In a bid to lure more customers away from competition, Tata Motors has silently introduced a new variant of the Tiago NRG. Tagged simply as the Tiago NRG AMT, it is priced at Rs 6.15 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). That’s the same asking price for the Tiago XZA+. This is the first time that the jacked-up Tiago gets a two-pedal setup as before both its engine options were offered with a 5-speed manual transmission only. Compared to the petrol MT Tiago NRG, the new variant costs Rs 45,000 more.

Apart from the convenience of an automatic transmission, the new entrant also gets the 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system from the Tiago XZ+. The said system was recently upgraded to support smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay. The compatibility with Android Auto and other features such as voice recognition, image and video playback and speed-dependent volume control were already part of its arsenal.

The Tata Tiago NRG AMT comes with a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine which is good for 85PS/114Nm. Like the standard Tiago, there is no automatic transmission option available with the diesel-fed Tiago NRG. And there never will be. Tata Motors is expected to not bother upgrading the 1.05-litre, 3-cylinder engine to Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) standards and let it die in peace before the current fiscal comes to a close. Apart from the Tiago range, the said engine also does duty in the Tigor sedan.

The Tiago NRG was created for those who wanted something small and rugged at the same time. That’s why it has protective cladding all around and at 180mm, has a ground clearance that’s 10mm more than the standard hatch. As far as competition is concerned, the Tiago NRG is a rival for the Maruti Suzuki CelerioX, Ford Freestyle and the Mahindra KUV100.