After a month of waiting, I just bought a Hip hop Black
Fiat Linea T-Jet Plus this past weekend.
The prelude :
We had a Swift ZXi at home which my parents were using to go to work (my parents run our own business). In 2008 when I started working, I wanted to buy a car for myself for my office commute. Since I had just started my career then, I decided to stick to a budget of 3L and purchased a pre-owned Hyundai Accent GLS 1.6 instead of a new (powerless) Alto or Santro. It was running fine from 2008 till last month, when my greed got the better of me, thanks to team-bhp and all you T-jet owners writing ownership reviews and tempting me. The Accent 1.6 was not at all punchy, although tech specs looked good on paper. Moreover, it was getting a bit old at 7 years, there were frequent visits to the service station and the resale value was already hopeless (I am already the second owner). I finally decided to swap my car for a better one. I wanted a sporty, enthusiast's car within 12L. I travel very frequently so a hatchback was out of question due to boot space constraints. Automatics were also out of question in my garage.
After doing some research on the net and on team-bhp, I shortlisted the following cars :
Chevrolet Cruze LTZ (manual)
Mitsubishi Cedia Sports
Fiat Linea T-Jet plus
Hyundai Verna CRDi and VTVT SX(O) manual
Volkswagen Vento TDI Highline
Honda City 1.5 V (MT)
Following cars didn't make it to the list for the reasons mentioned :
Toyota Corolla Altis - too long in the tooth, not very exciting to drive
Honda Civic - too long in the tooth now, horrible ground clearance
Fiesta 1.6 S - outdated, discontinued under Fiesta Classic badge
All new Ford Fiesta - weird styling, front and rear look like they are taken from 2 different cars and joined together
I know I am not supposed to compare petrols and Diesels but ultimately I wanted the best driver's car that I could buy with 12 lacs, regardless of the fuel type.
Over to the next phase - the test drives :
Chevrolet Cruze LTZ (manual) - Reached the Chevy showroom near my place on a weekend evening. None of the showroom executives were around except for a watchman outside and a receptionist busy flirting on the phone (probably a call to her boyfriend). I stylishly entered and said "I'm interested in the Cruze", the receptionist hung up the phone and called up some guy to come and explain about the Cruze and offer the test drive. I took the test drive, Everything was ok until he pulled out the price list and unveiled a price of 17.5L for the LTZ variant. That was 5L away from my budget!! So much for my internet research and stylish entrance, cursing myself for not checking the prices properly I fled the place immediately citing some excuse.
Mitsubishi Cedia Sports - The most arrogant set of car sales people I have come across, are housed at Auto Pacifica. I went twice to their showroom with my parents (10km from home) but each time the sales representative cited some excuse to avoid giving the test drive in spite of calling up and confirming prior to going there. Once the car suddenly "broke down". Another time they had "misplaced the key". Another rep was even cheeky enough to say "Sir we can give you a test drive after you pay the initial booking amount". I refused and said I would decide the car only after I take a test drive. They promised to bring the car home next weekend but to this day, I haven't received a call from them. After some research, I decided to give the car a skip (and not pursue the test drive matter further) since the Cedia was quite dated by now, although I would have loved to have a Yellow Cedia sports which looks straight out of a "Need for Speed" game.
Fiat Linea T-Jet plus - Visited the prerana motors showroom on a weekend afternoon. After a couple of minutes, someone finally arrived to ask us what product we were interested in. I couldn't get a test drive on the same day again due to a stupid excuse "no fuel in the car, we have to bring it in a can and fill it again". The folks at showrooms can get really creative if they want to avoid giving test drives. The helpful sales rep (Mr. Karthik) however took us to the gorgeous looking car and showed us all the features listed on the brochure, including the famed "MyCar" and "Blue & Me" features. He also allowed us to check out headspace, shoulder space, legspace, etc. After leaving my number there, the rep promised a test drive on monday evening. On monday he did come on time in spite of a torrential downpour and I did the TD in the rain. Loved the handling and steering feedback. Loved the turbo boost as well. I asked for a second TD since it was raining on the first day (talk about excuses to get a free drive). They actually complied with my request and sent it again the next day. By the second Test drive, my choice was 80% made. It was love at first sight.
