Fiat Palio Stile 1.1 - WHY?

[v1p3r]

Ok, this is just a representation of facts printed in ACI this month. It makes me wonder WHY anyone would buy a Fiat Palio Stile 1.1:

1. The Palio has the WORST city mileage of all. 10.2 kmpl, compared to 12.3 for the Spark and 12.1 for the Xing.

2. The Palio is the SLOWEST of all. It is the only car which does not even cross 140. It stops dead at 132 kmph.

3. The Palio is the SLOWEST in in-gear pulls. 20-80 in 3rd takes 15.1 seconds for the Spark, and 13.19 seconds for the Xing. The Xeta, which is similar to the Stile in many respects, does it in 15.25 seconds. The Palio takes 19.98 seconds! That's almost 5 seconds off its nearest rival! It is 9-14 seconds off on the 40-100 4th pull! And it does a 20 second 0-100.

4. The Palio is the 2nd WORST to brake. Only the Indica takes 0.83m more to stop from 80 kmph. So much for safe 'European' cars.

All this would be ok if the car were dirt cheap and backed up by great service. I mean, if Tata were to give something worse than this as their 1-lakh car, millions would lap it up. BUT, the Palio is the 2nd most EXPENSIVE of the lot. It is a full Rs 75,000 more expensive than its nearest factual competitor, the Xeta. And more expensive than the shootout winner, the Xing.

Now, my question is, why buy it? The Indica is just as safe, the Spark/Wagon R/Zen/Santro/Indica are easier to drive, all of them except the Spark are cheaper to buy, and all of them are cheaper to run in town. And we all know about Fiat's legendary A.S.S.

All figures are from this month's ACI shootout.

[BUSA]

LOL, V1p3R, do you know you are in dangerous territory with all Fiat fans going to pour over you on this one.

I think Fiat should stop making Palios and start with the Linea and Punto's asap.

[jkdas]

1) space
2) build quality
3) FIAT

[mclaren1885]

Now you sure are in for a stick. Before you know the Fiat fan club will mow you down .

Coming to topic, are these claims credible? Fiat fans, awaiting your comments.

[iraghava]

Kinda hard to explain even without the figures, but the figures just reinforce the impression. If you're not a great fan of the brand I don't see how you can justify buying this car over the competitors.

Now wonder FIAT is keeping their sales targets really, really low.

C3PO - Expect to hear from one of the Mumbai bhai's very soon about the supaari on your head

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by BUSA

I think Fiat should stop making Palios and start with the Linea and Punto's asap.

Yes, I agree. The Palio 1.6 is a nice car, but it's time has passed. The 1.1 is an insult to our intelligence. And I hate being fed a car that is meant only for third-world countries.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Coming to topic, are these claims credible?

I have not stretched or exaggerated anything here. ACI sits before me as I copy figures from it.

Originally Posted by jkdas

1) space
2) build quality
3) FIAT

Space, the Indica is as good, if not better. It has greater width and greater rear interior width. Build quality is subjective and I've seen rusted new Palios, and the latest is that a friend's Palio is spewing white smoke.

Originally Posted by BUSA

LOL, V1p3R, do you know you are in dangerous territory with all Fiat fans going to pour over you on this one.

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Now you sure are in for a stick. Before you know the Fiat fan club will mow you down

If they can defend whatever they wish to defend with logic and facts, I look forward to it. Otherwise, Steeroid's signature applies. I am only interested in sharing views with people who rely on facts.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by iraghava

If you're not a great fan of the brand I don't see how you can justify buying this car over the competitors.

Even being a fan doesn't mean throwing good money after bad. You may not believe it, but I'm actually a bigger Honda fan than anything else. But I didn't look twice at the NHC after 2 OHCs.

[Mpower]

Numbers dont always tell the whole story. The 1.1 was done specifically for exise benefit and will appeal to the non-performance freaks. Some OEMs try to hit a sweet spot with one engine that pleases all. Others give 2 distinct options (NHC, Fiesta etc)

What about ride and handling and safety? and interior room.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Even being a fan doesn't mean throwing good money after bad. You may not believe it, but I'm actually a bigger Honda fan than anything else. But I didn't look twice at the NHC after 2 OHCs.

Tell me about it! When buying my car I had the option of waiting for 2 months & picking up the NHC. My mother even said why don't you wait & buy the new one when it comes out, but I refused flat out!

People like me & you might be reasonable enough to not buy cars simply because we are fans of the brand & will lap up whatever they serve but there are a lot of people who do that. Hence my comment on the same.

P.S. I'm a huge BMW fan but would never pick the X3! Not that I can afford it anyways!!!

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Numbers dont always tell the whole story. The 1.1 was done specifically for exise benefit and will appeal to the non-performance freaks. Some OEMs try to hit a sweet spot with one engine that pleases all. Others give 2 distinct options (NHC, Fiesta etc)

What about ride and handling and safety? and interior room.

Agreed, they give different options. My point is, why would anyone buy a Fiat 1.1 when there are SO many better options. And this is not a two-dog fight, like the SX4 vs NHC one. There are atleast 5 competitors waiting to eat the Palio's market share, if it can garner any.

Ride, I don't know how much better than the Indica it is. The Indica is like a cocoon, and I think the Fiat would be hard-pressed to match that. Safety, what difference do you see between the Indica and the Stile? Atleast the Marutis give ABS (and airbags?) optional, and I think the Spark and the Xing do too (not sure). As for interior space, please read my earlier posts, where I have mentioned the Indica is superior.

[Whenasked]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Yes, I agree. The Palio 1.6 is a nice car, but it's time has passed. The 1.1 is an insult to our intelligence. And I hate being fed a car that is meant only for third-world countries.

But then how can you digest M800 still being produced in India..its technology is as old as 118NE was what it has...a bike engine..four scooter tires..plus a bubble tin sheet...can that be called as a car??

[Mpower]

A person who dosent care about power, has short drive to work, thinks the Indica is too crude and dosent want to ride in a tin can, would go for the Stile 1.1

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Mpower

A person who dosent care about power, has short drive to work, thinks the Indica is too crude and dosent want to ride in a tin can, would go for the Stile 1.1

And he doesn't care about mileage or A.S.S. either, or resale. But yes, I can see what you mean. I know the sort. After all, someone IS actually buying the car.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

. After all, someone IS actually buying the car.

There is already a member on the forum who has one.. and he has also written a ownership report.

Godfather

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by Whenasked

But then how can you digest M800 still being produced in India..its technology is as old as 118NE was what it has...a bike engine..four scooter tires..plus a bubble tin sheet...can that be called as a car??

Ok, the M800 is 1983 technology, the NE is 70s IIRC. Scooter tyres are 6 inch or something, the M800 is 12/13 inch. So if you're interested in facts, I will continue.

The M800 was launched, like almost all other Maruti cars, while it was still in production internationally. It was not designed only for third-world countries, which the Palio is. It's another thing that it is STILL in production, primarily because people buy it by the thousands. MUL is not a charity or a high fashion boutique. If people buy a product, they will sell, more so when the dies and manufacturing equipment have depreciated to the point where almost any sales equal profits.