Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

neoonwheels · 7th July 2010, 10:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by arishi1

Not sure if they gonna import it, but its the basic principle of Business these days, you know when people are in trouble squeeze them for more money. And this being branded as FIAT I think will raise the price.

PS: My hunch though is this should be Autocop rebadged as FIAT as are the reverse sensors and central locking for dynamic.

It may be an imported part. The key that comes with Emotion and Emotion pack is surely imported so you never know

SumitBahl · 7th July 2010, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by better4worse

But that price ...~10 K for central locking is atrocious !! Are they importing it from FIAT Italy ?

- B4W

I am a Punto Active owner and have been eagerly waiting for this.

Price is definitely high, but I dont miind paying that much if they are giving the flip open / foldable key.

deetjohn · 7th July 2010, 12:00

I see that the central locking (59116434) is listed as Rs: 4290 in My Fiat World:Accessories.

Find the link here: Fiat India

Amartya · 7th July 2010, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I see that the central locking (59116434) is listed as Rs: 4290 in My Fiat World:Accessories.

Find the link here: Fiat India

Thank you for checking, I was just about to do the same. It seemed really strange to me that Fiat would overprice these by this much, judging by how reasonably priced everything else it.

fiat_tarun · 7th July 2010, 12:10

10K for central locking is really high. Are there after market kits for the Punto..? And fitting these voids only the electrical warranty or the whole warranty..?
Just saw the last post.. Around 4k is good...

arishi1 · 7th July 2010, 12:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I see that the central locking (59116434) is listed as Rs: 4290 in My Fiat World:Accessories.

Find the link here: Fiat India

Thats for Punto Dynamic model. For Active since the actuators are not present in the door, I think they need more parts to start with. I guess the pricing is high due to this reason only. For Active its going to be the Actuators for all doors and then may be this Central Locking thing over that.

better4worse · 7th July 2010, 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

I am a Punto Active owner and have been eagerly waiting for this.

Price is definitely high, but I dont miind paying that much if they are giving the flip open / foldable key.

He he he...dream on brother ! dream on...

that desmodronic key or whatever jazz they call it is not there in the 10K central locking, I can bet my ridiculous salary on that. Its going to have that after market look that you get on the central locking. Leave aside the foldable key thing..I'd be disappointed, if I don't get a FIAT badging on it for 10K.

I'll tell you why this is close to 10 K and not your average 4-5K. If you look at the FIAT accessory shop, you will find a central locking on offer for 4290 INR, but it clearly says only for Punto Dynamic and Linea Active. Now, folks like me approached them and asked them why cant they fix the same thing on Punto Active, the explanation that was offered was that the central locking set for the two said cars does not contain the device that pushes the lock up & down (or locks/ unlocks the car), as it comes in preloaded in both Linea Active and Punto Dynamic. Now for Punto Active, this stuff doesn't come loaded in the stock car and hence you need 4 pcs of it for the four doors which obviously would cost extra. As I was willing to pay for it, I was told informally that the whole thing would inflate the cost to ~ 8K INR, but the very item was not in stock (..now haven't we heard that before!) and was politely asked to wait for the Active specific product to be launched as part of the accessory shop.

So kudos to FIAT for listening to us and launching a central locking variant for Active owners, but at the same time brickbats too for not listening to us enough and pricing it exorbitantly.

- B4W

PS: I had made an enquiry for the stock fog lamps too which were due to be introduced too, any word on that? I am very sure FIAT will charge a bomb for them too. (something like 5-7K INR)

SumitBahl · 7th July 2010, 12:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by better4worse

PS: I had made an enquiry for the stock fog lamps too which were due to be introduced too, any word on that? I am very sure FIAT will charge a bomb for them too. (something like 5-7K INR)

Stock fog lamps available with TASS>
I bought them for Rs. 2500.

better4worse · 7th July 2010, 12:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Stock fog lamps available with TASS>
I bought them for Rs. 2500.

I know you have them and saw them in the pics on your ownership thread, I think you got them from chandigarh. Last checked atleast RAMA Motors wasn't keen on installing them on Active, will have to check up with them again.

