Team-BHP - Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

@tarun-why all this hype around punto sport? i20's crdi can smoke it any day.90 bhp will be just adequate for spirited driving with the sloppy gear boxes that fiat is known to offer all along.
Fiat should have brought VGT in the first place.for people looking at performance and handling guess only fiesta s makes the cut in options available below 10 lacs.
But driving a fiat is about enjoying the ride and precise steering.

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Originally Posted by aditya116 (Post 1949267)

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Originally Posted by cLJ (Post 1949294)

There is lot of speculation going on the punto sport. Don't expect too much. I don't think there will be much difference in acceleration unless Fiat changes the gear box and ratio completely.

CLJ

The Punto 90HP will definitely be cheaper than the i20, as the i20's crdi unit is imported. (I hope it will be !) Only a drive will put all the speculation to rest, although i think people expectations are little on the higher side. One thing i'm sure of is that the Punto 90HP will be more fun and involving to drive (thanks to its brilliant dynamics) than the i20 crdi.

@fiat_tarun (and other TBHPians who read the ACI article), are there any changes other than the turbocharger in the 90bhp GP? I mean, any difference in equipment, interior, any external clues etc? What is it called, Emotion 90 bhp?

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Originally Posted by sandeepmdas (Post 1949561)

This VGT version is called Punto 90HP. The interiors sport a red line on the seat covers and a few bits here and there. But the ACI magazine mentions there are additional features but did not mention as to what are the features. They also say the interior is better now, which will be for all the puntos.

Need to wait and see it in person to see what all has been changed.

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Originally Posted by sandeepmdas (Post 1949561)

I haven't read the ACI report, but all the other reports indicate that this model will be called Punto 90HP and not Punto Sports.

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Originally Posted by fiat_tarun (Post 1949666)

I haven't read the ACI report, but all the other reports indicate that this model will be called Punto 90HP and not Punto Sports.

It is " Fiat Grande Punto 90HP " , check the link which talks about contents of the July issue of ACI released on June 21st:

http://www.autocarindia.com/latestis...citing-stories

So what do we expect here in terms of pricing? this being price 1L or so on higher side of 1.3MJD EP that we have right now or a reduction in prices and placing this around the 7.5L on road.

I know pricing is something which is too early to be thought off but just to get an idea about the price placement.

P.S. Got this from Carwale.
Fiat Grande Punto (90bhp Multijet)
When to expect: July 2010

Estimated Price: Rs 6.5lakh

Thanks Sid for sharing the link for the first impression.

They cite turbo lag as a problem, so they're take is that the VGT has worse turbo lag than the FGT version? Again something that seems counter intuitive. They mention all the points we were already discussing, about how this is a lighter car with the same engine, but conveniently circumvented the discussion about it when mentioning the 0-100 times being atl east a second and a half more than the Linea according to them. Crap.

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Originally Posted by Amartya (Post 1950567)

^^ +1 to the above ! Who claimed that ACI is the best automotive magzine going around ?

When my friend sent the link of Punto TD report by ACI i eagerly opened the site as if i am opening my exam results. But grossly disappointed by what is mentioned there now what confuses me is that, Why Punto Sports with same engine as Linea, same gears ratio and 100 KG lighter takes 16 seconds to reach 100 KMPH!:Frustrati

Why FIAT is wasting time on giving red sporty looking stitching for this car instead of giving better performance :Frustrati Good news is that the final version is not yet ready. I hope someone from FIAT is reading this thread.

The Punto showcased in Delhi Auto expo had Sunroof and those lovely alloys. But i don’t see both of them here?

Drive a well run in Punto FGT and I can bet my life on it that it faster than what autocar times suggest... comprehensively faster. Just drive it yourself and decide, you can never trust these auto magazines. I would stop here lest I am accused of being a brand fanatic.

I just got an SMS saying

"Fiat Linea and Punto are leaders in HT-MaRS Consumers Satisfaction survey. Please accept out gratitude for posting faith in Fiat & rating us No.1"

I was surprised, as I never attended this survey and seeing that Fiat cars lead the survey in customer satisfaction! :)

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Originally Posted by clevermax (Post 1950770)

I also got the same SMS :thumbs up