, Exterior, Dimensions, Comfort and safety: Please check my youtube video for the same. Further the dimensions etc. can be checked from the website of the car manufacturer. Yes what I experienced is that the car is comfortable for 4 persons in day to day drive. The model of the car which was owned by my friend is having front ventilated seats. 6 air bags, an SOS button, 360 degree camera to say a few. There is mobile application through which you get real time inputs about the car. There are also applications through which one can locate nearby charging station. The detailed overview of the car can be seen in my youtube video. Yes one can start the ac through mobile application which is an added comfort feature.

Some of Factors to be taken into consideration before deciding to go for an EV car:

• Charging facility available at your premises/residence or not: This is very crucial. Commercial fast charging is neither viable nor recommended in long run. It should only be an option in case of emergency or when you are on a long outstation drive. Fast charging regularly would adversely impact your car's battery and will also fall heavy on your pockets as rate of electricity is quite higher in commercial charging. 
• Though you may see several of the charging points in the city, but don't get carried away with it. Many of them most of the time are non functional or their wires stolen. My friend Mr. Rajul (an advocate by profession) whose car I have reviewed in this post had got response in the RTI reply (regarding number of EV chargers and how many are functional in Delhi) confirming this sad state of affair. The main reason for non-functional has been "incidents of theft and vandalism, particularly the theft of charging cables and damages to the EV chargers".
• The other problem is that there is no standard charging point or socket adopted by different car manufacturers. So if you have a Morris Garages car then its socket are different from that of a Tata car. I think Government should take initiative in this regard on priority basis so that the utility of commercial charging points increases and in case of need they may be used by any EV car irrespective of their brand. I am attaching here with a link of a post published in India Times for further inputs to the readers.  The anarchy of EV charging technologies: Critical need to standardize EV connect ..
• If the location where you reside is quite remote and there are issues relating to supply of electricity and availability of charging facilities or your monthly running being very low, then going for an EV car will not be an appropriate choice. 
• If you really want that your EV car gives you good mileage on every recharge, then drive sensibly and in a smoother fashion. A zoom-zoom drive with sudden breaking will lead to quicker discharge of the battery.  
• I have one more concern in my mind regarding EV cars and that is that every battery has got a limited life cycle. In this case the company is giving a warranty for 8 years. But what thereafter! Whether batteries performance will not deplete after 7-8 years of usages! Will it have any resale value or what would be the cost of change of batteries at that time? So these are several vital questions whose answer will come up with time only. Therefore one must take these factors in their mind while going for EV.
• The batteries expire/deplete with time, whether you use them or not. So the main thing is that if you are investing extra money for going for an EV car, then it will make economical sense only when you have good monthly running at least above 1800-2000 km and further you are not required to charge them at commercial charging stations for day to day running.

Conclusion

EV cars are totally a different segment than the IC engine cars. The lifeline of the EV cars are its rechargeable batteries. With time the capacity of batteries drops and this is very natural. Further EV cars are considerably costlier to its petrol counterparts. So I think one must do a cost analysis before going for it. If the monthly running is very low and your car mostly remain idle in your garage, then it would make no sense to go foe EV. 

The resale value of an EV car is uncertain, but one thing to keep in mind is that depreciation may be quite higher compared to traditional  IC vehicles. The premium paid for an EV may diminish significantly at resale, as buyers often assume they'll need to replace the battery before using the vehicle.

I think Government policy and attractive buy-backs would be something required for the customers to reduce the pain at time of the resale of their old EV cars.

 

I hope if you're considering making the switch to an EV, the present blog and the ownership review of the Tata Punch EV Empowered Long Range must have given you lots of inputs for your decision making process. 

Punch EV is certainly one can look for. Its design is compact, but not cramped thus makes it perfect for daily commutes and can easily fit in tight parking space. 360 degree camera does a good job in such a situation. The range is impressive and sufficient for daily city commuters and for office goers. Plus, with a running cost of under Re 1 per km, you'll save big compared to petrol cars.

Offers smooth and quite driving with top-notch safety features that Tata cars are known for. 

So what you think about EV cars and of Tata Punch EV in particular? Share your questions and comments below!

Thanks for reading! 👍👍😊

Also check my other popular blogs:

Electrifying India: Addressing the Challenges and Concerns of EV Cars

Maruti XL6 (CNG) ownership review

Trip to Badrinath & Mana Village | A close save

Ancient cave paintings in Dhadhikar in Alwar | A place one must visit |adventure

Visit to Bhangarh Fort, the most haunted fort.

My visit to Golden Tusk Resort in Jim Corbett National Park

My Trip to Badrinath and Mana Village in Himalayas (In Hindi)

My visit to Bala Quila Fort- A place you cannot miss

My visit to The Vijayran Palace Resort Jaipur

[Disclaimer: The aforesaid views and experience are personal to the author and the owner of the car and should not be taken as any professional advice. The experiences, outputs and data may differ from person to person. Further the author shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in the information and viewers are advised to check the same from concerned official sites, dealers or offices. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, nation, company or individual. We always respect the dignity and feelings of any religion, ethnic, individual, groups, nation, company etc.]