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Old 12th July 2016, 15:28   #76
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

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Originally Posted by Dr.Naren View Post

Overdrive Review :
Thank you Dr.Naren for sharing this here

My quick reference points from this review are:
  • Fiat does not offer Safire Blue colour with black alloys even as an option. Sigh! It would have made the car a lot more appealing. Place a regular Linea Emotion variant and there will be hardly any visual difference, save for the T-Jet badge on the front fender and the 125 S badge at the rear.
  • This Fiat begs to be driven. The clutch isn’t very heavy but gets tiring because it is quite long and has a sharp biting point. The gearbox? You will either love it or hate it.
  • The gearing pattern is on the longer side, and trust me, you will enjoy pulling her to the redline in every gear. I saw 95kmph in second gear with the motor uttering a mild roar at this point.
  • Fiat claims 14.1kmpl but don’t hold your breath. The best we could get was 8.3kmpl in the city and 13.1kmpl on the highway. In our three days with the car, I saw an all time low efficiency of 5.1kmpl on the display. Alarming indeed and wallet busting too!
  • The 125PS/210Nm 1.4-litre turbopetrol motor is the same from the old Linea T-Jet, but in a higher state of tune. There is turbolag but it’s bearable.
  • Fiat recommends a cold tyre pressure of 36psi for the front and 33psi for the rear. Any lower and the heavier engine in the front will make you work extra hard to steer the car.
  • 125 S is a decently specced car but doesn’t offer anything staggeringly new over the competition, apart from some added performance and a subsequent loss in efficiency.

Personally, I think the last point gives a fair idea as to what Mango People (Aam Aadmi) may really consider while on car shopping. And I am really not trying to take a dig at FIAT, but with Honda gearing up for New City, Updated Rapids/Ventos on cards,..Linea 125S has its work cut out !!

Last edited by Vik0728 : 12th July 2016 at 15:34.
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Old 12th July 2016, 16:00   #77
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

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Originally Posted by WindRide View Post
So what exactly is preventing this drop-dead gorgeous powerful sedan from flying off the shelves? What is its avg real world FE?
The real world economy of this car is no higher than 9Kmpl in the city cycle. This is for my car, that is closing in on 5 years. It has been this way from day one. On the highway, with a light foot, you can get close to 16 (15.6 has been my best) but that is when you keep it around the ton. Keep it steady, at around 120-130kmph, you're down to 11kmpl.

Even if this car delivered a real world economy of 20kmpl, it still won't sell. Why? To start with, its a Fiat. The Linea is now old as a model. I don't think we are a country that buys cars purely on looks. Appreciating good design is something we've yet to learn.

While this car is huge in terms of dimensions, its tiny on the inside. There are hatch backs with more room at the front and back.

The controls are heavy. Drive a Verna and jump back into a Linea and you'll wonder for a moment if the cars power steering system has failed. Every other car is the Linea's segment is easier to drive. Nobody cares about driving dynamics or handling.

Reliability isn't up there with the best. Car quality is a hit or miss. Service is far from good (Forget great). Your average wait time for a critical part is no less than two weeks. God help you if its a warranty claim or even worse, extended warranty claim. The service network is shrinking. It has been over a couple of months that a big dealer in my city has shut shop or relocated citing a new facility. From the looks of things, I don't think that new facility is ever going to see the light of day.

The Linea deserved the 1.6l Multijet diesel and T Jet motor from the day of launch. I am not going to say that the fortunes of the car would have been better today if the engines were better. For a car weighing in at close to 1300kilos, 90 horse power was surely going to be a dud and that is what everyone felt when they drove the Linea.

The competition. Except for the Hyundai Verna, every other model that the Linea competes with has gone through a major upgrade. Some have seen multiple upgrade cycles.
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Old 12th July 2016, 16:34   #78
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

Agree with everything Sandeepmohan wrote except the service bit which has been great for me so far.

Mine has averaged about 10kmpl so far in the city. The worst I got was 8.6, and the best was about 12.5 with a really really light foot.

Still in love with mine.
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Old 12th July 2016, 22:21   #79
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

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Originally Posted by keroo1099 View Post
Agree with everything Sandeepmohan wrote except the service bit which has been great for me so far.
For the few of us, service has been good. Touch Wood, I have not had a single fault with the car from the date of purchase. However; I do not have confidence with any of the service centers. I feel they are incapable of handling anything other than regular service and replacement of wear and tear parts. If something goes very wrong with the car, I will be terrified to leave it with them.

You may recall reading a Abarth FM review about engine shuddering. I had the same problem when my car was brand new, though, not to the extent the Abarth owner was experiencing. I showed it to the dealer, they could not find anything wrong. Even the ECU scanner did not show anything wrong. However; there was a problem. I had to leave it that way. It was much after the second service did a I realize that the problem was no longer there and one crucial component is changed during the second service, the spark plugs. This so happens to be the culprit.

