[ZBlue]

Hi ,

My Tuscan Wine T Jet+ was delivered last Friday. A big thanks to GTO for the comprehensive review and everybody who posted their feedback. Special thanks to all the TJet owners - I will not risk taking names because I might miss somebody , but be assured , if you have a TJet ownership thread here or any other forum , I have read every line of it and it has helped me greatly !

Background : The loan for my first car , a 1.4 Petrol Logan got over this July and I was on the lookout for a new car. The other car in the family was my wife's Honda city ZX. Came across the ads for the TJet+ and went through ownership reviews in detail. I wasn't considering a diesel anyway given my low daily runs of 20-30Kms.

The TJet surely looked like a killer deal given its trim/equipment levels , along with the legendary turbocharged engine.

TD , booking and delivery : Only Triumph Auto in Faridabad had a TD TJet as well as a March '11 TJet+ in stock. Took a test drive , promptly blown away . Went to check out the car they had in stock and it seemed clean , barring a few cosmetic issues. Cut to the chase , two test drives later , car was booked !

Other cars considered/Test Driven - None.

Delivery was scheduled last Friday , 19th of October after the finances were arranged with HDFC. The SA , Satish was a pleasant enough fellow and generally responsive. Didn't go over too many technicalities/features as I was aware of mostly everything about the car , and I think he was aware that I was aware

The car I was planning to buy had a few minor scratches here and there which they had fixed prior to delivery , but in the process introduced a few new ones . I have chosen to overlook these. The overall delivery experience was quite interesting actually :

Rear left chrome door handle was badly scuffed - door lock assembly replaced using the same from the 2012 Linea TD car
Cap of windshield fluid reservoir missing - replaced using the same from the 2012 Linea TD car
Insulation under bonnet ragged - replaced using the same from the TD Tjet
Weak battery , would not crank even after jump starting - replaced using battery from the 2012 MJD on display

Car was delivered with 136 H on the odo.

Final OTR : 7.18L . Apart from the usual TJet discounts , I got an additional discount of 10K from the dealer, the special colour charge of 6k was waived , corporate discount of 5k and reverse parking sensor and camea were included.


Initial driving impressions :

Engine - A modern day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Keep the revs low and she will meekly potter about town all day. Floor the throttle and she leaps forward. Seriously , the throttle response and the torque is something to be experienced ! There is some amount of turbo-lag at <1700 RPM and this might catch you off-guard if you plan to accelerate quickly in-city. To get the most out of the engine , it needs to be kept in the turbo zone >2000 RPM through the optimal use of the gears.

The sound of the turbo spooling up is quite addictive ! You can hear it when you are driving at night on empty roads. The engine is silent when driven sedately but gets throaty at higher RPM's. I am yet to reline so cannot comment on how rev-friendly the engine. However , given that the max torque is delivered at 2200 RPM itself , there is no point in revving too hard during the course of your daily in-city drives. Yet to take the car out on a proper long-distance highway run so cannot comment in that aspect. But going by the in-city driving feeling , the highway drive should be quite an experience !

Interiors - All the windows are quite big and lend an airy feel , at least in front. However , space at the back is at a premium , especially for tall passengers. The roof line swoops back over the doors and headroom is compromised. The car is best suited for four people. If the driver is tall , like I am , then the legroom at the back behind the driver's seat is also compromised severely. The seats have adequate to-and-fro travel , and combined with the height and backrest adjustments , should help you in finding your preferred driving position quickly.

Since temperatures have already started dropping , the cooling power of the AC is yet to be tested to its full extent , but I do not anticipate any problems on that front. However , based on moderate usage of the AC it is evident that there is zero loss of power when the compressor kicks in.

Suspension - On the harder side and bumps and potholes are felt when driving with one/two passengers. Body roll is minimum and high speed stability is excellent.

Steering and brakes - Best in class probably. The hydraulic power steering feels on the heavier side at parking speeds , but weighs in brilliantly at higher speeds. Quite a change from the EPS of the Honda ! Four disc brakes are a necessity given the powerful engine and provide excellent stopping power. I expect the brakes to only improve once they have bedded in.

Gearshift and transmission - Gear shifts are a bit iffy - nowhere near to the City in this department. Hoping it will feel more precise with time. Car has done about 500km to date. Moeover , with the armrest in place , quick gear changes can be troublesome. While driving in the city , I usually have the armrest put away.

FE - Too early to comment. Right now I am getting anywhere between 10-11 kmpl on my daily 30 drives from home to work and back with 50% AC usage and 50% bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Things that could have been better :

1. Optimization of storage space - the only usable space for me is the one inside the armrest !
2. Long pedal travel - Not sure if this characteristic of all Fiat cars , but it certainly takes some getting used to ! Stalled a car while taking a U-turn after along time
3. ORVM's - They are tall enough , but not very wide. Electronically folding mirrors would have been nice but guess you can't have everything !

