Tata Aeris debuts at ₹5.29 lakh with 6 airbags, five trims and CNG on top variant

Tata Motors, on Friday, launched the Aeris, a compact sedan aimed at the Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Honda Amaze and Hyundai Aura, at a starting price of ₹5.29 lakh (ex-showroom).

The car replaces the Tigor and shares its X-Alfa platform with the facelifted Tiago.

Tata’s product line director for EVs, Anand Kulkarni, said the new platform gives the car’s electrical and electronic systems a major upgrade. Order books are open, and deliveries start on 11th October.

Trims & Engines

The Aeris comes in five trims: Smart, Pure, Pure+, Creative and Accomplished. It is offered with a 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine (86hp, 113Nm) or a CNG version of the same engine (76hp, 97Nm). Both come with a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT.

The CNG-AMT combination is available even on the top Accomplished trim. Only the base Smart variant misses out on a CNG option. Tata says it has recalibrated both engines for better driveability and fuel efficiency; Kulkarni told car&bike the petrol version should return around 16kmpl in real-world use.

Fresh Face

The Aeris takes its styling cues from the Tiago rather than the Tigor. Design chief Martin Uhlarik said a new connected tail-light makes the car look bigger and wider.

Up front, it gets sleeker LED headlights with eyebrow-style DRLs, a gloss-black grille and pixel-shaped LED fog lamps set in a black bumper. The top variant keeps its 15-inch dual-tone alloy wheels; Smart, Pure and all CNG variants get smaller 14-inch wheels.

Wheel-arch cladding, chrome door handles and a chrome window trim carry over from the Tiago. At the rear, slimmer LED tail lights sit above a simplified bumper with a central reverse parking light, while the high-mounted stop lamp spans the rear windscreen, as on the Tigor.

Six colours are on offer: Nitro Crimson, Pure Grey, Dandeli Drizzle, Pristine White, Daytona Grey and Dune Glow.

Boot Space Edge

The Aeris measures 3,995mm in length, 1,684mm in width and 1,532mm in height, with a 2,450mm wheelbase and 170mm ground clearance, dimensions close to the Tigor’s.

The petrol version has a 419-litre boot, similar to the Honda Amaze (416 litres) and bigger than the Maruti Dzire (382 litres) and Hyundai Aura (402 litres).

The CNG version uses two smaller cylinders instead of one large tank, which gave the Tigor 227 litres of boot space; the Aeris is expected to match this, making it the roomiest CNG sedan boot in its class.

Cabin & Safety

Inside, the layout matches the Tiago’s but in a lighter colour scheme. It gets a free-standing semi-digital driver’s display, a 10.25-inch touchscreen and a two-spoke steering wheel with physical buttons.

New additions include wireless charging, 65-watt USB-C ports, ventilated front seats and leatherette upholstery. A “DashCam Recorder” function uses the surround-view cameras for recording, including a sentry mode. However, the six-speaker sound system is a downgrade from the previous model’s eight speakers.

On safety, six airbags are standard, along with a 360-degree camera with blind-spot monitoring, electronic stability programme, hill hold control, tyre pressure monitoring, a rear defogger, ISOFIX child seat anchorages and a leak detection system on CNG variants.