I have had no complaints with service too. However; if you've read other user accounts regarding service and if there was a problem to be diagnosed, its not a pleasant experience. You could be without your car for days or even weeks.
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Old 12th July 2016, 22:37   #80
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeepmohan View Post
You may recall reading a Abarth FM review about engine shuddering. I had the same problem when my car was brand new, though, not to the extent the Abarth owner was experiencing. I showed it to the dealer, they could not find anything wrong. Even the ECU scanner did not show anything wrong. However; there was a problem. I had to leave it that way. It was much after the second service did a I realize that the problem was no longer there and one crucial component is changed during the second service, the spark plugs. This so happens to be the culprit.
I did bring it up with KHT, and to their credit they did take it up further with Fiat who said it was only an issue with the Abarth and not with the T-Jet. I too have a slight roughness at idle, had it from day one and have been told to change my plugs.

I agree with you that the confidence level on attending to anything major has taken a major dent with KHT downsizing and Aadya supposedly relocating. Will take it as it comes.
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Old 13th July 2016, 06:38   #81
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

The Linea at 7.8 lakh has the 1.4 L FIRE petrol engine and not the T-JET petrol.

So, what's the pricing of the 125 S? 10.4 lakh as ACI reports here? The Fiat India website is not updated even now.
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Old 14th July 2016, 12:02   #82
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet with 123 BHP launched; starts at INR 7.82 lakh

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Originally Posted by bossycool View Post
I am from Mumbai. I am interested to upgrade my petrol 2010 linea emotion pk to this newest model.
Any leads as to which dealership would be best for this?
There are no Fiat dealers currently in Mumbai. I had purchased my T-Jet in 2015 from Esskay Motors in Prabhadevi. They shut shop last year in August.

Only yesterday I had a talk with Mangesh, Customer Relationship head and he mentioned that they are shortly planning one outlet in Goregaon which would also showcase Jeep. He also confirmed the 125S news and said it is available at the dealerships.
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Old 14th July 2016, 13:40   #83
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

The FIAT-India official website has been updated for the Linea 125S and the Punto Evo changes. Regarding the touchscreen, my doubts came true on checking the type of touch capability - It's a resistive touchscreen!!! I seriously have doubts of how useful is having a resistive touchscreen for the infotainment.

Source: http://www.fiat-india.com/powerup-linea/
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Old 14th July 2016, 22:00   #84
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet with 123 BHP launched; starts at INR 7.82 lakh

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Originally Posted by neoonwheels View Post
Would love to know which parts you are talking about and to which car spares you compared it to. I changed following parts and dont think they are over priced:

1. Clutch change - 10.5K
2. Right Headlight - 2.5K
3. Steering Rack - 15K (FIAT gave 50% disc as Goodwill)
4. Starter Motor - 8K (Under Warranty)
Headlight etc is a different design, so lets compare all parts that can be alternatively used.

Clutch Kit
:

Linea - 4,964/-
Manza - 3,050/-

Fuel Filter :

Linea : 2,160/- because FIAT forces us to buy the H2O sensor
Manza : 1,320/-

Even simple stuff like say an Air filter
Linea : 453/-
Manza : 255/-

At premiums of 160%, these are just on the parts, labour too is at a premium.

I guess simply listing further may not add much value to this thread.

I don't understand why, when I come across honest feedback on FIATs high service cost & ownership, I often see rebuttals & non-constructive arguments, as against a normal reaction of genuine surprise.

Hope further discussion is more consumer-centric.

To my understanding, the writing is on the wall :

As FIAT owners, we're sharing the cost of the service centers existence. And since there are fewer cars on the road, the incidence of cost is on a small group of people.

Moreover, as the model gets older and as the resale value is less, 2nd or 3rd owners who've acquired the car at a low cost are price sensitive & may be largely avoiding FASC.

This further increases the soaring prices that owners like us have to bear.

IMHO, FIAT must try to re-enter into a JV with Tata Motors & bring down costs.

The leaders have changed in both the companies, & the baggage of bitter experiences during the split can be forgotten.

FIAT needs to get into rescue mode rather than attack mode.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vinodh_Gowda View Post
The FIAT-India official website has been updated for the Linea 125S and the Punto Evo changes. Regarding the touchscreen, my doubts came true on checking the type of touch capability - It's a resistive touchscreen!!! I seriously have doubts of how useful is having a resistive touchscreen for the infotainment....
tbh I wouldn't mind a resistive touchscreen very much !

Not just due to its high resistance to dust and water, but also I feel capacitive touch screens are TOO sensitive for use while driving!

When we're moving, a harder press is better rather than a finger touch

We don't need multi touch anyway. So given the purpose of use, IMO this cheap old technology is more suitable than capacitive touchscreens.

Give it a try during a longish TD, maybe it won't disappoint as much!

