The Tata Tiago has been around for almost a decade now, and while the 2026 update brings a fairly substantial refresh, the fundamentals remain familiar. Underneath the revised styling and newer cabin is still the same basic platform and powertrain philosophy.
We spent some time driving the 2026 Tata Tiago petrol iCNG with the AMT gearbox, and the biggest takeaway is fairly simple, this isn’t a car trying to entertain you. It is trying to make everyday commuting easier and cheaper. And for the most part, it succeeds.
The Tiago iCNG uses a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine. In CNG mode, it makes 75.5 PS and 96.5 Nm, while petrol mode bumps those figures up to 86 PS and 130 Nm. The engine can be paired with either a five-speed manual or a five-speed AMT.
The AMT
Let’s get the obvious bit out of the way first. This is an AMT, and you can tell. Under hard acceleration, the gearshifts aren’t particularly quick or seamless. There is a noticeable pause between shifts, accompanied by the familiar head nod as the momentum briefly drops before the next gear engages. Even when driven gently, you can still feel the gearbox working through its shifts, although the effect is much less pronounced.
If you are buying the Tiago iCNG AMT, chances are you aren’t looking for a car to attack corners or win drag races. You want two-pedal convenience in traffic, and that is precisely where this gearbox makes sense. There are also paddle shifters, which allow you to take control when you want to hold a gear or get the engine into the meat of its powerband.
It isn’t the smoothest AMT around, but it is easy to understand and, more importantly, convenient.
Performance
The three-cylinder engine is reasonably refined at cruising speeds, but it does get vocal when you ask for more. Under hard acceleration, the engine note becomes quite prominent inside the cabin. At a steady highway pace, however, things settle down and the Tiago becomes a much more relaxed machine.
There is also a bigger point here. The Tiago iCNG isn’t meant to be driven like a performance car. Its real strengths are running costs, convenience and usability. If those are your priorities, the lack of outright performance isn’t really a problem.
And if you need a quick burst of acceleration, switching to petrol gives you the stronger output. The CNG system is also straightforward to operate, with the driver able to switch between petrol and CNG on the move.
Ride and comfort
The suspension is arguably one of the strongest parts of the Tiago’s driving experience. It has been tuned more towards comfort than outright handling, and that works beautifully for the kind of roads this car is likely to spend most of its life on. Speed breakers, broken patches and undulations are dealt with without the car crashing through them. At highway speeds, the ride remains composed and mature.
There is some body roll if you throw the car into a sharp direction change, but that’s hardly a surprise. This is a small family hatchback with a comfort-biased suspension setup, not a track toy.
The steering is similarly easy-going. It is light enough to make tight manoeuvres and three-point turns effortless, while still giving you enough confidence to understand where the car is going at highway speeds. It isn’t particularly rich in feedback, but it is predictable, and that’s more important for a car like this.
The braking performance itself is adequate, with good enough grip from the tyres and no worrying loss of traction during hard braking.
However, the initial pedal feel could be better. There isn’t quite as much bite or feedback as you’d ideally want from the first press of the pedal. The car still stops well when you need it to, but the pedal doesn’t feel particularly special.
So, should you buy the Tiago iCNG AMT?
Yes, but only if you understand what you’re buying. The 2026 Tata Tiago iCNG AMT isn’t particularly exciting, and the AMT’s head nod during gearshifts can get annoying if you’re expecting a smoother automatic experience. The engine can also get noisy when pushed hard.
The Tiago is comfortable, easy to drive, reasonably spacious and practical. The steering is light, the suspension does a very good job of dealing with India’s roads and the AMT takes away some of the pain of crawling through traffic. Add the ability to run on CNG and the proposition starts making considerably more sense for buyers focused on everyday running costs.
There are some odd omissions in the equipment list too, including the lack of cruise control and wireless charging on the iCNG despite these features being offered elsewhere in the Tiago range.
Also read: 2026 Tata Punch facelift review