Niggles/Issues :

1. Odometer blinking - Fixed at Dhingra motors
2. Windshield reservoir pipe had fallen off - Fixed
3. Wipers were leaving trails on operation - Temporarily fixed by adding shampoo to the water , but will probably replace the blades anyway
4. Light shuddering sound coming from front left. Audible only when its very quiet outside and at very low/crawling speeds - Explained by technician as normal given the heavy engine of the Linea. Currently on to-do list
5. Wind noise - On to-do list
6. Road noise - The loud OEM Goodyears were replaced with Yokohoma C-drives recently. Road noise is now very low.

In some ways , I think this car has made me a saner driver. Earlier there was this to urge to meddle with the racers in their Swifts/Hondas/Ventos/Safaris when one used to land on my tail honking/flashing/dipping/dimming.. Now I calmly move over and let them pass - "I forgive you.."



[A very honorable mention to my outgoing car - Mahindra Logan GLX 1.4.. king of comfort , trusted ride for four years - you will be missed]

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[kailashnj]

Congrats on your new car and its really nice to see the Linea in Tuscon Wine colour. Its one of the best drivers car that is available in India and the price that you got it, takes the icing on the cake.

Happy mile munching and keep your thread updated with pictures

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Fantastic Buy. Tjet at the discounted price is simply hard to ignore. Tuscan wine is a lovely color, but very difficult to keep it free from dust and dirt.

Good thing that you got the battery changed free of cost.

Do post a good number of pics of the car.

Enjoy many more happy miles flying low.

[sdp1975]

I know that road tax is low in Delhi ( compared to Bangalore where I stay ) but 7.18 L OTR is a steal deal.

Hearty congratulations, and wishing you many happy miles in one the best drivers cars around !

[skm1967]

Dear ZBlue,

Congratulations on your lovely Tuscan Wine Fiat Linea T-Jet+ and wish you happy driving for a long long time. I bought my BNW T-Jet+ exactly a month before you and had thought I was one of the last if not the last one! BTW you got a great deal at 7.18 OTR. Enjoy the ride on NCR roads.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by ZBlue

Hi ,

My Tuscan Wine T Jet+ was delivered last Friday.

Congrats ZBlue on your Acquisition and boy what a Marvel it is.

I am sure you are still relishing the power surge and could care less about anything else, but please post loads more snaps.

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I know that road tax is low in Delhi ( compared to Bangalore where I stay ) but 7.18 L OTR is a steal deal.

Talk about it sdp1975. The last time I checked, T Jet+ was about 9.2lks post all discounts in Bangalore.

@ 7.18 lks OTR, its cheaper than a Punto 1.4 in Bangalore !!!

[BMW-X5]

7.18 for a T-Jet + ? That is a steal, when I sold off my Punto MJD Emotion pack the only car I had in mind was a T Jet. Unfortunatley I couldnt fnd a good one in Kerala so sellted for Scorpio Mhawk VLX. Man I envy you!

Congrats

[Shreyas Aterkar]

You should have titled it as 7.18 lakhs - guess which car is it? Its a steal. Just worried about a few niggles that you faced before delivery, but with the PDI you did, mechanicals should be fine. Tjet is good, its amazing, I also test drove it here but the colour option (FTA) did not go well with my wifey so decided against it. Its a gem and at that price, man you are lucky you are in G'gaon. Here it was costing at least 1.25 lakhs more. Please post some interior shots as well.

[arvind71181]

7.18L for a TJet+? .

Great deal sir. Mouthwatering. Am completely jealous, green with envy .

Enjoy your drive in the lovely car.

[bhunu AMG]

{ with the armrest in place , quick gear changes can be troublesome. While driving in the city , I usually have the armrest put away.}
Excellent buy @excellent cost.Regarding armrest,I think there might be one more position down in its placement and then changing gear will be smooth.Just try to push the armrest one more step down n I feel pretty comfortable in my MJD linea.

[sanstorm]

Congratulations - The deal is sweet as the car.

When I was in market when Tjet was lauched, the dealer's T-jet+ asking price was 10.25 (in Pune). This is unbelievable what the petrol prices, Fiat's misdeed and shift to diesel has done to this lovely lovely car. I envy you my friend

[puchoo]

Congrats on the new baby!! I am so so jealous and disappointed , i was hoping to have the Tjet in this very color with me by this time but thanks to incompetent dealers and sales executives , information passed around was inaccurate and late and eventually no more cars available for purchase.

Look forward to tons and tons of pictures!!

[KarthikK]

ZBlue, hearty congrats on the T-Jet+, and wish you many happy miles with the beast.

Originally Posted by ZBlue

Hoping it will feel more precise with time. Car has done about 500km to date. Moeover , with the armrest in place , quick gear changes can be troublesome. While driving in the city , I usually have the armrest put away.

The armrest has 3 positions for height adjustment. Try the lowest one which shouldn't interfere with your hand movements on the gear lever.

