Tata Curvv Engines & Performance

The Curvv gets three engine options: a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol motor putting out 120hp and 170Nm; a 118hp, 1.5-litre diesel and a new 125hp, 1.2-litre direct-injection turbo-petrol (TGDI) engine that Tata calls  ‘Hyperion’. All three engines get the option of a 6 speed manual or a 7 speed dual clutch automatic.

Ok so the petrol first. The motor is quick to respond off the mark and feels quick straight away. It also feels pretty refined but wont let you forget that you are driving a 3 pot unit. That little humm is always there. While there is some turbo lag in the initial revvs upto 2000rpm, this is quite a revv happy motor and fun to drive. The petrol test car came with the 6 speed manual and while the shifst are smooth, it has long throws. The gear lever also felt a bit tall as well. A short shifter would have been nice. The clutch also felt snappy especially when starting off from a standstill. I ended up stalling the car quite a few times myself. Looking forward to drive this motor with the DCT.

Speaking of DCT, the other variant I drove was the diesel DCT. The 1.5 diesel ‘Kyrojet’puts out 118 horsepower and 260 Nm of torque. It uses Tata’s SCR emission control system that can make it run without the need of Ad Blue and a UREA tank. The 4 cylinder unit is smooth but does feel a little gruff at higher revvs. The 7 speed DCT features a wet clutch and the smooth upshifts are a big plus. There is no jerkiness whatsoever. However the gearbox does feel slow when downshifting. At low speeds though, in traffic there are jerks felt though. Overall I quite liked the seamlessness of the gearbox but I wouldn’t call it super quick like the DSG of the VWs. You also can shift manually via the paddle shifters. However it wont hold the revvs and will upshift automatically.

Both engines come with drive mode: Eco, City and Sport. Each mode alters throttle and steering response and the gearbox (automatic).