Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Swift D does 2200 rpm @ 100 kmph on 5th gear! 2500 rpm @ 100 seems to be on a bigger side than a relaxed gearing. Should be another reason why FE is NOT good as the Swift [of-course with weight being another reason].

Which Swift is it? The old one or the new one because I distinctly remember that Swift also does 100 @ 2.5k rpm.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Which Swift is it? The old one or the new one because I distinctly remember that Swift also does 100 @ 2.5k rpm.

Previous Gen. I have the 2008 model. I am quite sure that my car does 100 kmph @ 2200 rpms. From the new Swift's review by GTO, even it does 100 kmph @ around 2300 rpms.

[jingaboysr]

The new swift also does 100kmph between 2200-2300 rpm. I am sure about this, since I am running in my new car and keep a constant watch on the rpms. Swift does 80-90 at 2000 rpm.

[lloydofcochin]

Interestingly my Palio SDX also does 100kmph @ 2500rpm. I guess the gearing is somewhat similar in Punto & Palio. If I'm not wrong the Gearbox too is the same - C510 and maybe that's the reason

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by ms001

most probably it is from the rear suspension , if you get out of the car and shake it a bit , you might be able to locate the source.its a common problem.you can also check by sitting and getting up with door open

you might also hear this sound when jacking the car up.

True.

Originally Posted by scofield

Is your car parked on an inclined plane?
Even I can here such sound however only when the car is parked on a slope and handbraked. I think its just when handbrake is under stress.

Yes, my garage has an incline. But I notice this sound on flat surfaces too, only that the sound is amplified on an incline.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Its not the suspension its the brakes.
I get this sound not only when the vehicle is on handbrakes but also when I'm using the normal brakes.
Next time when this sound comes up, just release the brakes by a small amount just enough to stop the sound but not too much so that the car moves.
Whenever some new person gets down from my car I make sure that this sound doesn't come so that they don't get wrong impressions
As scofield pointed out, its more when the car is parked in an incline.

Correct. I have tried that out.

Just wanted to make sure that it is not a problem specific to my car & was hoping it is normal across all Puntos, as can be seen here.

raj_5004, I see you are worried about many small things in your car.
Is this too much of love and care towards your car or fear and scare about the A.S.S/fiat?

You caught me!

You can say, I just want my Pintu to be in perfect health now.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Yes. And its IRRITATING.

I wanted to post this today, but you have already posted the same. Imagine this situation - three ladies are waiting for me to get out of the car and greet them. I put the car on handbrake (was on a steep incline), open the car and -

Put one leg outside - krrrrrrr...

Lifts the weight off my bottom - krrrrr...

Stands up properly... krrrrr...

I wanted to shout - Its the bloody car!

Better to just shutdown the engine and put the car in gear.

Even I do get glances & stares, especially if the car in parked on a slope.

Originally Posted by scofield

Are people, I would say don't pull the hand brake when parked on an inclined plane, just slot it in first and and come out of the car . No noise would come. However, when you put the handbrake and try to come out , there is a little push on the handbrake and it screams at max tolerance.
I used to it the wrong way but now I park the way I said above.

Why does this happen though? Cant it be rectified at A.S.S.?

[CliffHanger]

Guys, today I burnt my playlist onto a Rewriteable CD and tried playing it in the car. But, the display showed "CD Error".

I'm totally pissed. There is no USB port, and the CD player is not playing songs from CD RW. Does the OEM Music system play only originial CDs?

[ms001]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Why does this happen though? Cant it be rectified at A.S.S.?

I complained about this during 30k service , the SA informed me that this is common issue and due to lubrication problem near some suspension part (cant recall exactly).It was ok for some time , but reappeared after 1 month or so.

Iam pretty sure its from somewhere in the rear suspension , the sound is more easily noticeable on uneven/inclined parking.