The gorgeous Linea Tjet+ in the Prerana showroom
Hyundai Fluidic Verna CRDi and VTVT SX(O) manual - Strictly no-nonsense experience. Advaith Hyundai customer care was very professional in most aspects. After checking out the car and signing up for a drive, we had to wait for a few minutes until the demo car returned from another TD. I found the TD strictly average and the backseat comfort was disgusting. One funny moment was when the sales executive, in his attempt to sell the car to me said "Sir this car has 6 airbags, even if you get hit from all directions, you will be safe". Talk about feature explanation.
High speed composure and backseat comfort for my passengers were top priorities since I do a lot of highway drives frequently. Also, the steering felt vague and very much like the ones on arcade racing games in malls. Lastly, If i went for the verna, I would be upgrading my Accent for another "Accent" (since the verna is the accent in western countries). This didn't quite make sense to me. The auto folding mirrors and push button start, etc sounded jazzy but they don't exactly contribute to a better drive. Finally ended up rejecting this car in favour of the T-Jet.
Volkswagen Vento TDI Highline - Well I always had this bias that the Vento is after all, a "Polo with a boot". I reached the showroom on Hosur road on a Saturday afternoon. I was shocked to find that the place resembled a filmy setup with building materials strewn across the showroom. Looked like one of those cliche'd film fight scenes where the hero thrashes goons and they go falling on heaps of cement, bricks and stones in a construction site. I wonder how VW approved such a dirty showroom. To top it, in the showroom the VW Beetle on display was getting its battery charged, with wires were drawn from a socket across the room (with guests moving around the showroom, imagine what would happen if some child touched the wires!!). Coming to the TD experience, the sales reps at VW were very haughty, similar to the Mitsubishi folks. I enquired about the Vento TDI and requested for a test drive. They asked us to wait for 10 minutes and finally those 10 minutes stretched to 1.5 hours. I loved the Vento TDI drive but the feature list was sparse compared to the T-Jet. Looks were very plain-jane, the middle seat in the back row was virtually impossible to use because of the huge hump in the floor (transmission lines). A ridiculous waiting period of 5 months was the final turn-off.
Honda City 1.5V (MT) - I personally never liked this car but took the test drive just to satisfy my father's request to try the honda city before deciding. I had a pleasant test drive experience with Honda, top notch in customer service but I rejected it for being dated now, overpriced, too common on the road, not as feature-rich and not as satisfying to drive as the turbocharged Linea.
Lots of horror stories were heard about Fiat's after sales service and niggles in the car but I finally decided to let my heart rule over head. The T-Jet+ emerged the winner amongst the cars and I have to thank team-bhp for helping me make this decision in favour of the best enthusiast car southwards of 11L.
Booking experience and PDI :
I booked for a Hip hop black T-jet plus at Prerana motors in the last week of May. Luckily, they had a may 2011 manufactured vehicle in stock. They informed me that it would take a fortnight to get the vehicle to their Bangalore stockyard. Meanwhile I applied for the car loan at HDFC and finished all the formalities once it was approved. Simultaneously sold my 7 year old Accent and finished all the foreclosure + hypothecation removal in RC book + ownership name transfer processes.
Soon I got a call from Prerana motors around the 15th of June to go take a look in their stockyard located in Peenya industrial area. PDI went fine except for a slight misalignment in the chrome lining of front window and front quarterpanel. After confirming it as a cosmetic glitch which could be corrected, I confirmed to the dealership to go ahead for registration.
