Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

-   -   My Bold New Punto 1.2 Petrol (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/89834-my-bold-new-punto-1-2-petrol.html)

Finally its time I begin this thread which I have been dreaming of since the last few months. This dream was actually inspired by another dream, i.e., to get my Bold New Drive. The Fiat Grande Punto.

From the day this car was announced to be launched in India, I began dreaming of owning it. Yes, this is my first car, although had a few family cars before, but since the last 5 years I had been carless :(. Nevertheless, here was the time to own it.

I began my search of a car in July '10 started with the Swift, went on to Ritz, i20 and finally landed to where it began the Grande Punto.

Before starting the actual search, I had fixed my budget from 4lakhs to 5lakhs, and not a penny above 5.0 Lakhs.

First the list of vehicles put in the wishlist, and the reasons why they were dropped:


Swift: Loved the looks, but it was too common on roads, moreover the price was a little on the higher side, so technically was out of my budget. The Petrol Vxi came for about 5.05 Lakhs On road kolkata. No discounts, no frills, no add ons, 2 months delivery period. So, got sidelined although I loved it.

Ritz: Was in budget, but was not totally impressed by the looks, my Fiancee liked the looks, but no one in the family did. So for the moment it was kept aside for a final round of comparo.

i20: Loved the looks, interiors are luxurious, spacious, nice drive. But too expensive. The Magna petrol 1.2L engine came for 5.5L on road Kolkata nearly. So, definitely chucked out of the list.

i10: Didnt like the looks personally, no other reason. Didnt take a TD.

Finally the Grande Punto:

My and my Fiancee went into K.B. Motors on D.H. Road. A Bossa Nova White Punto 90HP was standing, we both fell in love instantly with it. The sales guy was well learned about the car and various variants. We took a qoute and left, promising to return soon. It was almost decided this is the wheels we are going to own and drive around. Somehow managed to convince each and everybody in the family. Many were sceptical due to very few Fiats in kolkata, and lack of Brand awareness for Fiat in Bengal. Nevertheless, managed to get everyone vote for it.

The Buying process:

Since we had been to K.B. Motors, I wanted to try out the larger TATA dealer in kolkata called Lexus Motors. They are very old and famous. Took a TD on the petrol 1.2 Emotion variant, loved it. Now it was time to close the deal. We had chosen Lexus over K.B. Motors because of many people in the family advising for the larger and better dealer.
Anyways, time to close the deal. Met the SA at Lexus, he was not very well informed about the car, seemed to be a new guy(later confirmed). I think since this car isnt really flying off the shelf for TATA, they had given a new guy the duty for selling Puntos. Never mind, I was very well informed about the car(thnx to Team-Bhp and many more), and didnt need to bug the guy much. Initially ordered the Tuscan Wine colour, but later decided against it because all in the family had fallen in love with the White and the Black. Decided against Black as it is being bought on an auspicious occassion(my shaadi/wedding). So booked the lovely Bossa Nova White.

I decided to go for the 1.2Petrol Active, because somehow I managed to reach this budget, have had many many commitments recently. And the Active model seemed to be pretty well equipped compared to other car's base variants. Planning to put in a stereo within a week and the Remote central lock and keyless entry from Xenos and not from Fiat. I have been assured that the Fiat Extended warranty will not be void because of that.

Price break up and the discounts:

Ex Showroom: Rs. 4,34,000/-
Tax, reg etc: Rs. 34,000/-

Discounts:
Insurance free: Rs. 16,000/- (approx)
Gift cheque: Rs. 10,000/-
Corp Disc: Rs. 6,000/-
Dealer Disc: Rs. 5000/-

Freebies: Mud Flap, Foot Mats, Perfume, Steering cover.

Final Cost: Rs. 4,47,000/-

Mods to be done:
A decent ICE probably Sony from Glix
Remote Keyless Entry: Xenos
Reverse Parking sensor: Brand undecided, maybe Fiat.

Mods already done:
Body coloured ORVMs and Door Handles
from the dealer workshop itself before taking delivery.

Just drove home my beauty. The drive is fantastic, nothing much to say, lot has been spoken about it in the forum. Controls are confusing, need getting used to. The MID controls are confusing too. Havent got the Manual, the SA told me I will get it with the Smart Card in about 30days. I was like :Shockked:. How will I know wot is wot. Then he painfully tried to explain me, but failed miserbaly. He had no idea wot is wot in the MID controls. I told him to mail me a soft copy if possible or get me a photocopy of another punto the next working day. Lets see. In the meantime I have figured out some things. More need to be explored.
Desperately need the ICE, will get it next week.
Drive is awesome, AC pretty good and chilling.

