changes to the palio stile 1.6 ??

[GeekSrik]

hi all

today i was speaking with a fiat dealer in bangalore. the fiat palio 1.6 seems to have undergone some changes in parts (read that as lighter materials - aluminium) so that the car gives about 12 in city (lets read that again as without ac). this is what they have found with the TD vehicle.

the delivery times are also short with black available in 1 day and red in 4-5 days. the manager also told me that FIAT has asked all dealers to invest about 18-20 lacs towards stocking spares for their cars before hand of selling the cars, which means they want dealers to be ready for any kind of issues that customers can face with the cars.

the question I have is what are those changes that are mentioned that can/is actually making the palio 1.6 give a mileage of about 11-12 compared to the earlier 9-10? is this also really true that the mileage indeed has increased? can anyone confirm from mumbai about this since the fiat dealers are good there? or any other city?

atleast looks like FIAT is doing things right this time and they are not looking at great sales figures as of now.

that aside for a brand new 1.6, i was offered free insurance. yes you read right, free insurance of about 15k, bringing the car price from 5.03 lacs to about 4.85 lacs. now how many times have we heard of FIAT giving anything free?

can you also share your opinions on this thread about the changes in FIAT/Fiat cars?

[1100D]

Well what is the Unladen weight of the car now? I wished they changed the Alloy design.

[extreme_torque]

The weight is absolutely same... its just showroom guy speak. Dont delve into it, deeper. The previous Palio 1.6 if driven decently gave around 10-11 kmpl with AC on all the time, so 12 kmpl without AC is very very realistic.

Must say the new one looks awesome in red.... almost like little sports car. By the way FIAT claims a cd of 33 for the new Palio, which is pretty slippery and helps with fuel average, top speed as well as stability at higher speeds.

[streetlife]

My 1.2 never hardly gives 12 without A.C with a light foot. Its extremely well maintained.. how can a 1.6 deliver 12..

And i dont think there is any other changes except cosmetic. Even the shape of the dash(front console)/ interior is 7-8 years old now except for a 2 tone color job...

[GeekSrik]

extreme torque can you answer streetlife's query, and pardon my ignorance what do you mean by CD of palio is 33?

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by GeekSrik

extreme torque can you answer streetlife's query, and pardon my ignorance what do you mean by CD of palio is 33?

Hi Geeksrik Cd is co-efficient of drag which is 0.33 for the Stile. Higher the Cd more is the resistance offered to the car. A low Cd means lower air resistance to the car which transalates into lesser effort being expended and therefore higher FE.

But wouldnt know what is the Cd of say a Swift or the older Palio to compare and conclude.

ANd which dealer is offering free insurance?? SUre you heard it right???

EMD are you listening??

Nimz

[rishibravo]

well what i know is that the stile is lighter than the old palio. The Engine might be the same but the weight of the body has been reduced. I opened the bonet of the stile and felt it lighter than my palio. may be thats the only change

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by Nimz

ANd which dealer is offering free insurance?? SUre you heard it right???

All i know of is reduced intrest rate on Bank Loan for the Palio.. I am not aware of the free insurance thing.

Godfather

[streetlife]

Originally Posted by rishibravo

well what i know is that the stile is lighter than the old palio. The Engine might be the same but the weight of the body has been reduced. I opened the bonet of the stile and felt it lighter than my palio. may be thats the only change

That may be because of the subtraction of the grille which is now seperate..

The cd for the earlier palios and siennas were also 0.33 as far as i know...

[BUSA]

Well the mileage is thanks to Fiat retuning the cars for better FE after the NV series.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by rishibravo

well what i know is that the stile is lighter than the old palio. The Engine might be the same but the weight of the body has been reduced. I opened the bonet of the stile and felt it lighter than my palio. may be thats the only change

The weight reduction might have been in the form of thinning the sheet metal. Hope the build quality hasnt been compromised.

[ported_head]

Originally Posted by Nimz

But wouldnt know what is the Cd of say a Swift

0.32, or so I read somewhere.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by ported_head

0.32, or so I read somewhere.

And the Spark is in the range of 0.34... So much for 0.33 Cd!!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by streetlife

My 1.2 never hardly gives 12 without A.C with a light foot. Its extremely well maintained.. how can a 1.6 deliver 12..

...

That could be because having the same weight the 1.6 can happily stay at higher gears more easily (read lighter foot) than the 1.2. Some people have the habit of upshifting early and its them who will see the 1.6 return good FE (BUT I doubt if its better). But most people who buy the 1.6, bought it for a specific reason above the 1.2 and justifying that reason, would not see them upshift early!!

[devarshi84]

I have the brochure of the fiat palio and 1.6 stile in my hands right now. (I have collected all from HM ambassador and contessa to Honda civic )

old palio New Palio
Length 3763 3827
weight 1o80 1060


now much other details on paper. Its the same power and torque figures at the same RPM but the weight as we can see is 20kgs lighter. They probably saved the weight in the redesigned bonnet, grille and bumpers. Also absent is the spoiler. hence the doors still close with the old satisfying thud.

the good news is the new stile 1.6 doesnt loose out on goodies such as
14" alloys + tubeless tyres and metallic pedals with 4th footrest


@GeekSrik: Cargo Motors (they have ford, tata and fiat dealerships) is offering the palio 1.6 stile sport ex-showroom for 4.80. On offer is the free insurance and an extended warranty. So basically I would guess one can get it for 4.49.