FIAT PALIO Stile 1.6 - 7000 kms review

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Hi,
I picked up my FIAT Palio Stile 1.6 from Shaman Motors in October 2007. The buying experience was quite OK. I did a TD earlier at Fortune car with a Stile 1.1 but found it underpowered. Was going to do a TD on a Swift later in the week. But for some reason, I had some work at the passport office at Worli and on the way there, I noticed the Shaman showroom. They had a Palio 1.6 and I did a TD. The car felt so responsive and comfortable, that I was immediately hooked.
I booked the car for 4.62 OTR (Thane registration ). It included mud flaps, door mats, under body protection, teflon coating, Kenwood MP3 and Kenwood speakers 6 inch oval at the rear and 4 inch round for the front.
Got the car seats (not leather - due to the climate in Mumbai) done outside.
It is now 7000kms and have not had a single issue with the car. However I could not put the car to its paces as I drive mainly in Mumbai and not had a chance to test the car on a highway.
The Fuel efficiency I am getting in Stop and Go traffic is 8.75 km/litre. I am quite sure if I drive in another part of the city (i live in Andheri) I should easily get 10 km/l. I am very happy with the f/e as my relative who owns a Maruti Zen Estilo is getting approx 9 km/litre in same stop-n-go traffic. He bought the Zen for F/E and when he compares his figures to mine, he just has heartache (what with Fiat's good looks, great power and acceleration and superb A/C). The f/e figures for city driving which MUL claim i guess is when you drive at approx perhaps 35 kmph speed which is very difficult in stop-n-go traffic of Mumbai.
Well I really like the air conditioning of the car and it cools the cabin very well indeed. The other good aspect is the formula 1 sounding engine roar when you rev up beyond 2.5 rpm.
All in all a very good experience. If anyone in my family is looking for a new car, I will be pushing for the FIAT PALIO Stile 1.6.
I have 2 questions to fellow bhp-ians
1) I noticed after the 2nd Free Service (in mid-May), although the engine oil was changed at the dealer, in July 1st week, I noticed that the oil level had dropped considerably and required a top up. I read somewhere this is due to the run in period which is between 7000kms to 9000kms ...Can someone please confirm. I do not see any white smoke and so the oil is definitely not getting into the combustion chamber and there does not seem to be any oil leaks.
2) Is there a place where I can purchase a single (only one) FIAT alloy wheel for the spare tyre. The stock supplied spare wheel does not have an alloy but a cast iron one and is cumbersome for wheel rotation. I have to remove the tyre from the rim etc etc... you get the drift...

[architect]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

Hi,
2) Is there a place where I can purchase a single (only one) FIAT alloy wheel for the spare tyre. The stock supplied spare wheel does not have an alloy but a cast iron one and is cumbersome for wheel rotation. I have to remove the tyre from the rim etc etc... you get the drift...

Try to place an order with the dealer. They are about 7000 a piece and may even take 2 months to reach you as they are no longer made in India but in Brazil, AFAIK.

Try Palio User's group. Someone was selling orginal Fiat alloys when his car had been totalled in an accident but the alloys were undamaged. Somebody else could be having a new set of alloys and so on...

[gemithomas]

YOuve got TUbeless Tyres. dont think you would ever be using the spare wheel. In my 1.5 years i have used t for 10 minutes. once when the car lost air overnight and i had to go to the tyre shop. The nly problem would be that you would have to settle wth rotating 4 tyres instead of 5. But i dont think thats a problem. It does not make sense to spend that money for a spare wheel that would be under tha car almost all its life...

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by architect

Try to place an order with the dealer. They are about 7000 a piece and may even take 2 months to reach you as they are no longer made in India but in Brazil, AFAIK.

Try Palio User's group. Someone was selling orginal Fiat alloys when his car had been totalled in an accident but the alloys were undamaged. Somebody else could be having a new set of alloys and so on...

Architect, Thanks for the update. I will check with Shaman/Fortune and Palio User's group.

