Fiat Palio Stile Multijet: Long Term Review - Page 8 - Team-BHP

Ice · 8th October 2009, 14:39

Great review, Architect! Happy to see that she's behaving herself. A couple of points:
1. About the beige interiors: I had a huge issue with sweat and grease stains when the AC was not working. IO decided to put down Rs.6,000 on G-Sport seat covers, and its working well so far.

2. Parcel tray rattle: I've used wire sealing tape along the edges of the parcel tray, and also heavily taped the 2 metal bits at the far right and left corners that keep it fixed in place. This has helped.

3. Another rattling opportunity is when the metal seat-back hits the rear suspension mounts. Open the boot and you'll notice that the gap is minimal, so if someone's sitting in the back, the seat back is bound to strike the mounts occasionally. Remedy: stuff old newspapers into the gap between the mounts and the seat back. Works wonders.

4. About the uneven wear. Prerana didn't get the wheel alignment done at any point in time during my first four services. So I've started getting the inversion, rotation, balancing and alignment done at a Good Year tyre specialist in Bangalore. I suggest that you get all these done outside as well, since most service stations (even the excellent ones) don't have the patience to do an end-to-end job when it comes to tyres.

All the best and happy motoring!
Also,

gitartha · 9th October 2009, 23:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by architect

If I drive like crazy, I get 13.xx with AC even in the worst of traffic. If I drive sedately, I get 15.xx in the same conditions. So there's not much variation. On highways, I have managed 20.xx with AC even after doing triple digit speeds for long.

Thats pretty decent,in your next highway run keep your speed below 80kmph, engine ticking between 1600-1800 in overdrive. That should pretty much expose the inherent thriftiness of the multijet hidden underneath the performance veil.. 26-28 kmpl should be a breeze...

visweshkalambur · 19th October 2009, 17:50

Architect, great review. As pointed out by many, to the point and honest. I own a Palio Multijet myself for more than a year now and have clocked 20K kms.

I should say I have been lucky enough not to face any major problems with my car except for a rare minor rattling noise in the steering column. Also, I had some shuddering when the car is at 2.5 RPM in the fifth gear. This has subsequently been solved. Just mentioned it during the regular service. Not sure what they did.

Have gone on quite a few road trips, longest being Chennai to Coorg. I happened to meet an automobile enthusiast by name Tom there. He owns two willy's and a 123 Mercedes and takes care of them by himself. He is also part of the Coorg wildlife society which explores the forests. We wanted to go to one of the highest points in coorg and was planning to do it in his 4X4. Instead in the morning, he chose to take the palio and said, if at all any car can do it, it is this. Trust me the car never faced any strains over the steep climbs or the bad roads. He is a die hard fan of FIAT cars himself.

I have done 160km/hr in this car and trust me you would'nt get a better feedback from a car upto 7 lacs or around at 150lm/hr. I have owned a swift vxi and felt the steering gets light after 120 or 130km/her. This car also manages to accelerate pretty well till 140 or 150.

The handling is something i need'nt mention as it has been discussed to death here.

I should say VST motors in Chennai have been very helpful and attentive except for the initial blurp in the beginning when taking delivery.

I am happier with this car than the swift. Swift has its merits, i do not deny it, but palio to me rocks. (personal opinion)

I agree that the cabin noise can be pretty loud and so is the tyre noise. I am yet to replce my tyres.

I would like to point out two accidents that the car had to take, one was when a stupid biker wanted to overtake me on the left when i was trying to turn left with my indicator on. He was travelling at around 40km/hr and hit me on the front wheel arch. All the car had with the collission was a small dent above the wheel arch which is not very apparent. (Is this what we refer to as tank like build?

) The next was when my dad had to break heavily to avoid hitting a car at front who stopped suddenly when the signal turned red. A two wheeler from behind hit the car at pretty good speed. I was amazed to see that the bumper had broken only around the place of impact but was still held pretty well by the clamps in it s place. The hole i think has helped to give away the impact and not hurt the car more. A little dent on the 5th door due to impact with the handle bar. I would say this is not much considering an accident with my swift where a splendor bike had hit the car on the side from front and the whole emtal sheet on the front left from the headlight to the body was ripped off and folded when the guy in the bike only had a simple fracture.

