I am revisiting this site after 8 months. Last time I was here I was deciding to buy my first car. I could have gone for a smaller car but I thought I would not be selling/retiring my first car so easily, so why not go for a fully loaded sedan. Petra offered excellent engine, build quality & unmatchable value for money(5.1 L on road for a fully loaded one with 6 speakers & a stereo). Now I am back with 8 months of happy experience with my petra.
Experience
I have just completed 10000 kms on my Petra(Silver) and when I look back I only have good memories. I use my car generally to drive to office but Delhi roads give you enough chances to use your horses.
I also went to some outstation trips on my car (One to jaipur, Another to Sikar and third to Ambala). I love the way my car behaves and I use it more like an SUV.
Lets come to the specifics
I have realised by now that Mileage is the biggest issue in most minds while buying a car. This was the biggest perceived fear about Petra. But I coerced myself into buying this car thinking that every buyable product has 3-4 positives and 1-2 negatives. But guess what ! Having built a negative expectation while buying the car it has only given me upsides. It has never given me a mileage of less than 10 with or without AC. Delhi roads might be a reason for good mileage. But I could not extract more than 12-13 on Highways(May be because of very high speeds ).
Now comes the best part. This car can virtually rule the road and you cant ask for a better performance from it. Apart from Octavia rider & Honda Accord this car can beat any other vehicle normally seen on Delhi roads(including corolla & Scorpio). The acceleration is superb and the car zipps away by simply touching the pedal. It remains quite stable even at 150 kph and really gives a big and sturdy car feeling. Though I would have liked air-bags in this car, I still feel quite safe inside.
For front seaters there are a lot legroom, however the rear legroom might not be best in the class. This may be because Fiat has tried to maximise the boot. Coming to boot, its simply huge. Apart from Octavia, I havent seen any car with so much space in the boot. I went for a 3 day trip to rajasthan with 4 other friends and the boot happily accepted everything we had to dump. The suspension is also quite good and I never feel the need to slowdown for small pot-holes.
I bought my car from Vivek automobiles in Delhi. Not the smartest sales people I would say. I had to arrange for my own finance. The registration etc took much longer than expected. However, servicing was not as big an issue as I read in several blogs. People at the the workshop, if not very helpful, are not indifferent either. It generally takes half a day to get the car serviced. I have not tried the Tata workshops after the alliance with Tata. But this should only be an added advantage.
Although I like the looks of the car, not many people approve of it. The interiors are quite ordinary and Fiat should do something if they want to attract the kind of people who would buy City, Fiesta or Aveo. I think it can beat any of these in performance and only thing Petra lacks is Sex appeal. I am thinking of putting on a spoiler on my car but the official price is very high(11k) and i'm not sure if I should buy from outside. Any advice on this ?? also if it adds up to the Car's looks ?? Anything else I can do to improve the interiors ??
I would love to share some other specific things if somebody wants or to hear about some different experiences.