[ajay9252]

Originally Posted by sharma_sanjeevi

But, considering the Automatic Hatchbacks currently available in India. Honda Brio takes the cake, be it Engine or Gearbox.
There is simply no match, it is a stellar product and the Best automatic option available.

And i believe M/s Hyundai has realized this too. I heard an elaborate advertisement of the i10 AT on the radio channel in bangalore yesterday !
Of course, i do not think Brio AT will make any dent on their volumes, but Hyundai does take competition pretty seriously (also note the full page advt comparing EON with new Alto).
How I wish Fiat wakes up (again) and gains some market share - they make some beautiful products, AT or not.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Last weekend I had a weekend trip to Trivandrum (In Bus, sadly. Left the Punto in Chennai). It was a rude wake-up call as to how the little FIAT has changed our perceptions. End result: WagonR may be upgraded sooner than expected. Early 2013 is the target, with another small petrol - an automatic this time for parents.

I had a smile reading your post because it matches my own experience with my Punto and my father's Wagon-R. Only difference is, I have never felt comfortable with the Wagon-R's steering, preferring my in-laws' non-PS Alto to the Wagon-R.

In my father's case too, he had looked at the Punto when he decided to change the car, but felt even Punto was too big for his daily use. He finally got a Ritz diesel. It is much much better than the Wagon-R to drive, but I still prefer the Punto.

In fact, after getting used to the Punto's steering I don't really like the idea of driving other cars now, even for short distances - except my in-laws' (old) Fiesta.

[Biraj]

Your experience in Wagon-R had me in splits especially the old movies style steering part. After getting the T-jet, I had stopped driving my 2003 Santro Xing. Since dad was traveling and poor Xing was standing still for a long time, I decided to take it for a spin. Luckily, it has a hydraulic power steering so no issues with it. It's the clutch that I found weird. After getting used to the long travel on Fiat's clutch, the Santro seemed clutch less. The first thing I did was to get the clutch adjusted and reduce all the play. Moreover, I always keep the seat at the lowest point and reclined. So, driving a Santro felt like a SUV.

At times I feel that we make so many adjustments with our Fiats that once we get used to them, adjusting with other cars becomes difficult.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

FIAT, are you listening? Small car, AT gearbox, lots of work for you to do. Can't expect the sales to simply increase. Bring out more products/ variants/ options please.

Have you tried the Dzire AT? A lot of things are unlike Fiat, but makes a lot of sense I guess. But from the reviews, my pick among the AT hatches will be a Brio.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by sharma_sanjeevi

I beg to differ here, and may be i am

But, considering the Automatic Hatchbacks currently available in India. Honda Brio takes the cake, be it Engine or Gearbox.
There is simply no match, it is a stellar product and the Best automatic option available.

Couldn't agree more with you sharma_sanjeevi that Honda sure makes some of the sweetest engines in the country, whether AT or MT.

Brio AT might be "Stellar" product but hers's what Hyundai's can do :

1. I10 has almost the same amount of cabin space as a Brio and is atleast 20k cheaper (S AT vis-a-vis Sportz AT).

2. Top end variant of I10 can put some Sedans to shame with features which Brio can't match like Sun Roof, BT Connectivity, Parking Sensors, Steering mounted controls, Indicators on ORVM, etc.
Agree, these may only be cosmetic but considering AT would be used by "Elederly", these features, at pretty much the same price Should be VFM.

3. In case one needs Space, next Segment or a Performance AT, look no further than I20 AT. Engine is a Gem, some Features are "First and Only" kind and any day the I-gen I20 looks better than a Brio.

4. The best part about I10 AT or I20 AT is both have a respectable performance oriented engines. Yes, 1.2kappa is not match for the Brio AT, but 1.4Gamma is really something else.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Can't expect the sales to simply increase. Bring out more products/ variants/ options please.

Well, i am contradicting myself here - FIAT does seem to be in a good position, better than what the car sales figures indicate. Doesn't it? Below are not official figures - just my assumptions as I had posted in the october sales thread.

FIATs Ranjangaon facility has a capacity of 2 lakh cars and 3.5L engines per year.

Out of this 1L engines are required to be produced for Maruti Suzuki (As per the contract signed earlier this year). TATA would require around 1L cars + 1Lengines an year. (Considering 8000 Vistas+ Manza per month).

FIAT requires around 10k cars + 10k engines an year. Considering exports as well (Mainly the diesel engines. They also export Linea to many RHD markets from India), i think its safe to assume that the utilisation of the plant stands at atleast 60-70%.

