[yamraj]

Great writeup .

When I bought my 1.6, I was told by several people that I was making a mistake. After having sat in my friend's GTX, I was sure that nothing else would match up. I did try the swift but the low down torque of the 1.6 bowled me over (even today, my colleagues are amazed when I drive up the steep up ramp of my office without using the accelerator). I was told that I would get a low FE of around 6-7 by the maruti guys. I didn't believe them and thought to myself, hey, if I can get around 8 kmpl, I would be happy. I used to get 10+ in the initial days (after all my mad dashes on lights and speeding to 90 in 2nd!). I still pull her to the limit on the last stretch before my office and it manages to plaster a huge grin on my face day after day.

I took the car on a trip to Leh from Bangalore and loved every inch of the drive (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...gama-lama.html). The comfort and the handling is unmatched and for the price at which you can buy the 1.6, there is nothing in comparison at all.

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

....
2) I have driven some relative's S10 palio. I can tell you that upto 4500 rpm, this motor has good torque and coupled with relatively lower gearing, is pretty quick. The car did not sell because of :
.....

LOL aaggoswami - if you shifted up at 4500, let me assure you that you drove the 1.6 all wrong! That engine starts to come alive around 3000 rpm and at 4500 would be barely beginning to hit its stride, max power is at 5500 rpm and trust me if you had stuck in gear till that point or pushed even further till the 6500 rpm red-line, your relative would have had to use physical force to get you out of his car.

BTW I see that you are a fan of Giugiaro. Yes, the Uno too was penned by Giugiaro.

@ Seeler-Rebeiro: Simply put, the S10 is a very special GTX. They both share the same engine. The third and fourth gears (or is it only the fourt gear) are the main difference, they are shorter in the S10. The difference between the two was mainly cosmetic. The S10 came with neat 5 spoke brushed aluminium alloys instead of the 'telephone dial' design on the GTX. The S10 was also blessed with side skirts, fuller rear spoiler, a chrome tip exhaust and distinctive badging. The interiors too were better appointed.

Cheers,

[machinehead]

Originally Posted by Gilead

Wow. This brought back some memories. I nearly bought a Palio in March 2002. The car was so much more better than the Alto and Wagon R which were the other cars considered. The sheer arrogance displayed by Sundaram at Bangalore was the reason I did not buy it. They refused to sell the car to me unless I took a loan of 3 lacs from their finance company. I had no choice but to walk away.

exactly the same reason why i bought my alto in 2002..i test drove the car at sundram motors. they refused to come over. then i had issues with the loan cos they insisted i take it from them and the rate at that time was about 2 % more than the rest.. I just walked away ... but got myself a used siena in 2004 in mumbai and last year a brand new 1.6 stile... ha...!

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

What's the difference ? Care to highlight ? I thought the engine was the same and so was its tune. The only difference being the gear box with the GTX having only 5th gear as overdrive and Stile having 4th & 5th. Please educate me.

One more difference I can think of, between the legendary GTX and the new Stile 1.6 avtar:

As it was written in some review (I'm quoting)

"Some numbskull softened down the suspension in Stile 1.6"

Now let me also quote this statement:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

2) I have driven some relative's S10 palio. I can tell you that upto 4500 rpm, this motor has good torque and coupled with relatively lower gearing, is pretty quick. The car did not sell because of :

As if, after 4500 rpm there is nothing worth revving? It's not about the lower end torque, but the raw power at your foot at the higher rpms.

Hmm... To enjoy the 1.6, you have to rev her up more and she will beg you to still rev up more. At 4000 rpm you will start feeling the punch, it is intoxicating. 1.6 coupled with S10 gear ratios, is still a very very hot hatch. No other stock hatch comes close.

Many other engines offer you about this much bhps in the brochure, but when you rev those engines up to unleash the power, it feels/sounds like the engine is literally crying for mercy but in this 1.6 motor, it is exactly the opposite. It begs to be driven hard.

[nim_peter]

I love to read anything about FIAT and esp PALIOs. I love the "Power on Demand" feature on the GTX . Under normal driving it does give a reasonable 9-10kmpl, which is not bad for a 1.6ltr engine. Shift to power mode and its a totally different car all together. Yea the mileage drops to 7kmpl when you start shifting at redline. A revv-friendly engine adds to the pleasure and your grin grows wider as the tacho nears the redline, something which other cars don't give me. I had always dreamed about owning a GTX and last year the dream came true. Some say you can't buy happiness with money, and GTX proved it wrong. The more I spend(on petrol), the more I smile

[pawan_pullarwar]

I own 2001 Palio ELX. Many times I do 70 KMPH in 2nd gear, no RPM in my car. I do change the engine oil after every 5000 KM and servicing at 10K

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by Seeler_Rebeiro

What's the difference ? Care to highlight ? I thought the engine was the same and so was its tune. The only difference being the gear box with the GTX having only 5th gear as overdrive and Stile having 4th & 5th. Please educate me.

The GTX and S10's had different gear ratios than the newer variants. They were tuned more for performance and the quality of parts were very high compared to newer variants. There were quite a few things missing on the newer palios too like the rubber beadings between the two doors (the gap between the two doors when closed), plastic covers on the radiator etc etc.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...fferences.html

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

LOL aaggoswami - if you shifted up at 4500, let me assure you that you drove the 1.6 all wrong! That engine starts to come alive around 3000 rpm and at 4500 would be barely beginning to hit its stride, max power is at 5500 rpm and trust me if you had stuck in gear till that point or pushed even further till the 6500 rpm red-line, your relative would have had to use physical force to get you out of his car.