One crib i definitely have about this car is on the interior fit with gaps in the steering colum below the key holder and the parcel shelf in the co driver's side. The AC is pretty good too.

I have no repents of selling a Swift VXi to buy the palio MJD after 15 months of owning this car.

Sorry for the long post, no intention to take your ownership report.. just my thoughts on the car too....

tortoiseNhare · 21st November 2009, 19:57

Hi architect,

Today my car took a hit at the bottom. The tarmac was unusually high above the ground level and the left wheels went down, while giving way to a truck, at about 45 kmph. After some time I could hear a metal brushing metal kind of sound from the front left wheel. I jacked up that wheel to see that it is not revolving freely. Before taking the car to the service station it would be nice if I could hear your advice.

architect · 21st November 2009, 23:50

If there is nothing protruding into the wheel well from the outside, then it could be a suspension component or part of the disc brake or caliper. Metallic brushing sound could mean something hitting the disc brakes.

I have had quite a few underbody hits but all of them by stones (big and small) flying off the wheels. I can't say... I would suggest take it to any service centre and just hoist it and take a detailed look. You don't need a Fiat guy to figure out this one. Don't ignore it.

tortoiseNhare · 22nd November 2009, 06:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by architect

If there is nothing protruding into the wheel well from the outside, then it could be a suspension component or part of the disc brake or caliper. Metallic brushing sound could mean something hitting the disc brakes.

I have had quite a few underbody hits but all of them by stones (big and small) flying off the wheels. I can't say... I would suggest take it to any service centre and just hoist it and take a detailed look. You don't need a Fiat guy to figure out this one. Don't ignore it.

Thanks. I am taking the car to the mechanic who took care of our old M800. If any question of damaged parts arises then only I'll take her to the Tata ASC.

vikasb · 22nd November 2009, 10:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

Today my car took a hit at the bottom. The tarmac was unusually high above the ground level and the left wheels went down, while giving way to a truck, at about 45 kmph. After some time I could hear a metal brushing metal kind of sound from the front left wheel. I jacked up that wheel to see that it is not revolving freely. Before taking the car to the service station it would be nice if I could hear your advice.

It has happened to me when the car hit a crater on the back right side. I didn't have any issue in driving or any noise. But the very next day when i was reversing the car a noise came up as if the car was crushing a plastic bottle. Took it to the service centre and they detected it to be a bent spring in the back right side brakes. For this they changes the entire Break ASSY Rear as the spring was not available seperately and cost me 2000 bucks.

tortoiseNhare · 22nd November 2009, 10:40

As I was taking the car to my old mechanic the sound stopped after having driven for about a kilometer. The guy said nothing to worry; something might have got into the gap between the brake pad and disc which now went out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and might visit a wheel alignment shop soon.

janitha · 22nd November 2009, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

As I was taking the car to my old mechanic the sound stopped after having driven for about a kilometer. The guy said nothing to worry; something might have got into the gap between the brake pad and disc which now went out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and might visit a wheel alignment shop soon.

Along with the alignment, won't it be wise to check for any possible damage to the disc and drum too?

8th October 2009, 14:39	#106 (permalink)
Ice BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 182	Great review, Architect! Happy to see that she's behaving herself. A couple of points: 1. About the beige interiors: I had a huge issue with sweat and grease stains when the AC was not working. IO decided to put down Rs.6,000 on G-Sport seat covers, and its working well so far. 2. Parcel tray rattle: I've used wire sealing tape along the edges of the parcel tray, and also heavily taped the 2 metal bits at the far right and left corners that keep it fixed in place. This has helped. 3. Another rattling opportunity is when the metal seat-back hits the rear suspension mounts. Open the boot and you'll notice that the gap is minimal, so if someone's sitting in the back, the seat back is bound to strike the mounts occasionally. Remedy: stuff old newspapers into the gap between the mounts and the seat back. Works wonders. 4. About the uneven wear. Prerana didn't get the wheel alignment done at any point in time during my first four services. So I've started getting the inversion, rotation, balancing and alignment done at a Good Year tyre specialist in Bangalore. I suggest that you get all these done outside as well, since most service stations (even the excellent ones) don't have the patience to do an end-to-end job when it comes to tyres. All the best and happy motoring! Also, __________________ To win, you need a Finn" - Mika Hakkinen

