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-   -   A thin line between genius and insanity - Fiat Grande Punto 90HP - 2,00,000 km up! Edit: Sold (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/119206-thin-line-between-genius-insanity-fiat-grande-punto-90hp-2-00-000-km-up-edit-sold-10.html)

congratulation on your Punto 90 HP

even i had a similar type of experience while i had taken my punto one year back. my dad was completely against me buying it as he had faced some very serious troubles with the premier 137D.

after driving the car all questions and doubts were put to rest forever

i think fiat should organize some ownership camps or drive events like harley does, as FIAT owners all are unique in their own way and believe in themselves first and what other have to say next

congrates once again

Feeling too excited- almost as much as those days leading up to a new car delivery. This is my first proper experiment with ICE, the last one I had consisted of an all pioneer system worth 10k (7 years back). Sorted out all 320 kbps songs from our collection. It may not make a difference with the stock HU- but too excited to think of anything else.

At Powerzone, I came across a paprika red fiesta 1.6S that they need 3+ days to complete installation. Thats why mine is going in only on friday. Anyone knows where Mi10's car is? :D
Pictures guarenteed. I'll be sticking around to see the entire process anyways.
Thank you, and welcome to team bhp. Good to meet more Punters.

An HU made in Portugal.
Front speakers made in Poland.
Rear speakers made in China.

An 'international' setup thats one of the worst available in the market? :D

Anyways - Only the Portugal made HU remains in the car now. :thumbs up

Got ICE'd. Will post in detail (with pics of course) once the initial few days are over. The setup remains the same as finalised earlier.

1. Stock HU.
2. DLS X-Program Amplifier XA-40.
3. PHD Audiophile Sound Systems MF 4.2 components upfront.
4. PHD Audiophile Sound Systems FB 6 co-ax rear.
5. JBL GTO 804 Sub.
6. Four door damping.

And one thing more thing is decided. This is only going to be stage-1. After seeing the beauty of those speakers even with cheap after market HUs (which, unfortunately - seemed better than FIATs stock HU), another upgrade is on the cards - but timeframe is not decided yet.

More about the ICE here. :)

Once again - a big thanks to all the guys who helped me with ICE discussions on this thread-
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...raris-ice.html

Short update: 10000 kms done now. In exactly 110 days.

90 kms/day. :-)

Will post a detailed report soon.

10,000 kms report:



Some boring statistics:

Number of days: 110.
Average running: ~91 kms/day.
Mileage: Haven't kept a watch on the exact figures yet. But i guess it has been around 18 kmpl on an average.

Long distance Trips:
Chennai <-> Pondichery *2.
Chennai <-> Trivandrum <-> Munnar.
Chennai <-> Bangalore.
Bangalore <-> Nandi Hills.
Chennai <-> Yelagiri.

Places covered in the last 3 months.


ICE Installation:

More on this here -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...raris-ice.html

Likes (Revised):

• Simple and stunning design.
• Solid build quality. Feels even better after the damping for ICE. The way the front door closes with a solid 'thud' is to die for! Get in the car, shut the door - and the outside world remains outside. Very good insulation!
• Stock seats feel very good, and the design is impressive. Had people asking if it is part of the freebies/ aftermarket accessory.
• Diesel FE with reasonable power.
• Superb suspension. Raised ground clearance gives confidence to handle our roads. Car has not bottomed out on any speed breakers.
  
• Good highway mile-cruncher. Can handle 120 - 130 kmph expressway cruising without breaking a sweat. As mentioned by GTO in his review - 140 kmph in a Punto - you'd be yawning. Really!
• Hydraulic power steering that communicates! Switching from Punto to WagonR is a very funny feeling now.
• Powerful AC - In Chennai sun (And I'm talking of April noon here - in one of the hottest parts in the country!), the temperature is set at 25 degrees. And it cools the cabin in no time! Sunfilm has been removed and still the car managed to do just fine, even in Chennai summer conditions.
• Powerful and confidence Inspiring brakes.
• Back seat space: Recently during the bangalore trip - I travelled in the back seat for the first time, when wife was driving. Was pleasantly surprised at the space at the back, along with the comfort levels.

Dislikes (Revised):

• Microsoft Blue & Me intergration. Let me stress - blue & me itself is pretty good. My only complaint being above the way its been integrated with the system. Changes folders, selecting songs etc is a very very serious headache. Unless you plan to just let the songs plan random from the drive - the usability of the system is absolute pathetic. :Frustrati
• Stock Music system: When i started the report, this was in the 'likes' section. However - soon - the sounded started cracking at medium to high volumes. Had to upgrade the setup.
• Either a lack of underthigh support, or my inability to find a proper seating position. There's something missing in terms of ergonomics! The steering wheel too, at its lowest position, is still too high for my liking. Clutch has way too much play, and accelerator posititioning can cause pain in the ankles after a long drive. Cramped footwell is a bother too - but after a day or two of driving - I seem to have got over that one - even with my size-10 Woodlands.
• Interior fit, finish and quality are strictly average. Plastics wont impress anyone, although the 90HP feels better with the old interior scheme IMO. Glovebox misalignement is a BIG SHAME for a premium hatchback.
• Its more of a tourer (GT car) rather than a sprinter. Relaxed high speed touring is what it does best!
• Rattles from some plastic parts, in an otherwise silent car. Yes, you read it right - rattles - from the front left and right doors. And mine is not a one-off complaint either. Rattle from the front right door seems to have been fixed after the ICE installation, but the left one still remains.
• There is only one sour point w.r.t to looks IMO - the set of lamps with reverse light on one side and fog lamp on the other. Most people think the left one (reverse lamp) is broken! Definitly not cool, that one!