BTW I see that you are a fan of Giugiaro. Yes, the Uno too was penned by Giugiaro.

Originally Posted by clevermax

As if, after 4500 rpm there is nothing worth revving? It's not about the lower end torque, but the raw power at your foot at the higher rpms.

Hmm... To enjoy the 1.6, you have to rev her up more and she will beg you to still rev up more. At 4000 rpm you will start feeling the punch, it is intoxicating. 1.6 coupled with S10 gear ratios, is still a very very hot hatch. No other stock hatch comes close.

Many other engines offer you about this much bhps in the brochure, but when you rev those engines up to unleash the power, it feels/sounds like the engine is literally crying for mercy but in this 1.6 motor, it is exactly the opposite. It begs to be driven hard.

1) I did rev it to 6K plus, but somehow in higher gears, specially 4th and 5th I did not find it as addictive as Baleno. 3rd gear is simply too good. I deliberately used it to slow down to 60, then floor it. This is the best IMHO in the entire car. Can demolish diesel " torque " easily. 4th and 5th were not as enjoyable as Baleno.

Higher gear I found Baleno to intoxicating, but for lower gears, I admit that Palio has a better spread of power. Baleno is higher geared, so fun begins at 4500rpm, but Palio was fun from 2500.

BTW, I did this 160+ kmph to get relatives when my maternal grandfather died. I had to travel 100+ kms on way to A'bad from village. So was also not in perfect mood to experiment more, mostly 5th was used for cruising at high speed and later on left most of acceleration raw in the first three gears.

It was one car Fiat could not market properly and was ahead of its time.

I hope Fiat understands that market has now evolved and come up with 1.6 turbo petrol first in GP than Linea. Trust me, there will a good fan following.

2) Uno, I dont know whether it was pinned by Giugiaro, but can tell you that it was all utility. Liked it fully. The diesel was one great mile muncher also. Loved it for what if offered.

[neosmart]

First I owned a tangarine mist Palio 1.2 (it is one of the best even after 8 years now). Absolutly no color fading or chipping. and when I time to upgrade came up; I knew what I want;

I took my dad's M800 and looked out in market for a Palio 1.6; seen (read: rejected) close to 35 palios and brought home a palio 1.6 GTX the next morning an owner put it on Team-bhp ads. This was after 6 month of search.

Now M800 has been sold and my dad drives the 1.2 and I drive 1.6. I love Palio and proud of it. as much as Maharana Pratap would have been proud of his horse "chetak"; heck, I have my 100 palio gtx horses !

My 1.2 used to give me 13.5(noida) -17 (highway) and GTX gives 10(noida) -14.5 (highway)

BTW, I was a die hard biker once upon; and after owning GTX, I just don't miss by biking days at all. The throttle response is just awesome may be better than my bike and it does go to 7000rpm just like my bike.

[Seeler_Rebeiro]

@ Seeler-Rebeiro: Simply put, the S10 is a very special GTX. They both share the same engine. The third and fourth gears (or is it only the fourt gear) are the main difference, they are shorter in the S10. The difference between the two was mainly cosmetic. The S10 came with neat 5 spoke brushed aluminium alloys instead of the 'telephone dial' design on the GTX. The S10 was also blessed with side skirts, fuller rear spoiler, a chrome tip exhaust and distinctive badging. The interiors too were better appointed.

Cheers,

Yup, I agree - The difference is mainly in the 4th gear which is shorter. And as someone else pointed out the shocks are slightly softer but not sure. Rest all is cosmetic.

[karizma_devil]

Wow !! Amazing write up... Amazing S10 I drive !

[Mi10]

Not one of your usual writeups, but its straight from the heart.

I could associate myself having similar feelings for the Palio

[rudrah]

What a write up Sid! Its as if reading a biography of a legend car - FIAT Palio

Indeed the car was way ahead of its time in India with ABS, Airbags, Fly-by-wire, all electronically controlled systems with sensors etc which where aliens to the common indian people!

This is where other brands scored better keeping the funda "simple, sasta and badiya mileage".

I completely agree, even today when i drive a S10, it just feels great once you hold the steering and shift the gears. Push the pedal and smooooth rush!

Though with the TATA sourced poor plastics in the Palio Stile, it still scores better if not the best!

I still admire the Uno and Adventure for its astounding looks and space. What I understood from their cars launched in India like - Uno, Palio, Siena/Petra, Adventure, they always believed in:

- Space
- Comfort
- Drivability
- Performance
- Safety

and never compromised yet.

They could have revived their pride, if they had aggressively marketed the Palio Stile 1.1 for the aam janta, the 1.6 for the enthusiastics and the 1.3 MJD with such a huge price cut. But they seemed ignorant or helpless in the hands of TATA. They let TATA squeeze all the technology, design and the engine(petrol/diesel) from them leaving themselves gasping for survival!

With the new emission norms, we will have to bid goodbye to the mighty Palio Stile 1.6!

Its always been a emotional sting when its comes to FIAT cars be it driving or reading a thread on Forums.

Yes, its so true owning a FIAT, "Only for Lovers, not for Drivers"

Cheers~

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by neosmart

The throttle response is just awesome may be better than my bike and it does go to 7000rpm just like my bike.

7000 rpm? Care to enlighten us, please?

[sidindica]

The 178 platform's first product-the original 1997 Fiat Palio 1.