[Vid6639]

@ Namit,

Can you point me to a test report that says Punto without airbags will fair better than Polo without airbags?

As far as I know there is global NCAP data available that proves Polo without airbags is the safest "popular" hatch in India vs the Figo, Swift, i10 and Alto. Unfortunately there was no Punto in that group.

Structural damage to the Polo was the least. Not having airbags instantly will give the car low ratings.

If you compare both Polo and Punto international variants then you will see that both are 5 star rated:

http://www.euroncap.com/results/vw/polo/371.aspx

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/fiat_punto_2005/238.aspx

So looking at the above real data, I would guess you also have no clue about metal thickness, tensile strength and crumple zone design cause it looks like both cars are equally good.

And to top it off you no longer get a VW Polo in India without dual airbags. So unless someone buys Punto Emotion or Sport 90HP, the Polo is a safer bet.

Oh there are no Fiat haters here. It's just people who are not biased vs the Pro-Fiatian who don't seem to come to the harsh reality that there are other cars better or equally good as the Fiat Punto.

[nikhil0405]

I love Fiat cars and would genuinely like them to do well in India. And BTW, my next car will be a Fiat.
I liked the Punto Evo's design and the thought of selling off my current car for the Evo crossed my mind. But I love the Linea Tjet more and that that will be my next drive in the near future.

[blackbeast]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

Full driving impressions here.

The previous punto has very bad NVH levels. wind noise creeps through to the cabin at anything over 100 kph. I currently drive one. Did you see any improvement in the evo.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by Rubbertramps

If you are aiming at the masses, i would say the punto will not sell because of the following factors.
1. Low pickup.
2. Hydraulic steering which they address as tight steering. EPS is always favored by the masses.
3. Mileage which is copyrighted by Maruti !
4. After which comes the badge or after sales experience.

Disagree with few points, low pickup yes for the petrol version, but for the multijet one, I have not experienced low pickup in my 4 years of ownership, during which I did about 91,867 kms till yesterday.

Never faced HPS is an issue, after migrating from Alto. Its real fun to handle a car with HPS, you get proper feedback which lacks in EPS. And its never tight. With this how can we forget Punto's clutch. The softest of all diesel cars I guess(featuring 1.3 Multijet).

And I also feel mileage was never an issue with Punto, I have always got 19-22 kmpl in city, and 23+ in NHs (about 65% AC)

A.S.S was a real issue for me with Tata-Fiat joint efforts, but since they started going alone, I feel a remarkable change, but yes not upto the mark, but then I don't consider Maruti as benchmark as well. Infact I will never buy a Maruti product in my life nor an italic H.

I really don't know how mass market can be defined, when I was an Alto owner I was part of the mass, when I went for Fiat I became mass-less

Fiat India has too many short falls, their marketing dept is full of nuts, their India strategy is foolish, still I think they have tried to better a product and I appreciate that effort and hope they are able to up the sales.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by blackbeast

The previous punto has very bad NVH levels. wind noise creeps through to the cabin at anything over 100 kph. I currently drive one. Did you see any improvement in the evo.

Nope, no improvement. The wind noise does creep in especially from the ORVMs at speeds above 80 km/hr. NVH levels are still quite bad at higher speeds.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by blacksport

The engines are good enough for the masses, but not enough for enthusiasts.

Masses wouldn't buy a FIAT because of the badge.

And I am saying there is no enthusiast market in India so if a company wants to remain in the black, they have to target the mass market. Fiat needs to improve their mass market image and how do they do that? Come with comprehensive maintenance plans on the lines of Ford and Chevrolet, TV adverts showcasing the same rather than telling the audience how good their car's are to drive.

If there was an 'enthusiast' market, Fiat Linea would have been seeing some sales.

[sourav21]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

If there was an 'enthusiast' market, Fiat Linea would have been seeing some sales.

Why would a car with an extended rear have more appeal to enthusiasts than a hot hatch?

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by sourav21

Why would a car with an extended rear have more appeal to enthusiasts than a hot hatch?

So if Linea T-Jet has brought any sales in its segment, how would Punto do it given the buyers of hatchback are more concerned about economy than a sedan buyer?

[Fiatanic]

“In Italy when they say something is beautiful that’s the last word: Italians prefer beauty to truth.” —Moravia

This goes true for Fiat buyers as well.

I can tell one thing for sure, you will never buy a Fiat if your judgment parameters are fuel economy, cheap service or resale value. However if you listen to your heart more often than your mind then its quite probable that you will own a Fiat once in your lifetime

[Diesel_convert]

I strongly hope fiat put the tjet in the punto with a new gearbox.