Review: Driving Experience :

Let me just re-iterate something I had mentioned in the intial review -

I hope atleast some of you might have driven the old WagonR with the F10D. Well, thats almost how my 90HP feels for now. But, ofcourse - with much more grunt. The turbo lag has been reduced and the acceleration is very linear, so much that it reminds me of the old petrol WagonR in the way it reacts as the rpm climbs. It will disappoint you - if you are searching for the old DDiS turbokick though.

With the linear surge in power and the good low end torque - driveability is also of high order, and the two ladies who have driven the car recently did not have any problems getting adjusted to the turbo diesel. However - I'll still consider the Renault engine that goes into Micra/ Verito etc - way ahead of the multijet when it comes to low end power delivery.

By now - you would have heard FIAT'ians complain about the wrong selection of gear ratios for Punto - and I really echo that thought. 100 comes at 2500rpm, and 120 comes at 3000 rpm - unnecessarily high values for a modern turbodiesel. A taller overdrive could have resulted in better cruising speeds and better highway FE.

A lot has been said already about ride/ handling/ suspension package- and so I better skip that topic for now.

10K kms in just 110 days! Thats some serious running you have done. Nice and pretty detailed review. Had read your thread earlier but got a chance to comment now. A newbie u see! Wish you many more happy miles and keep that odo ticking!
:thumbs up
Thats one of the great ICE's you have got for your car! Congratulations on it once again.:)

I'm really late to this thread, but better late than never. Congrats on the 90HP!

For the amount of driving you've done on the highways i don't think you could've got a better car. The ZDi would've been great in the city, but the 90HP is a totally different beast on the open road. The stability and handling in unmatched.

I still remember only the ZDi and the 90HP appealed to the heart form all my TD's last year.

10000 kms in 100 odd days, what can i say, you surely do 'Live to Drive'

Wish you a happy ownership experience with your Fiat!

PS: 120kmph at 3000rpm! Heck, my Polo does 120 at 3k rpm with a 3 cyl engine. Fiat should've given the car same ratios as in the european Punto.

Thank you.

As per my installer - and based on the small auditions I had - the ICE is still performing at only 40% of its capability - because of the OE Delphi HU. More modifications are planned, but that will need to wait till I can allocate the budgets. :D
Fortunately or unfortunately - I need to travel 40+ kms (to and fro) for office. Got so used to the car that my bike is now just parked in the garage with a weak battery.

True - Atleast FIAT should have offered those gear ratios on the 90HP, if not on the 75HP. Afterall - The 90 is supposed to be a highway car - and relaxed cruising should have been its main forte. Saving grace is that the VGT really starts pumping after 3k rpm and so it gets even more powerful after 120.

How many kms your black beauty has done till now? :thumbs up

120kmph @ 3,000 revs is what the Figo D does as well and IIRC, the ZDi too hovers around the same rpm zone.

Funnily enough (don't shoot me) I haven't found the ZDi to be that faster as claimed. Have driven one for around 1,500 kms on varied surfaces and save for better bolstered seats, I find my Car better (strictly for me) in almost all aspects.

I don't remember correctly, but I think swift D does 100 at something near 2.2k rpm, while Punto needs 2.5k rpm.

True. The current swift diesel doesn't feel as quick as the old one did. I still remember driving a swift diesel for the first time. In second I buried the accelerator, only to be greeted by a gentle push. And when I was about to feel disappointed- the famed turbo kicked in, shifted to 3rd- and I would be a fan of that car forever.

For city use- Figo makes a lot of sense though. That engine has a lot more driveability than the multijet variants. I like Verito as well, for the exact same reason - far easier to set the pace in stop and go traffic conditions than my 90.

Its close to the 4k mark now. Will have to check the oil consumption and i hope the gearbox gets better once it crosses 5k :)

wow, 10K kms in 110 days? Looks like you will complete 30K within an year! clap:

Hows the audio performance after the upgrade? Satisfied with the stock HU?

It would somewhat settle at 6-8K KM. Mine settled around that time. I have clocked around 26K KM now and the engine is butter smooth. The best thing is, for last 26K KM, my car has given average of 17 KMPL. I have data for every fill up and its nice to see that I would break even (petrol-diesel) thing in another 1K KM :)

Congratulation CD.

stupid: I missed this fantastic ownership report for so many days.

Your write-up, updates & those pictures are awesome. Truly a 5 star review.
And 10K in 110 days, you drive crazy man.

BTW, you have mentioned of door rattles. How were those fixed after ICE installation.

I have same issue with my 2012 Punto & during first service they did some oiling job around the doors. Rattles vanished, but now after a months time, they are slowly reappearing.