Launched a while back, the Tata Punch is a petrol-only model that is available with a 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated Revotron petrol engine that is shared with the Tiago as well as the Altroz. It must be noted here that with the advent of the BSVI emission norms, Tata Motors discontinued its entry-level 1.05-litre Diesel engine that was earlier on offer on the Tiago. The Altroz and the Nexon, however, have been on sale with a 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel engine. The Pulse does share the ALFA arc platform with the Altroz but unlike the premium hatchback, it’s neither available with a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine nor the 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel motor.
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While the non-availability of a Diesel engine might have been bothersome to some car buyers, what’s rather shocking is a recent incident in which a sales executive of Tata Motors ended up filling diesel in the petrol car. As reported by one Sujit Rathod in a Facebook group on Facebook, a dealership staffer of Tata Motors first filled this micro-SUV with diesel and then struggled to start the vehicle in the middle of the road. While this could be simply a mistake out of carelessness, some social media users went on to criticize Tata Motors for not training the executives efficiently. That said, we still think it was an honest mistake and the petrol pump attendant might have filled the wrong fuel mistakenly.
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This is a mishap that often happens to many petrol car users. In case diesel is ever mistakenly filled in your petrol car, the chances of damage to the motor are not as high as they would be on filling petrol in a diesel car. First of all, the nozzle of petrol car tanks is smaller than the nozzle of diesel dispensers. So, in most cases, it won’t be possible for a diesel dispenser to be used to fill a petrol car. Still, in cases where the smaller nozzle is used in the diesel dispenser and the stickier fuel is mistakenly filled in a petrol car, the chances of mechanical damage are not very high. This is because petrol is lighter than diesel and hence, it is combusted by the spark created by spark plugs. So, if a petrol car is cranked with diesel in the tank, the heavier fuel will simply end up clogging the fuel system and the spark plugs. Even the fuel filters will be clogged with greasy fuel. This will lead to misfiring in the engine and a lot of smoke from the exhaust. But as the engine won’t be able to combust diesel, it won’t suffer from any permanent damage.
The Tata Punch features a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that outputs 86 hp and 113 Nm of peak power and torque. The motor comes mated to a 5-speed manual and an AMT. Prices of the Maruti Ignis-rival range from Rs 5.49 lakh to Rs 9.39 lakh (ex-showroom).
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