The reason they have a strong following is thanks to two halo cars, the gtx/s10 and the tjet.
The linea tjet magic is not so strong anymore once they lifted the GC. That's been stolen by
the VW GT twins / new fiesta.
Let's hope they come up with something that will make the enthusiast happy again otherwise I don't see a space for fiat in the market.

No one ever buys a fiat listening to their heads.

[puchoo]

Great review , thanks for the effort!!

I saw the evo about a week ago in person when it had just arrived at a dealership for the launch and was as such being kept in one corner covered up. I really liked the car in person especially the front end which looked really agressive in my opinion. Now with a better view of the whole car the initial design impact is reduced for me but it is still a good looking car.

I have some concerns on the new interiors as i did with the new Linea so those would stay , nice looking 15 inch alloys , wish they had them in 16inches with the same dimensions as for the T-jet , might have considered a swap in the future

Yes , the engine debate can keep going on for ever and while i would also be inclined to argue on the side of those who would prefer something like the 1.4 Turbo in the Punto the fact of the matter is that they have not done it / cannot do it but i think what they have done would assist in converting some fence sitters nevertheless , people who were happy with the car but might have had some issues with design elements - the evo takes care of this to a strong degree.

The 16 inch alloys seemed to have an uncanny similarity to the palio alloys in terms of design for me , not that it matters as it is a good looking design anyway.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Diesel_convert

I strongly hope fiat put the tjet in the punto with a new gearbox.

The reason they have a strong following is thanks to two halo cars, the gtx/s10 and the tjet.
The linea tjet magic is not so strong anymore once they lifted the GC. That's been stolen by
the VW GT twins / new fiesta.
Let's hope they come up with something that will make the enthusiast happy again otherwise I don't see a space for fiat in the market.

No one ever buys a fiat listening to their heads.

Very true. There should have been engine changes.

Look at VW, we have a new diesel engine across the range with 2 tunes and the superb TSI in both Polo and Vento.

Now Tata has launched the Zest with a new 1.2 Revotron turbo petrol engine. For the diesel they now have a USP with the AMT box.

When Tata and VW can do this change why not Fiat?

All that was expected was to plonk the T-JEt engine from Linea to Punto and improve driveability of the MJD. Merely playing with first gear/final drive is silly.

A T-JET Punto makes way more sense than a Linea T-JET.

[Ohh!Oxygen]

One interesting fact is Evo is going to complete replace current gen Punto in India.

Its great looker(Punto has always been but this one is even better!!!) and they have listened to customers and got rid of the shady interior. Its a win win for Punto lovers.
I hope they have done some additional road tests and made it road worthy for Indian road dynamics.

But I am skeptical about their treatment to Indian buyers. I mean Evo was launched in 2012 and internationally Fiat is dumping Punto and moving towards 500 next year itself. Once they shift their focus away, it would be avery tough job to get proper spares and service keeping in view Fiat's popularity in India.
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/fiat/50...-door-fiat-500

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

And I am saying there is no enthusiast market in India so if a company wants to remain in the black, they have to target the mass market. Fiat needs to improve their mass market image and how do they do that? Come with comprehensive maintenance plans on the lines of Ford and Chevrolet, TV adverts showcasing the same rather than telling the audience how good their car's are to drive.

If there was an 'enthusiast' market, Fiat Linea would have been seeing some sales.

I counted the number of Lineas in the first 50 pages of the initial ownership reports section, and out of 38 Lineas posted there, 19 of them are T-jets. Considering that the T-jet was launched much later in its life-cycle, 50% is a significant number. But then, I do agree with you that there is no significant enthusiast market that exists in India.

Now that the enthusiasts are out of the radar, what does the new face-lift bring in for the masses which wasn't there before the face-lift? New face and new interiors. Will that bring the Maruti and Hyundai fans to the Fiat showrooms?

TV ads, maintenance packages etc are not going to improve the brand image. Fiat has tried that before and failed.

Yamaha tried to chase the mass market with bikes like Libero, YBX et al, but finally realized that they should instead focus on their strengths. Now they are doing good with the R15 and FZ16.

[finneyp]

For those desperate for Punto Tjet, why don't you consider Linea Tjet? Go for the mid-variant Dynamic if there is any budget constraint... It is a good buy!
If you are looking only for hatch, you have a good option - Polo

Even if Fiat had launched Punto Tjet, how many would buy? Just a handful of enthusiasts...
The Linea sales (both Tjet & MJD) put together was only 154 in June, so what is the guarantee that Punto Tjet will sell like hot cakes?
It won't happen & Fiat knows that and hence didn't bother to invest in plonking the Tjet onto Punto...
And, nowadays diesel variants are selling more than petrol, and the 90hp Punto would be good enough for the 'enthusiasts'.