Fiat Grande Punto Multijet 1.3 - delivered!

[sukrit7]

No, not cancelled yet; am waiting for the prices to be declared. I'd mainly be looking for the asta(features on the petrol), if priced above 7 out, if under it'll be in consideration.

[amit]

Originally Posted by JayD

What about a peted i20 with 113ps??

Going by Hyundai's track record, the overtly light steering and soft suspension will mess up the potential of their powerful engines. Sure you could go in for suspension mods (more money) and improve things but what about the steering?

[jesal]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Now waiting for the i20. cancelling booking is easy, isn't it ?

in bombay they charge 10k for cancellation. is the same in delhi as well ? i think its a lot for such a thing.

[sukrit7]

@jesal- I've no idea.

Spoke to dad and he is not keen to spend anymore money. Obviously the i20 isn't going to be cheaper than the punto so that's probably going to be it.

[gods-envy]

hey sukrit, first of all, thanks for the snaps of the white GP..
y u cancelling the GP?
u going in for a diesel i20 is it?

[sukrit7]

Not cancelling as of now, am waiting for the i20 to launch before I make a final decision.
It'll probably be the punto because i'm already overshooting my budget and the i20 is going to be more expensive.
@envy- so, which one is it finally; white or something else ?

[gods-envy]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Not cancelling as of now, am waiting for the i20 to launch before I make a final decision.
It'll probably be the punto because i'm already overshooting my budget and the i20 is going to be more expensive.
@envy- so, which one is it finally; white or something else ?

stay with the GP, because it's more VFM.

I am still in two minds, but again more inclined towards the white however I would like to wait for another week or so and then decide.

[sukrit7]

I wouldn't agree to that fully. The i20 is coming with a much better engine and rumored prices suggest it'll be close to the punto.
Also fiat dealership is irritating me slightly; i've been calling up everyday till friday and the salesman tells me he'll call me back with details.
' A new lot is coming, you can take the car on saturday, sunday etc etc'. No calls, no message nothing.
I don't appreciate this at all, so shall wait for the i20 before making a decision.
@gods- Call your dealership up and ask them to show you the white, i'm sure someone would have ordered; call up other dealerships as well.
You'd never be able to decide like this; and photos ain't going to help

[gods-envy]

just happened to check the i20 diesel thread.
seems like quite a VFM package if the prices quoted are right.
And I agree that the TATA folks have a step motherly attitude towards FIAT cars, but that cannot be helped for now.

yes, i have requested for a look on the car, but none have been delivered as yet. so its just a question of wait and watch.

[sukrit7]

Help. The punto's arrived and I don't have the heart to not buy it, i20's just ruining my day. Someone please, help

[ms001]

I would say follow your your heart , i 20 will be priced more than the punto by at least 50k, unless they plan to reduce the prices of the petrol 1.2.
I 20 wont be a match for the ride and handling of the punto.
Rest is up to you all the best

Edit : go and check out the car once more and then take a decision .

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by ms001

I 20 wont be a match for the ride and handling of the punto.

+1 to that!!
Not sure about the suspension and steering set-up of the diesel variant, but I am sure glad that I had picked up the Fiat.The suspension just eats up all the undulations that our municipality can probably offer!!

[coolboy007]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Help. The punto's arrived and I don't have the heart to not buy it, i20's just ruining my day. Someone please, help

If you give too much emphasis on interior quality then Punto may disappoint you. Else in all areas Punto will go ahead or atleast be at par with i20. i20 D if comes with 75 bhp, then i will not even consider it.

People are expecting i20 D top end ASTA O to be atleast 70k above petrol Asta O and mind you Hyundai will surely cut some features in diesel Asta O as they are known to do it from past all cars. You have to decide what you want.

Dont worry about Tata-fiat A.S.S, i went to get my 1st service done for Linea and had a fuel lid problem, it was replaced under warranty and even an AC vent which i had broken was also replaced under warranty. All spares were there and i didnt had to wait for 1 AC vent for days. Staff handled the car exceedingly well.

Some are just bashing the Punto like anything, cmon you call a 75 bhp engine in Swift a fantastic performer and the same engine in Punto (agree with extra weight) turns a poor and "ridiculous" performer. That is just too much.

The way i am seeing posts, someone will surely post that interior plastics in Punto are worse than in a NANO

[phamilyman]

Another thing - i20 has infinite creases.

amidst delhi traffic, that's a pain to maintain!

I loved the clean punto lines. Awesome it is. And the 15000km service interval is heavenly. Not to mention the best in class suspension

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Some are just bashing the Punto like anything, cmon you call a 75 bhp engine in Swift a fantastic performer and the same engine in Punto (agree with extra weight) turns a poor and "ridiculous" performer. That is just too much.

Long time back, when I had attended a driving school for fun(to kill time during my school vacation), the trainer there had taught me a simple way to accelerate in a diesel car as compared to a petrol one(read Amby):
While in a petrol car, its the pedal to the metal for outright acceleration, the diesel needs to be pampered. you have to build up the revs by constantly pumping the gas pedal and not one-time-all-the-way.This is where most people(read aam aadmi having petrol car experience) go wrong. The expect that flooring the gas would push u back into ur seats!
This might be the case when the revs have built up enough for the turbo to function(I know, I know,Amby dint have a TC diesel..but it was still a primitive diesel mill).Once the turbo has kicked in, the pedal-to-metal works. While in gasoline engine it works almost instantaneosly, for TD mills,the threshold has to be crossed.
Why this long already-know-this rant?
Well because,in my last 535kms, I did not get an opportunity to complain about the acceleration or overtaking habits of the GP.And I have just swapped the saddle of a ported-filtered Yamaha with the seats of a multijet diesel! If anyone has to complain about acceleration,then I should be the one. The numerous overtakes,in city and highway, had never left me feeling what-shall-i-do-now!
It might not outdrag a swift but it sure doesnt travel at mammoth speed and by that I can vouch that both the petrol & diesel puntos can easily out-accelerate the 1.2 i20(Caveat : and that comes from personal experience under standard TD conditions: Results may vary from person to person depending on the weight of the right foot ).