Fiat Palio 1.6 1st anniversary

[meremortal]

Hello all !

It's been an year already. And I still love her!

I have tried to share my experiences in this thread on the Palio 1.6, after driving it for a complete year.

Birthday !
10 AM: Drove down to the car wash and got a complete body wash done and also the interiors cleaned. Ofcourse this car wash uses recycled water 3 times a day. So I made sure he used it while washing my car. Save Water !!

13:00: Motor insurance guy is stunned to see the car in a spanking new condition. He goes on to admit this is one of the most beautiful looking cars. Had my granny remove 'drishti' (evel eye).

17:00: Head out towards Mysore. Doing a steady 120 KMPH, when a HID lamp hits me. Look back and see a VW Passat. Decide to give him chase.
Have to admit the Passat is one puller. Well my darling revved up till 5.5k - 6k and did a 160 KMPH in the process. Finally gave up on the VW near Srirangapatna, where you encounter some wild curves.

Well I think I gave her a perfect b'day gift! Don't you think?

Review:

She is my guardian angel on the road. I have not faced any major issues so far. Period. The car is as reliable as an air lock.
When it come to ride quality and handling I need not explain much, however I have to become slightly controversial here. I had booked the Swift before buying the Palio. Well after being in it for an year now, a 5 hour ride across states in a Swift really made me nervous.

She is agressive! The engine performance has improved soon after the 3rd service. The throttle body was cleaned and now the engine wants to give more. My favourite part is the low and bass filled 'growl' it gives at 2k-2.5k rpms. Makes many pedestrians turn back and see whats coming!
This is where I need to mention the pet name my pals have given her. "The Time Machine". Well one example is a recent B'lore - B'gaum trip. Completed gate-to-gate in just under 6.5 hours.

She is also good to mother nature. The fuel economy has been my matter of pride. I have shifted to Shell Normal fuel. And I would love to swear by it. The performance has indeed improved and the engine responds much better. Well the best part is I manage to achieve an average of 13 KMPL in city and about 14.5 KMPL in highways. Well this could be surprising, but thats the truth.

She has got a very beautiful complexion and skin. Paint quality is good enough for our conditions. However I need to mention here that I do spend a lot of time waxing her .

She is a brilliant singer though. The ICE is made up of Polk Audio all round. With just the amp and wiring kit on the cards, that's going to be the last additions to her voice package. Maybe she can participate in Indian Idol, I wonder?

Our affair is short but has been memorable. Together we have clocked 12.5k clicks. And trust me I will be with her for atleast 4x of that! Pray for me.

Cheers !

[Dragonov]

Nice report meremortal ! Could you also post some pictures of your ride.

OT - were you really able to keep up with the Passat ?

[ms001]

nice review there.
all the best for many more miles ahead.
Just wanted to know, u had an issue with central locking because of a relay.
how long did it take to be rectified.

[pawan_pullarwar]

Palio 1.6 is the great car. My recent trip to Keral in my Palio, I was missing the power and was thinking I should had 1.6.

PHOTO?

[shantyrocks]

great review dude!
how about some pics

[aditya.86]

A great report and congrats. Though the report is incomplete without any pics.

[finneyp]

Meremortal, Nice interesting review but incomplete without pics.

I envy all Palio 1.6 owners Have fun!

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by ms001

nice review there.
all the best for many more miles ahead.
Just wanted to know, u had an issue with central locking because of a relay.
how long did it take to be rectified.

You are spot on. My central locking was busted due to a fried relay. Got it replaced at Green Tracks, Bangalore in a day. It was under warranty though.

[meremortal]

Originally Posted by Dragonov

Nice report meremortal ! Could you also post some pictures of your ride.

OT - were you really able to keep up with the Passat ?

Will be honest, NO. At one point I was revving at about 5k rpm in 2nd ! Still the Passat just took off from behind me ! That 2.0 diesel motor is surely peppy. The turbo on that thing kicks in at just 2.5k rpm, if I am correct.

[prateekswarup]

Nice report meremortal! Good to hear that the 1.6 Palio is faring well without any reliability issues even after a year. Was tempted to trade in my uno for a Palio 1.6 a couple of months back but recession concerns held me back.
Sigh!

Enjoy many more kilometers with your beauty
Also, pics please!

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by meremortal

17:00: Head out towards Mysore. Doing a steady 120 KMPH, when a HID lamp hits me. Look back and see a VW Passat. Decide to give him chase.
Have to admit the Passat is one puller. Well my darling revved up till 5.5k - 6k and did a 160 KMPH in the process. Finally gave up on the VW near Srirangapatna, where you encounter some wild curves.

Cheers !

What is it with Palios and Passats ?