But yes - Without purchase from MS and TATA - FIAT could not have maintained this plant in India.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I20 or I10

i10 is out of the equation after the launch of the Brio. Its a good car still - but -
1. I'm sure its due for replacement next year,
2. Most users get really less mileage than expected +
3. Honda beats in the mechanical department.

i20 is a different ballgame though. I really like the car, and do recommend it to a lot of people - but I am not sure we'd ever buy the i20 automatic because-

1. Available only in Sportz trim. (And misses most fancy gadgetry i20 is famous for)
2. Price is 1 lakh more than DZire AT (ex-showroom). OTR would prove to be 1.2 to 1.3L more than DZire AT. For my parents, a car with a boot still holds a lot of value compared to a hatch. Plus i20 in sports trim doesn't offer that many features as to justify the 1.2L extra price tag.
3. Infact, price is so high - just another 1.5L can get a City S-AT which is considered to be from segment and half above i20 (by Indian mentality).

Originally Posted by sharma_sanjeevi

There is simply no match, it is a stellar product and the Best automatic option available.

+1.
Was really surprised by the refinement in Brio AT. Its just so unbelievably smooth and effortless for city drive.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

And...

My Punto-90HP has crossed yet another milestone - 20,000 kms.



No.days - Exactly 8 months/ 245 days since purchase.
Average - 81.6 kms/day.

Some interesting data from the android app -

Best FE - 20.6 kmpl
Average FE - 15.84 kmpl
Worst FE - 13.43 kmpl.

Average fuel costs per km - Rs. 3.01

Long Distance Travel -

• Alignment needs to have gone kaput. Need to get it checked soon. There is a slight vibration on the steering wheel at speeds more than 80 kmph. It reduces around the 130 kmph mark though.
  
• Car is made for highways. Period. Can you guys believe I did a Chennai - Trivandrum - Chennai trip over the weekend - 1600 kms? And we started Saturday 10am, and was back in Chennai by Monday 6am. Not only that - I was still fresh enough to attend office by 10:30 am on monday. I really really doubt if any other hatchback could come close to the highway cruising abilities of the Punto.
  
• Gave her for 'foam wash +' treatment at Car cares, Chennai. Will post more details in 'directory' forum - but the bottomline is - nice place to car the car detailed - recommended.
  
• 
  
• Above pic also shows why I wouldn't pick silver/ light blue (FTA in FIAT speak) for any of my cars ever (WagonR was silver though! But that was a long time back). Plus point is - it looks good in most conditions, even while dirty. Negative (and a big one at that IMO) - is that it never looks great in any lighting conditions. It just looks good still, never great. Black/ Tuscan Wine/ Red and white (Punto colours) can make heads turn if properly maintained and shining!
  
• My Trip A meter was reset several thousand kms back. It shows an average speed of 27kmph. Makes me wonder. 20000 kms/ 27 kmph= 740 hours. 740h/ 24 hours = 30 days. Out of past 8 months I have owned the car, I would have been spending 1 month only driving it! Sleep, office etc etc and all had to fit in with the rest of it.
  
• Heard the news about Polo 1.6 TDi? Hmmm. Scary thought! Punto 90HP won't be a match for that one i guess - atleast till an RD box goes in.
  
• Another 10k kms to go before the next scheduled service. Somehow I am yet to get comfortable with the 15k service interval. I would have preferred to have a scheduled service every 10k. 15k seems to be too long, IMO!
  
• Regarding the AT hatch I had mentioned earlier- we might as well wait for the Honda Amaze. I'm sure it would be available in AT, and it sounds perfect for our requirements.
  
• Gearing could have been better, a lot better! 120 kmph @ 3000 rpm is not cool at all, for a diesel highway cruiser

[nkrishnap]

My Punto-90HP has crossed yet another milestone - 20,000 kms.

Firstly Congrats on crossing the 20,000 kms milestone.

No.days - Exactly 8 months/ 245 days since purchase.
Average - 81.6 kms/day.

Some interesting data from the android app -

Best FE - 20.6 kmpl
Average FE - 15.84 kmpl
Worst FE - 13.43 kmpl.

Average fuel costs per km - Rs. 3.01

Quite a running per day. The car is quite economical too. The short 2nd gear does hit the city efficiency. The more you use the gear above 3rd, the FE numbers stay in the range of 15. My current tankful is running at this rate. Lets see where it will end up with.

Alignment needs to have gone kaput. Need to get it checked soon. There is a slight vibration on the steering wheel at speeds more than 80 kmph. It reduces around the 130 kmph mark though.

The vibration can be due to bent alloys as well. When you get the alignment checked, do check the alloys as well. For some reason the alloy wheels that FIAT provides tends to be a bit soft for our crappy roads.

Car is made for highways. Period. Can you guys believe I did a Chennai - Trivandrum - Chennai trip over the weekend - 1600 kms? And we started Saturday 10am, and was back in Chennai by Monday 6am. Not only that - I was still fresh enough to attend office by 10:30 am on monday. I really really doubt if any other hatchback could come close to the highway cruising abilities of the Punto.