First glimpse of my car - during PDI at Prerana motors' stockyard
The final touches to the purchase process - opted for the following accessories to be fitted prior to delivery :
- Reverse parking sensors (Fiat Genuine Accessory) - a necessity in Bangalore since the rear view is crippled by the high stance of the windshield
- Rear spoiler (Fiat Genuine Accessory) - although it enhances high speed stability by producing more downforce (not perceptible at low speeds), I got it merely for cosmetic reasons
- Rear seat reading lamp (Fiat Genuine Accessory) - flexible LED reading lamp
- Neck rest & Pillows (Fiat Genuine Accessory)
- MapMyIndia S650 navigator (sadly they didn't have ZX150 model in stock) - a boon since I travel a lot
- 3M CS-5 black sun film
- Illuminated 'T-Jet' branded Door Sils (Fiat Genuine Accessory)
- T- Jet branded carpet mats and boot mats (complimentary from dealer)
- Linea branded mud flaps (complimentary from dealer)
- Linea branded Car Cover
Rear Spoiler added - Fiat Genuine Accessory. Gives a sportier stance. Additional info - Fiat has recently modified the Genuine accessory spoiler shape for the T-Jet to include the stop lamps now (missing in earlier version).
'T-Jet' branded Illuminated Door Sils increase the sportiness quotient
Rear seat LED reading lamp with flexible arm
MapMyIndia S650 GPS Navigator with 5" touchscreen. Even has capability to attach to DVD player, reverse video camera, play music and operate phone through bluetooth connectivity.
Delivery experience :
Prerana motors promised to give delivery of the car at 1.30pm, July 1st. Finally D-Day arrived. After taking a box of sweets for the delivery section personnel and picking up a small gift for my car's sales executive, I reached the showroom by 1.30pm with my parents. To my disgust, the sales rep said there was a power failure in the RTO and they had lost some data on their computers. Due to this, I still hadn't received RTO clearance to take the car (car registration was still ongoing). After following up a few times with the manager in-charge, we got the assurance that clearance would come in the next hour. Meanwhile the delivery section personnel moved my car into a delivery bay and decorated the car with flowers and a ribbon while I finished all the paperwork and collected the documents, owner's manual, etc. The RTO clearance call finally came at around 3pm. The salesman then explained all the features in the Jet although I was too excited to listen, and gifted me with a box of chocolates (for being the youngest linea buyer in their showroom last month :D) after which we took delivery and headed home post-completing the customary pooja at a Ganesh temple.
Niggles after delivery :
- An issue which had gone unnoticed in the PDI - when the front right door is open, MID shows as both left and right front doors open. Left door open is detected properly but the right door sensor triggers both doors as being open.
- illuminated door sil on right side (driver side) has stopped working after 5 days. Prerana dealer has asked me to take it to get a free replacement of door sils
* Future T-jet owners, please make sure you check all MID functions during PDI, to avoid another trip to the service centre *
Ownership review & Driving Experience :
The T-Jet has just completed 150 kms and is in the running-in period. I have done a couple of sprints on NICE road (Bangalore) and this car continues to amaze me ever since the first time I test drove it. The turbo boost which hits after 2000rpm almost throws the driver back in the seat. In-City driving is effortless with little need to downshift owing to the oodles of low-end torque. In short, its a perfect combination of a (almost) Sports car and a practical family sedan, rolled into one.
Being an owner of a feature-less Accent GLS of yesteryear, the plethora of features in the Jet still has me confused akin to a 2nd standard kid trying to solve calculus problems. I am in the process of figuring out how to access different functions on the MID (MyCar) and the blue & me.
A few pictures of my Jet (taken with Nikon D5000) :
Front view - nose of the jet
Another view of the front
The logo says it all
Rear looks superbly sculpted
Beefy 205/55R16 Goodyear Eagle NCT5 tubeless tyres with alloys
Side View of the Jet
Brilliant chrome Fiat logo looks rich and upmarket
My favourite angle
Things I Liked about the T-Jet as a car (purely from a driver's perspective) :
- Most fun-to-drive car in its segment
- Insane acceleration with turbo power kicking in at 2000 rpm
- Very composed and confidence inspiring at high speeds
- Very refined engine, even at higher RPMs
- Rock solid build quality, like that of a battle tank
- Good overall visibility for the driver. Very few blind spots
- Best steering feel and feedback I have ever experienced. No other sedan comes close in its segment. Not even in the next level segment.
- Brilliant handling and almost zero body roll
- Fantastic low end and mid-range torque make for effortless driving in the city without needing to downshift
- 205/55R16 Goodyear Eagle NCT5 tyres + alloys look fab and do a decent job in my opinion, but they are quite noisy at slightly high speeds. Probably the only car in its segment and the next segment to offer such large tyres.