Last edited by WorkingGuru : 14th July 2016 at 22:15.
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Old 15th July 2016, 11:29   #85
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet with 123 BHP launched; starts at INR 7.82 lakh

Quote:
Originally Posted by WorkingGuru View Post
Headlight etc is a different design, so lets compare all parts that can be alternatively used.

Clutch Kit
:

Linea - 4,964/-
Manza - 3,050/-

Fuel Filter :

Linea : 2,160/- because FIAT forces us to buy the H2O sensor
Manza : 1,320/-

Even simple stuff like say an Air filter
Linea : 453/-
Manza : 255/-

At premiums of 160%, these are just on the parts, labour too is at a premium.
I would have rather compared cars in the same price bracket. May be a comparison with Vento/City/Verna/Ciaz would give a good picture.
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Old 15th July 2016, 12:24   #86
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Re: Fiat Linea T-Jet with 123 BHP launched; starts at INR 7.82 lakh

Quote:
Originally Posted by neoonwheels View Post
I would have rather compared cars in the same price bracket. May be a comparison with Vento/City/Verna/Ciaz would give a good picture.
WorkingGuru is comparing the two because they use the same basic engine. Makes sense to me.
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Old 15th July 2016, 12:42   #87
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

Fiat Linea 125s's price updated on Fiat India's official website.
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Old 21st July 2016, 16:20   #88
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

Official TVC released:

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Old 22nd July 2016, 19:21   #89
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

The Motoroids team had taken the Linea 125 S for a spin, and they have come back clearly impressed!

Excerpts:

Quote:
Power starts building from 2000 rpm onwards, with the turbo spooled up nicely at 3000 clicks and delivering a heady dose of power to those wheels shod with the widest footwear in class, for some very obvious reasons. Thereon, the 125S pulls clean all the way to 6500 rpm, en route delivering excitement none of its competitors possibly can. The potent engine loves being revved and makes an intoxicating, whooshing sound while being at it. Mashing the right pedal on this Linea is a therapy for the petrolhead. Slot it into the first gear, bury the pedal and a deluge of power and torque fights the 205 section Apollo Alnac rubber riding fifteen inch alloys, and wins momentarily, inducing a pronounced torque steer. Milliseconds later, you’d find the tyres reclaiming themselves and finding traction, with the car settling down in a solid, stable, straight line progress. Now those shenanigans might not sound technically right to some, but every bit of it is enjoyable for those seeking thrills. We’d much rather have that slithering start than not have it. Some call it character. We say Long Live Character.

Keep at rowing that long-throw, rather rubbery and slightly imprecise gear shifter, and you feel the sheer solidity this machine imparts at speed. It’s absolutely unmatched by its more popular rivals, talking specifically about petrol powered manual versions. The Linea would almost hit 100 kays in second gear, and would nudge the double ton mark if taken all the way, and it would do all of that relatively fast. 0-100 comes in about 10 seconds, though the sensation of speed from that driver’s seat is somewhat amplified, thanks to that lovely engine sound that accompanies the act. The Linea, if kept on the boil can be quite an entertainer for the man behind the wheel. It incites you to push it hard, for if you don’t wish to, you might as well be driving something else. The Linea packs a punch, it loves being revved hard and that’s the only way it’s meant to be driven. It really is an experience as against the sombre, un-engaging options we have in that segment.

There are discs all around, so the Linea 125S packs a solid bite. The hydraulic steering unit is heavier than anything else in the segment, and feels solid and properly involving at speed with dollops of feel. Once you’re past the initial torque steer, the Linea settles into being an exceedingly reassuring car dynamically. We drove on a day when it was pouring, and it dealt with slippery surfaces and standing water without a trace of the nervousness exhibited by its fuel-efficiency obsessed counterparts. Even around bends, the Linea maintains its line without exhibiting any worrisome body roll. It’s a solid handler for the segment whichever way you look at it. Thanks to that meaty mid range and formidable torque from that turbo motor, though, it’s rather easy to make the Linea wag her tail as well if you so wish by dialling some extra steering input. The Linea 125S, like its other name-bearing brethren excels in terms of ride quality, and exhibits exceptional capability to absorb rough surfaces and undulations. It has to be one of the best, if not the definitive ride-handling packages for the segment.
Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125ssilver1.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdetails1.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdetails8.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdashboard.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdetails21.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdetails5.jpg

Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched-fiatlinea125sdetails2.jpg
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Old 23rd July 2016, 16:42   #90
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Re: Fiat Linea 125 S with 123 BHP launched

Just noticed that the voice button has gone from the steering wheel. It is now one big Mute button. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing. I use voice control to call my wife, get in to the phone book, cause its a whole lot easier than using the buttons. The system even manages to recognize a Punjabi name. Even for the Media Player, it is rare for me to hit the Volume knob to turn it on. Everything done with voice control. Not a deal breaker though.
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