Best way to reproduce and localize the issue is jack up the car, at front.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Guys, today I burnt my playlist onto a Rewriteable CD and tried playing it in the car. But, the display showed "CD Error".

I'm totally pissed. There is no USB port, and the CD player is not playing songs from CD RW. Does the OEM Music system play only originial CDs?

The system seems to read CDs that are burned used Nero, if you tried to write the files on a CD using Windows, it will not read it. This an issue that you can't do anything about. One reason I changed my HU to a GTX-555 and stopped using CDs.

[dpkrai]

Recently I was in the market for purchasing a hatchback (diesel) and for that I’d been following the discussion on this thread. I did make a couple of other choices (i20, Liva,Micra or Dzire/Manza-different segments I know) but at last went for the first choice which was indeed Punto 2012,1.3MJD. So after a bit of waiting I took the delivery of Dynamic (Feb 2012 make), Tuscan Wine from Oberai Motors, Dehradun on 27th Feb. Yesterday the car clocked 1000Kms and soon I’m planning to write a detailed review of my buying and initial experience from this part of India (a couple of photos attached). Off late the car is increasingly making unpleasant noise (thuds) from rear left door while going over rough roads/speed breakers. However that is not of a big concern at the moment as it could be the same loose link rod issue as many others have pointed out. Just a quick query though as I’m not been able to find that info anywhere on the forum. A week ago I got the Registration Certificate (RC) from Dehradun RTO however I noticed possibly two incorrect info.
1. Unladen weight: 1260 KG
2. Gross weight: 1565 KG

Please note that 1.3 MJD Dynamic Unladed weight is 1130 KG as per the Fiat Brochure (Fiat India). I’m not too sure about the Gross Weight listed in the RC however I’m assuming that to be incorrect as well as the primary figure for its estimation might be the same 1260 KG.

The sales guy from Oberai Motors has informed me that the same figures ( i.e.1260 and 1565 KG) is used for all Puntos across all RTO throughout India. I’m not sure about his claim and wonder if anybody else has noticed the same issue? Or the sales guy is just not interested in correcting the error? As of now I have not accepted the RC on the ground that such error might lead to other problems in the event of any insurance claim in the future.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

Guys, today I burnt my playlist onto a Rewriteable CD and tried playing it in the car. But, the display showed "CD Error".

I'm totally pissed. There is no USB port, and the CD player is not playing songs from CD RW. Does the OEM Music system play only originial CDs?

Originally Posted by avira_tk

The system seems to read CDs that are burned used Nero, if you tried to write the files on a CD using Windows, it will not read it. This an issue that you can't do anything about.

The HU reads only if the CD is "finalized".
CD RW can not be finalised and is almost like an USB drive which is why it doesn't read.
There is an option in windows that asks us if we want to use the CD as an USB or like a CD! We should be selecting the latter.
While burning a CD (be it Windows or any other software like Nero), make sure you finalize the CD burning session so as to make it work on the HU.
Once while burning a CD, I selected the "USB-like" option and the HU didn't read it. I then went back and finalised the CD and there was no problem.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

i have noticed this too Punto does 100 at 2.5K RPM.
The Linea does it at a shade under 2.5K that is 2.4K
Not sure of about swift.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Swift D does 2200 rpm @ 100 kmph on 5th gear! 2500 rpm @ 100 seems to be on a bigger side than a relaxed gearing. Should be another reason why FE is NOT good as the Swift [of-course with weight being another reason].

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Previous Gen. I have the 2008 model. I am quite sure that my car does 100 kmph @ 2200 rpms. From the new Swift's review by GTO, even it does 100 kmph @ around 2300 rpms.

Originally Posted by jingaboysr

The new swift also does 100kmph between 2200-2300 rpm. I am sure about this, since I am running in my new car and keep a constant watch on the rpms. Swift does 80-90 at 2000 rpm.

