i10 Magna or Palio Stile 1.1 SLX

[arnabchak]

Hi

The perennial problem of which car to buy.

I have always been a FIAT fan and drive the wonderful Fiat Uno 1.2 ELX.
My heart says Palio Stile 1.1 but the head says the i10.

Checked out the i-10 yesterday. The car looked pretty small from the outside but the interiors were nice and cheerful.

Only had the beige coloured dashboard as a deterrent.

The drive train seemed acceptable.

On the other hand, the Palio Stile SLX is not available for a TD.

The additional features are :

Rear Wipers
Fog Lamps
Defogger
Much bigger boot space and rear passenger comfort.

But with a 995 kerb weight and a 57 BHP heart, the car may look underpowered.

The asking price for the i10 Magna(Metallic) is Rs. 4.54 lacs(On Road-Mumbai)

On the other hand the SLX is at Rs. 4.32 lacs.

Both cars would offer another Rs 25,000 discount.

Which one should be the better of the two considering I would like to keep the car for long (Atleast 4-5 years)?

Has the Fiat Tata tie-up helped in Fiat A.S.S attitudes and the price of Spares?

[humans]

I think 99% here will suggest you to go with i10 without second thought.

My suggestion is definetly biased here because I myself driving Stile 1.1 SLX from past 2.5 yr clocking about 27k KM and here are my observations.

1) Underpowered: The word used to describe Stile 1.1 is not correct, it's definetly not peppy in first gear but that doesn't make it underpowered. Initially during run-in period you may feel it lagging in pickup but let it clock few thousand KM's and than you will notice the performance. I personally have clocked better times than what magazines had provided when Stile was launched.

2) Mileage: I have consistently got 13+ in city with 100% AC all the time.

3) Build quality: The only reason which will justify buying FIAT. I will tell you one instance, once an idiot in Safari hit me in back while standing at redlight, the force was such that I in turn hit Zen in front of me and it hit Santro in its front. You will not believe my bumper didn't broke, it just bent and some minor dents in hatch, but Zen bumper broke with huge dent and also Santro in its front got bigger dent than mine.

Also the comforts driving on bad roads will be comparable to none in it's price category. I have driven mine in Rajasthan, Haryana, and UP interiors where there is virtually no roads and the comfort level surpass any other cars in its category.

4) A/S/S: When I bought really felt it can be better but now a days from past 1 yr seeing lot of improvements on that front, whenever you go for service or anything else you will get call later for feedbacks and ready to help if not satisfied with anything. Also I haven't really face delay in parts too, once got to replace rear axle because of an accident and once a part in engine too, which gone bacause of my mistake, both I got in 3-4 days.

Still after my personal experiance and completely satisfied with Stile I would suggest you to go for Punto Active, that would be better choice than Stile. Why, because resale for Stile would not be there, also parts for Punto would be cheaper compared to Stile because of localization. i10 is a great car no doubt about that (higher selling numbers speak themselves)but given a choice I will still go with Stile, because of space, comfort, and better build quality, peppiness may not be there but I don't like to race at redlights and for everything else Stile beats any other car in it's price category.

[phamilyman]

I would instead say i10 1.2 for the FUN. or if you drive less, Nothing beats the 1.6 palio!

and DONT BOTHER ABOUT mileage! Palio underreads its mileage!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/hatchb...over-read.html is my thread

[sharanramesh]

Hi Arnab,

if you are a fiat fan let me give you another option.

The Fiat Grande Punto Active (1.2). this car does have a lot going for it.

1. Gorgeous Looks
2. The Space of a B+ hatch
3. 15K service interval
4. Power steering, Air Con, Power windows (front doors)
5. The great handling characteristics
6. The incredulous Ride Quality
7. The incredible on-road price (4.7 in Bangalore - Bound to be cheaper in Mumbai).

i also came by this review today and would like to share it with you, this car gives the most bang for your buck in this segment.

On the dot - Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 - First Drive : Overdrive

Goodluck.

[mkh]

Arnab
It would be good if you could also tell
Who will be using it mostly, you or anyone else in the family
whats your max budget
whats your need- fun to drive, family car
city and highway driving percentage
whats the most imp 4-5 factors you are looking at( like resale, service etc)
On the face of it- Palio is just on its way out and hardly any sales. You will be taking a certain risk as its re-sale is almost nothing. However it is still a good car.
I am buying an i-10- reason? Its the best overall package under 5 lacs
Great Resale
Great Service
Good build and quality
Great Interiors
Decent mileage
V good engine
Did not find anything negative except bouncy ride and slightly over priced( by about 30-40K) which the insurance and other discounts are making up for now.

[tortoiseNhare]

If metal and space to price ratio is important then it's the Stile all the way. The ride quality should be better in the Stile too. In Mumbai, the spares should not be a problem. Having said all these and having loved every moment with the Stile MJD in the last 10 months I'll still go for the i10 if it is a toss up between Stile 1.1 and i10 kappa.

[schitre05]

Did you have a look at Vista aura safire.. same palio stile engine but better interiors and more features in Mumbai with discounts the on road price would be in the range of 4.25L.
Palio cannot be seen in showrooms here and getting a TD is a big problem.
Look at Punto too. the 1.2 active is good but u might have to spend additional for all the accessories.

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by schitre05

Did you have a look at Vista aura safire.. same palio stile engine but better interiors and more features in Mumbai with

No, it is the same with the Punto Active 1.2 engine.

[motor spirit]

arnab, there is a confirmed news that Fiat is going to refresh the looks of Palio within the next 3 months.
Its expected to be good. Do look itnto this matter also

[finneyp]

Arnab, there are two options:
1. Wait for the new Palio with fresh interiors etc, may take 3 - 6 months.
2. Go for the Punto 1.2 Active

Fiat service in Mumbai should be good, Fiat owners in Mumbai can confirm that.

[Mi10]

*With due respect to Palio series*

eeh? of all the choices why stile1.1 ?

Anyway, IMHO i10 for some reason appears are more complete package than the stile1.1.

Try out the GP 1.2, it defenitly should be better than the 1.1L Stile

Or Try out the..

What the heck man, get the Stile 1.6 and blast the daylights outta other riders

[schitre05]

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

No, it is the same with the Punto Active 1.2 engine.

Sorry ! my bad
Yes indeed! its punto 1.2 active engine
which i feel is better, considering the increased torque and bhp over the 1.1's.
Cheers!

[shantyrocks]

Agree with finney..

Go for punto 1.2 active.

And if you really want to choose between what you have mentioned..go for the i10.

[svaid]

Arnab

Between i10 Magna and Palio Stile 1.1, I would recommend going for i10. You would get good power, great interiors, better service network and low cost of ownership.

Being an i10 owner, I can assure that the beige dashboard is not a deterrent and I haven't faced any problems because of the same. In case you are looking at details, you can refer to my ownership experience . (i10 kappa sportz - 1 year/16K kms ownership report)

-svaid

[parimal_g]

If you can stretch your budget go for punto 1.2 active ,really very good car.
1>14 Inch wheels
2> Good fuel economy
3> Space
4>Looks ,handling ,breaks.
5> Service intervals of 15k and great warranty.

Ow go for Palio 1.1 which is indeed a very good car,with less maintenance and as you wish to keep car for 4-5 years god for fiat only as built quality is by far best and interiors are bit out dated but are very solid and functional.

And tata is really giving good service to Fiat customers.
i10 very good car but fun to drive factor is not there and for me the ride is very bouncy especially on uneven roads and sadly mumbai roads are very bad.