[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by nim_peter

Getz 1.3 is a good highway car, lots of space, very smooth car and braking is good.

I now have a Palio GTX and it's just too good a car. Can easily touch high speed with 5 adults on board and it stays planted on road. I'm sure the Punto also has the same feel, but doubt whether it will cross 170.

Another difference is the Power Steering. FIAT gives you hydraulic steering which gives better feedback on high speed runs.

In case you need more power, you can go for a pete's box on Punto which can easily take you past 170.

Nicely put. I would add these two points in favour of Getz - a smooth and light clutch, and a wonderful gearbox.

Minus points being - with AC on it struggles; everytime a bigger vehicle crosses you, you can feel the car being skittish; and, the beyond 120 the steering becomes light.

(Did a full day run from Surat to Pune a few backs back. 4 on board. AC was always on. Got about 16+ kmpl)

Own a Palio 1.2 NV (used mainly for long distance travel) - the point to be emphasised here is the "stays planted on road". Have done a couple of trips on sedans as well (indigo, ikon, baleno) - Palio definitely handles better and have touched 160 on Pune Mumbai Expressway (as per odo) - no sweat, but the occupants were slightly on the edge! Hopefully, Punto sticks to these traits.

But I think anything beyond 120 is not sane on our roads - even expressways. Even if you are driving something like a Corolla or Accord. And there is no way that you can cruise at 140 - 150 given our traffic conditions.

And, for long drives, the sedans are better - not just for the space and the boot, but also the overall drive quality and that small edge in acceleration which make a difference / improve the margins. So I will wind up agreeing with 'khoj' - a Ford Ikon is a better highway car.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by TusharPrabhu

Thank you very much. Will surely contact the dealers requesting highway drives.

The other option is that you have an Advaith on the ORR opposite the Intel office. You can also try there on a Sunday.

[Matt]

Yea, there was one, The name was Fusion.

I drove mine from Hyd to Kerala Flat out, with out any major breaks. Never felt tired, never felt bored. 1.6 petrol is a hoot to drive and very enjoyable.
Feels planted and safe even at speeds around 160kmph.

So the little sister should be able to keep up the family's heritage.

[headers]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Ah ha!! Dragging me into the track, are we?!! You never know, the Getz might just come in to show what 110 horses can do to the puny 75 horses, and what 240 nm of turning power can do to 200

J, you will feel J of the driver when you realise its not the car, but the driver behind the wheel

[sukrit7]

I'd take the punto D over the swift D. The former is safer,sturdier,handles better(HPS plays a significant role), has awesome road manners and is very very composed at high speeds.
The swift is certainly faster and it's easier to overtake yet it doesn't match the punto in safety or handling(IMO).

I own both, for the highways i'd take a punto, for the city maybe the swift.
It'll be best if you try all the cars and take your pick, to each his own.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Matt

Yea, there was one, The name was Fusion.

I drove mine from Hyd to Kerala Flat out, with out any major breaks. Never felt tired, never felt bored. 1.6 petrol is a hoot to drive and very enjoyable.
Feels planted and safe even at speeds around 160kmph.

So the little sister should be able to keep up the family's heritage.

You spoke my heart. I still drive this one. Doing the same for the last 5 years.
(I have a 2005 Fusion +).

In Dec 09, I did Bangalore Salem Munnar Kumarakom Trichur Guruvayur Mysore Bangalore.
Never felt tired and the vehicle was just perfect. A pure blend of UV and sedan !

I still love this car and am really confused as what should be its ideal replacement in the coming years.

My only vote goes for the Golf. Though not as big as Fusion, but still it has the highway manners and road presence, one would need. At the same time it can easily get lost in the city crowd !

The only issue with all these guys is the GC, on which Fusion is way-way ahead.

[imp!]

Originally Posted by ampere

My only vote goes for the Golf. Though not as big as Fusion, but still it has the highway manners and road presence, one would need. At the same time it can easily get lost in the city crowd !