Originally Posted by lloydofcochin

Interestingly my Palio SDX also does 100kmph @ 2500rpm. I guess the gearing is somewhat similar in Punto & Palio. If I'm not wrong the Gearbox too is the same - C510 and maybe that's the reason

So basically thanks to the weight Fiat has had to shorten its gear ratios, hence slightly higher revs at 100kmph. Come to think of it, my Civic MT would do exactly 100 at 2500 RPM and it had a 7K rev limit.

@lloydofcochin - I did not know that Palio's gearbox is shared with the Punto, so that makes our gearbox atleast a decade old. No wonder its so rubbery and notchy.

[lloydofcochin]

Originally Posted by hiren.mistry

So basically thanks to the weight Fiat has had to shorten its gear ratios, hence slightly higher revs at 100kmph. Come to think of it, my Civic MT would do exactly 100 at 2500 RPM and it had a 7K rev limit.

@lloydofcochin - I did not know that Palio's gearbox is shared with the Punto, so that makes our gearbox atleast a decade old. No wonder its so rubbery and notchy.

What I've read is that the Linea & Tata Indica Vista too share the same gear box

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

The HU reads only if the CD is "finalized".
... and there was no problem.

Thanks, but too late now, but anyway an ancient blaupunkt had no trouble reading the CD. Anyway USB/AUX is the future and the HU had to go.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by dpkrai

Off late the car is increasingly making unpleasant noise (thuds) from rear left door while going over rough roads/speed breakers. However that is not of a big concern at the moment as it could be the same loose link rod issue as many others have pointed out.

If it's from the rear left, it's most probably from the suspension due to the tires getting lifted off the road and then coming down. This has been discussed on this thread earlier. This is not really an issue and the only way to avoid the noise may be to drive a bit slower over speed-breakers.

Yes, I know you don't feel any of the small potholes or speed-breakers inside the car and you will be tempted to go fast over them

[sriramr9]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

With regards to the humming sound just when u turn on to ignition, chillax guys, it's just the priming of fuel pump/injector. Even fuel injected bikes do this. I have experienced it in many cars plus brand new Puntos too.

But the same should not happen while the engine is up and running, that is, the hissing sound from the rear. The former happens under the hood.

You mean the hissing sound from rear has no relation with the humm made initially when turned the key to ON position. i could sense the sound coming from somewhere rear only and not in front.. could not pin point exactly..

Does the same behvior hold good for 2011 puntos's and 90 HP's, cuz a 90hp owner took a first hand look and stated neither he gets such a audible hum nor a hiss from rear.. he feels i need to show up to the TASS guys.. i sent an email to service@fiapl.com and pasting their reply below....


Dear Sir,

Thank you for your communication.

If the sound is coming from rear pl check the silencer hook (rubber part). The sound may be due to that.

Pl confirm the same with dealer as physical inspection details the root cause, we only can give you the probable cause.

With warm regards,

Ashish Bhattacharya,
Customer Services,
Fiat India Automobiles Ltd,
B 19, Ranjangaon MIDC,
Shirur,
Pune - 412210.
Phone No.- +91 2138 672763.
E-mail :- service@fiapl.com

From: Sriram Ramamoorthy [mailto:Sriram_Ramamoorthy@Trimble.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:56 PM
To: Service
Subject: RE: A/c Issue in 2012 Fiat GPunto Bossanova white. Car in Service Center since two days. - Hissing Sound heard from rear of car Punto MJD 2012 model. - 20/03/2012.

Hi Ashish,

Please refer to my earlier email on my new acquisition. Right from delivery day I am able to get a hissing sound from the rear part of the car when the car is left idle and when turning ON the ignition key the EGR or some component related to the sensor powering up, the sound coming from that component like motor humming sound is much more audible than normally heard in other company cars like DDIS swift.

Are these two normal behavior. Would like to confirm it from you before I actually take it to the dealer, I feel more at home touching base with you than them first hand. Thanks for your time sir.

Thanks & regards,
Sriram.R