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Old 14th August 2012, 15:15   #31
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biraj View Post
Thanks Coolboy007, It indeed is a pleasure driving a Fiat on hills. The control along with the luxury of 3rd gear's range helps a lot. Where in Himachal are you heading? I did encounter landslide on my way to Dalhousie still, it was manageable. My Linea didn't scrape the bottom anywhere on the route.
Thanks for some insight on those roads, i can have some relief now. No i am not planning on crossing any pass or anything, just mcleodganj and Palampur and i will route via Nagrota as that road is quite good, have experienced that khara danda road on bike once and yes its scary

The roads are bad near Una i guess which is the usual story.
Pardon my ignorance but how much is the Tjet's ground clearance? 185 mm like the newer Lineas or a little less? Looks quite decent unlike the older ones which had a meager 165mm like mine.
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Old 14th August 2012, 16:35   #32
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

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Originally Posted by coolboy007 View Post
Pardon my ignorance but how much is the Tjet's ground clearance? 185 mm like the newer Lineas or a little less? Looks quite decent unlike the older ones which had a meager 165mm like mine.
Ground clearence of T-jet- 165mm and of T-jet +, It's 170mm

Cheers,
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Old 14th August 2012, 17:17   #33
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

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Originally Posted by coolboy007 View Post
Thanks for some insight on those roads, i can have some relief now. No i am not planning on crossing any pass or anything, just mcleodganj and Palampur and i will route via Nagrota as that road is quite good, have experienced that khara danda road on bike once and yes its scary

The roads are bad near Una i guess which is the usual story.
As Sameer correctly mentioned, it is 170 MM on T-jet+. The UNA section has improved from what I saw last time (Dec 2011) still, there are patches of no macadamised surface. For Mcleodganj, Linea will be a good choice. You might want to explore the route via Pathankot. It might help you in saving time provided, you are able to avoid jam at Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Have a nice and safe trip.
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Old 15th August 2012, 03:58   #34
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

10000 KMS in 6 months!!! Awesome. Wish I could match even half of that.
Yes, T-Jet is marvelous on hill roads. I have driven mine just around 300 kms on ghat roads last month on two different occasions but believe me, since then my driving has changed completely. The confidence has turned into over-confidence bordering on arrogance .
I really love this car and thank Fiat every time I drive it.
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Old 15th August 2012, 14:03   #35
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

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10000 KMS in 6 months!!! Awesome. Wish I could match even half of that.
Yes, T-Jet is marvelous on hill roads. I have driven mine just around 300 kms on ghat roads last month on two different occasions but believe me, since then my driving has changed completely. The confidence has turned into over-confidence bordering on arrogance .
I really love this car and thank Fiat every time I drive it.
This car is spoiling us. It is difficult to like any other car after driving a T-jet. As Mr. Parker said "with great power comes great responsibilities". Here we have responsibility of managing other expenses and not splurging it all on Petrol.
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Old 4th September 2012, 00:21   #36
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Finally the travelogue of my last trip is ready...

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...la-4-days.html
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Old 17th September 2012, 13:05   #37
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Your travelogue is a godsend to me! Thanks for posting. BTW, I'm hot on your trail here. Post the planned Chamba trip, I think my Jet would've done 5k in just over 3 months (October end). Petrol prices be damned!!
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Old 22nd September 2012, 13:56   #38
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Re: All Hail Crusoe!!! My Bronzo Scuro Fiat Linea T-jet+ Update: 12K KMs done

Have completed 12K in a little over six months and the affection is as high as it was 6 months ago. Some jealous soul has put a big (almost 2 feet) scratch on the boot. It's on top of boot so, no chance of it being put accidentally. I fail to understand what kick one gets by putting a scratch on other's cars.

I have been getting intermittent "Airbag failure" message on MID and seems battery is the culprit. Will take it to service center tomorrow morning.

Crusoe now has a new friend. My fiancee purchased an Oceanic Blue Punto MJD Emotion yesterday. After driving it, I somehow found the clutch lighter than T-jet. Do others share my observation?

