Team-BHP - 2014 Fiat Punto Evo : A Close Look

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyesice (Post 3573545)

Any idea on how much does the 1.4 Fire Dynamic costs on road? Eagerly waiting for a review on a Punto Petrol on TBHP.

The dynamic variant isn't powered by the 1.4 FIRE. The 1.4 FIRE is used only in the top end emotion variant. The lower variants have the 1.2L FIRE.

Congratulations to all new Punto Evo owners on team-bhp. Eagerly awaiting the initial ownership reviews. As a existing Punto owner who has clocked 89,000 Kms on my 1.3 MJD it pains me to some extent that very few to no new ownership reviews of Fiat vehicles existing on this forum

Looking forward eagerly to a multiple threads starting up soon

A Neighbor of mine, was smitten by the looks of my Punto Evo Tuscan Wine, that he went and bought himself a pearl white 1.2 dynamic car! The car looks gorgeous in white! He went with Aadya motors but his buying experience was just so-so!

1) Aadya sales person told him that Fiat RSA (for 3.5K) is mandatory!
2) Since my neighbor opted to buy insurance from amsure instead of showroom (there by saving around 5k), the showroom folks won't give him the invoice till delivery and without invoice getting an insurance cover note is not possible. Finally had to make do with a handwritten invoice with showroom seal.
3) Dynamic variant comes with remote keyless entry, but the showroom guys give him only one key and said it will take 20 days to get the foldable key!
4) My neighbor wanted to buy tuscan wine color, but was told that there is a waiting period of 20-25 days and as there is a price revision by 2% he will have to shell out another 35k for the tuscan wine. He went with pearl white as it was in stock.
5) The car was not clean during the delivery and also a small dent was present on the rear right door. After he created a scene, the manager got the car cleaned and agreed to fix the dent during the first service.

As offer they gave him a cash discount of 15000/- and reverse parking sensors.

My experience with Vecto was also so-so, i have even raised this concern with fiat mangesh kodalkar but am yet to hear back from him. Hope fiat listens to its existing customers and make their experience a thing to remember for life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawarsw (Post 3583145)

Thank you. Just have one query, as per Fiat website 1.2 litre petrol FE is 15.8 kmpl, then can it give 16+ on highway?

It all depends on your driving skill. There are instances where people have extracted 18-19 on highway with very light foot and sedate driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawarsw (Post 3583145)

Thank you. Just have one query, as per Fiat website 1.2 litre petrol FE is 15.8 kmpl, then can it give 16+ on highway?

The ARIA figure is more an average number over a mixed driving cycle, so your highway mileage can easily exceed this.

I managed 19.5 kmpl on a pure highway drive from Electronic City, Bangalore to Chennai from the 1.4 engine on a Linea that is rated at ~14kmpl ! Steady speed of 90 - 100 kmph and there was hardly any traffic.

My friend is considering buying a small car. Punto was on his Favourite list considering the fact that he earlier had Palio.

My views after TD :

1) The 1.3 emotion is very silent from inside. Very refined which I was honestly not expecting. Better than my Grand i10. Brilliant work.

2) The suspension is just awesome.

3) Overpriced for what it offers. My friend wants 1.2 with ABS and Airbags. Referred ACI and realised that 1.2 Dynamic offers ABS. Fiat dealership confirms its not offered. They did not have 1.2 for TD.

4) The 1.3 75 hp format is very lethargic. If there is one car which felt a pain to drive, it was this car. Now I know how good is my Grand i10 diesel. The 1.3 punto evo would just not gain speed. Felt very slow and dragging. My friend has a Dzire 1.2 old generation and he was thoroughly disappointed. He was buying a new small car for city driving and the 1.3 just killed any chance of him purchasing Punto.

5) Footwell is very, very narrow. My shoe size is 10 ( its actually 9 but due to broad toe, I have to settle down for size 10 ) and I was more often than fouling with the rather large dead pedal while shifting gear.

Overall, the Punto seems to be a good highway car, but not an effective City car. NVH and suspension deserves a praise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami (Post 3586622)

Overpriced for what it offers. My friend wants 1.2 with ABS and Airbags. Referred ACI and realised that 1.2 Dynamic offers ABS. Fiat dealership confirms its not offered. They did not have 1.2 for TD.

ABS is offered on the Dynamic variant, but only for the 1.3 MJD and not the 1.2 FIRE. I've heard that the 1.2 petrol on the Punto is well tuned and surprisingly drivable despite the fewer horses (68PS) powering a heavy car. Sadly, Fiat offer neither airbags nor ABS with this engine. The 1.4 petrol Emotion gets them, but it's priced high as it is not eligible for the lower tax slab.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami (Post 3586622)

The 1.3 75 hp format is very lethargic. If there is one car which felt a pain to drive, it was this car. Now I know how good is my Grand i10 diesel. The 1.3 punto evo would just not gain speed. Felt very slow and dragging. My friend has a Dzire 1.2 old generation and he was thoroughly disappointed. He was buying a new small car for city driving and the 1.3 just killed any chance of him purchasing Punto.

I guess the plan to get a tuning box for your Grand i10 diesel has been put on hold then, eh? ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami (Post 3586622)

You have to live with the Punto for a considerable time before you get used to its power delivery. How old was the test drive car? The mjd for some reason in Fiat's takes some kms to open up completely.