Automatic gearbox on CNG car? Tata Tiago, Tigor to become first with tech

Tata Motors recently released a few teasers of its upcoming iCNG AMT cars. This will be the first time that a CNG vehicle will be offered with an AMT transmission from the factory. Tata has officially opened bookings for Tiago iCNG AMT and Tigor iCNG AMT. The booking amount has been set to ₹21,000. The Tiago will be offered in three variants - XTA CNG, XZA+ CNG and XZA NRG while the Tigor iCNG AMT will be available in two variants – XZA CNG and XZA+ CNG.

Tata Motors says that there should not be any perceived difference in the performance of the vehicle in petrol and CNG drivability. The gear shift movement and shift quality should be smoother and there is also ‘Creep’ functionality on offer. Apart from this, the manufacturer claims that restart gradability is in line with petrol and the best in the segment.

Apart from this, the iCNG versions continue to come with the safety features that the vehicle already comes with. Tata is using twin cylinders instead of a single cylinder which means that there is still space for luggage in the boot. Instead of using two different ECUs, there is a single advanced ECU that handles both petrol and CNG modes. Also, vehicles by Tata are the only ones in the segment that can start the engine directly in the CNG mode.

Tata has not made any changes to the engine. It is still a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine. It produces 86 bhp and 113 Nm while running on petrol and these figures drop to 73 bhp and 95 Nm. The gearbox options on offer are a 5-speed manual unit and a 5-speed AMT.