FE - Too early to comment. Right now I am getting anywhere between 10-11 kmpl on my daily 30 drives from home to work and back with 50% AC usage and 50% bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I get around 9-10kmpl in the city with 100% AC. On the highway, I once curiously tried to maintain the rpm close to 2k rpm for a long while (just to check how frugal this beast can be), and the MID surprised me with a whopping FE figure of 18.9 kmpl! On a routine basis, all my highway drives return around 15-16 kmpl. Anyway with the Jet, FE shouldn't be a concern, so lets enjoy the flights instead, eh?

1. Long pedal travel - Not sure if this characteristic of all Fiat cars , but it certainly takes some getting used to ! Stalled a car while taking a U-turn after along time
2. ORVM's - They are tall enough , but not very wide. Electronically folding mirrors would have been nice but guess you can't have everything !

I agree with this and had complained about the long travel in my ownership review soon after I started driving the Jet, but both of these things are something you'll get used to in a while. I don't find any foot pain now with the long-travel clutch even after long stretches of B2B traffic. Completely agree on the wish-list of auto-folding ORVMs. I would have liked the indicators also on ORVMs.

Niggles/Issues :

1. Light shuddering sound coming from front left. Audible only when its very quiet outside and at very low/crawling speeds - Explained by technician as normal given the heavy engine of the Linea. Currently on to-do list

I would be curious to know what this is. It is not normal. There should be no such shuddering sound coming from anywhere. My Jet is dead silent. I suggest you take the car to the service advisor and ask him to check for any loose dashboard panel fitting or door panel fittings. Not sure if this has any relevance here, but I had once seen a Punto with the same complaint at my service station. That was later traced to a loose left front window (when the window was wound down into the door). The shuddering used to be audible when the window was down so it might not be the same problem you have.

1. Wind noise - On to-do list

How do you plan to counter this ZBlue? The whistling wind noise is due to the gap between the side ORVMs and the A-Pillar / front quarterpanel windows. My suggestion would be to leave it as it is and not try fitting anything extra on the body. Easiest solution for this problem is to turn up the volume on your stereo

[ZBlue]

Thank you everybody for your kind words.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I am sure you are still relishing the power surge and could care less about anything else, but please post loads more snaps.

I am in the process of buying a new lens for my DSLR so pics will have to wait a little , unless you are satisfied by Blackberry pics

Originally Posted by bhunu AMG

Excellent buy @excellent cost.Regarding armrest,I think there might be one more position down in its placement and then changing gear will be smooth.Just try to push the armrest one more step down n I feel pretty comfortable in my MJD linea.

I have tried that position as well but did not find it too comfortable. I guess the armrest will see use only on highways.

Originally Posted by puchoo

Congrats on the new baby!! I am so so jealous and disappointed , i was hoping to have the Tjet in this very color with me by this time but thanks to incompetent dealers and sales executives , information passed around was inaccurate and late and eventually no more cars available for purchase.

Look forward to tons and tons of pictures!!

Given the current state of affairs at Fiat , rising petrol costs and the breakup of the Fiat-Tata JV , buying a car like the TJet today is a risk Add to that the fact the these cars will be at least 18 months old and the risk becomes even bigger. I only hope I do not end up regretting this purchase..

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Anyway with the Jet, FE shouldn't be a concern, so lets enjoy the flights instead, eh?

Wholeheartedly agreed ! I am trying to drive carefully for the first 1000 Kms or so. The good thing is the TJet can produce performance when needed , and can also give high FE numbers when driven sedately. The choice is the driver's !

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I would be curious to know what this is. It is not normal. There should be no such shuddering sound coming from anywhere. My Jet is dead silent. I suggest you take the car to the service advisor and ask him to check for any loose dashboard panel fitting or door panel fittings. Not sure if this has any relevance here, but I had once seen a Punto with the same complaint at my service station. That was later traced to a loose left front window (when the window was wound down into the door). The shuddering used to be audible when the window was down so it might not be the same problem you have.

I will have this checked soon. The last time I visited the service center , the technician dismissed this noise as common to all TJet's owing to the heavier engine. Since it was Dushhera , I did not linger too long at the place. Probably a comparison with another TJet will help.The noise is certainly not from windows or doors - it is from the engine compartment.

Originally Posted by KarthikK

How do you plan to counter this ZBlue? The whistling wind noise is due to the gap between the side ORVMs and the A-Pillar / front quarterpanel windows. My suggestion would be to leave it as it is and not try fitting anything extra on the body. Easiest solution for this problem is to turn up the volume on your stereo

I am already learning to live with it ! Also noticed that the driver side door alignment is a bit off. If fixing that does not help and if the service center guys are unable to find a cure , then I guess nothing can be done. ICE is not really a solution either as I usually drive with the ICE turned off.

One thing which helped in reducing in-cabin noise was changing the OEM Goodyear NCT 5's to Yokohama C-drives.