[supremeBaleno]

Even though everyone here might be lamenting about the Linea not being powerful enough, IMHO that is one good thing that Fiat did and which might help them get a new life here. What good did it do them due to the Palio1.6 being powerful and FTD ? Just got the junta complaining about low FE, thereby resulting in poor sales for the entire range of Palios.

The general Indian buyer is not looking at horses under the hood and is more inclined to FE, in which case Fiat's move seems correct to me - as far as increasing sales is concerned. Ofcourse time will tell whether it actually helped them or not.

[amit]

Originally Posted by diabloo

Previous version was introduced in 2003 . Why compare 2003 car with 2007/2008/2009 cars?

Because other cars during that time had ABS and Airbags.

Palio in 2002 offered ABS and Airbags.

Swift in 2005 offered ABS and Airbags.

SX4 in 2006 offered ABS and Airbags.

Of these, the Palio and Swift were far cheaper then the City. They also offered more power. In one of the Linea threads, you justified the Rs.1.2 lakh price diffrential between the City and Linea to the higher horsepower. Back then, NHC offered 77bhp to the Swift's 87, Palio's 100 and SX4's 102 bhp AND it costed more then all the three cars PLUS came without ABS and Airbags.

What good did it do them due to the Palio1.6 being powerful and FTD ? Just got the junta complaining about low FE,

I agree.

The biggest problem Fiat faces today is the aam junta's perception of their car's being low on FE. I think they are focussing on clearing those misconceptions by launching cars that are a bit dull in FTD but will give good FE. Once they have established their products as having FE on par with competition (if not better) they can bring in the bigger engines with better performance.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Linea may look underpowered going by its spec sheet, but is it underpowered going by what the City (not the new Honda City) EXI and GXI have to offer?. People go to Chandigarh and from North to South India in a 800 and Omni.

Second: no manufacturer as a matter of course and as a regular update, provides variant wise sales. That includes Maruti, Toyota, GM, others, and of course Honda.

I have seen people do the same trips on two wheelers.

That is not the point. Agreed Linea might not be underpowered as people claim it to be, but the things could have been better than what they are now. Numbers do suggest a good outline of the performance and in case of Linea, Fiat has opted for the short cut method. Firstly they could not come out on time, then when they did, apart from A.S & S. ( a factor I believe comes under manufacturer support ), the weakest link in car is engine.

The figures that finally came out suggest this car wont be a good performer on highways ( also read the same on tbhp ). Irrespective of what the competition does, Fiat must be one level ahead.

The final words for Fiat are : Good engineering messed up, thanks to poor administration. They have knowledge, but poor imagination.

[supremeBaleno]

Hold on @aaggoswami, majority of the Indian buyers do not look at any 0-100 or other such figures while buying a car. To give an example, I bought the Baleno without looking at any figures - during the test drive, I liked the way it drove and the superb a/c and that was it. The decision was made.

So, don't write off the Linea even before the show starts. And that too on the basis of a supposedly weak engine. As I said before, to me it looks like this time around they are on the right path.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Even though everyone here might be lamenting about the Linea not being powerful enough, IMHO that is one good thing that Fiat did and which might help them get a new life here.

I am not sure this will be very fuel efficient either with the weight this 1.3l multijet has to lug.
I test drove one today, it did not feel like a 86 bhp car at all, but was quite torquey though.
Also has a wonderful long wheel base, but the ride was very hard. looks classy.

[supremeBaleno]

@john, yes, there is the kerb-weight thing to be taken into the FE equation and if it is 1.3tons for the Linea as I read on some other thread, it could be an issue.
Anyway, let us wait for FE figures from the tbhp-ians that have booked the Linea.

[ms001]

This should be the cover for the thread.
"Admiration" Guaranteed !

[neoranjit]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Hold on @aaggoswami, majority of the Indian buyers do not look at any 0-100 or other such figures while buying a car. To give an example, I bought the Baleno without looking at any figures - during the test drive, I liked the way it drove and the superb a/c and that was it. The decision was made.

So, don't write off the Linea even before the show starts. And that too on the basis of a supposedly weak engine. As I said before, to me it looks like this time around they are on the right path.

I remember someone saying at the auto fair in Chennai. 99% of the ppl were enquiring about the mileage and the cost on road. 0 -100 ? How does it matter when I have to drive on city roads for 6.5 days a week ?

[swami]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

For the SX4 you are right. Infact for the SX4, I believe the top-end Zxi outsells the VXi. But that is not the case with the Swift. Just a casual look at the Swifts on the road will make this amply clear.

As far as the Swift goes, two additional factors due that are inducing customers to go away from the top-end with airbags:

1. No Zxi equivalent for the Diesel version.

2. At least a couple of months ago, the Zxi had a long waiting period.. running into months.

I know a few people who were interested in the Zxi but HAD to compromise in favour of the Vxi due to time constraints.

There is also the distinct possibility that in a few years airbags / other safety features might become as mandatory as the AC is now. Remember in the mid-90s AC was almost always optional. This could affect re-sale value in the future.

[m_upreti]

Aseem, an informative and well written comparison, well done. And an indeed a spirited discussion over the merits & demerits of each car & the manufacturer.

I saw the Linea last week and yes the car looks real good & big for the price, I actually rechecked the price with the dealer. The only sore point was the very basic center console which dosen't look to belonging to a car being launched in 2009. The engine is again a let down.

Personally I do never liked the looks of the City so no comments on that front.

[autocarcr]

I suggest those who want to compare Linea with ANHC and other major C+ cars should see this Linea comparison chart customised with Fiat logo and Linea logo. It's very informative! I made it!

AUTOCARCR

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

Personally I do never liked the looks of the City so no comments on that front.

So I have company here.... I thought I was the only one who didnt like the city's looks.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

So I have company here.... I thought I was the only one who didnt like the city's looks.

then you have my company too. After seeing it in person, I feel they played too much with the boot. too many details on a slim width???

[narayan]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Hold on @aaggoswami, majority of the Indian buyers do not look at any 0-100 or other such figures while buying a car. To give an example, I bought the Baleno without looking at any figures - during the test drive, I liked the way it drove and the superb a/c and that was it. The decision was made.
.

when I bought my OHC ( 2nd hand ) i didnt even know about the VTEC version .
in fact the only reason why i was so so obsesssed with this car was its looks - i mean look at the OHC's front end, the low bonnet line, the broad headlights, the overall stance...i can go on and on

coming back to the point - ur right SB - 0-100 , etc hardly makes sense , maybe 40-100, 20-80 times etc may make more practical sense

Quote:
Originally Posted by autocarcr
I suggest those who want to compare Linea with ANHC and other major C+ cars should see this Linea comparison chart customised with Fiat logo and Linea logo. It's very informative! I made it!

AUTOCARCR

good show autocarcr - useful info - try to make your posts a bit more jazzy so that people dont miss out the info you have compiled

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by ms001

This should be the cover for the thread.
"Admiration" Guaranteed !

So actually Honda is saying enjoy the Linea!

Originally Posted by autocarcr

I suggest those who want to compare Linea with ANHC and other major C+ cars should see this Linea comparison chart customised with Fiat logo and Linea logo. It's very informative! I made it!

AUTOCARCR

Looks like the prices of MJD and Fire are interchanged