[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Choosing exterior color : Red, stickers : black, Skydome : black
That will give a fair idea of what my car will look like. Of course, not as good looking as the Abarth Evo, but I'll try to mimic this Red+Black design as much as possible.

Red with black combo does look nice, but my suggestion is to keep the car stock for a while (except for the removal of the decals maybe).
Enjoy the shining new car for a while, and start planning on the updates probably by the time you plan to add the performance box. Otherwise the Red Punto will look like a hooligan in front of the crisp T-Jet

[scofield]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Thanks Scofield! your comments have helped me throughout the decision stage. I will take some PM help from you during the RD box setup which I plan to do after the 5k km running in is completed.


How are the Pirelli 6000s in comparison to PrimacyLC (pricewise and performance-wise)?? I'm kind of on a shoestring budget after delivery, so the PrimacyLC (upgrade cost of 15k for 5 tyres) is about the max that I can afford during delivery time. Anything more has to wait for another month or two.

Call me anytime , if you want to know about the RD box - will PM you my number.

Pirelli 6000s - I have are 205/50/R15 - Superb in dry , best tyres I have driven on a wet surface and though they are sporty tyres the rolling noise is almost none and above all they look classy. Will upload my GP's latest pic soon.
P6000s costed me 6200 a tyre - the grip has been amazing so far and have completed almost 10K on them.

Only cons is that as they have low sidewalls so the unleveled surface hurts the car a little - so you have to be a little proactive and slow the car on such roads.

I havent really got any ownership experience of the Primacy's however whatever I have read about them is that its for comfort - probably in top league and have soft sidewalls.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Here's a sample of how it might look (not bad in my opinion). Sorry for going slightly OT.

Yeah, the PrimacyLC suffers from that common complaint. Since this car will be used only on city roads, I believe the chance of sidewall cracking due to sudden potholes or bumps is not much. Noise is one of the primary reasons I was looking at an upgrade to Michelins. Noise and comfort-wise, I think they are the best bet. How is the noise level and grip on CPC2? I can decide between these 2 when I go for the upgrade to Nikhil's shop.

It looks pretty good on red too! CPC2 was what nikhil recommended 2 years back when I went looking for Michelins, but mine was to be used on the highways too. Tyre grip is pretty good on wet and dry conditions, only problem is the noise is on the higher side when compared to michelins, but definitely better than stock.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by Sheel

And yes, what is the H on the odo for?

Thanks

Originally Posted by KarthikK

The H on the odometer is now a famous issue on modern Fiats. If the dealer resets the odometer to 0 (can be done only once), the H will vanish from the odometer. Or else, if the car does 200km, the H will vanish automatically. The presence of a H is reassuring because I am now sure

A correction here. While 'H' is displayed, the Odo can be reset only once and still the 'H' will not vanish. The Odo will start from 0 with the 'H'. Once the Odo crosses 200 it will vanish automatically.

To summarize, if you see X kms on Odo with the 'H', you can be assured that the car has only run for that X kms or not more than 199+X Kms.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

To summarize, if you see X kms on Odo with the 'H', you can be assured that the car has only run for that X kms or not more than 199+X Kms.

So rameshnanda if I understand you right, H will vanish once the Odo crosses 200kms.

But, if a Person wants the H to stay, he can reset the Odo "n" number of times before it reaches 200kms ??

I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused here.

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Attachment 986152

That new suspension strut sure makes this looks like an eyesore. It looks as if the car is sitting on stilts. Even the sticker has not been fixed straight.

Yeah I agree. But one more thing that needs mentioning is this particular tyre was standing on some kind of raised ground, higher than other tyres. That is exaggerating the effect in this photo. It doesn't look as bad as this on normal surfaces.

So much for Fiat QC. I thought it should have improved. I guess it was only luck for the T Jet owners who got well put together interiors. No perfect but better than anthing else apart from the 500 that Fiat India sells. It will be nice to do a Fiat 500 QC comparision with a product out of Fiat India.

True. The T-Jet was superbly built, maybe attributed to the fact that most of its parts came from Italy, and perhaps they were more cautious during QC because it was their most expensive offering here in India. I find a world of difference in interior fit and finish between the T-Jet and the Punto Sport. Even the way the doors close is much, much better in the T-Jet than in the Punto. The buttons, the plastics, the handles, etc feel much better in the Jet. It is probably the only car in their range which comes with upmarket interior quality.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Red with black combo does look nice, but my suggestion is to keep the car stock for a while (except for the removal of the decals maybe).
Enjoy the shining new car for a while, and start planning on the updates probably by the time you plan to add the performance box. Otherwise the Red Punto will look like a hooligan in front of the crisp T-Jet

I'll keep the car stock till the first service I guess (which is 5000km). The black roof will most likely come on during the first 3M centre visit .

