Tata Motors Have Mahindra In Sights With New 1.2L, 1.5L Turbo Petrol Engines | V3Cars

25 January 2023
By Mahesh Yadav
0

In this article, we’ll look at the power and torque figures of Tata's new-generation 1.2L turbo petrol and 1.5L turbo petrol engines. We’ll also calculate the power-per-litre and torque-per-litre figures using these values and compare them with the other turbo petrol engine cars. Let’s start with the 1.2L turbo petrol engine.

1.2L Turbo Petrol Engine

At the Auto Expo, Tata Motors announced that they will bring a new generation of 1.2L turbo petrol engine with 125PS of power and 225Nm of torque. The Curvv will become the first car to get this new turbo petrol engine. The less powerful version of this engine will also power the Nexon and Altroz.

Following is a table to highlight what power and torque per litre of displacement other engines in similar class offer:

TATA NEW 1.2L TURBO PETROL ENGINE PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY COMPARISON
	Curvv 1.2L	XUV300	XUV300 DI	Sonet/Venue	Kiger/Magnite	Fronx	Nexon	Kushaq/Laigun
Engine	1.2L	1.2L	1.2L	1.0L	1.0L	1.0L	1.2L	1.0L
Power	125PS	110PS	130PS	120PS	100PS	100PS	120PS	115PS
Power/Litre	104.17PS/L	91.67PS/L	108.33PS/L	120PS/L	100PS/L	100PS/L	100PS/L	115PS/L
Torque	225Nm	200Nm	230Nm	172Nm	160Nm	148Nm	170Nm	178Nm
Torque/Litre	187.5Nm/L	166.67Nm/L	191.67Nm/L	172Nm/L	160Nm/L	148Nm/L	141.67Nm/L	178Nm/L

Among these, the Sonet and Venue turbo currently have the best power per litre figure of 120. Even the new-age 1.2L turbo petrol engine of the Curvv will only squeeze 104PS out of every litre of displacement.

In terms of torque output, the XUV300 turbo petrol engine with direct injection pushes out 192Nm of torque per litre of displacement. The Curvv’s 1.2L turbo petrol engine aims to get close to this figure with a target of 187.5Nm/litre.

Currently, Nexon turbo petrol’s power per litre figure of 100 is on par with the rivals. But, its torque per litre figure is the most conservative, at just 142Nm per litre of displacement. Even the mileage-focussed Fronx turbo makes 148Nm out of 1 litre of engine displacement.

1.5L Turbo Petrol Engine

For the larger 1.5L turbo petrol engine, the power output stands at 170PS and it makes a torque of 280Nm. Among its peers, these power and torque figures stand out a fair bit considering that even the performance-centric German brand, Volkswagen, only make 150PS of power and 250Nm of torque with their 1.5L turbo petrol engine. This engine will eventually power the Harrier and Safari, but first, it'll come in the Sierra.

Following is a table to highlight what power and torque per litre of displacement other engines in similar class offer:

TATA NEW 1.5L TURBO PETROL ENGINE PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY COMPARISON
	Harrier/ Safari 1.5L	XUV700	Hector Plus	Astor Turbo	Kushaq/Taigun 1.5L	Creta/Seltos Turbo	Curvv 1.2L (FYI)	Nexon 1.2L (FYI)
Engine	1.5L	2.0L	1.5L	1.35L	1.5L	1.35L	1.2	1.2
Power	170PS	200PS	142PS	140PS	150PS	140PS	125PS	120PS
Power/Litre	113.33PS/L	100PS/L	94.67PS/L	103.7PS/L	100PS/L	103.7PS/L	104.17PS/L	100PS/L
Torque	280Nm	380Nm	250Nm	220Nm	250Nm	242Nm	225Nm	170Nm
Torque/Litre	186.67Nm/L	190Nm/L	166.67Nm/L	162.96Nm/L	166.67Nm/L	179.26Nm/L	187.5Nm/L	141.67Nm/L

Among the C and D-segment SUVs, the more powerful turbo petrol engines typically make around 100PS per litre of displacement. Tata aim to exceed this figure and achieve 113PS per litre with their upcoming 1.5L turbo petrol engine.

In terms of torque, Mahindra are the leader, with their XUV700 petrol pushing out 190Nm of torque per litre of displacement. Here too, Tata Motors aim to get close to Mahindra and deliver 187Nm per litre of torque output. The Astor sits at the bottom in this area with a torque per litre figure of 163.

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Summary - Mahindra Locked In Sights

As you can see, with both the engines, Mahindra offer the best torque per litre of displacement. Both the engines from Tata Motors aim to address this concern and take their torque per litre figure from 142 to 187. For any turbo petrol engine car under Rs. 20.0 lakh, Tata Motors currently have the poorest torque-per-litre figure with their Nexon 1.2L.

We’re not counting the Altroz here as it’s a less powerful version of the Nexon’s 1.2L engine. It doesn’t reflect what Tata Motors are capable of squeezing out of a particular volume of displacement.

What Are The Implications Of High Power, Torque Output?

This behaviour is unlike what we’ve seen from Tata Motors in the past. Jumping from 142Nm/L directly to a near-class-leading figure of 187Nm/L will mean that they will have to rethink many of the engine components.

Performance and fuel efficiency generally don’t go hand-in-hand. Neither do performance and reliability. There’s a reason Maruti Suzuki tread carefully when tuning their engines for more power or torque. They only tune up their engines when they see little to no impact in the fuel efficiency and long-term reliability of the engine. After all, they have a reputation to live up to offering high reliability, low maintenance and class-leading fuel efficiency figures.

If these performance figures of Tata’s new-generation 1.2L and 1.5L petrol engines excite you, then you should be ready for higher-than-usual costs during the ownership — in terms of fuel as well as maintenance. VW Group cars have struggled with this issue too as they offer fantastic performance with their turbo petrol engines. However, even with tremendous experience selling turbo petrol engines in India, VW Group’s turbo petrol engines are far from establishing themselves as long-term reliability kings.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Fronx SUV Expected Price Calculation

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