Punch

Overview

The Punch made its name on a single, decisive fact: it is the cheapest new car in India with a five-star Global NCAP adult score. Everything else in the package is designed around keeping that price down, including the naturally aspirated 1.2-litre petrol engine with 87 bhp and 115 Nm, which is adequate in the city and honest about its limits elsewhere.

Where it surprises is how well the packaging suits Indian roads. There is 187 mm of ground clearance, the seating position is high, the kerb radius is tight, and speed breakers stop being an event. The 366-litre boot is larger than several sub-4-metre SUVs manage, and the body is short enough to thread through a market street without a second thought.

The trade-off is effort. Overtaking a bus on a two-lane highway needs a run-up and a downshift, the cabin is finished in hard plastics throughout, and the three-cylinder engine has a thrum at idle that never fully disappears. The automated manual is the variant to avoid in bumper-to-bumper traffic if you can afford the manual, which remains the better way to buy this car.

• Global NCAP five stars for adults
• 187 mm ground clearance
• 366-litre boot on a short body