19th October 2009, 17:50	#108 (permalink)
visweshkalambur Newbie Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 18	Palio is indeed good... Architect, great review. As pointed out by many, to the point and honest. I own a Palio Multijet myself for more than a year now and have clocked 20K kms. I should say I have been lucky enough not to face any major problems with my car except for a rare minor rattling noise in the steering column. Also, I had some shuddering when the car is at 2.5 RPM in the fifth gear. This has subsequently been solved. Just mentioned it during the regular service. Not sure what they did. Have gone on quite a few road trips, longest being Chennai to Coorg. I happened to meet an automobile enthusiast by name Tom there. He owns two willy's and a 123 Mercedes and takes care of them by himself. He is also part of the Coorg wildlife society which explores the forests. We wanted to go to one of the highest points in coorg and was planning to do it in his 4X4. Instead in the morning, he chose to take the palio and said, if at all any car can do it, it is this. Trust me the car never faced any strains over the steep climbs or the bad roads. He is a die hard fan of FIAT cars himself. I have done 160km/hr in this car and trust me you would'nt get a better feedback from a car upto 7 lacs or around at 150lm/hr. I have owned a swift vxi and felt the steering gets light after 120 or 130km/her. This car also manages to accelerate pretty well till 140 or 150. The handling is something i need'nt mention as it has been discussed to death here. I should say VST motors in Chennai have been very helpful and attentive except for the initial blurp in the beginning when taking delivery. I am happier with this car than the swift. Swift has its merits, i do not deny it, but palio to me rocks. (personal opinion) I agree that the cabin noise can be pretty loud and so is the tyre noise. I am yet to replce my tyres. I would like to point out two accidents that the car had to take, one was when a stupid biker wanted to overtake me on the left when i was trying to turn left with my indicator on. He was travelling at around 40km/hr and hit me on the front wheel arch. All the car had with the collission was a small dent above the wheel arch which is not very apparent. (Is this what we refer to as tank like build? ) The next was when my dad had to break heavily to avoid hitting a car at front who stopped suddenly when the signal turned red. A two wheeler from behind hit the car at pretty good speed. I was amazed to see that the bumper had broken only around the place of impact but was still held pretty well by the clamps in it s place. The hole i think has helped to give away the impact and not hurt the car more. A little dent on the 5th door due to impact with the handle bar. I would say this is not much considering an accident with my swift where a splendor bike had hit the car on the side from front and the whole emtal sheet on the front left from the headlight to the body was ripped off and folded when the guy in the bike only had a simple fracture. One crib i definitely have about this car is on the interior fit with gaps in the steering colum below the key holder and the parcel shelf in the co driver's side. The AC is pretty good too. I have no repents of selling a Swift VXi to buy the palio MJD after 15 months of owning this car. Sorry for the long post, no intention to take your ownership report.. just my thoughts on the car too....

21st November 2009, 19:57	#109 (permalink)
tortoiseNhare BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Guwahati Posts: 226 Infractions: 0/1 (7)	Hi architect, Today my car took a hit at the bottom. The tarmac was unusually high above the ground level and the left wheels went down, while giving way to a truck, at about 45 kmph. After some time I could hear a metal brushing metal kind of sound from the front left wheel. I jacked up that wheel to see that it is not revolving freely. Before taking the car to the service station it would be nice if I could hear your advice. __________________ The car I drive is a PAL I Own.

21st November 2009, 23:50	#110 (permalink)
architect BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 528	If there is nothing protruding into the wheel well from the outside, then it could be a suspension component or part of the disc brake or caliper. Metallic brushing sound could mean something hitting the disc brakes. I have had quite a few underbody hits but all of them by stones (big and small) flying off the wheels. I can't say... I would suggest take it to any service centre and just hoist it and take a detailed look. You don't need a Fiat guy to figure out this one. Don't ignore it. __________________ Palio Stile Multijet, April 2008: 32,000 km Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi, July 2005 : 45,000 km

22nd November 2009, 10:40	#113 (permalink)
tortoiseNhare BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Guwahati Posts: 226 Infractions: 0/1 (7)	As I was taking the car to my old mechanic the sound stopped after having driven for about a kilometer. The guy said nothing to worry; something might have got into the gap between the brake pad and disc which now went out. I am keeping my fingers crossed and might visit a wheel alignment shop soon. __________________ The car I drive is a PAL I Own.

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