[asdon]

@charioteer - you may be right on ride quality on ghats as we could not find ghats in Bangalore. I was looking for some info on new linea and what I found in some latin auto sites it looks like 2012 linea is a stripped down version of new 1.6 linea, and which has both 16,17 & 18" alloys as option in different varie.ts. May be the panel gap is for that reason.
Yes the interior plastics ha ve this soft touch feel which is a good move, but I would have preffered hid headlights against auto headlights.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Just back after test driving the new Linea 2012. Got to know that T-Jet+ would be available. For Linea Petrol, it would be Active, Dynamic and T-Jet+.

Thanks Ramesh. Does that mean that, at this point the T-Jet+ will have lesser features than the lower variants?

And, can you post the driving impressions of the 2012 models?

[greatpower]

I was looking at the spec sheet of the Grande Punto 2012. One thing which came out as a pleasant surprise was the turning radius which was mentioned as 5m. If I remember correctly it was 5.4m in the previous model. If thats correct, that's a massive improvement - would make driving in crowded roads a better experience.

[rameshnanda]

Attaching the spec of Linea and Punto 2012.

[Charioteer]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Eddy

c) Are you referring to engine noise? I thought it was supposed to reduce.

No. I meant the tyre noise due to the wider 205mm tyres. I even drove at 110kmph with the windows rolled down. Couldn't really make out any higher noise levels as compared to the older Lineas.

Originally Posted by Crazy_Eddy

f) Correct me if i'm wrong, but those aren't folding seats. Folding seats are those where the back portion of the seats fold down to extend the boot area. This is just to probably access the fuel tank/fuel pump.

Well they ARE folding seats and as you have brought out, the back portion IS required to be folded over to get an extended boot akin to a TJet +. Well, here, my dear sales person struggled but finally couldn't get it down!

I just checked, the dealer's specification sheet also includes "folding rear back seat"

[Sathya_sc]

Self, Ramesh and one more friend of mine did a detailed test drive of the 2012 Linea. Here are the impressions.

I will start with Thanking Mr.Raman from Concorde, Chennai for providing us the opportunity to drive the beauty for some extended kms. When I saw her the first time, I really thought, the beauty has lost some charm due to raised wheel wells. Indeed the gap is little overboard without any passengers. Once it gets loaded with atleast 3-4 people its all fine.. but to see it normally, the wheel well was little high than normal. It may attract our (BHP-ians) attention but not sure about others. The reason I say this is because, we went there with the assumption that it will be high and it immediately caught our attention.. But to normal buyers, it will surely not be a deal breaker. Take it from me for sure.

And one more interesting thing I noticed is - the rise in GC is little gradual i.e. from front to rear of the car (low to high). What I mean is, the car now is relatively lower on the front gradually becoming higher at the rear. You can see the difference in wheel well heights of the front and the rear. The reason might be aerodynamics and weight of the engine. But it will catch your attention only on very careful observation.

Now comes the real part - The drive.

I was almost sure that there will be some compromise on handling and I was totally wrong. Hats off to Fiat - with a 24mm GC increase, the handling is exceptional even at hard cornering (Thanks to Ramesh, he indeed tried to put the car off the line on a corner.. only tried). The car as usual inspires a lot of confidence and it was a total rejoice when we realized the dynamics of the car are not disturbed by the raise in GC. Though this comes with the suspension being a little stiff at the rear but not too bouncy as well (since I owned both the MJD and the T-Jet, I always felt that MJD's suspension was a little softer than the T-Jet. Now I can say both are at par with the new 2012 MJD-Stiffness is similar to T-Jet). Ride and Handling are amazingly balanced and still Linea feels planted and great. Round of applause to FIAT here.

Plastics are very similar or even the same (if that the best way to say) as the T-jet, but I saw some improvements over and above my T-Jet as well. For e.g. the door inner beadings are of high quality now.. but FIAT, there is still room to improve. Are you listening? (still, Vento and Skoda's are my benchmarks at the mid size segment from a interior plastics perspective). Overall, it feels like a 10L (or even more) car now if it was a grouse earlier.

Performance - I was not able to really judge it since I drove it immediately after my T-Jet. But, to my observation, 16 inch wheels and 205 rubber has definitely eaten some performance.. I didn't feel comfortable with 1st and 2nd gears, from 3rd I was fine. I always believed the earlier MJD (2011) had the potential to do 0-100 in 13.5 seconds and in relation to that I will say this will take 15 seconds now. But as I sat in the car at the back for more rounds with Suresh and Ramesh driving it, I actually felt fast.. may be I am too addicted to taller and powerful 1st and 2nd in the T-Jet. I always rev her to 6000 in 1st and 2nd (atleast most of the time). Overall I still feel the performance to have slightly taken a hit.
Now all that we need is only one thing - a bigger engine to exploit the chassis of the new Linea, it surely begs for more power given the brilliant handling. For a normal buyer, this will very well solve the purpose, since I know the current Linea will very well pull all the way to 170/180 types or happily cruise in 120 all the time.. but for an enthusiast (or am not sure how to call.. a speed freak) who would want every other car to disappear from his rear view mirror be it in a traffic light or on a highway, a 1.6 is needed.

Overall an excellent package with super cool looks, elegance and class (esp. the blue color is rocking) coupled with "adequate" power, balanced ride and superior handling. Good job FIAT, but do remember to bring the bigger heart atleast later if not immediate.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

But, to my observation, 16 inch wheels and 205 rubber has definitely eaten some performance.. I didn't feel comfortable with 1st and 2nd gears, from 3rd I was fine. I always believed the earlier MJD (2011) had the potential to do 0-100 in 13.5 seconds and in relation to that I will say this will take 15 seconds now.