- All 4 Disc brakes - they provide sufficient bite for those quick stops. Especially useful in our country where stray dogs and villagers scamper onto the roads out of nowhere
- Now here's some news for earlier Linea / T-jet owners who complained about rattling and squeaking of plastics. This car is absolutely noiseless. Zero rattles and squeaks unlike the older generation Lineas. From what I heard in the showroom, Fiat has taken feedback from customers and rectified the rattling in the newer versions (mine is a May 2011 model)
Things I didn't like about the T-Jet as a car :
- Minor bumps and potholes are not filtered at low speeds.
- Clutch pedal has a very long travel, left foot starts paining in long durations of bumper-to-bumper traffic
- Cramped footwell and quite closely spaced pedals. They could have made it a little more spacious for such a big car.
- Turning radius is a bit of a bother especially in the city. Most of the times, a U turn cannot be completed in 1 go.
- Rear visibility (during reversing) is restricted due to the high stance of the rear windshield and the car itself
My summary - The only car under 20L which offers the low end torque of a Diesel engine and a high revving nature of a petrol engine in 1 package. Combine this with exceptional handling, dynamics and steering feedback and the combination of all 4 disc brakes to give it the stopping power it needs. This is what makes it such a pleasure to drive. On the flip side, the Fiat After sales service is notorious for you-know-what. I have just become mentally prepared for those small niggles and issues, a small price to pay for the huge amount of driving pleasure the T-Jet gives me. After a stressful 8 hours in the office, the drive back home in the T-Jet has become my rejuvenation therapy. There is no need for any other stress-buster!
Features in the T-Jet I like to brag to my friends about :
- Massive 205/55 R16 tyres with classy looking alloys
- All 4 disc brakes
- Monstrous 207 Nm of torque and 114PS of power
- Full sized spare wheel with alloy
- Italian Leather seats look and feel good
- Addictive turbo boost
- Cockpit feels rich with soft touch plastics and retro gauges.
Coming to the Creature comforts:
I am not going to elaborate on the different features offered in the Linea Tjet plus. There are other members who have already given that information in their ownership reviews. I would just summarize what I liked and didn't like in the feature set. Rest assured the real feature list is exhaustive.
Features I liked in the T-Jet :
- MyCar (advanced) offers lots of information and customization options
- Bluetooth connectivity through Blue & Me for hands-free phone operation
- Music system with iPod connectivity. USB connector is conveniently hidden away inside the dashboard glove-box, away from the prying eyes of potential thieves
- All 4 power windows with Auto-down function. Driver window has Auto-up function as well
- Follow-me home headlamps
- Desmodronic Foldable key with boot release
- Chrome accents look classy
- Rear AC vent
- Electrically adjustable ORVMs
- Collapsible rear sun curtain especially useful on those sunny days
- Sporty chrome exhaust tip
- Massive 500 litre boot swallows all the luggage for my weekend holiday and can take more
- Front seat armrest for resting left hand on long drives
- Powerful Automatic Climate Control with instant cooling
- Cubby hole inside front armrest is convenient to put away the phone and any parking tickets.
- Auto-dimming interior roof lamps with orange LEDs above IRVM
Things I didn't like in the features' category :
- Lack of bottle holders (no choice but to leave them rolling on the floor under the seats)
- OEM speakers crackle at high volume, radio is very moody - fails to pick up all channels and requires manual frequency setting
- Lack of rear headroom for tall passengers
- Fitting 5 tall adults can win you a nobel prize
Gear lever feels good to handle, but the shift quality as mentioned by others is rubbery
Instrument cluster at night. Retro dials add a unique touch
Cockpit of the Jet
Premium imported Italian leather upholstery
Cramped footwell makes it difficult to find dead pedal sometimes. Could have been made a little roomier
Additional work carried out :
A visit to 3M car care (HSR layout) for a 3M Sealant Paint Protection programme. They did a foam wash and then did a wax coating, sanding to remove the minute scratches and swirl marks (although there weren't many since it was a new car). This was followed by a sealant application layer to reveal a glossy, gleaming, mirror-like black surface.
