Fiat Palio Stile 1.1 - WHY?

[superamerica]

Im not sure how many of the posters on this thread had the fortune of driving the earlier Palio 1.6, 1.2 and then the (mis)fortune of driving the 'new' 1.1 Stile. I have been a huge FIAT fan for all the while along. My story of the (mis)fortune moment is like this. One of my friend wanted to check out the Stile so we hopped into the Concorde Motors showroom on Hosur Road, Bangalore. In the showroom the car at rest looked fresh from the outside with some tone-up treatments feted out to it. In the inside it is pretty much the same as was in the prev generation model except for the beige interior which dint excite me as I am a non-believer in the 'luxury' quotient the beige color brings along.

Now to the test drive. I lapped up the driver's seat excited to check the baby out first even though the purpose of the visit was to check out for a car for my friend. Such is my excitement of driving a FIAT. The very next moment all my joy, excitement was replaced with anguish,pity and frustration which i started driving the vehicle. There was absolutely no breath in the engine once you slot it into second gear it took ages to get ahead of even an autorickshaw. Driving through stop and start traffic on Hosur road was a nightmare in this vehicle as acceleration was not just there in the vehicle. A small car is supposed to have loads of low end torque and be zippy in traffic. It terribly failed here. I then took the vehicle to an empty stretch of straight road and tried accelerating her there through some high rev gear shifts hoping to get into the rev band where there is atleast some decent torque. She was groaning and pleading to be let off from the trauma i was causing to her. Once in third gear and into fourth with decent rpm the car settled down to peace and started behaving acceptably.
At the end of it a complete disappointment for me. This car is a huge letdown from the days of 1.2. Looking at the competition in the segment like the xing and spark which are peppy,cool and more fuel efficient. I dont see a value proposition for this vehicle, even die-hard fiat lovers will find it hard to lap this one up..

Grande Punto, Linea where are you!!!!

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by goldie_malhotra

Palio 1.2 (2001) might have been a good car, but its de-generate versions - the NV and the 1.1, have only gone from bad to worse in Fiats futile quest for FE. They should either bring better engines or stick to Diesel, IMHO.

I don't agree.I am fully statisfied with my Palio 1.2 NV.It gives me a mileage of aroung 13 KM/L in city conditions (30% ac) and in high ways it gives 16 KM/L (at 80-90 KM/L with 30% ac).

[Harrie]

This thread is absolutely going no where.

My dear fellow fiat owners and lovers, the point here is about the 1.1 Stile. Not about the 1.2 or the 1.6

The point here is the 1.1 does nothing good. My indica is as spacious as the palio. It goes as fast as the earlier 1.2 Build quality is ok, havent had any problems till date.

The 1.6 is a different beast altogether. At the time it was launched it made great sense. 5.5 L for a 100 bhp car and I was one of the first in coimbatore to pick it up.

But would I buy the 1.6 sport now?

I would rather not. I found it the hard way that our OHC at 9.5L was a better buy than the GTX at 5.5L Its rather like

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Whenasked

First of all if a car is produced for third world countries , it does NOT MEAN THAT IT IS INFERIOR.

Not at all. Just like third-world countries are not inferior to first-world countries.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Whats wrong with a 3rd world car. I for one dont want to scrape my underbelly and replace bent rims.

Well, I've owned a lot of first-world cars, and I've never replaced a bent rim in my life. Or had one, for that matter. God knows I drive my cars to their limits. And why is it that we can export our very own Indica to Europe and other parts of the world, but Fiat does not see it fit for us to own a car that white people in Europe own? And to answer what's wrong, my pride is what's wrong.

Originally Posted by Whenasked

Buddy I have a 2001 Palio 1.2. It has never been broken down...in the past 6 years. I have travelled across KERALA, TAMILNADU & KARNATAKA with out any issues except for tyre punctures (may be thats also due to FIAT ) . Now thats what I call reliablity & owner satisfaction. Do you get that feeling? .

Yes, I do. I have driven across TN, AP, KL, KA, GA, MH, all in my Baleno. Not once has my car complained or even had a flat. But you don't see me tom-tomming it around. The simple fact is, we expect our cars to do that. But a Fiat owner thinks it's a big deal. And to answer your question about ultimate reliability, my car has proven its worth on the MMST track, which are some of the harshest driving conditions in India. On the same day, a Palio 1.6 limped home after breaking down. Do you have anything to add?

Originally Posted by Whenasked

You said MUL is not charity..same is with FIAT, if people buy 1.1 stile, FIAT will sell..aam junta dont mind two second delay !!

But it doesn't seem to be selling. 2 TBHPians seem to have bought it, one without TDing any other cars, and he claims he cannot find another such car in the ITPL parking lot. And that's a 1000+ car park.

Originally Posted by Whenasked

I can see a tensed MUL, HYUNDAI because of FIAT's alliance with TATA & thats why all these posts against FIAT.

Yes, MUL and Hyundai pay me 21 paise for every post I put up in favour of them or against Fiat. Grow up and get real.