Gemi Thomas - Thanks for the update. I know that nothing usually happens to the tubeless but if I do not rotate the spare, I understand that the tyre deteriorates with age even if unused. Might as well use it.

[anurag_p80]

The oil consumption certainly seems suspicious, specially if it is not getting burned. I had my second service couple of days back (7.3k kms), I will check whether it happens with mine too. Meanwhile, you should check with the service center why this is happening. If it is not leaking, not burning, and you did not have this problem before, it does seem to be unusual.

[netchef]

Good car, great write up. Keep them coming- I'm sure you'll have a keen audience of Palio owners and aspirers hanging on your every word. Believe me, the most practical thing about the www is the speed with which info can be disseminated. Errant dealers, companies that cross the line in transactions- they can be brought to their knees in a matter of days.
Post some pics, too, if possible...please.

[musicmanaman]

Seeler, that's a good and honest write up, FE figures are what a 1.6 would give in city conditions, I don't know how some people manage 10+ kmpl on the 1.6. Enjoy your ride and keep us all posted on the long term ownership experience. The 1.6 is sure a wonderful car to drive.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by anurag_p80

The oil consumption certainly seems suspicious, specially if it is not getting burned. I had my second service couple of days back (7.3k kms), I will check whether it happens with mine too. Meanwhile, you should check with the service center why this is happening. If it is not leaking, not burning, and you did not have this problem before, it does seem to be unusual.

Anurag - I am regularly checking the oil level and it seems stable. Will continue to do so every week for sometime. I have a nagging suspicion that the oil was not completely topped up at the service. I did not check it when I took the handover from the service station. Intend to do so for the third service.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

Hi,

1) I noticed after the 2nd Free Service (in mid-May), although the engine oil was changed at the dealer, in July 1st week, I noticed that the oil level had dropped considerably and required a top up. I read somewhere this is due to the run in period which is between 7000kms to 9000kms ...Can someone please confirm. I do not see any white smoke and so the oil is definitely not getting into the combustion chamber and there does not seem to be any oil leaks.
2) Is there a place where I can purchase a single (only one) FIAT alloy wheel for the spare tyre. The stock supplied spare wheel does not have an alloy but a cast iron one and is cumbersome for wheel rotation. I have to remove the tyre from the rim etc etc... you get the drift...

Which oil was used? 15W-40?
I heard that 5W-50 deteriorates very quickly.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

Which oil was used? 15W-40?
I heard that 5W-50 deteriorates very quickly.

Vinit - I do not know what oil was used at the dealer. But I replaced it with 15W-40.
Since it is a FIAT dealer, I am assuming they used the proper temp and viscocity grades for the oil.

[sanjaymugur]

good review there,

my suggestion, in your next service change Radiator fluid, power steering fluid & brake fluid, all are available in castrol & they really make a difference...

i dont know what brand of fluids fiat india here uses, but what we get here is service station is junk.. atleast fiat india should have used what it uses in rest of the world, Pennzoil products..

FIAT ,always....

[RedMM340]

SR,

As already mentioned, it is very possible that the oil was under filled. Just keep an eye on it. But I would also look under the vehicle for oil leaks. Take a paper towel and wipe the oil drain plug - and look for any oil. You can repeat this after a day of driving to see if there are any small leaks. Do the same with the oil filter. It is common to leave the oil filter loose, so just check it. Sometimes oil filters can be over-tightened to the point of damage or leaks.

I am running the Uno oil filter on my Palio 1.6. The filter is about 2x the size of a standard Palio filter. A bigger filter is better, so I would recommend it.

Be careful of fluid flushes like the radiator and brake fluid. If you do the radiator flush yourself, be careful not get air trapped in the coolant circuit.

I had the brake fluid flushed at the Fiat dealer, and the idiots used DOT3 fluid instead of DOT4. I had to do 2 subsequent flushes with DOT4 to correct this mistake. But on the positive side, my brake lines are really clean now!

Regards,