[Sommos]

The demand for a bigger car (sedan) began in the house sometime in late 2011. My son and wife used to judge every sedan on the road by their looks. I though pretended not to understand what is going on between them but one day in January 2012 the family demand was clearly placed before me and I had to succumb to their pressure. So the search for the new sedan began.

Cars considered :-
The cars that were listed for checking out are as follows :
City
Vento
Verna
Rapid

City : I had a huge fascination for this car since my college days. It was sort of dream car for me, so the first visit is to the Honda showroom. We saw the 2012 model of the City 1.5 V. The car was really fun to drive in the city and the engine was smooth. The interiors are plush but the car lacked features. The steering was very light though. The first impression was good till I took it to some very bad roads, where the City lost all it's composure. The ride felt bumpy on the bad roads and the bottom scraped once. Overall impression was OK and this car was very much in contention.

Vento : This is where the story took an abrupt turn towards diesel. The SA at VW managed to brainwash my family for the diesel Vento HL model and I was totally caught unaware. We took a TD of the diesel Vento TL (as no highline TD vehicle was available). The Vento engine was extremely powerful but bit noisy too. The TD car was kept in such a bad condition that it did not catch the imagination of the family. I was a bit relieved for the Vento TDI highline at Rs. 11.60 lakhs was clearly out of my budget.

Verna : Nothing much to write about for there was no TD vehicle of the diesel Verna. Features were shown in a petrol Verna, but the dealership attitude was something that I could not stand. The Sales Manager clearly told me to purchase a car and have a test drive in the same . I am not going to put my money on any car without having a proper TD.

Rapid : Rapid definitely handles better than the City and maybe Vento also due to its suspension, and it has a powerful but noisy engine. Moreover I found it to be a very basic car with no features as VW has purposefully placed it way below the Vento in the market.

After ckecking all the available options, the decision was in favour of City since I have never driven a diesel car in my life and the Vento was clearly out of my budget. At this point my wife suddenly brought the Fiat Linea into the picture. I went through the ownership reviews of the Linea on various forums and decided to check out the Linea. I would like to specially thank TeamBHP member Mr. J. Ravi for his wonderful ownership thread. His ownership thread and also his travelogue to Leh in his Linea helped a lot to build the confidence in me to go for the Fiat Linea.

Linea MJD 1.3 : The car was attractive but I always thought (like so many other people) that this car is seriously underpowered. I started the TD rather reluctantly but after three long test drives of the Linea I had completely different idea about the car.

What I like :
* Beautiful shape & contours - stunning looks.
* 16" alloy wheels (all five including the spare). Heard that Fiat has discontinued the fifth alloy wheel after May' 2012 (not sure though); cost cutting measures ?
* 205/55 R16 tyres - really looks nice.
* GC of 185mm - so fear of bottom scrapping.
* Beatiful handling, the best in the class.
* Fantastic ride quality, handles bad roads and potholes like none other.
* Steering feedback, hydraulic power steering. Gives lot of confidence on the highways, specially at higher speeds.
* Leather seat covers, three head-rest in the rear seat, collapsible rear curtain, rear aircon vent.
* Great improvement in the internal fit and finish over the earlier versions (except for the aircon vents in the dash).
* The clutch still has a long play but is quite soft in the 2012 version.

What I did'nt like :
* Legspace in the rear seat should have been better for a car of this size.
* Headroom at the rear (luckily don't have any six footer in the family except me).
* Lack of bottle holder.
* Narrow driver footwell. Often my left foot get stuck between the clutch pedal and the dead pedal.
* The cool themocol cutout for the tool kit has been discontinued. The tool kits are wrapped in a cheap plastic package. Not sure how long they would last.

What I required from the car :
a. Budget of 10L (typical for C1 segment).
b. My monthly usage is 1300-1500 KMs per month, mostly city driving with some long drive once/twice in a month. I am almost certain that this is going to increase with time. City driving in my case does not mean bumper-to-bumper drive, like in the metros. Roads in the industrial town are wide and less crowded.
c. I would love to have a car that is fun to drive in the highways coupled with better stability, handling and safety features rather than instant acceleration.
d. I seriously intend to keep this car for 8 years, so resale value is not of much importance to me.

I thought the Linea 1.3MJD Emotion fulfilled all my requirements and the choise was made. Added benefit of choosing this car was wife loved the Linea the most amongst the whole lot, so no conflict in the future. Also the car is fully loaded and I don't need to add any accessories immediately except for the GPS and maybe the reverse parking sensors.

