[rudrah]

I can't beleive FIAT India can phase out Palio! Its a entry level hatch for FIAT in India!

I somehow too feel the dealers here are misinformed (hoping so)

May be there is other plan if at all they stop Palio now. They may bring on a facelifted Palio after GP success.

I hope this goes off as a false information!

Long Live the King

[ravi@64bhp]

I am really saddened to hear the news of Palio being killed.

[predatorwheelz]

A sad end to a great car. A tough, dependable little hatch that brought smiles to the faces of anyone who drove it. Sadly, it spent its entire lifetime neglected by the majority, partly due to people's misconceptions about its mileage, and partly due to the image of its mother company.

I remember driving a friend's 1.6 GTX (1.6 model was called the GTX when it was first launched) and being amazed by the turn of power and the big-car feel the car showed. A year later, when my dad was in the market for a diesel hatch (I was still a student), I tried every trick in the book to make him buy the Palio 1.9D. Made him take a test drive and he was very impressed too. Sadly everyone else around him warned him not to buy it, and we got stuck with an Indica.

A year back, when I was based in Ahmedabad and planning to buy a car for myself, my primary choice was the 1.6 (now called Sport). Unfortunately, the Local Tata dealer neither had a 1.6 palio in stock, nor did he seem interested in selling it. He was not clear on what features were being offered (the brochure was a skimpy 4 pager which told nothing). He told me that if I paid advance and booked the car prima faciae, he would get a model from the factory. I did not have the guts to progress with the purchase without the mandatory test drive. (Subsequently I got promoted and shifted to my home town. This time I bought a bigger car).

I guess my 2 little stories mirror what happened to the Palio across the country. Everyone loved it, but no one wanted to own it. Most were not even interested to sell it!

Now that the car is finally breathing its last, here's wishing it a very happy afterlife. I wish Planet Rocker and all the other Palio owners on the Forum all the luck. May your distinctive machines last forever.

[spadival]

Ohh no.. Where will the army go now to buy tanks? .

Seriously, Hats off to a great car.. and welcome "Spirito Di Punto"

[greatpower]

Palio has been the car which has evoked most passionate responses the masses. Some just loved it and others never even considered it. For the sheer driving pleasure, this has been wonderful car. RIP

[Gagan.js]

They can always wear maruti's shoes and sell it with very cheap interiors as a very basic hatch while the punto competes with the big hatches.

15 days for punto...interesting

[finneyp]

I guess we need to wait for the official announcement from Fiat before writing obituaries on Palio here.

But, I will not be surprised if Palio is discontinued!

[extreme_torque]

Its difficult to digest that Palio is being discontinued. There hasnt been any communication so far from the company about it nor any rumours. And what happens to the owners of the recently bought palio multijets?

[indivic]

Originally Posted by swale84

Thanks for the news Muneem!
DO you have nay idea what state of tune the 1.4 FIRE and 1.3 Multijet engines will be in?
I'm guessing the 1.2 will be the same 65 ps as the Indica Vista.
Fiat has two options for the 1.4 FIRE - a 16 v (as seen on the Linea - 90 ps) and an 8 v (75 ps if i'm not mistaken)
Will the multijet be the 75 ps version from the swift/palio/vista or the 85 ps from the linea?
Keeping my fingers crossed for the 1.4 16 v & 1.3 85 ps engines!!

Cheers - do keep us updated.

Its the 77 bhp 8V FIRE that is expected according to the saleswoman from Concorde. The trainings havent started as informed by muneem.

OT : The X1 Indigo launch is expected to be pushed back to allow some breathing space for the GP.

[harry10]

If Palio is not selling whats the use of producing it?
They cant give it a facelift cos of Tata alliance and noone is buying the outdated one.
I feel Fiat has done the right thing by introducing Punto which can replace Palio easily(if its priced correctly and A.S.S is taken care of in a good manner).
I know here many people love Palio and i feel gradually they may like Punto as well

@Muneem- any more useful info?

[SilentEngine]

This thread is about Grande punto launch, however the last few posts are about Palio.

Punto launch in 15 days is hard to believe, the dealer information could be old, as per the original plan. FIAT could have decided to postpone the launch. FIAL CEO himself has said few days back that GP will come in Q3. Unless the news is out from official sources, this is just another rumor.

[sharma_sanjeevi]

It is a bad news, but lets wait for the official confirmation. These type of rumours goes on and in the end nothing is concrete.

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by harry10

I know here many people love Palio and i feel gradually they may like Punto as well

Yeah , Its not about not liking the Punto- i guess most of it are waiting for it including u. Just that Palio was & will be one of the best hatches below 5 lacs. Maybe Punto could be the best hatchback above 5 lacs.

@muneem- thanks for the info buddy, but as mentioned there was a press release by Rajeev Kapoor mentioning that GP will be launched in 3rd quarter

[reppy]

About the Q3 launch of the Punto - wasn't that a response to a question regarding the diesel version?

I guess the launch is coming - could it be the petrols first like Hyundai's i20?

[neotraveller]

I spoke to sales manager at my dealership recently and he hinted that punto will be launched in may with Linea engines (of course dint tell about the bhp).

So we have one more source to confirm launch in may.