Palio 1.6 GTX long term test report - 50,000 kms

salil_kulkarni · 9th April 2005, 22:39

hey,
sorry about the late reply, hadnt logged onto team for the last few days.

Moralfibre :
with regards to your query about my driving style, i am surely not one who will go in for fuel efficiency by shifting the car at 10kmph into 2nd and crawling at 45-50 km/hr in top gear when the rest of the world zooms past me. Id rather enjoy my drive than have the constant worry of FE on my head.the same time i dont mean to say that i redline the car. I know very well on how a car needs to be driven, and at what rpm a gear change is needed(depending on the requirement). With regards to your query to the suspension bits, Fiat parts are known to wear out faster than the competitors. If the dealership in Pune disagrees with me, I suppose they are getting some superb quality parts from the company. With regards to the dealer trying to dupe me, Ive gone to the Customer Relations Head at Fiat with my problems but to no avail, so it really isnt just the dealer, but the company too thats at fault.

You seem like a Fiat supporter, I am too, but when it comes to after sales service and customer satisfaction, I wouldnt wanna look at Fiat at all.

With regards to my driving style, i also have a Santro 1.0 LS, which with a similar driving style returns a FE figure of 11-12 kmpl in the city with the ac on, which shows its not the driving style, but the car at fault(palio).

Also that my Santro has crossed 80,000 kms and the suspension possibly needs a change now, but the fiat starting giving trouble after 40,000 kms. On talkin to 2 dealers in Bombay, both said the time to change the lower arms of the car comes at about 40-45,000 kms, which again falls directly in the time that i changed the parts on my car.
with regards to that, plus the condition of the roads in Mumbai, i think all the members here would agree on the point that the suspension arms need a change around the 45k-50k kms mark.

Ill be putting up a detailed ownership report on my santro in about 3 weeks after the service is done, so you can clearly sit down and compare on what kind of ownership costs there are for both the cars.

Lamorghini :
Ill surely take some pics of the car and post them soon. I was gonna do after i posted the report, but forgot about it.

With regards to the other queries about the car : Ive been a little tied down with work, so havent been able to check on the other queries, ill reply back with regards to those as soon as i can. Sorry for the delay.

Kaizer Sozay · 3rd June 2006, 00:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedsatya

guys,

what engine oil does Fiat use.is it fully synthetic oil.as 40km is too long an interval for any oil.and from the 1800rs it looks like a fully synthetic oil.
but if you use a fully syntheitc oil,i dont think u need to use Motoreco.

what say ????????

Dear Sppedsatya, have u used motoreco? any reports on how good this product is?

adarsh76 · 5th June 2006, 17:16

I knew that Fiat parts are costly but never in my dreams was knowing their parts will wear out soon. That's too much. Spending money and not lasting long. May be you should file a complaint with the consumer court.

I own an accent gle. Driven 40,000 kms in exactly one year. No complaints. Only spare part replaced other than the regular service schedules is the brake pad at 25000 kms. Overall the amount I spend for the car is 30,000 which includes everything like the seat covers, stereo system, carpets etc.

Spending so much for a hatchback car like Fiat Palio is really shocking..How much you have spend for your Santro till date?

mahadev_kc · 14th June 2006, 16:25

Hi Salil,

Looking at your present location "Turin, Italy", were you working in FIAT? Just curious..

Spark · 13th September 2006, 20:03

Thanks a lot for pinning every bit of information you had.A Very useful and eye opener report for anyone who is lookingforward to experience palio.
Regards.

9th April 2005, 22:39	#46
salil_kulkarni BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Turin, Italy Posts: 173 Thanked: 4 Times	hey, sorry about the late reply, hadnt logged onto team for the last few days. Moralfibre : with regards to your query about my driving style, i am surely not one who will go in for fuel efficiency by shifting the car at 10kmph into 2nd and crawling at 45-50 km/hr in top gear when the rest of the world zooms past me. Id rather enjoy my drive than have the constant worry of FE on my head.the same time i dont mean to say that i redline the car. I know very well on how a car needs to be driven, and at what rpm a gear change is needed(depending on the requirement). With regards to your query to the suspension bits, Fiat parts are known to wear out faster than the competitors. If the dealership in Pune disagrees with me, I suppose they are getting some superb quality parts from the company. With regards to the dealer trying to dupe me, Ive gone to the Customer Relations Head at Fiat with my problems but to no avail, so it really isnt just the dealer, but the company too thats at fault. You seem like a Fiat supporter, I am too, but when it comes to after sales service and customer satisfaction, I wouldnt wanna look at Fiat at all. With regards to my driving style, i also have a Santro 1.0 LS, which with a similar driving style returns a FE figure of 11-12 kmpl in the city with the ac on, which shows its not the driving style, but the car at fault(palio). Also that my Santro has crossed 80,000 kms and the suspension possibly needs a change now, but the fiat starting giving trouble after 40,000 kms. On talkin to 2 dealers in Bombay, both said the time to change the lower arms of the car comes at about 40-45,000 kms, which again falls directly in the time that i changed the parts on my car. with regards to that, plus the condition of the roads in Mumbai, i think all the members here would agree on the point that the suspension arms need a change around the 45k-50k kms mark. Ill be putting up a detailed ownership report on my santro in about 3 weeks after the service is done, so you can clearly sit down and compare on what kind of ownership costs there are for both the cars. Lamorghini : Ill surely take some pics of the car and post them soon. I was gonna do after i posted the report, but forgot about it. With regards to the other queries about the car : Ive been a little tied down with work, so havent been able to check on the other queries, ill reply back with regards to those as soon as i can. Sorry for the delay.
	() Thanks

5th June 2006, 17:16	#48
adarsh76 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 661 Thanked: 231 Times	Salil how much have u spent on ur Santro? I knew that Fiat parts are costly but never in my dreams was knowing their parts will wear out soon. That's too much. Spending money and not lasting long. May be you should file a complaint with the consumer court. I own an accent gle. Driven 40,000 kms in exactly one year. No complaints. Only spare part replaced other than the regular service schedules is the brake pad at 25000 kms. Overall the amount I spend for the car is 30,000 which includes everything like the seat covers, stereo system, carpets etc. Spending so much for a hatchback car like Fiat Palio is really shocking..How much you have spend for your Santro till date?
	() Thanks

14th June 2006, 16:25	#49
mahadev_kc BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 328 Thanked: 48 Times View My Garage	Hi Salil, Looking at your present location "Turin, Italy", were you working in FIAT? Just curious..
	() Thanks

13th September 2006, 20:03	#50
Spark BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 96 Thanked: 9 Times View My Garage	Thanks a lot for pinning every bit of information you had.A Very useful and eye opener report for anyone who is lookingforward to experience palio. Regards.
	() Thanks