I will let the pictures do the talking. These pictures at 3M were taken with my hopeless E7 mobile camera so please excuse the bad image quality.
Pressure wash
No my car didn't come out of a snow storm, its the 3M Foam wash
Allowing the car to dry up after the foam wash
Covering all the chrome and glass bits during Waxing and Sanding
After all the procedures are done, car looks like a mirror
Black Mirror! Even the cloud patterns are visible on the bonnet! (couldn't cover entire car - part of it got cropped)
The Thank you section :
- Thanks to
GTO for his fantastic detailed review of the T-Jet plus - I still remember his words in the review
"It is IMPOSSIBLE to drive this car with a light foot. The turbo boost is addictive. Don’t fret over the fuel economy, there’s more to life than kpl. Take the wife for a dinner less or something" 
- Special thanks to
Earthed and
Bnzjon too for their ownership reviews which helped seal my choice.
- Thanks to the team-bhp PDI checklist for ensuring a trouble-free start to this relationship with my car
Hope you enjoyed reading this review and my experiences. It is my first ownership review at Team-BHP. Any suggestions would be appreciated. A travelogue will soon follow as soon as the running-in period completes and I am able to take the jet out on long distance trips.
THE ONLY THING MISSING NOW : A
"Got BHP?" sticker on the T-Jet, a car which truly deserves it. Will order a new set of team-bhp stickers right now!
All right I did get some free time today morning and as requested by many of you, a more detailed review of the interiors is here. This is the continuation, or part 2 of my initial ownership review.
Here are a few pictures of the interiors and my 2 cents on the individual features :D
Interiors - Italian leather upholstery. Neckrests are accessories
Amazingly spacious front. Ingress / Egress is extremely easy. Note that the doors are only 70% open in this pic
This is an aftermarket set of Door guards (Chrome + fake carbon fibre) to protect doors from accidentally scraping walls when opening. Got them for a song
A wider view of how the door guards look.
Driver side controls
Chrome door knobs. No separate buttons to lock/unlock the doors. Pushing this driver knob inwards locks doors and pulling it outwards unlocks doors.
Uncluttered power window switch and ORVM adjustment buttons
Wiper knob on right side. Pressing "Trip" button allows access to various MyCar related information
My Car (advanced) second set of controls to access information menu and change settings. This section of buttons also features front/rear fog lamps and the headlight levelling adjustments
Steering controls to accept/reject calls and change tracks
Storage space below handbrake is useless
Cup holders are extremely small. No bottles can be accomodated. At max maybe a coke can can fit in here.
Passenger side controls feature soft touch plastic power window switches (very nice to use). Storage space is again fit to store chewing gums, if not anything.
Front armrest is extremely useful and comfortable on long drives
Front armrest with lid opened, has a cubby hole which can be used to store mobile phone and tickets.
All 4 head restraints in the back seat can be adjusted
The leather upholstery feels quite firm and good in texture.
Front rooflamps with dimming effect. These can be adjusted to switch on each independently. Left side switch is for the usual setting - switch off permanently / switch on when doors open / always switch on
Sunglass holder above driver's head
Glovebox is not very spacious. But one useful feature is the ability to hide your USB music device away from prying eyes of thieves.
Steering controls (to manage your phone and music) work like a charm. T-jet+ comes with leather wrapped steering wheel.
Bonnet opener knob is well situated. Neither too hidden away nor too obstructive
Useless cubby hole below MyCar controls serve no purpose. They are neither covered by a lid, nor are they shaped properly to even store coins or tickets.
Under the hood of the Linea T-Jet
Dual parabola headlamps look good on paper. Adequate for regular day to day usage but not too powerful for highway night time driving.
Conventional indicator lamps above front wheel arches. Indicators in the ORVM would have looked better in my opinion
Fog lamps look small but work quite well. Chrome accents all around the vehicle look classy
ORVMs are quite good. Not many blind spots with this vehicle.
All doors incorporate speakers. Sound quality suffers at high volume though.