The only issue with all these guys is the GC, on which Fusion is way-way ahead.

The Golf is not as big is the Fusion? When I drove it, it sure felt bigger, it actually felt a tad smaller than the Jetta from the inside. I must have been mistaken. In anycase, we still can't buy the Golf in India.

[TusharPrabhu]

Originally Posted by ampere

My only vote goes for the Golf. Though not as big as Fusion, but still it has the highway manners and road presence, one would need. At the same time it can easily get lost in the city crowd !

The only issue with all these guys is the GC, on which Fusion is way-way ahead.

But is way beyond the budget ranges we are talking about here, isn't it? We are talking of highway hatchbacks under 7 lakh for the top end variant.

[ampere]

imp, Tushar,

Sorry for that OT. I was just thinking aloud ! Golf though looks smaller from outside, but I thought it should be quite spacious.
I have not driven it, so I cannot comment actually. Hope it would be in next year.

As to the current scenario, best of the lot is Punto.

[amoghchaphalkar]

Since safety is also a consideration here (and for a "highway hatchback" it should be the prime consideration), after reading Sidindica's post : my respect for the Punto has grown ten fold.

I quote him

yes, the car is totalled and is now history.

Front 2 people escaped without a single scratch whereas the 3 rear seated ladies just had minor bruises in a car that somersalted 7 times on jaipur highway as the driver wanted to avoid being hit by an 18 wheeler container lorry.

Fiat's superb build quality has saved 4 people of our family (my dad's sister, her 2 daughters and granddaughter and the driver.)

Link : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1823784-post126.html

[ramzsys]

Quite an elaborate purchase process.

1)First car. That doesn't make a difference.

2)You need to cruise in 150 kmph speeds? Then the 1248cc SDE is to be ruled out, the main factor here is the engine noise. Also, cruising at 150 asks for some more juice left to be extracted from the pedal. One might be tempted to catch up with sedans and therefore the VGT or T-JET in punto sports can help. Wait till june.

3)Swift D spares- yeah you can find it anywhere, but CRDi engine spares are equally priced to the competition.

4)FIAT spares, service: maybe a visit to a nearby ASC will help. Talk to owners, get their experiences.

5)FIGO: yes, yes, new kid on the block. Lets wait for some high speed crash photos or horror tales to come up, and then decide on the figo.

Car selection is a proper compromise between the rationality of the process and the degree of aesthetic quotient. There cannot be a complete gratifying solution to any individual, so prepare with a list of what to compromise and what not, and you would soon make a decision.

[keyurshah]

Hi Tushar,

I had recently driven from Mumbai to Udaipur last month in friend's Punto E+.
We were 3 ppl in the car plus luggage.

My views:
1. Very good road grip, even on high speeds.
2. Great Aircon, even in the heat of Rajasthan.
3. Could easily do about 150+ on the Vadodara-Ahmedabad express way. Never once felt the car is grunting
4. Extremely good suspension, made the difference on NH8 while going on the Mumbai-Manor section which is not well carpeted.
5. Very good pickup. Came real handy on the patches near Surat where road work is going on and there are lot of diversions. Could easily overtake trucks.
6. On highways, gives you the feeling of being in a safe car.

I would put this experience on rating of 4/5. If you are looking for car for long drives esp on highways, blindly go for Punto.

-KS

[sdp1975]

keyur, was that a petrol or the MJD ?

[akshay4587]

What about i20 Crdi,now with 6 gears

[keyurshah]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

keyur, was that a petrol or the MJD ?

That was MJD. Sorry missed mentioning that.

Also it gave a round trip mileage of about 17.2 kmpl (AC always on)

One thing I would add is that I had done a one shot Mumbai- Udaipur (stopped only for bio-breaks) in about 12 hours. Started at about 0430 hours and reached Udr by 1640 hours. But even at the end of it, I was not very tired.