[lapis_lazuli]

Originally Posted by varadha_r

Biraj

I got ceat gripp tyres at Rs. 5700 apiece on snapdeal and have ordered them. Given their price, I saw no reason

What is the manufacturing date of the tyres? They (Snappy) normally have tie ups with local tyre shops, who have a tendency to mix and match old and new lots, for the unsuspecting. PLEASE talk with the customer care people and kindly do not settle for tyres manufactured more than 4-6 months back. Best is, if you can visit the subsidiary and pick up the tyres yourself.

[varadha_r]

I did check the date - they were manufactured in august 2014. So far so good. Tires are very very quiet, rolling resistance is low and with nitrogen ride quality /handling balance is really nice.

Am happy so far.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

Time for the 10k ish service...did you decide yet? Or is it done already?

Thanks! Will discuss the speeds and all, when we meet.

Got the service done in Ahmedabad (Dhruvil Fiat). I just couldn't continue with the same oil beyond 10K. They did the job in just 3 hours so, hope everything was done well.

Originally Posted by varadha_r

Biraj

Great journey - why don't you post a full travelogue in team bhp ?

At 65% of the price of a michelin, it feels like a good VFM.

Thanks! Have done almost the same trip earlier so, another travelogue would n't have had much fresh content.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...diu-punto.html

Glad that your initial impression of Ceat Gripp LN is positive. The tyres are quite sturdy. I recently hit a crater at about ~80 KMPH, there was a loud noise and a minor chip on one of the blades of the alloy but nothing happened to the tyre. On something with a softer side-wall, the story might have been different.

[Biraj]

Crusoe's third B'day is about a month away, and I am facing an extremely difficult dilemma. The way my work-life is shaping up, I will be spending more time outside India than at home, in the next three years. There will be periods when I will be away for 4-5 months at a stretch. My heart wants to keep Crusoe and ask my sister to send her chauffeur every weekend to start and run it for a few KMs. Brain says Crusoe deserves better upkeep, the highway runs, and the trips to Himalayas, but that would mean parting with it.

The thought of selling it feels terrible as Crusoe is much more than a machine to me. It's my first car (Santro was a gift from Dad). I have amazing memories attached to it. Will try the option 1 (keeping it running for short distances) and then enjoy whatever time I spend at home.

Originally Posted by roy_libran

Hey, why worry? Me and Lapis Lazuli can take good care of it in your absence.

The smile at the end gets me worried

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by Biraj

Crusoe's third B'day is about a month away, and I am facing an extremely difficult dilemma. The way my work-life is shaping up, I will be spending more time outside India than at home, in the next three years. There will be periods when I will be away for 4-5 months at a stretch. My heart wants to keep Crusoe and ask my sister to send her chauffeur every weekend to start and run it for a few KMs. Brain says Crusoe deserves better upkeep, the highway runs, and the trips to Himalayas, but that would mean parting with it.

The thought of selling it feels terrible as Crusoe is much more than a machine to me. It's my first car (Santro was a gift from Dad). I have amazing memories attached to it. Will try the option 1 (keeping it running for short distances) and then enjoy whatever time I spend at home.

Hey, why worry? Me and Lapis Lazuli can take good care of it in your absence.

[Biraj]

Happy B'day to you
Happy B'day to you
Happy B'day dear Crusoe
Happy B'day to you.

Crusoe has turned three today. To give him some bragging rights, I took him to a remote village in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday and returned yesterday night. Crusoe managed some roads that many other sedans would have struggled on.

A trip of ~800 KMs with ~350 KMs in the hills and the remaining on fast four-laned highways, and still getting an efficiency of 12 KMPL is quite commendable for a turbo-charged fun-to-drive car.

Really glad at the decision I took three years ago. All Hail Crusoe!!!

Here are some pics from the trip. Rest in the travelogue (when I get time).

[Mcroadster]

Hi Biraj! Many many congratulations to you and Crusoe!
Could you please let me know about the place in pic 5?? Place looks to enticing to delay going to asap :P

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by Mcroadster

Hi Biraj! Many many congratulations to you and Crusoe!
Could you please let me know about the place in pic 5?? Place looks to enticing to delay going to asap :P

Thanks Mcroadster, this is The Wilderness

It's ~10 KMs from Narkanda on the road that connects Thanedar to Narkanda.

[lapis_lazuli]

Three years, several trips, tarmac, a rescue mission, a wedding of 2 bhpians....he's been thru' all of this, gracefully; what an achievement ! If I may say, it's one of the best maintained cars on TBHP: and a premium experience at economy rates. Which other? Non other.

