The Tata Altroz and Ford Freestyle are cars that don’t usually get compared head-on, but when you compare the prices – we understand, it does create confusion.

The better way to approach this confusion is to look at how these cars are different. All cars, just like regular products, have strengths and weaknesses. And compare them what you’re looking for in a car.

This is what I think you should focus on:

1. DRIVING REQUIREMENT

How much do you drive? I understand that no matter what, fuel economy is important – but when you look at long term expenses, you are likely to spend more maintaining a not-so-well-used car if you’re buying a diesel now when your usage is more towards petrol.

Typically, I’d put the mark at 1600 km a month. If you’re driving more than 1600 km a month consistently throughout the months, then the diesel makes sense.

And between these two cars, the Freestyle is the way to go.

2. DRIVING ENTHUSIASM

If you’re someone who enjoys driving, the Freestyle is likely to have attributes that connect to you well. The 1.5L 100 HP diesel is great, so is the gearbox, steering and suspensions are how you’d like them to be too.

The Altroz petrol, on the other hand, could take a little getting used to. It’s a good engine and shows you its sweet spots beyond the 2000 RPM mark. Below that, the torque won’t be as great and the car would feel a little heavy. But it is perfect if you want to do quick city runs.

3. SAFETY

From a globalNCAP score perspective, the Atlroz is the only hatchback to have a 5-star rating. While having only 2 airbags present in the car.

The Freestyle isn’t tested by GlobalNCAP yet – so there’s really no common ground. But if you take the Titanium+ variant, the Freestyle gets 6 airbags which could boost some confidence. Other variants get only 2.

4. FEATURES

Altroz is a much better-packaged car than the Freestyle’s 2020 version when it comes to features. The Freestyle, unfortunately, loses the Android Auto / Apple CarPlay support and even SYNC3 support from the touchscreen infotainment system which only now has Bluetooth and built-in navigation.

The Altroz, being a lot more recent, packs in everything that’s important from the XT variant upwards.

5. RESALE

While everybody loves Ford’s diesel engine, not many have even heard of the Freestyle. Going by pure popularity, the Altroz is likely to have a much better recall than the Freestyle. So, resale is likely to be better too.