Fuel efficiency is still around 10-11 in city with 100% AC. I tried driving in city with an extremely light foot for 2 days and got phenomenal efficiency of 14 KMPL. With the amount of KMs I am doing every month, I think it's time I mix spirited driving with some sedate driving.

I also have started tracking my driving style on EcoDrive. A very interesting app and trying to take my score from 72 to 81.

Will keep updating.
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Old 22nd September 2012, 14:53   #39
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Biraj,
How is the build quality? Any squeaks or rattles?
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Old 22nd September 2012, 20:15   #40
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Originally Posted by DeKay View Post
Biraj,
How is the build quality? Any squeaks or rattles?
None till now. Seems built to last.
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Old 30th October 2012, 15:56   #41
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Another update:

Completed 13K today (8 months and 4 days). The past 1K took more time than usual as the Oceanic Blue Punto has taken the role of weekend car. So, trying to save money for another long trip on Crusoe.

Airbag failure issue is still present and hopefully will get rectified tomorrow. The reason has been identified (faulty battery) but the service guys want to conduct as many tests as possible before getting it replaced under warranty. I have made 3 trips to Oberoi for it and had an heated exchange during the last visit with their GM service. Finally, received a call from them today confirming that a spare battery is available and I can get it replaced tomorrow.

Here is the email communication between Mr. Gopalan and me.

Email from Mr. Gopalan after I left their showroom dejected with the level of service

Quote:
Dear Mr. Ganguly,


On set we regret for the delay in attending your car for the Battery issue.


The battery voltage has to be as per the rating and less then this will
lead to the indication of Air Bag failure light. For this we may have to charge the battery for min 36 Hrs, ,for this the battery has to taken out of the car.

We did our best to see that a standby battery can be arranged for your car so that you will be not standard with out a car. However we regret we
could not make arrangement for a stand by battery suitable for linea T Jet as of now.

We will be able to arrange the battery by Monday , so that your car battery can be sent to Excide for checking , With this we will be able resolve the issue.

Kindly confirm your visit on Monday, so that the service battery can be made available . Kindly co operate with us , so that the issue in your car is resolved completely.

Thanks and Regards,

Rajagopalan,
Oberoi Cars,
Noida.
Here's my response
Quote:
Hello Mr. Gopalan,

I appreciate your reaching out to me on this issue. I can understand that your team is extremely busy and you don’t keep spare batteries available however, I booked the service appointment on Wednesday (October 24) and informed your team about the AirBag failure alarm. I also informed them that the car was checked at Him Motors and they topped up the battery fluids. Had your team been pro-active, they could have arranged a spare battery between Wednesday and Saturday.

The difference between customer satisfaction and delight is responsiveness of the customer service team. I certainly don’t see that level of responsiveness from your team. I am usually very busy on weekdays and it’s difficult for me to take time out. My office is in Sector 62, Noida. Is it possible for you to arrange the spare battery in your Sector 63 workshop on Wednesday (October 31)? I can reach there to get the battery replaced.

You are much older than me and I respect your experience and knowledge thus, I regret losing my temper that day. However, I am sure you will understand the frustration of an owner that waited at your service centre from 11 AM in the morning till 4 PM in anticipation of the Airbag failure alarm issue being sorted, and had to return without getting it sorted because a spare battery could not be arranged. Moreover, this was my third visit to the service centre for the same issue, on both the previous occasions the service associate was too busy to even listen to the issues. As a customer of Linea T-jet+ (your marquee product from Fiat stable) I do expect better responsiveness and customer orientation. I hope my expectations are not too high.

Please let me know, if a spare battery can be arranged at your sector 63 workshop and I will be glad to bring the car there on Wednesday.
In all fairness, Mr Gopalan did try to help me but his team seemed too reluctant to work or find solutions. If there is an intent to serve but tools aren't present, I can understand but when I see a lack in intent to serve, the Taurus inside me comes to the fore.

Apart from this minor irritant, everything else is working fine and I love Crusoe. I gave it a good wash couple of weeks ago and then applied a coat of Eagle gel wax. Crusoe seems happy after the bath.