Thanks for sharing the test-drive experience. I wonder if the lack of performance has to do with the engine not being completely run-in.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by Amartya

Thanks for sharing the test-drive experience. I wonder if the lack of performance has to do with the engine not being completely run-in.

Precisely what my friends were telling me who did a couple of rounds after I completed the test drive. But it was hard for me to neglect bigger tyres as one of the reasons.

What ever you said can very much be a possibility though..

[sourav21]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

But, to my observation, 16 inch wheels and 205 rubber has definitely eaten some performance..

Also, it seems the engine has been further tuned to extract that last ounce of mileage - this will have direct bearing on performance.

I didn't feel comfortable with 1st and 2nd gears, from 3rd I was fine.

Something really needs to be done to improve the 1st and 2nd. These feel like 4x4 low ratios. Yes, good for pulling load and up a steep incline. But we can leave that to the SUVs. These two gears make for a really slow start. If these two gears are "corrected", I am confident FIAT cars will have *the* best 0-100.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by Amartya

Thanks for sharing the test-drive experience. I wonder if the lack of performance has to do with the engine not being completely run-in.

Could be. During the test drive of Linea 2012, it is visibly slower than my 2011 Linea (I have completed 10k). My Linea will actually accelerate better than the one that we test drove.

Other points,

- The clutch was indeed butter smooth and light. After the TD, when I drove my vehicle, I felt the clutch to be very hard .

- Regarding the handling part, my feeling is that it is almost close to the previous Linea.

- Now, GC increase has actually become a confidence enthusing factor to drive on bad patches.

OTR prices in Chennai (Linea MJD)
Active - 9.19 L
Dynamic - 10.35 L
Emotion - 10.75 L
Punto MJD Emotion (75 HP)- 7.8 L

Originally Posted by sourav21

Also, it seems the engine has been further tuned to extract that last ounce of mileage - this will have direct bearing on performance.

I don't understand why would Fiat want to tune it for mileage again. My Linea is giving me 20+ on the highway.

Originally Posted by sourav21

Something really needs to be done to improve the 1st and 2nd. These feel like 4x4 low ratios. Yes, good for pulling load and up a steep incline. But we can leave that to the SUVs. These two gears make for a really slow start. If these two gears are "corrected", I am confident FIAT cars will have *the* best 0-100.

If you drive my 2011 Linea, you won't find the 2nd gear to be boring at all. Now, I am actually addicted to the 2nd gear. It accelerates madly and I could feel 2 rounds of turbo kick when I continuously accelerate in 2nd gear. The vehicle that we drove had 50 Kms on the odo. I guess the vehicle's performance will improve post couple of thousand kms.

Some pictures taken during the TD.

[shashank.nk]

@ sathya and ramesh: Thanks for sharing your linea TD experiences. I hope the Linea sets the cash-registers running at Fiat this time around.

Did you also get a chance to drive the 2012 Punto ? If so, can you please post post your experience ?

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

- Now, GC increase has actually become a confidence enthusing factor to drive on bad patches.

I don't understand why would Fiat want to tune it for mileage again. My Linea is giving me 20+ on the highway.



If you drive my 2011 Linea, you won't find the 2nd gear to be boring at all. Now, I am actually addicted to the 2nd gear. It accelerates madly and I could feel 2 rounds of turbo kick when I continuously accelerate in 2nd gear. The vehicle that we drove had 50 Kms on the odo. I guess the vehicle's performance will improve post couple of thousand kms.

Some pictures taken during the TD.

1st point - I missed this aspect in my test drive exp. Now we can just get the car rolling over bad patches without any sweat. How useful it is to have a higher GC in Indian roads. Initially I didnt realize the importance and when I drove it, I realized what a significant change this is.. Now I think, LEH is also a piece of cake with the new Linea. Fiat, great you have done that.

2nd point - even I dont understand. I share the same sentiment. Why increase FE when it is already top class. Even the 1st gen with 86ps gave me 17km/lt even when I ripped her at 4000-4500rmp continuously..

3rd point - 100% true.. Had the opportunity to drive my friends Linea in the highway when we were returning from Kotagiri. It has done 30k so far. 1st and 2nd were great in his car.. like it was free revving (esp. the 2nd). So this attributes to the car getting to free up as we put a decent mileage on her.. and more importantly, he gave me a very tough time to stay ahead even with me revving the T-Jet to the horizon. So his MJD was definitely was NOT a slouch. I had to put that extra effort to stay ahead of his MJD when I didn't care about any other car on the road.

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

@ sathya and ramesh: Thanks for sharing your linea TD experiences. I hope the Linea sets the cash-registers running at Fiat this time around.

Did you also get a chance to drive the 2012 Punto ? If so, can you please post post your experience ?

No, we didnt have the opportunity to drive the 2012 Punto. When we get it, we will surely share the exp.

[anachronix]

Great Job Ramesh & Sathya!

The MJD works well with more clicks and you will find it really nice to drive. I have driven my friend's MJD and it pulls really well in 2nd & 3rd gear.

For the trained eyes, the raised GC looks really bad! However, I am happy that the Linea has not lost its strong USP of ride quality & handling.

BTW, the new blue colour looks really nice. I guess its similar to Ford's blue in the New Fiesta!?

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by anachronix

BTW, the new blue colour looks really nice. I guess its similar to Ford's blue in the New Fiesta!?

Thanks. This blue looks like a combination of deep voilet and blue. Fiesta's is more bluish if we have to quote a difference.

[SafeSteer]

Saw GP 2012 outside the showroom on Sarjapur road, Bangalore. Had a very short test drive, as they did not have enough fuel. The plastic on the dash (black) felt hard, and not to my liking. There was a TJet in the showroom, which had much better quality plastic. I drive petrol vehicle, hence I felt the diesel not responsive in 2nd gear for a light foot. The clutch had a long ply, but very smooth.