Originally Posted by scofield

Pirelli 6000s - I have are 205/50/R15 - Superb in dry , best tyres I have driven on a wet surface and though they are sporty tyres the rolling noise is almost none and above all they look classy. Will upload my GP's latest pic soon.
P6000s costed me 6200 a tyre - the grip has been amazing so far and have completed almost 10K on them.

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind too!

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

It looks pretty good on red too! CPC2 was what nikhil recommended 2 years back when I went looking for Michelins, but mine was to be used on the highways too. Tyre grip is pretty good on wet and dry conditions, only problem is the noise is on the higher side when compared to michelins, but definitely better than stock.

Oh thanks for the opinion on CPC2. I'll take the car to him and ask him to decide which is better in that case. I won't be using it much on highways, and I am very, very slow on potholes and speedbreakers by nature, so sidewall cracks may not be too much of a hindrance for this car. I'll let Nikhil decide.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

So rameshnanda if I understand you right, H will vanish once the Odo crosses 200kms.

But, if a Person wants the H to stay, he can reset the Odo "n" number of times before it reaches 200kms ??

I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused here.

Vikram, you cannot make the H stay more than 200km. If the odometer is reset (which can be done only once within 200), the H will stay, but once the odo crosses 200km, it will vanish again. This resetting can only be done once. Usually showrooms with separate demo vehicles don't meddle with this thing, so it is safe to assume that the reading on Prerana's cars in the stockyard are all genuine. KHT motors has a practice of giving new vehicles for test drives, and I had once seen a linea with 150 odd kms without a H (which means it could have run 199 + 200 + 150) . When sandeepmohan and I had gone to KHT (prior to him booking at Prerana, he had booked in KHT), we found that his tjet had 130km on the odo without a H.

[scofield]

Pics of my GP90.

The first picture was taken before I painted the grill and fog lamps to black and changed the tyres. However, its one of my favourites.

The other three are the latest ones.

OT - I got the black matt finish vinyl done on my car for only 1200.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by scofield

OT - I got the black matt finish vinyl done on my car for only 1200.

Amazing pics maulik bhai!
I need more details on the black matt finish. you will have a PM soon

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

So rameshnanda if I understand you right, H will vanish once the Odo crosses 200kms.

But, if a Person wants the H to stay, he can reset the Odo "n" number of times before it reaches 200kms ??

I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused here.

Yes. H will vanish once Odo crosses 200. And the Odo can be reset only once when H is displayed not "n" number of times.

[khoj]

Hi, That's a very hot colour on your GP. Is it Tuscan Wine or Bronzo Scuro?

Originally Posted by scofield

Pics of my GP90.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi, That's a very hot colour on your GP. Is it Tuscan Wine or Bronzo Scuro?

Its the Tuscan Wine Punto. Looks Lovely in that color with that black roof.

[KarthikK]

PDI Report : Part II

During my previous PDI, I'd not been able to test the A/C because there was almost no fuel in the car, so I made another trip to Prerana motors' stockyard (Talk about excuses to see the car again). Thanks to the entire Prerana staff once again for their cooperation in dealing with finicky customers like me , for sending the helpful sales executive Suhas once again, and wasting half his working day for my sake. You guys really know how to make a customer's purchase experience memorable! Kudos!

This time though, we went in nkrishnap's diesel Linea which he was hell bent in bringing to the yard to complete his running in period quickly *lol*. A big shout out to nkrishnap for his assistance in my PDI and in many more aspects!

The vehicle was washed and spotlessly clean when we arrived at the yard. Part II of the PDI was done in around half an hour. After another thorough round of PDI, the eagle eyes of nkrishnap caught 2 issues, both minor adjustments which were conveyed to Mr. Prabhakar, the manager at the stockyard. He promised to take care of both these issues prior to delivery day :

- issue no.1 : rear bumper was very slightly misaligned when screwed in below the boot door. Result was a minute uneven gap between right and left sides. All this requires is a re-placing and re-screwing of the rear bumper to avoid any uneven gaps.

- issue no.2 : boot door hinge needs a minor adjustment to even out the gap between windshield and C pillar, once again a minor adjustment so no concerns here.

There was a very, very minute paint chip (size of a sugar crystal) near the front door running board, which was promised to be touched up. It is negligible, so I didn't bother much. Knowing these guys, everything should be done and ready before D-day.

On the purchase front, I have finished my loan formalities at SBI bank (once again, nkrishnap was instrumental in introducing me to the branch manager there who processed my application super quickly), and the disbursement is ready, so is my downpayment.

The delaying factor : I am just getting some portion of the broken footpath evened out with stone slabs and concrete outside my home, so I can park the Punto right outside my home compound wall. Assuming those construction guys do it in time, this work should be through by sometime around this weekend, so the Jet's sibling should be home by the end of next week.

Attaching a few departing pictures of my diesel rocket at the yard. This concludes my 'what car?' set of queries. I'll post my ownership review thread after a few days of getting the delivery. Until then, its goodbye from me here on this thread.