Fuel efficiency is around 10.5 with 100% city drive and AC. Last week while returning from Durga Puja around mid-night, drove it at a constant speed of 70 on empty roads of Delhi. Fuel efficiency for a stretch of ~25 KMs was 16.8 KMPL If only I could control the urge of driving this car the way it's meant to be, it would have proven to be an extremely fuel efficient car. Then on second thoughts, I never purchased it for fuel efficiency.

Since I keep switching between Crusoe and Neil (2012 Punto MJD), I find the ride on the 2012 Punto a bit bumpier (this is relative to the drive on T-jet) and the clutch on Punto seems extremely light compared to T-jet. Both the cars are extremely competent but the wow factor on Crusoe is difficult to match for most cars within 5-7 lacs of its price.

Will keep you guys posted on both Crusoe and Neil. Time to prepare an initial ownership review of Neil but it's yet to do the miles before I can share something substantive.

Cheers,
Biraj
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Old 30th October 2012, 18:39   #42
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Biraj,

Good to hear you are enjoying Crusoe.

Congrats for owning Neil (aka Ocean Blue Punto). Looking forward to hear further about Neil's buying and ownership experience.

Wish you many many happy miles with both the Fiats (Crusoe and Neil)!
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Old 7th November 2012, 20:11   #43
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

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Originally Posted by Autocop View Post
Biraj,

Good to hear you are enjoying Crusoe.

Congrats for owning Neil (aka Ocean Blue Punto). Looking forward to hear further about Neil's buying and ownership experience.

Wish you many many happy miles with both the Fiats (Crusoe and Neil)!
Thanks Autocop. The festive season hasn't allowed me to take Neil out for a photo-shoot. Will do it soon and post an ownership review of it as well. It deserves it and I haven't seen many pictures of Oceanic Blue Puntos on the forum. I find it a brilliant colour on Punto. At times Neil manages to get Crusoe jealous.
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Old 7th November 2012, 20:27   #44
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

Quote:
Originally Posted by Biraj View Post
Another update:

Airbag failure issue is still present and hopefully will get rectified tomorrow. The reason has been identified (faulty battery) but the service guys want to conduct as many tests as possible before getting it replaced under warranty. I have made 3 trips to Oberoi for it and had an heated exchange during the last visit with their GM service. Finally, received a call from them today confirming that a spare battery is available and I can get it replaced tomorrow.
I faced this airbag failure issue at the end of Sep (27/28). I checked the battery and found one of the cells went weak. Since my car is 2.5 years old now, I replaced the battery and since then I never faced this airbag failure warning issue.
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Old 8th November 2012, 20:13   #45
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re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+

An extremely sad update. Took Crusoe to Oberoi motors at Noida to collect the battery and Crusoe got hit by a Safari. The Safari belonged to the party that rules UP so, there was nothing that anyone (me or police) could have done. I am blaming myself as I should have been more careful. I was reversing the car and my concentration was on the left as that's the direction vehicles were supposed to come from. This safari came from the wrong side as it wanted to enter the service center.

Luckily the bumper is strong thus the only the damage caused is chipped paint and broken chrome strip. I checked the Safari, his bumper also has similar scars (but it's not a coloured bumper) and it's bull-guard (don't know what it's called) got bent. Not sure whether it was Crusoe's strength or it was already bent. The paint part hurts the most as it's Bronzo Scuro. Got a touch up done at Oberoi and will take it for a rubbing/buffing tomorrow. Might even get the bumper painted as I can't tolerate such a deep scar on Crusoe. The chrome strip is Rs 1100 + tax for one piece (rear bumper). After the touch up this is how it looks from a distance and close up.

Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+-img00576201211081715.jpg

Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+-img00575201211081715.jpg


I intend to try a shop at Chanakyapuri that fellow BHPian (lapis_lazuli) recommended. These guys can prepare an aerosol for Bronzo Scuro and I don't see any harm in trying as I will give it for painting if it doesn't work. Found a user on Team Fiat that got chrome strip from local market for Rs 600 (a roll enough for 4 strips) might give that a try.

Everyone is trying to explain that one has to get used to such accidents in Delhi-NCR but these get really tough, especially when your car is not just a piece of metal for you.
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