Lovely handling and steering. But faced a huge prob while getting it into the garage. The car's turning radius is small, and the car is huge in size compared to other small cars. Finally somehow managed to do it with help of a friend who volunteered to act as a navigator. I will need a navigator for a few days and few mods at the parking garage. Hope I get used to it soon.

More experience reports will come soon. Please reply guys, I wud love to talk to friends here about my Punto. And if anyone can mail me a soft copy of the Manual I wud really appreciate. Or if anyone can explain me how the controls work for the MID.

Here are some pics:
more to come soon.

Hey Arpan, let me be the first one to congratulate you for your bold new drive .
This i guess this is the only car which has got the killer looks that can give any one a run for their money.
Any particular reason for going for active version, i guess within 5 lac you could have got the emotion .
Also for key less entry , i guess FIAT is offering the same , you can check sumitbhal's thread for the same .
Anyways, will try to catch up with you kolkata folks next time i go back home .
Take care and drive safe
cheers

Congrats arpanjha- Punto in Bossa Nova White looks stunning. This is one of the first car I noticed that was so huge reaching almost 4m in length. And the rear tail lights look awesome.
I'm sending you a link to download Punto manual.
Edit- Looks like I'm unable to paste the download link.

Lovely colour there mate:thumbs up

Happy motoring, drive safe:)

I feel parking sensors aren't required. Drive for a few days, if you find it difficult to reverse, opt for it later.

Congrats on the Punto. The Bossa Nova White Punto with the black grill looks lovely.

Enjoy many more happy miles with the new bold drive.

Thanks for ur wishes. I cud have got the emotion, but didnt feel like paying a premium of 60k just for a stereo and central locking and a few small things here & there. The emotion pack was fully loaded, but out of my budget range. I can put in the stereo and keyless entry system from outside without getting the warranty void for much less. The Fiat keyless entry system is basically Autocop one without the branding, and they are asking for 9990/- which I will get from Autocop at around 3500/- and xenos at around 3450/-

I didnt need the rear power windows as the rear seats will rarely be used. But I will be getting the rear power windows fitted in a few weeks time.
I shall keep posting about more experiences, do log in and keep ur response flowing.

@Paddleshifter:
Thanks buddy, indeed dimensions are very big. Its lovely to look at, cant take my eyes off. stupid: Please mail me the link for the manual if u can: arpanjha@msn.com or PM me.

@sachinj12:
Thnx sachin. Lets see if I get used to it. The problem I felt is not the rear, but the front. The front bonnet length is long, so estimation of the front space is a prob. I hope to get used to it.


@nkirshnap:
thnx for ur wishes, do keep checking out this thread as I move it ahead. Keep ur responses flowing.

@arpanjha: Congratulations on the Punto. You can't beat the looks of Punto.

One of my close friends based out of Pune is having the same 1.2 Petrol Emotion pack i think. One of the things which has been complaining is the mileage. He is getting about 9-10 Kms/L, are you experiencing similar FE ? Do share your thoughts on this.

The look of this car is in explicably beautiful. Anyways, It has been only around 30 kms of drive for me yet on my Punto. The MID was showing me around 8.3 km/l to 9.5 km/l during my drive, which was mostly in very heavy slow moving traffic. I was driving mostly in the 2nd gear. Whenever I used the 3rd, and very very rarely 4th for some time, then the FE improved. Once I was out of heavy traffic, the FE stuck at above 9 km/l. I hope this will improve once the car is serviced. I have read in these forums, the Petrol version will give around 12 to 13 or 15 km to a litre. Please keep me posted and stay in touch and respond on the thread.

You are right Arpan, you can't beat the Punto on its looks. Its a sure head turner.

I think the FE would improve as the number of Kms increase. Post your reviews after you have put in a few thousand Kms in your car.

Till then enjoy driving and looks you & your car are going to get.

cheers

One advise: Most of the cars are run idle in dealerships during PDI etc and FE figures are low.
@arpan- Reset your trip A so that you record more accurate data.
FE increases by the time your car completes around 5000km on the ODO.

How do I reset the trip? I am very confused regarding the controls. I cant understand the menu buttons and their functionality. As above mentioned, I do not have the manual, which I will be getting in 30 days time. Till then I need a maunal of the Punto Active. Can anyone help?

The second 1.2 during the week.Other owner is Hemanth. I am getting more inclined.
Eagerly waiting to see your drive reports soon. I am waiting to own one as GP has always fascinated me even before its launch in India.

I am going through Hemanths thread right now. Both are Bossa Nova Whites :D

I will keep you guys posted on the drive reports.

Arpanjha, congrats on your new acquisition and welocome to the FIAT Grande punto club. Great choice and you will truly fall in love with it as you crunch more miles.