Very True both the Linea and Punto are made for highways. Very comfortable and literally no tiredness after driving for hours continuously.

Gearing could have been better, a lot better! 120 kmph @ 3000 rpm is not cool at all, for a diesel highway cruiser

+100 again. Either the 5th gear should have been taller or a gear box with 6th cog to keep the revs down on the highways would have been perfect. I would have loved the car doing 100 in 2000 rpm. But the current one keeps the revs quite high in the 5th gear

[scofield]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Heard the news about Polo 1.6 TDi? Hmmm. Scary thought! Punto 90HP won't be a match for that one i guess - atleast till an RD box goes in.

Great mile munching !! Keep it up !!

The RD box is the need of the hour in your Punto 90 HP, though the Polo is expected to be coming with 1.6 however the 90 HP has a great mid range where the 1.6TDi lacks big time.

You will be reaching to 120 odd quicker with the 1.6 however post that the reaching to just a shade below 2 ton is where the 90HP VGT + RD box shows the true colours and 1.6 is just found sleeping - however we can always have a RD in polo too :-).

I just wonder what 1.6 MJD would be all about, because the current 1.3 MJD can give the VW 1.6 a run for its money.

However, good to see polo coming up with really good engine options - 1.6TDi, 1.2 TSi.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by scofield

Great mile munching !! Keep it up !!

The RD box is the need of the hour in your Punto 90 HP, though the Polo is expected to be coming with 1.6 however the 90 HP has a great mid range where the 1.6TDi lacks big time.

You will be reaching to 120 odd quicker with the 1.6 however post that the reaching to just a shade below 2 ton is where the 90HP VGT + RD box shows the true colours and 1.6 is just found sleeping - however we can always have a RD in polo too :-).

I just wonder what 1.6 MJD would be all about, because the current 1.3 MJD can give the VW 1.6 a run for its money.

However, good to see polo coming up with really good engine options - 1.6TDi, 1.2 TSi.

I will be dropping in to Pune on the 13th of December. Would love to get behind the wheels of your Punto and take it for spin. Hope you oblige as I am looking at the RD box too.

Will drop you a PM with my contact details.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by scofield

Great mile munching !! Keep it up !!

The RD box is the need of the hour in your Punto 90 HP, though the Polo is expected to be coming with 1.6 however the 90 HP has a great mid range where the 1.6TDi lacks big time.

You will be reaching to 120 odd quicker with the 1.6 however post that the reaching to just a shade below 2 ton is where the 90HP VGT + RD box shows the true colours and 1.6 is just found sleeping - however we can always have a RD in polo too :-).

I just wonder what 1.6 MJD would be all about, because the current 1.3 MJD can give the VW 1.6 a run for its money.

However, good to see polo coming up with really good engine options - 1.6TDi, 1.2 TSi.

RD box is truly the need of the hour, but personally I'm going through a very tough phase now. Can't afford it anytime soon.

However, I hope I can buy the new dual channel box when it comes out next year.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The vibration can be due to bent alloys as well. When you get the alignment checked, do check the alloys as well. For some reason the alloy wheels that FIAT provides tends to be a bit soft for our crappy roads

OMG! If its a bent alloy, I'm in deep trouble. I simply can't afford new alloys at this moment. Have been really careful over potholes and bumps too. Anyways, let's see.

Will be visiting tyre shops tomorrow.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

I will be dropping in to Pune on the 13th of December. Would love to get behind the wheels of your Punto and take it for spin. Hope you oblige as I am looking at the RD box too.

Will drop you a PM with my contact details.

Wild guess- FIAT Ranjangaon factory visit?

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Wild guess- FIAT Ranjangaon factory visit?

Bingo. Yes. Its for the Factory Visit. By the way you coming in from Chennai?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Bingo. Yes. Its for the Factory Visit. By the way you coming in from Chennai?

No. Had already requested leave plans for December. Would be difficult to change them. Next year, I'll try...

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Guys, how does black decals look on BNW Punto?

It all started when I wanted to PS a new set of wheels on KarthikK's Punto thread. Ended up with trying black decals on white. I think i like this effect though - much better than the red decals that come with BNW shade.

(I'd still like the mirrors in white. Too lazy to change them in PS though. )

(Original image is from KarthikK's ownership thread).

[MCR]

^^ Looks nice but not outstanding. I would still suggest you to go for Red stripes. The red stripes make the car look hot IMHO.
By the way there are some body stickers available as Fiat Genuine accessory. But they are not from the Sport version I think.
http://www.fiat-india.com/fiat-accessories.aspx


A ready reckoner for getting the Abarth style body graphics:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2798324