4th July 2008 - 0700 AM - GQ - Bangalore Chennai - Tha glorious stretch between Vaniyambadi and Vellore

Mom, sis and I in the Palio 1.6 doing a relaxed 120 kph. I notice a KA registered Passat in my RVM catching up steadily. Looks brand new, teasing. Although risky on public roads, especially with family aboard, I cant resist the temptation. Gradually put the pedal to the metal. 120..130..140.. 150..160.. The Passat guy is in a similar predicament as me I guess. Maybe doesnt want to push the new car, but just cannot resist. We held this up for about 20-25 mins thereabouts of 150-160. The sweet engine note of the 1.6 at those revs just added to the fun. In the end I guess the Passat just decided to cool things a bit. Pulled away and slowly got back to cruising at 120kph. In a way I was happy the Passat guy didnt really take things seriously. Would have spoilt all that fun, ya?.A brilliant way to start the day!
Funny thing is after this whole thing I asked my mom to guess what speeds we were doing back then(she was seated at the back.) huh... mmm.. 130 maybe... she was shocked when i said 160. Thats something special about the 1.6 . Invariably, people develop a liking to it.
That turned out to be one of my quickest trips to Chennai.

Nice to hear your experience. Hope you enjoy many more miles of happy and safe motoring.

[JishD]

Hi Jagan,

I would highly recommend not doing the 160 kmph ever again since the brakes are just not good enough should the need arise.

Been there done that....and experience speaks

[ragsri]

It is interesting to see how the mileage keeps getting better with time in Palio 1.6. I own a Palio 1.6 sport bought in Dec 2007. Initially until the second service I used to get about 9-9.5 kmp/l with very minimal A/C. Now it has gotten a lot better, it gives about 10.5 with about 80 % AC and about 11.5 with no A/C in Bangalore city.

The main detterent to people buying Palio 1.6 is I guess, the mileage and A.S.S. The mileage part has to be clarified, it is definitely now low. It even has to be corrected in Team BhP test drive section where I think it is given as 9 kmpl. As for A.S.S, I am not satisfied with Prerana, Manipal is better. My friend gives his Palio to Greentracks and has very good experience. I will try this palce next time.

Originally Posted by meremortal

Hello all !

It's been an year already. And I still love her!

I have tried to share my experiences in this thread on the Palio 1.6, after driving it for a complete year.

Birthday !
10 AM: Drove down to the car wash and got a complete body wash done and also the interiors cleaned. Ofcourse this car wash uses recycled water 3 times a day. So I made sure he used it while washing my car. Save Water !!

13:00: Motor insurance guy is stunned to see the car in a spanking new condition. He goes on to admit this is one of the most beautiful looking cars. Had my granny remove 'drishti' (evel eye).

17:00: Head out towards Mysore. Doing a steady 120 KMPH, when a HID lamp hits me. Look back and see a VW Passat. Decide to give him chase.
Have to admit the Passat is one puller. Well my darling revved up till 5.5k - 6k and did a 160 KMPH in the process. Finally gave up on the VW near Srirangapatna, where you encounter some wild curves.

Well I think I gave her a perfect b'day gift! Don't you think?

Review:

She is my guardian angel on the road. I have not faced any major issues so far. Period. The car is as reliable as an air lock.
When it come to ride quality and handling I need not explain much, however I have to become slightly controversial here. I had booked the Swift before buying the Palio. Well after being in it for an year now, a 5 hour ride across states in a Swift really made me nervous.

She is agressive! The engine performance has improved soon after the 3rd service. The throttle body was cleaned and now the engine wants to give more. My favourite part is the low and bass filled 'growl' it gives at 2k-2.5k rpms. Makes many pedestrians turn back and see whats coming!
This is where I need to mention the pet name my pals have given her. "The Time Machine". Well one example is a recent B'lore - B'gaum trip. Completed gate-to-gate in just under 6.5 hours.

She is also good to mother nature. The fuel economy has been my matter of pride. I have shifted to Shell Normal fuel. And I would love to swear by it. The performance has indeed improved and the engine responds much better. Well the best part is I manage to achieve an average of 13 KMPL in city and about 14.5 KMPL in highways. Well this could be surprising, but thats the truth.

She has got a very beautiful complexion and skin. Paint quality is good enough for our conditions. However I need to mention here that I do spend a lot of time waxing her .

She is a brilliant singer though. The ICE is made up of Polk Audio all round. With just the amp and wiring kit on the cards, that's going to be the last additions to her voice package. Maybe she can participate in Indian Idol, I wonder?

Our affair is short but has been memorable. Together we have clocked 12.5k clicks. And trust me I will be with her for atleast 4x of that! Pray for me.

Cheers !

[loving_alaap]

Congrats,

Palio 1.6 with FE of 13 KMPL in city!!!!

Its a dream come true. Man, what else you want in life?

[JishD]

I get between 9.5-10 in city with 50% AC. But then I was never the most sedate driver either

Other than a conked alternator on Day 2, I have never faced any issues in the car over a 2 year period !

Of course, the noise insulation definitely needs to improve - something which I faced when TD'ing the Linea also. Radical redesign or merely changing the damping vendor is something the experts can recommend.