A big Thank you to everyone who took the time out to help me with the decision making process through the last 6 pages of this thread, especially shashank.nk, vb-san, fuel_addict, scofield, parimal_g, Sheel, ajay_satpute and everyone else I missed out.

[srinath34]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

I'll post my ownership review thread after a few days of getting the delivery. Until then, its goodbye from me here on this thread.

Congrats Karthik!!!

I must say you have great eagle eyes to find such minute details.

I am all set to read your ownership review of the affordable Ferrari and I guess this must the first Sports review in this forum.

Cheers and good luck

[shashank.nk]

So after a lot of delays and negotiations, my Polo has been sold,well atleast buyer has made a token advance I'm back in the market looking for a new hatchback/hatchback on stilts

My requirements/usage are:

• Car will be used 80%in bangalore traffic,20% on the rare weekend outings typically in and around bangalore
• Need a dynamically sorted car
• Should not feel like a downgrade from my Polo diesel. So no Ritz,Liva,Figo
• Preferebaly a European car, Ford or the brilliant Swift

I TD'd many cars now and here are my impressions of the top 3 contenders (hatchbacks):

Suzuki Swift
TD car had 25k on the odo

Likes:

• Real FTD car, thouroughly enjoyed driving within city and on the open road
• Superbly refined DDIS engine,punchy power delivery too
• Gearbox was to my liking
• Brilliantly agile and almost zero bodyroll
• Is reasonably loaded compared to competition
• The only car which can give me a niggle free ownership experience
• Liked the interior design and layout

Dislikes

• Rattle king! The TD car had rattles from many places
• Average build,inside out. Plastics are not comparable to Polo or i20/sheet metal is easy to dent
• Non-existent boot. This is important as we frequently do airport/railway station trips and if need be the car should be up for it
• Rear seat comfort was only satisfactory. Under-thigh support was lacking
• Ride not as good as euro hatches

Fiat Punto 90HP

I have a soft corner for this car despite what all the haters might say, but despite taking 2 TD's I was left very disappointed. Both were 2013 TD cars and had less than 1k on the odo, I know Fiats feel better with more on the odo but how much better really ? I'm not expecting a drastic transformation!

Likes

• Superb handling, easily the benchmark in the segment
• Good power delivery from 3rd gear onwards
• Excellent drivability
• Magic carpet ride quality, not even my Polo felt so comfortable on bad patches. It simply glides over all undulations
• The real 'tank' like build quality. Better than my Polo
• Loaded with features and adequate boot space
• Barring the disappointing engine,it satisfies my requirements.

Dislikes

• Doesn't feel like its got 90 horses at all,especially in the first 2 gears. My Polo felt much better
• Horrible gear ratios and rubbery gearbox, for a 90HP car I was expecting the engine to be far more relaxed at high speeds. Nada! Its the same as in my Polo,2500 rpm at just 100 km/hr!
• Fiat service is still suspect since i've never experienced it
• Slightly cramped rear. Only marginally better than the Polo
• Quite expensive with NO discounts! Surprising considering its not a big seller
• Not as refined as the DDIS

Polo GT TDI

Yes, I know most of you will think I'm crazy to be even considering a VW after my experience with them.

If and when it gets launched, it will be the most powerful and the most enjoyable hatch to drive not to forget the benefits of diesel economy

Likes

• The 1.6TDI should transform the Polo to a powerful hatch, making it rilliant to drive
• I love the interiors of the Polo simple yet functional with cubby holes wherever you need it
• Rear seat though cramped offers better back and under-thigh support than the above mentioned cars
• In my books the best looking hatchback
• Will never even think of a remap/tuning box at all, so no warranty worries whatsoever
• If its the same 5 speed manual as in Vento, then the advantage of having the segment best gearbox

Dislikes

• Potential to turn into an absolute nightmare to own, though the 1.6TDI doesn't have as many problems as the 1.2TDI
• 1.6 may be refined but not comparable to the MJD's.
• Pricey. Expecting it to be atleast 10.5 here in bangalore, being close to 2 lakh more than the Swift and 1.3 more than the Punto 90 HP, all for the engine alone!

Ford Ecosport

Last but by no means the least,the pseudo-SUV or the hatch on stilts, Ford Ecosport Diesel titanium. I'll consider this only if its priced around 11 lakh OTR in bangalore as that's all i'm willing to pay for this car. It somehow makes a lot more sense to buy than the Polo 1.6TDI if the price difference isn't much. Only issue is the huge waiting period and being a new launch is bound to have many niggles, and no guarantee on the pricing front yet

[Aroy]

If you need boot and are thinking of VW, why not the Vento TDI? Has a better engine than Polo and is a FTD car.

In case you are thinking of Ford Ecosport, TD the Duster. It is a no nonsense car with space and GC to take on bad roads.