Originally Posted by Whenasked

One more thing, if FIAT is so bad..why is that SWIFT from MUL having that FIAT engine on SWIFT. Its a shame.. isn't it.. with a borrowed stuff?

I never said Fiat is bad. They have some wonderful engineering skills. If you look through my posts, I have said the Linea looks good and I am looking forward to it. I have driven Palios that would make all you F(iat)anatics drool for days on end, so don't give me your condescending attitude.

Originally Posted by spadival

Pretty simple actually..They cant compare apples with oranges and then come to a conclusion. They are comparing Palio which is arguably in the B+ segment with B segment cars like Xing and Spark !! Why not compare with the B+ segment cars like Getz Prime and U-VA.

Fiat is positioning the Stile against these cars. And I think it's a fair competition if they are of the same engine capacity and within Rs 50k of each other.

Originally Posted by goldie_malhotra

Dont worry too much about it, dude. Only 1700 odd people tend to disagree with you every month, compared to the lakhs that agree.

Eh? I have stated figures here. I don't think you can play around with them too much, except for FE and speed. Then too, the errors would be the same for all cars, so you would end up with a similar difference between competitors.

Thank you Harrie. You for one know the joys of owning both a 1.6 GTX, arguably the fastest this side of the Suez, and an OHC.

[sivadas]

Please see the Overdrive comparison of Getz, Aveo U-VA and Palio.
Very objective and good comparison.
Doesn't make sense to compare Palio with spark and Xing which are a class below.
If it is based on engine capacity NHC should only be compared against Lancer and Accent 1.5.
According to me, this thread doesn't serve any purpose apart from inciting communal (Fiat) feelings

[blrboy]

Originally Posted by sivadas

According to me, this thread doesn't serve any purpose apart from inciting communal (Fiat) feelings

Well said.I agree.It doesn't serve any purpose..I understand that it is sluggish compared to the earlier 1.2 NV.

[theMAG]

v1p3r,

You're right in that technically the competition betters the Palio 1.1 as things stand now. Maybe that 16 valves upgrade spoken abt elsewhere might make it more comparable to the opposition. Till such time, I dont see the other contenders too threatened

[typeOnegative]

Hmmm. Lots of water has flown under the bridge.

The question 'Why' is pertinent. What may be controversial is the answers. I for one don't know and don't care. And vip3r I don't know why you do. Wait a minute, I do.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by 1100D

What were the cars with which the Stile 1.1 was compared? Did U-VA and the GETZ feature in that comparo?

I am asking this because I am unable to see the magazine.

It was a 8 hatch comparo, no large hatches like getz, just the sasta hatches
Some points to note which were very valid
1. Indica/Palio only ones with enough space
2. Palio very very refined and top notch interioir
3. Santro won in the end.

If the Palio had 8 horses more, I am sure Palio would have won. The biggest sour point mentioned was lack of power. And this lack of power did not translate to FE too

[iron_man]

hi all. just came back from driving the 1.1 stile.

rubbish. one word.

my friend is looking for a car in similar price range and asked me to accompany him. man, this car doesn't move. what were they thinking ? plonking a 1.1 on this beast. loved the 1.6 in the glorious times of yore, but fiat has lost the plot here.

then went to hyundai, and getz sucks too. i guess in the want for excise cuts, these guys have started putting in smaller and smaller engines.

are we heading in the right direction ?

[srishiva]

Since the previous 1.2 was a old engine, wouldn't it have been possible for anyone to build a better 1.1 ?

[Rtech]

I really don't get why we like to argue about this on multiple threads that go on for dozens of pages. The market has clearly decided which car they want and which they don't. And sad to say, the Palio Stile is one car that is simply not going to sell.

We can yap till the cows come home about the positives of the Palio. But, when it comes time to put money on the table, 99.8% of the buying public chooses something else.

Recent example is my own sis-in-law. She chose the Santro over the other cars in this segment. Infact she even said that she liked the look of the Palio, but didn't want to live with the uncertainty.

[bottle]

people who go for palio 1.1 stile are strictly those who just want something different from the rest of the crowd with xetas and xings i feel here in chennai we have some enthusiastic ppl at showrooms like our chandrshekar at concorde which is helping convert some people . those who care about fe have said that the 1.1 is good enough for them and that they dont need anything more for driving in city so if they are happy ........

also is the fe right.. ? most ppl have been reporting at least 12 in city.. even my 1.2nv gives around 11 in city and i rarely use more than 3rd gear with all the stupid traffic.

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by Rtech

I really don't get why .... the uncertainty.

I for one don't know why we create such threads LOL. It is quite obvious that there is no hope in hoping the current set of Palios will make a dent in sales figures of other cars. So is this really a topic of discussion? There are some who will pontificate endlessly on how Fiat cars are God's greatest gift to mankind. On the other hand there are others who can go on and on about how Fiats are nothing better than horse manure.

And then there are some people like you and I who will come and philosophize and complain on the growth of such threads - while contributing to the madness. It is time for me to go, right?

[rishibravo]

I fail to undestand where do FIAT guys have gone wrong this time . They made the car lighter, they fitted a smaller engine and even then the economy is worst in the class and lagging behind in all figures.... Its just sad.