Change the title of the thread and ask FIAT to sponsor the next escapade!

Amazing shots there; need to go there once. 12kmpl or not, some journeys are not measured in miles, but in smiles. Sheesh.....! For 16kmpl or more, get a Ciaz or City or whatever.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

Three years, several trips, tarmac, a rescue mission, a wedding of 2 bhpians....he's been thru' all of this, gracefully; what an achievement ! If I may say, it's one of the best maintained cars on TBHP: and a premium experience at economy rates. Which other? Non other.

Thanks Ranajay for this wonderful post.

Completed 40,000 KMs on 27th Feb. At the expense of repeating myself, I really can't think of a better petrol sedan I could have bought within my budget. I drove a Ford Fiesta petrol for a week and missed the turbo of Crusoe, drove an Elantra (1.8 P) for two weeks and missed the dynamics of Crusoe, and drove a Honda City for a week in Ahmedabad and missed everything about Crusoe. For someone that loves taking the car to highways and beyond, there can't be a better petrol sedan (below 15 lacs) than Linea T-jet.

[varadha_r]

I drove a a skoda octavia TDI DSG yesterday and that highlighted the differences and the siimilarities between the linea and the octavia

Not surprisingly, the ride and handling felt on par with the new octavia - that's saying something given that the latter costs 2 x of the linea.

And the feel from the steering on the octavia was poor - blame it on the EPS.
Brakes of the t-jet were on par with the octavia.

The only aspect were the octavia runs away with it is the DSG - the gear box is lightning fast and is something else - a problem aggravated by the fact that the linea's gear box is really really notchy and heavy to use within the city. Interiors of course are very good on the octavia but nothing a good touch screen infotainment system on the linea can't solve.

bittersweet - a car that's on par with the benchmark from a segment above and yet that's let down because of issues like gear box, fit and finish etc.

Said all of this, at the price I got my t-jet at, I can't complain. I think fiat should just move off mainstream and focus on enthusiastic drivers alone - possibly team bhp type blokes

[nareshov]

Hello Biraj, how are the Ceat 16" tyres holding up? Very hard to find any reviews online for them.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by nareshov

Hello Biraj, how are the Ceat 16" tyres holding up? Very hard to find any reviews online for them.

Hi Naresh, I will rate them better than Goodyear. It have done close to 18K on them without any punctures. The tyre wear also seems normal. Although, it has become louder than before but still quieter than Goodyear NCT5. Ceats were extremely quiet in the beginning.

The grip levels are also decent. The best part is that the tyres are very sturdy. I have taken them to some horrible roads and even driven on snow (bit of it). Still, I wouldn't be very confident about recommending them. These tyres were meant to be premium tyres from Ceat and they haven't been able to create any brand presence in this segment. I purchased it within a few weeks of launch so got fresh tyres. Not sure how regularly are they manufacturing it right now.

[varadha_r]

I lost my t-jet to the chennai rains. It was submerged under 3.5 feeet of water and it looks like a long haul ahead to repair it.

I can tell you from personal experience that god help you if your fiat needs serious repairs - they are ok with regular servicing but in terms of attention to detail, ability to dissect a problem, I think fiat must be absolute last in ASS.

In Chennai floods, fiat's own service stations got submerged and its a long battle to get cars repaired and while maruti/honda are pitching in with additional capacity, fiat does not even bother to get back regular capacity.

Must warn everyone here, be prepared for a zero on your car should there be a big problem on the fiat - its' that bad.

I hope I can get back my t-jet - I have been told a month to 40 days to fix it and it seems to be rank last amongst competing service shops in terms of turn around.

I was prepared for this to some extent given it's a fiat but I can tell you much like an accident, nothing ever prepares you for how bad things can get. Takes 10 days for an insurance surveyor to come, 15 days further to resolve what needs to be done and another 30-40 days to fix the issue.

[Biraj]

Originally Posted by varadha_r

I lost my t-jet to the chennai rains. It was submerged under 3.5 feeet of water and it looks like a long haul ahead to repair it.

That's horrible. Getting a car back in shape from flood related damage is really tough. I hope FASS is able to repair/restore your T-jet to it's original condition. Hope everyone in your family is also safe.

As per the FB page of a FASS in Chennai, their facility has not been flooded. Source - https://www.facebook.com/ramkayfiatchennai

You might want to contact Mangesh Kodalker - mangesh.kodalkar@fiat.com He is the head of customer service at Fiat India, and might be able to expedite the response from FASS.

All the best, and keep us posted on how things proceed.