[Sommos]

Booking & Delivery :

This was the most horrible part of the whole lovestory and I would like to forget this incidence as soon as possible.
The details is posted in the following link : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...attisgarh.html

First glimpses of the "White Knight" at the dealership on 24/07/2012 :

[Sommos]

I had already made up my mind to go forward with the purchase inspite of the fact that the car did not have the “H” symbol. The clarification received from Mr. Mangesh Kodalkar helped to remove the remaining doubts in my mind. Completing the bank formalities took another couple of days and the purchase was finally made on 27/07/2012 and I got the delivery of the car.

First glimpses of the car before delivery :



The complicated functions being explained to my son :






The keys being handed over to my son :


The Odometer at the time of delivery :

[Sommos]

Just spent a week with the new car. The odometer read 350 KM as on 04/08/2012. The feeling is obviously awesome, something very hard to express in words. The acclamatisation process with the Italian beauty is still on and I am yet to be fully familiar with the new car.

The head light and the wiper stalks being on just opposite sides to the Indian versions has been the biggest problem for me so far. Very often I end up using the wiper instead of the head light. This is a matter of time before I get used to.

The seatbelt warning buzzer was another big problem that I was never used to in my earlier cars. In the initial period every time I used to start the car without fixing the seatbelt and had to stop because of the irritant buzzer. It has now become a regular habbit after the initial couple of days; good for me though.

Migrating from the petrol hatchback to a bigger diesel requires some relearning and changing of habbits. First, start the engine and stop for a minute before you can drive off. Similar process before stopping the engine. This was never required in my earlier (non turbo) cars, as such this is one thing that I need to remember specially every time I use the car. The car definitely seemed very heavy to drive initially and I could seldom take it to the top gear within the city. My earlier petrol cars were so smooth to drive in the city traffic, but not this car. Greatly missing the instant acceleration of the petrol engines, but I learnt that this is an inherent drawback (if I can say so) for all diesel engines. One reason maybe I am extra cautious about the new car or maybe I am yet to learn the driving dynamics of a diesel sedan.

The awkward driving position of the Linea has been discussed in several ownership threads, but I never had to suffer for this. The under thigh support and lumber support is quite excellent. Only grudge is that the rear view mirror blocks my view in some cases and I have to lean forward slightly to get a clear view of the left in certain heavy traffic condition.

About the car my first impression is exellent. I have not faced any niggles so far (touchwood). The doors require an extra effort to close and closes with a thud. The dealer says this will ease with usage, will take a note of this during the first service. The internal plastics are fine, surely not like the Vento but nothing to grudge about; certainly a great improvement over the earlier versions. The panel gaps, both inside and outside, are consistent. So much have been heard about the inconsistent panel gaps in the Linea, but I did'nt find anything of that sort.

The music system is nothing to write about but I certainly found it sufficient for the time being. The Blue & Me is still a favourite pastime for my son in the evening. He is trying hard to come to terms with the lady, but she seems to be very adamant / non-cooperative. On my part, all my trials to stike a dialogue with the lady have failed to yeild any final result. Every time I pronounce "two" she understands "Zero"; I failed to understand the reason. My son has shown me a way to select the name from the steering control and make a call. However, receiving calls while driving is smooth and easy.

I never found the auto headlight to be a very useful feature except when using a basement parking. If kept in the auto mode the headlights come on in such lighting conditions where you would normally never use the headlight. I found the rain sensing wiper somewhat erratic in behaviour. It would move at a certain speed and suddenly it moves faster for two / three rounds and then comes back to the normal speed. It goes according to it's will, sometimes lazily when you actually need it to be faster and sometimes very fast when you actually don't need it to be so fast.

It gives a lot of smile when you can fill up the tank at Rs. 1800.00 approximately. The mileage currently shown in the MID is 16.5KMPL with 50% ACC set at 24 degree. I never got the oppurtunity to take it on a long drive on the highway except for one 40Km journey. Currently driving it very cautiously under 2500RPM and the fastest that I have achieved is 100KMPH at 2000RPM in 5th gear. I feel it's too early to think about the FE and speed because the car will open up only after 2000KM.

Got the paint protection and underbody coating from 3M. Overall very satisfied with the car. The dealer have not provided the mud flaps, hence having a hell of a time keeping the car clean in the rainy season. However got some opputunity to click some pictures.











