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-   -   Fiat Grande Punto. EDIT : Launch on 17th June! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/27631-fiat-grande-punto-edit-launch-17th-june-48.html)

Yes, Palio and GP can't be having same engines. Besides Fiat's partner Tata has Vista with the same engine, how would they take it? Swift/Ritz are also there...I think Fiat will have lots of competition with 75 BHP engine, with VGT 86 BHP they would have been leading the segment with no real competition. In fact 6.5 Ex showroom suggests around 7.25 OTR in Pune, and it will get Excise duty benefit for GP as well. So I still think it would be VGT 86 BHP Linea engine, or so I hope!

If they put FGT, max they can plan for GP is 8L for top version, which will take it to 6.6 to 6.7 OTR. Let's wait and see.

Magnum is on my mind or rather its future version the Cheverolet Cruze. I doubt GM has the finances to release it in India any time soon.

The Hyundai engines are off my list because the cars they come on handle poorly at high speeds and the engines are suspect after 90K kms. In out right acceleration the GTX would have to eat their dust but its not all about acceleration in my driving style as I rarely go above 120kmph but I do keep it above 90kmph even in the twisties and thats where the GTX scores heavily compared to any car manufactured in India under 12 lakhs which has not been modified.

After owning the Junkindica for years with its countless irrepairable problems ( according to the company) you can imagine how desperate I am to own the Punto 1.6vgt knowing fully well that for the first 2 years the car is going to be raped at the hands of the TATA services centers.
I am seriously thinking of importing the 1.6vgt punto under the Transfer of Residence scheme since FIAT has left me high and dry as far as the engine goes for the Grande Punto. I have a feeling that they are reserving the 1.6vgt for the Linea so spares should not be a problem in years to come.

Cars I buy will be kept for 8 to 10 years at the very least and hence it will have to be the latest model and engine in the market and in this criteria the Hyundai's are way off the list.

Slightly :OT As far as servicing goes I am horrified at the competence of the service engineers at Hyundai Alanchuvidu who used to service our Santro. Less said about the Honda service at Peninsular the better. Hear it from the horses mouth (that is Sujith) who had the Accord serviced there. Finally I had to personally go there to speak to the service engineers one thursday afternoon to get his car in running condition. Tell me should not Honda Mechanics be better trained on the Honda engines than an Orthodontist. Its the same pathetic situation all over Cochin in all the authorized service centers. Private service centers fare far better and for things that I find difficult to diagnose in my Junkindica I run to an automobile engineer who studied in my sister college. He has a very small garage but has a better technical mind than all the heads put together of all the other authorized service centers. Luckily my GTX has not given me a single factory induced problem in 6 years of ownership. Its probably because I shunned the authorized service centers from day 1 at the great risk of forgoing my warranty. In fact I firmly believe that its self service and changing of all fluids regularly personally that has kept my GTX purring along for 6 years without a hitch. I believe I should have done that with my Junkindica too from day 1.:OT

Regarding the non vgt engine if you guys read reports of the punto in the uk there they prefer the normal 75ps to the90ps punto reason being stated that the vgt has a turbo lag whereas the normal one is fun to drive in the city traffic and looking at our cities i find it better that we are getting the 75ps punto.However for more power the 1.6 would have definately meant better acceptance.

A Pete's box may still be a cheaper option for you.

Thanks a lot sidgo7 for the inside news on the GP.

I think they will put the VGT on the emotion trim of GP then. What I gather from the report of sidgo7 is that they have tuned the 1.3 FGT differently for the GP and therefore it has to stay at least on the lower trims.

I am now wondering whether I should even take a test drive, let alone buy it. Too bad fiat.

When I checked Punto's UK website, it appears VGT appears to give a better mileage in the city, and FGT gives better mileage in highway -

(Fuel efficiency in km/l)

City : 19.37 (FGT) -20.35 (VGT)
Highway: 34.29 (FGT) - 32.43(VGT)

I am not sure about the lag in VGT being higher than FGT - I think VGT should only help.

I am seriously disappointed about the lack of VGT :Frustrati. (May be my expectations were higher) - The FGT version of the 1.3 MJD is becoming one too common. I'll wait for June 17th for the launch, take a test drive and then decide.

It seems to me as a temporary punishment for the Diesel folks;
1. FIAT wants to bring competition to SWIFT price wise. That's why they have put the MJD 75. In terms of price, we can expect another surprise from FIAT once the price is confirmed.

2. Once FIAT get enough numbers and confidence in GP, they will surely bring the VGT atleast as a SPORT variant. That's why they are planning to bring 1.6 MJD to Linea to make some substantial difference in terms of engine.

Finally we have a feedback from you Sid!! Thanks dude

I don't understand why a need to cry for not getting the VGT option now. No doubt we should be driving the latest engines hit out in the global market!

But if we look into the past, FIAT had brought in engines varying from 1.0 to 1.9 when no other manufacturer dreamt of at that time but thats when FIAT had a good market in India.

Whereas now, they are trying to re-capture the market and hence playing in defensive mode! They dont want to ge bombed off once again. First priority for them is to improve Service and Parts issues.

Once they start topping up the sales chart, I'm sure we would be blessed with their latest 1.6VGT and even 1.9 someday! We can even see from small cars like Panda to a MPV like Ulysse!:)

@Sunil Doc - I know you would be the first to book one!

Lets wait for the final price which should bring smiles back on your face! :)

Sid Bhai, thanks for the information.

Did you click some pics also ?? if yes then eagerly waiting for you to upload them :D

I am thinking on the same lines. Absence of a VGT is a MAJOR disappointment and a potential deal breaker.

The least they could have done was offer the VGT as an option on the dynamic and emotion variant. Fine, manufature limited numbers of the Punto VGT but at least we could get one after 2-3 months waiting period.

The VGT would have made me overlook Fiat's iffy service standards but why should I buy the FGT and still accept their moronic dealers and their confused service ability?

I am going to wait for Hyundai to offer their i20 CRdi. Let's see how that car stacks up against the GP MJD.

The most probable reason for not offering the VGT seems to be , the pricing, as others have pointed out , i too believe that FIAT might just surprise us with the prices once again.
I think if it is priced close to the SWIFT may be a 10-15K premium it would be a great deal.

Yup i totally agree with you. Atleast the VGT should had been a optional part in the top variant. Same which I expected for Linea too.

But as i said FIAT India now is too defensive and they still have those lethargic marketing people :Frustrati

Sid, appreciate if you post some pics if you have captured them

I guess the figures represent fuel efficiency in miles/gallon and not km/l as mentioned considering the nature of figures and also the fact that these figures are from UK site where norm is miles/gallon as opposed to km/l :)