So there were a few questions my head needed answers to. And the questions that had been bouncing on and off my peanut sized head since the past few weeks were:-
1) What would the Palio Stile 1.1 and 1.6 be like to drive, especially in comparison to the competition?
2) Will the 1.1 be terribly under powered?How would it drive with the a/c on ?How effective will the a/c be?
3) Will the 1.6 be slightly lacking in power after being detuned for Euro3 norms ?
4) What would the 1.6 Stile look like? Will I fall in love again?
5) Having seen a few reports on team-bhp on changes made to the gear shifter, brakes,seats and a few things here and there, I just needed to see the changes first hand.
So off we went, Me and my Fiat crazy head, to the nearest TATA-FIAT showroom-Shaman Auto,Prabhadevi.So my head got all the fundas right and its now in perfect sync with the rest of my body.These are the answers I've conjured up with answers w.r.t questions mentioned above-
1) & 2) First up, I got the 'magnesium grey' 1.1's keys in my hand.The first thing that struck was that the key feels as if been through the cost cutting regime.Nevertheless, started off with the a/c on fan speed 2.As perceived, the car was sluggish off the line.There was some clutch judder and I had to rev it up quite a bit to get it moving.Come second and the sluggishness continues.It seemed that the 2nd cog was quite long.But third is a different story.The car gets a bit enthusiastic in the 3rd and it was pretty driveable in ths gear.The torque spread is decent and the car does'nt complain even at low engine speeds.Infact, I loved the city driveability in 3rd.But then again, we were just the two of us in the car.And he a/c does not affect the performance as much as one would expect with an engine and car combination of this sort.4th and 5th are decent as well.Overall, the car is a bit confused.Its supposed to be a city car right? So it should be better in the lower gears.But its the other way round.Infact, I felt it had S10's gear box, with shorter ratios for 3rs and 4th.Just felt that way and I may be wrong there.And the brakes were good,not soft,not grabby,just right.The steering felt so light,especially after being used the 1.6's wheel,I felt I was piloting a smaller hatch.Good for the city.However, Fiat have removed the anti-roll stabilizing bar from the 1.1 and the result- noticeable roll even at low speeds.Not good.
Then there were some really bad bits- I thought the odo and speedo were disconnected, but they were'nt. Realised the speedo had gone bonkers and was working intermittently.Something similar to what happened to team-bhpian Prabuddha's Petra. Also, the fuel injection lamp was constantly on,indicating a problem somewhere.All this on a 700-odd kms done car!
However, its a definite step up over the old NV series,in terms of performance,driveability and FE.Its not yet a lost cause.Its pretty decent for the price one needs to dish out.Yes, the smaller hatches in competition definitely win in the performance & FE stakes, but the 3rd gear is a saviour to some extent.
3)Over to the fun part now- THE PALIO 1.6 STILE -
I am so enthralled with the experience that I just cant control revealing the fact that this car rocks.Simply mind blowingly awesome.Fell in love all over again. I mean what were all those speculations on the engine being detuned? Forget all of that.Its crap.Its still the GTX that landed on the Indian shores in 2001.Forget about any power drop,this car is a hoot to drive.It still gives you a kick in the back every time you hit the pedal.And since this was a TD car, I had some good fun with a Swift and NHC at worli sea face
.I also Test drove a Fusion 1.6 after this one.More on that later,but the Fusion is even faster, definitely.But the Palio is faster off the line, probably because its lighter.Coming to the weight, dont think the weight has been reduced as such, but the steering felt very light in comparison to my S10's.Overall, still the best hatch in my books under the 5 Lakh mark.And the folks at Shaman said the Euro 3 engine gives more mileage than earlier.Cant comment on that.
4) Hmm, I think you guys need a break. So do I.Here are the much awaited pics of the 1.6. But I just had my V3i with me, so here goes :-
Black never looked great on a Palio.Or so I thought. The black 1.6 was getting a lot of attention on th roads.And pictures from a phone cam dont do justice to this baby.
6) I'll make this short. The gear shifter is as good as ever on both the versions.Did not find any issues at all.The seats give very good back and lumbar support and were a snug fit.And they have gone back to the old seating position which was perfect,unlike the raised seats in the NV.Brakes have definitely improved on both versions.But whats even better, is that the clutch is so soft now.No more aches and pains for that left leg.Refinement levels were acceptable in both the versions.
So thats my story of the Palio Stile.The Ford Fusion I tested was mighty impresive as well.But thats for another thread.Its got everything goig for it, except the price tag - 6.75 L mumbai.