I do remember seeing a Linea with a rear spoiler in the free BDA parking near Jyothi Nivas College. On this Friday at around 5 in Evening. Was it you?
And yes many congratulations on the purchase.
Congrats for your new purchase. It is looking awesome in black. Though it is difficult to maintain black colour but it looks beautiful. Wish you many happy and safe miles.
Any reason for not considering the Laura TSi apart from potential After sales service issues. The TSi with the discounts would have been approx 12.xx OTR
Best looking car in its segment...esp the rear. Nice photographs
My coverage per year has gone up considerably & my next car has to be only a diesel variant. Now your review and photos are tempting me to go for a used T-Jet & use the saved money for compensating the differential amount in fuel :)
Amazing car Karthik... Congrats. Crazy spoiler man... fits the Tjet like T!!!
Great Photographs... or rather a great looking car.
It only gets better now!
Being an owner of the Tjet myself, few things you should check (based on my experiences)...
1) Please check if the Spare wheel tyre is totally new. Check for any puncture removal marks. I discovered one in mine after 4 months and 10K km! And my case is being passed around like a water bomb ball between the dealer, Good Year and Fiat.
2) Check if the doors are aligned correctly, the lines and gaps should be perfect. And they should shut cleanly. The Rubber linings are a giveaway about the door alignments. Any scuffing or damage means the door is not fitted correctly.
3) Check if the luggage hatch closes and opens without any squeaks / groans. Mine now is groaning and they cant get a replacement for the suspension as Tjet one is unique, other Lineas' dont fit!
4) Glove compartment should close perfectly.
5) Ask for a demo of the rear seat folding and unfolding (with seat belts in position)
6) Check if the AC cools properly... Tjet Ac is an absolute chiller and it should behave so. Tjets it seems have a history of the AC gas leaking.
7) There is a rubber lining along the sides on the roof, check if they fit into the groove properly... the lining should absolutely not peep up or out of the roofline.
8) During the first service stick to your car like a magnet and tick off the check list provided in the service book as to whether the service folk are conducting all the checks. Ensure the oil change /topping is the brand suggested by FIAT. Insist on the alignment and the report of the same. I feel I have been short changed on all these issues. (Saw the service guys running around with a Castrol drum)
9) Most importantly ....
You as a driver have thrown all caution to the wind and followed your heart to buy a Petrol vehicle which costs more than a Diesel by a Lac.
Congratulations, you will still sleep easy in the night and be grinning when you are driving.
You will be grinning when you zap the Ventoes, Optras, ANHCs and the ilk, if and when you get to see their expressions. Park alongside any of them and you will know your car looks like a million bucks. You will have the urge to get a holeshot at every signal, you will look to check for a challenge in the rear view mirror, but u gotta remember Peter Parker..."with great power comes great response(ibility)" Therefore FIAT gave your 16 inchers and 4 discs.
Welcome to the special world of Tjetters!!!
And a word of caution...never never be seen in the Passengers' Seat!
Great car, gorgeous color. Fiats always give the owner a special feeling, and a TJet will surely become as iconic as the S10.
What a wonderful review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and seeing your black beauty. Pure awesomeness as they say it. :)
I've always seen the car in maroon or white. Black just looks stunning. Maintaining the beauty would be a horrendous task for you though.
I know one should not be asking about FE figures for a beast like t-jet, but can't help it. kitna deta hai? :D
And what was the final OTR price?
Keep updating the thread and drive safe buddy. Cheers.
Congrats on your purchase and the great pictures, that 3M treatment looks like something mine needs already.
On the rattles - do post an update. I have 4 months/2500km (I know :( ) and the car is gradually beginning to make random rattles once in a while, it keeps moving and it is a bit variable.
The OEM HU is not too bad, I use it power some Focal components in the front and a cheap Hertz coax in the back, it does a credible job.
Watch the brakes, they take some time to come to optimum performance. I would not push the car too hard for the first 500km r so, not because of the engine but the brakes.
Agree with the low-speed jiggly behaviour, but this is the price you pay for a stiff and stable car at highway cruising speeds and while going mad around bends. I find the grip of the stock tyres to be a little on the weak side.