I really love the view of the car from this angle


....and this angle too


the front seats


The rear seats


Something that Fiat will never learn to do properly

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[infotech58]

congratulations.

if you do not mind sharing, how much did it cost OTR? and do these seat covers come as a standard fitting?
and, is that team-bhp URL sticker under driver side OVRM?

[sameerg001]

Congratulations for acquiring the Italian beauty

I am sure, you won't regret buying this. One of best sedan out there in the market, but badly marketed by Fiat India.

Please share OTR price and discounts that you managed to get.

Wish you wonderful miles ahead with her, Drive safe

Cheers,
Sameer

[akshay4587]

Congrats
Looks haute.
Are you sure about 100Km\hr coming up at 2K RPM in 5th Gear?
In 2010 Linea 100 comes up at 2400RPM in 5th gear.

[Saanil]

Congratulations!

The picture you posted of the key slot - I have seen these gaps in two other Lineas too (2010 ones though). I think this gap is present is all Lineas. Another area where the gap is visible is the horn pad area (between the horn and the steering wheel).

The second set of pictures - I hope the car is just parked outside for the photo shoot and will not be parked permanently outside.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by infotech58

congratulations.

if you do not mind sharing, how much did it cost OTR? and do these seat covers come as a standard fitting?
and, is that team-bhp URL sticker under driver side OVRM?

Thanks, Sumeet. The car cost me 10.60L OTR. The Italian leather seat covers come standard in the Emotion model. Your eyesight is fantastic, yes it's the TBHP sticker under the OVRM.

Originally Posted by sameerg001

Congratulations for acquiring the Italian beauty

I am sure, you won't regret buying this. One of best sedan out there in the market, but badly marketed by Fiat India.

Please share OTR price and discounts that you managed to get.

Wish you wonderful miles ahead with her, Drive safe

Cheers,
Sameer

Thanks Sameer. I hope I don't have to regret the decision of going against the tide and purchasing the Fiat Linea. The OTR cost is 10.60L and discount is 40K (30K exchange bonus + 7K Corporate discount + 3K other discount). I got the mud flaps, floor mats and boot mat FOC.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Congrats
Looks haute.
Are you sure about 100Km\hr coming up at 2K RPM in 5th Gear?
In 2010 Linea 100 comes up at 2400RPM in 5th gear.

Thanks Akshay. I am not absolutely sure. Maybe the RPM was just above 2K.

Originally Posted by Saanil

Congratulations!

The picture you posted of the key slot - I have seen these gaps in two other Lineas too (2010 ones though). I think this gap is present is all Lineas. Another area where the gap is visible is the horn pad area (between the horn and the steering wheel).

The second set of pictures - I hope the car is just parked outside for the photo shoot and will not be parked permanently outside.

Thanks, Saanil. I think there is not much gap in the horn pad area in the 2012 models. The internal fit and finish has greatly improved in the 2012 models.
Maybe you are pointing to the tree behind the car, but this is the place where I park my car daily in the evening, after returning from office, till I park it in the garage at night.

[S.MJet]

Congratulations Sommos!

Its definitely a great decision. No other car in segment can beat this beauty in handling & high speed road manners it offers.
And yes, the more miles you crunch, 1.3 MJD will get better & better.

Enjoy your drive

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Linea. Linea with the improved features from the Tjet makes it a compelling buy in the segment. The 1.3 MJD is frugal and quite driveable in the city. Its definitely not a rocket, but very driveable.

More power is enough for a bhpian, how I wish the 1.6 MJD is lauched rightaway.

[PranavDesai]

Congratulations Sommos on acquiring your Italian beauty. May you safely drive a million miles with it. Some cars are just beautiful, some are muscular, but this one looks both together. The Italians sure know something when it comes to designing. My neighbor has a Tuscan Wine Linea and I envy him everyday! Does Linea have reverse parking sensors or one has to install them afterwards?

[powertrain]

Sommos, I must admit, I love the sheer GUTS that you possess. Buying a Fiat in today's age is nothing short of bravery. And I really wish I had that Guts. I hope she gives miles & miles of troublefree service. How is the Fiat A.S.S in Bhilai? I presume that this model has automatic headlamps & wipers,right?
Regards
Varun

[aks_karthik]

Congrats for your latest acquisition & Worthy buy.
Any time Linea is beautiful in any angle and VFM.
My Silver Streak Linea is running 50K kms steadily and I enjoy the car at the most.
Enjoy and Drive Safe