[moralfibre]

Techno, the new 1.1 has lesser weight than old 1.2. It has an engine which is responsive lower down the revs unlike the old 1.2 which gave out its peak power and torque at higher revs. Of course we will get a clearer idea once we take a test drive.

The rear seat is the best in the Getz followed by the Palio followed by the Swift.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Of course we will get a clearer idea once we take a test drive.

I just took it. The pick up is nice...but a bit lost!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by amtak

I just took it. The pick up is nice...but a bit lost!

Is it better than the 1.2?

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Techno, the new 1.1 has lesser weight than old 1.2. It has an engine which is responsive lower down the revs unlike the old 1.2 which gave out its peak power and torque at higher revs. Of course we will get a clearer idea once we take a test drive.

Good if thast the case, but still I belive the reduction in weight is due to engine weight what about Body weight ?

Originally Posted by moralfibre

The rear seat is the best in the Getz followed by the Palio followed by the Swift.

You forgot the Indica IMHO Getz & Indica have best rear seats

[moralfibre]

Good if thast the case, but still I belive the reduction in weight is due to engine weight what about Body weight ?

The total weight to be carried along will be less? I dont think we could comment without a testdrive.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

You forgot the Indica IMHO Getz & Indica have best rear seats

Oops sorry, my bad . I agree that the Indica has an equally good rear seat as the Getz.

[roms]

Alright, Fiat Club India was at there on the 2nd of April for the official launch of the new plant and the New Palio Stile, pronounced as " Steele".
Here is a link to a few pictures provided on CD by FIAT itself. The pictures are available for distribution and advertising purposes.So here goes :-

Picasa Web Albums - Ganesh Baliga - FIAT-Stile...

Courtesy - Ganesh Baliga - Fiat Club India.

P.S - The New Palio Stile will be made available with a 1.6 engine as well.It will be called 'Fiat Palio Stile Sport 1.6' !! Long name that. Anyways, the " Spirito - Di - Palio" lives on

No news about the 1.3 Multijet though.

[iraghava]

To be frank I don't understand what the hype is all about. It's just a mildly facelifted version of a car which has been struggling for a long while now. Don't know who's advising Fiat but this is not going to get them a huge jump in sales, public opinion has already been formed about the Palio & is set in the minds of the buying public. What they desperately need is a new car, not another facelift.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by iraghava

To be frank I don't understand what the hype is all about. It's just a mildly facelifted version of a car which has been struggling for a long while now. Don't know who's advising Fiat but this is not going to get them a huge jump in sales, public opinion has already been formed about the Palio & is set in the minds of the buying public. What they desperately need is a new car, not another facelift.

well, agreed...but this is just a stop gap arrangement till the punto comes out mid next year...everybody else touches up their small cars every now and then, and this is a step in the right direction to tide them over till their new products are out (which are very delayed as it is...)

[amtak]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Is it better than the 1.2?

Ha ha ha...mazak karr rahe ho bhai! 1.2 is anytime better!

[DCEite]

Yes iRaghava even i dont understand all this hype.
Xeta was detuned from 1.4 to 1.2. No hype.
Zen, WagonR, Esteem etc. got new lamps. No hype.
Getz getting detuned from 1.3 to 1.1. No hype.

Palio, which sells the least of all the cars i mentioned, gets a new facelift and a detuned engine. And voila! here we are jumping all around!

[grvanand]

Does the 1.6 car comes with alloy wheels and raised suspension? I suspect Tata hands in the raised suspension looks of this car which would have looked nice otherwise.

[Kart]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

If Tata has a significant hand in the Fiat Stilo, it will not come in diesel, only petrol.
And I agree with one thing here, they should have launched a new car. Its a 5 year old car with new tail lamps. Tata can afford to do that since indica was never a flop, but when you kill a brand you need to bring in a new one.
Fiat 1.6 can be called the enthusiasts car, but people who put 4-5L on a car look at FE more than power. As for the 1.2/1.1 there is nothing special about it. It does not have any Unique Selling Proposition. There is nothing a 50-70bhp Palio offers which you can't get in a swift/getz/indica etc., 3-5L is the VFM segment. If you car goes 2 seconds quicker around the track it will not give you more sales, however if it gives 2kmpl more than the competitor it will sell.
Fiat need to do something radical, introduce new models, show the buyer that there are committed to stay in the Indian market, rather than sell detuned Palio's with new lights

I don't agree with this. Palio was designed and made for developing markets (India, Brazil,.. etc). Hence it doesn't make sense for Fiat as a company to introduce new models instead of what they designed.

By the way Petra was a bold move by Fiat, which didn't work even though everyone agreed that the car was good.
A Grande Punto will not work at least with respect to volumes since it is a segment higher.

Fiat are taking full advantage of the govt norms and changing an existing car to beat others on price. Their USP has always been space and solid build. Palio had lost out on the initial FE stakes and got bad mouthed into their current state.

If some how they make the FE count, it might really work in their favor since the 1.1 Palio with the FE improvements is definitely miles ahead in most departments compared to other B segment cars.
This might be the only way to hit the volumes required to get them back into profit.

[roms]

In addition to the above link provided,here is another one from Fiat Club India covering the entire event.:-

Picasa Web Albums - Shaikh Umar - FIAT India - ...

Picture Courtesy - Shaikh Umar Ali and Rapid Effect on team-bhp

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

well, agreed...but this is just a stop gap arrangement till the punto comes out mid next year...everybody else touches up their small cars every now and then, and this is a step in the right direction to tide them over till their new products are out (which are very delayed as it is...)

Agreed Karl but as I've said time & again Fiat either needs to shape up or ship out. They way they're going, it does not look good for them. This car should have been launched atleast 6 months back if not a year but it's been delayed & still no sign of the JTD while Maruti is minting money off it.

I would love to buy a Punto for my mom but seeing what happens to Fiat every 2-3 years after launching a new car I'm very apprehensive. And there is no surety we'll get to see the Punto even in '08 in the current situations. They really, really need to get their act together otherwise they won't survive for very long.

[roms]

Originally Posted by amtak

Ha ha ha...mazak karr rahe ho bhai! 1.2 is anytime better!

The first test drive reports suggest that the 1.1 engine is much better in terms of driveability and response. And the best bit - the overall mileage in real world conditions is supposedly 15.4 kmpl !! We have a winner!

Guys guys, take a break from the arguments and take a look at the links provided.Save some energy