It’s time when we do a comparison of the Citroen’s most affordable hatchback, C3, against the Tata’s Punch SUV to see which is worth buying over the other.
The front design of the Citroen C3 starts from their logo finished in chrome which is basically two chrome lines that were a logo and then it spreads and separates into LED DRLs and the Halogen headlamps. Below that is hexagonal shape with rounded square grille for air intake for the engine, and X-shaped faux skid plate and orange accents around the fog lamps. From the side, the design is simple but has 15-inch steel wheels instead of alloys. Moving to the rear, it’s has faux skid plate at the bottom with orange accents at the corners and halogen taillamps.
The front of the Punch has blacked out element that connects with the LED DRLs and Tata logo at the center. Below that is the tri-arrow grille that connects with the fog lamps and projector headlamps above them that are obviously halogen. At the side, there is slight cuts to have that punch look with 16-inch alloy wheels. At the rear, there is the tri-arrow treatment in the taillamps as well which are of course going to be LEDs and faux black skid plate.
The dashboard layout of the both the cars is simple and clean. The Punch has rectangular shaped AC while the C3 has round vents in the AC with manual controls below them and 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system at the center while the Punch has 7-inch infotainment system. The C3 has got dual theme for the interiors while the Punch also gets dual-theme interiors as well.
| Citroen C3 | Tata Punch | |
| Length | 3981mm | 3827mm |
| Width | 1733mm | 1742mm |
| Height | 1586mm | 1615mm |
| Wheelbase | 2540mm | 2445mm |
| Ground Clearance | 180mm | 187mm |
| Boot Space | 315 litres | 366 litres |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 30 litres | 37 litres |
| Kerb Weight | 1,035 kg | 1,070 kg |
| Gross Vehicle Weight | 1,435 kg | 1,460 kg |
As you can see at the Dimensions table of the two car, there is a little difference between the two. The length of the Citroen C3 is 3981mm and 3827mm is the length of the Tata Punch with 154mm difference. The Citroen C3 has 1733mm width which is 9mm less than 1742mm height in Tata Punch. The C3 has a wheelbase of 2540mm with 95mm more than the Punch’s 2445mm wheelbase. The Punch has 187mm ground clearance which is 7mm more than the C3 180mm.
The C3 has boot space of 315 litres which is 51 litres less than the 366 litres boot space of Tata Punch. The Punch has a fuel tank of 37 litres where as the C3 has 30 litres fuel tank with 7 litres difference between the two. The Kerb Weight of C3 is 1,035 kg which is 35 kg less than the 1,070 kg of Tata Punch. The Gross Weight of Tata Punch is 1,460 kg which is 25 kg more than the C3 1,435 kg.
| Citroen C3 | Tata Punch | ||
| Engine | 1.2 litre PureTech Petrol | 1.2 litre PureTech Turbo Petrol | 1.2-litre Revoltron Petrol |
| Displacement | 1198cc | 1199cc | 1199cc |
| Power | 80.46 bhp | 108.62 bhp | 117.74 bhp |
| Torque | 115 Nm | 190 Nm | 115 Nm |
| Transmission | 5-speed MT | 6-speed MT | 5-speed MT, 5-speed AT |
| Fuel Efficiency | 19.8 km/l | 19.44 km/l | 20.9 km/l |
| Top Speed | 120 kmph | 120+ kmph | 120 kmph |
The Citroen C3 has two petrol engines and no diesel engines on offer. The 1.2-litre Puretech turbo petrol engine produces 108.62 bhp and 190 Nm of torque paired to 5-speed Manual Transmission and no Automatic Transmission on offer. It has a fuel efficiency of 19.44 km/l and has a top speed of 120+ kmph. The 1.2-litre puretech petrol engine produces 80.46 bhp and 115 Nm of torque mated to a 5-speed Manual Transmission and no Automatic Transmission on offer. It has a fuel efficiency of 19.8 km/l and top speed of 120 kmph.
The Tata Punch on the other hand, has the 1.2-litre Revoltron petrol engine that puts out 117.74 bhp and 115 Nm of torque paired a 5-speed Manual Transmission and 5-speed Automatic Transmission with a fuel efficiency of 20.9 km/l and a top speed of 120 kmph.
| Features | Citroen C3 | Tata Punch |
| Headlamps | Halogen | Halogen |
| Taillamps | Halogen | LED |
| Wheel size & Tyre | 15-inch, steel | 16-inch, alloy wheels |
| Auto Power Window | Yes | Yes |
| Seat upholstery | Fabric | Fabric |
| AC | Manual | Auto |
| Rear AC vent | – | Yes |
| Instrument cluster | Digital | Part-Digital Display, Part-Analog dials |
| Infotainment System | 10-inch | 7-inch |
| Android Auto, Apple CarPlay | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Control | – | Yes |
| Sound System | 6-speaker Arkamy’s sound system | 6-speaker Arkamy’s sound system |
| Cooled Glovebox | – | Yes |
| Height adjustable driver seat | Yes | Yes |
As you can see at the features table, the Citroen C3 misses out on a lot of features such as auto-dimming IRVM, cooled glovebox, voice commands, rear AC vents, manual AC controls instead of Automatic, and has no alloy wheels on offer.
| Safety Features | Citroen C3 | Tata Punch |
| Airbags | Two airbags | Two Airbags |
| Camera | Reverse Parking camera | Reverse Parking camera |
| Auto Headlamps | – | Yes |
| Cruise Control | – | Yes |
| Traction control | – | Yes |
| ABS with EBD | Yes | Yes |
| ESC | – | Yes |
| Hill Start Assist | – | Yes |
| ISOFIX | – | Yes |
In Safety features, Citroen C3 misses out on a lot of features such as Automatic headlamps, cruise control, traction control, ESC, hill start assist, and ISOFIX anchorages.
| Model | Price |
| Citroen C3 | Rs. 7.13 lakh – Rs. 9.46 lakh (On-road price) |
| Tata Punch | Rs. 7.09 lakh – Rs. 10.99 lakh (On-road Prices) |
Tata Punch has literally 30 variants on offer as the starting price is Rs. 7.09 (on-road) for the ‘Pure’ variant and goes all the way up to Rs. 10.99 lakh for the ‘Creative IRA’ with Automatic Transmission and Dual tone option. Meanwhile, the Citroen C3 starts at Rs. 7.13 lakh for the Puretech 82 Live variant, and goes all the way up to Rs. 9.46 lakh for the Puretech 110 Feel variant.