[rudrah]

Hi,

I'm a big fiat lover since the time i've experienced the Padmini in childhood days....I do not own any 4 wheelers just my Pulsar 150. Now that i'm planning to opt for the new Palio...i'm bit confused whether to opt for the Palio Stile 1.6 Petrol or the upcoming Palio Stile 1.3MJD...!

My Budget is upto 5Lac.

I've mentioned below what I would be expecting from the car....

1) I'll be using it for mostly weekend pupose for long drives and in daily travelling wd be max upto 20-25kms or less. So would it wise to go for this 1.6 ver or the upcoming 1.3 Diesel?
2) In regards to safety n strong built for driving family of 4-5
3) Not a FE freak but for Safety and comfort/pleasure driving and thts why I've Pulsar with me since 4 years and not a Splendor
4) Long term usage
5) Not much worrysome about the spares problems.

Once decided for the Palio version, what i should be expecting from the Dealers:
a) What discounts I should expect and in what category?
b) What all freebies should we expect from a Sub dealer....coz i'm not sure the main dealer like here in Navi Mumbai - Fortune, would give those freebies n discounts like the sub dealers. so heres my next qst then
c) Is it wise to for sub dealers or the main dealer - E.g. Fortune - Navi Mumbai

It would be a gr8 help to help me choose my first Palio car. Also I'm thankful to Team-BHP for the confidence built on me for choose a car, i.e. Fiat

Thanks n Cheers~cheers:
Rudrah

[elfhelm]

Hi rudrah,

Going by your daily usage of only 20-25 kms max and the occasional long drive, i'd suggest the 1.6 Sport, power at that price is a steal and you get alloys too .

Even I was in such a quandry earlier, but with my monthly running of ~1500 kms i'll be going in for a diesel. However i'm finding waiting for the Palio MJD launch a little painful.

[rudrah]

Even I was in such a quandry earlier, but with my monthly running of ~1500 kms i'll be going in for a diesel. However i'm finding waiting for the Palio MJD launch a little painful.

Hi Elfhelm,

I too think the 1.6 petrol wd be a better option but still awaiting more expert views n research.

Btw...the Palio 1.3 MultiJet is gonna launch in March'08. This is a confirm news from Fiat marketing dept So you can i think wait for a month...

Cheers~

[tsk1979]

Palio is a bad idea right now, since you can wait. I suggest wait till march end and see when is Fiat coming out with next generation hatch(Punto I think). It will be slightly above your budget, but it is 5 years newer, and will fare much better in resale market.
Punto MJD may be too expensive, but the petrol will be priced atmost 5.5 to compete with the swift petrol.

[extreme_torque]

@tsk... A Palio with thr 1.3 MJD isnt a bad idea at all especially if it going to be 40-50k's cheaper than the Swift. All it needs is a bit of word of mouth publicity regarding the performance and fuel average and a little better customer serivce and buyers would come back and the resale would go up as well.
Maruti is a safe investment... if you consider your car more as an investment that is.

@rudrah... I would suggest 1.3 MJD. That engine is fantastic and will save you a lot of green bucks everytime you fill up with more than resonable performance. I would have better resale too.

[tsk1979]

@extreme_torque, he does not need a diesel. So why spend a premium?
for his budget he can easily get a newer petrol hatch. That will have better resale than any palio(petrol or diesel).
Due to bunglings by fiat, Palio has a negative ring in resale market. We were considering selling the 1.2 in family, but then decided to go LPG as the offers we got were ridiculous!

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

@extreme_torque, he does not need a diesel. So why spend a premium?
for his budget he can easily get a newer petrol hatch. That will have better resale than any palio(petrol or diesel).
Due to bunglings by fiat, Palio has a negative ring in resale market. We were considering selling the 1.2 in family, but then decided to go LPG as the offers we got were ridiculous!

He will be using it around 25 kms daily + weekend long drive and hence the diesel here makes ample sense.
The price difference b/w a Swift Petrol VXi and Palio diesel would not be more than 30- 40k's in which case its a much better deal.
I dont think resale value is his criteria since he plans to keep the car for long and he wants a Palio.
Yes, if you look at resale values today, Palio is a dead meat.

[devarshi84]

engine- the best diesel in the market right now.
Petrol- Used to be excellent, the 1.6 in the stile dont get much rave reviews from owners who have tried the previous GTX.
Palio as a car- once an excellent model, now just an update from outside. Insides still remain sad compared to the competition.
Resale- is bad.
A.S.S.- tata's network is vast but service quality still a question.

to sum it up, its an old car and the new engine wont really make the ownership experience good. I would suggest you wait for the next hot hatch from fiat which again will surely have a diesel option and maybe a better reputation.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Palio is a bad idea right now, since you can wait. I suggest wait till march end and see when is Fiat coming out with next generation hatch(Punto I think). It will be slightly above your budget, but it is 5 years newer, and will fare much better in resale market.
Punto MJD may be too expensive, but the petrol will be priced atmost 5.5 to compete with the swift petrol.

