One cannot buy a battery electric vehicle (BEV) in India for less than the Tata Tiago.ev. At ₹6.99 lakh ex showroom for the base ‘Smart 19’ variant, it undercuts even the MG Comet’s base Executive variant that sells for ₹7.63 lakh ex showroom. If packaged with the BaaS (battery as a service) option, the purchase price of the Tiago.ev would be ₹2.30 lakh less at ₹4.69 lakh. And that is the base price of the entry level Tiago petrol and well into entry-level petrol compact hatchback territory. So, the Tiago.ev breaks away from the idea that BEVs are expensive to buy although cheap to run.
With BaaS, the running cost would be higher than if the car is bought with the battery. Cost of electricity would work out to somewhere between ₹1 and ₹1.50 per kilometre depending on the unit price of power where it is being charged. Under BaaS, over and above that the buyer would have to pay ₹2.60/km to Tata for using the battery. So, overall, running cost would still remain around ₹4/km, which would be significantly cheaper than a petrol equivalent.
For example, even if the Tiago petrol actually ran the 19kmpl as certified by ARAI under test conditions, at the current petrol price of about ₹114 per litre in Calcutta, it would still cost about ₹6/km to run it. Real-world cost would likely be higher. So the Tiago.ev makes a decently strong prima facie case for BEVs. The actual terms of the BaaS scheme, like whether there will be a minimum run commitment or cost involved, are still not clear. Also, no BaaS announcement has been made yet for the higher Pure+ 19, Pure+ 24 and Creative+ 24 variants.
There are two battery pack options for the Tiago, 19.2kWh and 24kWh. Hence, those numbers in the name. The latter is the more powerful of the two and the only option at the top end. t2 was in Bangalore at the invitation of Tata Motors to get a feel of the Tiago.ev which has just got a midlife refresh. While the car is unchanged at the core, there are enough changes for the update to be significant. The Smart variant seems interesting, being the cheapest EV in the country, but we got to drive only the fully-loaded Creative+ 24 variant that costs ₹9.99 lakh ex showroom. Much of the car is the same as the petrol and CNG variants (see Feature Focus, June 7, 2026). So, here’s our experience of the BEV.
ON THE OUTSIDE
The first edition of the Tiago.ev wasn’t significantly different to look at compared to the petrol version. The primary difference was the blanked-out grille and some blue bits. This time around the differences are bigger. The entire front end — including the faux grille and the bumper — is in monotone and in the same colour as the body while the petrol and CNG cars get black accents. And that changes the look significantly.
The styling of the bumper is similar to those of the other BEVs from Tata with vertical bars around the air intake, in this case a small one at the bottom of the bumper that takes care of the much-reduced cooling needs of the electric powertrain compared with the petrol. And while the monotone treatment looks somewhat bland in photographs, it doesn’t in the metal, particularly in the new pastel colours — Pangong Pulse (blue), Dehradun Dew (green) and Sobo Surge (beige-pink).
New LED headlamp and DRL cluster, body colour faux grille, and new bumper with vertical bars dominate the front view
The other redesign is in the light clusters front and back. The headlamp units are all LED and have a new DRL signature and main beam that stays on while the high beam lights up separately. The new tail light clusters get similar design treatment as the headlamps, and a connecting red section has been added. The rear bumper is the same as that of the ICE versions and the wheels get aero covers to reduce drag. The rest remains more or less unchanged.
ON THE INSIDE
The changes on the inside are bigger. The dash design is totally new and minimalistic with fabric inserts similar to the seats, door panels and the central arm rest with storage. The seats come with added under-thigh support, fixed head restraints and light upholstery. The driver’s seat is height adjustable. The window toggle switches are similar to those in the Punch.ev and not the conventional lift-and-push ones.
Regen levels are set through a pair of small buttons below the central aircon vents, where there is one for switching on the surround view as well. That view shows up on the 26cm infotainment screen and has options for various viewpoints. This is a very useful addition for Indian city conditions where one often needs to navigate narrow spaces.
The rotary dials for climate control are easy to use and there are buttons for activating the front demister and rear defogger.
Phones can be connected wirelessly with Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Tata’s IRA suite of services is available free for the first year and for a subscription thereafter. It includes things like car location tracking, geo fencing, smartwatch connectivity and remote diagnostics.
The screen operates without lag and is easily visible even in bright sunlight. The smaller instrument cluster is free-standing and very legible too and has all the information one might need, like state of charge and available range, regen setting, energy consumption per kilometre, and so on.
The rear seats are best for two people although there are three seat belts. And there are cooling vents for rear-seat passengers as well as the glove box. There are places for keeping smartphones and charging ports up front, including a 12V socket and 65W USB-C. Oddly enough, two things — a charging port for rear seat passengers and a wireless charger — while available in the top spec petrol car, are not there in the top spec EV. Which is a miss. There are also some primarily plastic bits that are not as well finished as one would expect and probably need some looking into.
Boot space is 240 litres. There is no spare wheel, but the car will come with a puncture repair kit.
ON THE ROAD
As mentioned earlier, we drove the Creative+ specced car with a 24kWh battery pack. Peak power is about 74hp (55kW) and the torque available throughout is 114Nm. However, to get this one needs to be in the Sport mode. Tata Motors officials did not specify how much of the power is available in the Drive mode, but on the road it is obvious that it is significantly below the peak output, possibly to extend the range. In our use, we expected a range of about 200km on a full charge.
We switched between the Sport and Drive modes a number of times to check what effect it would have on range. In our driving, the car was showing a difference of about 5km to 7km in range with charge at about half.
It might be worth sacrificing that little bit for the sake of a much better drive. The Tiago.ev feels way livelier in Sport.
Tata has sorted out the suspension of its cars long ago and this one, too, takes bad roads and good in its stride. The handling is mature and confidence inspiring. In fact, it’s pretty good on the highway as well. It’s a bit of a pity that its range is not too much because driving is relaxed. And while max regen will not bring it to a dead stop — so one-pedal driving is out — it does a pretty good job of slowing the car down. In this segment, the Tiago.ev also gets cruise control, although we aren’t too sure where it can be used since this is pretty much a city vehicle.
Tata has really piled on the goodies here. There are six airbags in all variants, blind view monitor, ABS with EBD and corner stability control, electronic stability program (ESP) with traction control, hill hold control, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, rear wiper and washer, follow-me-home headlamps, and IP67 ingress protection for motor and battery pack. That’s a lot of features for its segment and that’s not even the full list. It is almost a pre-emptive move to keep out competiton.
Tata Motors says the 24kWh car will charge from 10 per cent to 80 per cent with a 30kW DC fast charger in 35 minutes and from an AC wall charger at home in 8.7 hours. The corresponding numbers for the 19.2kWh car are 35 minutes and 6.9 hours.
The rear, apart from the moniker, is the same as the petrol/CNG version. The tail lights get new design
THE CALL
There is nothing else quite like the Tiago.ev in its segment in terms of drive, handling and the overall maturity of the vehicle. Actually, its stiffest competition is Tata’s own Punch.ev, which is pretty close to the Tiago in terms of price and features in a somewhat bigger form factor. The choice between them is essentially whether you are looking for a hatchback or an SUV. The base Smart 19 model (which we did not drive) is competing on price and the top Creative+ 24 is trying to entice the buyer with features and value. Between them, they seem to have the BEV hatchback segment sewn up – for the moment at least.