The Grand Punto is going to be launched in Nov-Dec 2008, The first to be launched will be Palio 1.3 MJD, followed by Linea & Bravo. Grand Punto is last in the list of the cars being launched by FIAT this year.
Regarding the pricing of Grand Punto to compete with Swift, being priced at 5.5 Lacs will nowhere hurt the sales of Swift as Swift petrol LXI costs 4.5 lacs on-road. So i guess that either the Punto will be priced closer to Swift Petrol or else, at being priced at 5.5 lacs, it will compete in altogether different segment, like Accent, Exteem (to be discontinued in place of Swift Sedan), etc.
Though I definately agree that the new cars will be 5-6 years newer, considering that palio still offers the same old interiors. But the Palio 1.6 has lots to offer otherwise, as it comes fully loaded with Alloys, rear wipers, Tubeless tires, etc. These things costs extra when it comes to newer cars. Palio stile 1.6 is definately reliable & the low resale value is mainly due to the FIAT image in India, which aint gonna help the newer cars as well, unless they improve on the A.S.S. They seem to be improving. Once FIAT has rebuild its image, even Palio will fetch a good resale value. Otherwise, even newer cars would fetch a very low resale value.
Second, The Palio has been tried & tested for its reliability (car's reliability, not FIAT) but the newer cars are yet to be tested on Indian roads. so the reliability factor should also be a considered. Though FIAT cars are usually good, you never know how one turns up on Indian Roads.

[roms]

I would suggest waiting for the Palio Multijet. Yep, its coming from an S10 owner. That diesel engine is a stonker. My test drive experience with the DDiS was nothing great. But having driven the Swift D a couple of times after that has really got me addicted to the awesome torque of that engine. The Palio Multijet may not be able to match the 1.6 in terms of sheer grunt and horsepower. But you've really got to experience the torque of the Multijet. After the turbo kicks in, the car really rockets ahead.
I have my doubts on the speedometer of the Swift D though. I thin its a bit too optimistic and makes you feel you are going faster than you actually are. Anyways, coming back to the topic, the Palio JTD should be a better overall package than the 1.6 IMO.

[roms]

I would suggest waiting for the Palio Multijet. Yep, its coming from an S10 owner. That diesel engine is a stonker. My test drive experience with the DDiS was nothing great. But having driven the Swift D a couple of times after that has really got me addicted to the awesome torque of that engine. The Palio Multijet may not be able to match the 1.6 in terms of sheer grunt and horsepower. But you've really got to experience the torque of the Multijet. After the turbo kicks in, the car really rockets ahead.
I have my doubts on the speedometer of the Swift D though. I think its a bit too optimistic and makes you feel you are going faster than you actually are. Anyways, coming back to the topic, the Palio JTD should be a better overall package than the 1.6 IMO.

[rapideffect]

Hi,

If you really want a FIAT then you go for Palio 1.6 from the used market. When FIAT launch G Punto sell your 1.6 and buy GP.

[rudrah]

Thanks all for the informative suggestions...uptil now!

However one qst arised...what is the prerequistite in Kms/month of running to go for a Diesel car or Petrol Car and why coz probably thats what is undeciding to opt for a Petrol version or Diesel?

Thanks & Cheers!~cheers:

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by rudrah

Thanks all for the informative suggestions...uptil now!

However one qst arised...what is the prerequistite in Kms/month of running to go for a Diesel car or Petrol Car and why coz probably thats what is undeciding to opt for a Petrol version or Diesel?

Thanks & Cheers!~cheers:

1400-1500 Kms - Diesel
Anything less than the above - Petrol.

This is what I have learnt from surfing through Forums at Team-bhp.

[elfhelm]

Originally Posted by rudrah

Thanks all for the informative suggestions...uptil now!

However one qst arised...what is the prerequistite in Kms/month of running to go for a Diesel car or Petrol Car and why coz probably thats what is undeciding to opt for a Petrol version or Diesel?

Thanks & Cheers!~cheers:

For a monthly running of 1500 kms and above go for Diesel. If its anything less, petrol sounds good.

However since I bought my previous car "Accent petrol" a few years ago, my monthly running was much more than what I expected since I took it for drives a lot more! So now i'm looking for a Diesel.