- B4W

Newpunter · 7th July 2010, 13:06

Can someone suggest if i should get seat covers for my Hip Hop Black Punto Emotion ? Currently, i haven't yet removed the plastic covers that came with the car. I don't want to spend too much on the covers and i like the default seats provided by Fiat and don't want to mess the look with some ugly seat covers. Would it be ok to leave them as it is or is it advisable to get some covers. If so, should i go for the FIAT genuine accessories or should i get it done from outside ?
And while I am at it, the dealer provided me some floor mats for free with the car . Will this be ok or should i get something else too? Also, are there any accessories that are must haves other than this?

neoonwheels · 7th July 2010, 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Can someone suggest if i should get seat covers for my Hip Hop Black Punto Emotion ? Currently, i haven't yet removed the plastic covers that came with the car. I don't want to spend too much on the covers and i like the default seats provided by Fiat and don't want to mess the look with some ugly seat covers. Would it be ok to leave them as it is or is it advisable to get some covers. If so, should i go for the FIAT genuine accessories or should i get it done from outside ?
And while I am at it, the dealer provided me some floor mats for free with the car . Will this be ok or should i get something else too? Also, are there any accessories that are must haves other than this?

You can get descent seat covers around 4-5K (Art leather). Few are clip ons and few are stitched on the original seat cover. Go for stitching as the finish is better than the clip ons. The only problems is, you have very limited choice of colors because it should suit the theme of the interior as well (My opinion). Black color is the ideal one as the interior has gray color which makes the selection a bit difficult unlike beige in Linea.

nicesachin · 7th July 2010, 13:29

Guys does Punto Emotion pack varient plays songs with USB Pen Drive. ?

neoonwheels · 7th July 2010, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicesachin

Guys does Punto Emotion pack varient plays songs with USB Pen Drive. ?

Certainly. It can play songs on the pen with max capacity till 16 GB I guess.

arunkk · 7th July 2010, 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicesachin

Guys does Punto Emotion pack varient plays songs with USB Pen Drive. ?

Yes the sales guy demonstrated it to me in emotion pack. But the USB option is not there in emotion.
I have one more query. Can we stream music from our mobile phones through Blue&Me so that it plays on car speakers?

nicesachin · 7th July 2010, 14:06

@ Neoonwheels.

I see on your signatures that you own Punto MJD. I want to buy this car for ladies at home. how comfortable is this car in handling and parking in congested markets. Also how much is the mileage that you are getting. I heard about some AC problems with punto has that been sorted out and the Plastic quality of 2010 models seems improved. Pls share you views.

I own Linea MJD E pack and I am very happy the performance. But just dont know much about punto.

7th July 2010, 12:00	#2358
deetjohn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kochi Posts: 4,530 Thanked: 10,587 Times View My Garage	I see that the central locking (59116434) is listed as Rs: 4290 in My Fiat World:Accessories. Find the link here: Fiat India
	() Thanks

7th July 2010, 12:10	#2360
fiat_tarun Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Pune / Mysore Posts: 1,938 Thanked: 3,800 Times View My Garage	10K for central locking is really high. Are there after market kits for the Punto..? And fitting these voids only the electrical warranty or the whole warranty..? Just saw the last post.. Around 4k is good... Last edited by fiat_tarun : 7th July 2010 at 12:13.
	() Thanks

7th July 2010, 13:06	#2365
Newpunter BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 747 Thanked: 336 Times	Can someone suggest if i should get seat covers for my Hip Hop Black Punto Emotion ? Currently, i haven't yet removed the plastic covers that came with the car. I don't want to spend too much on the covers and i like the default seats provided by Fiat and don't want to mess the look with some ugly seat covers. Would it be ok to leave them as it is or is it advisable to get some covers. If so, should i go for the FIAT genuine accessories or should i get it done from outside ? And while I am at it, the dealer provided me some floor mats for free with the car . Will this be ok or should i get something else too? Also, are there any accessories that are must haves other than this?
	() Thanks

7th July 2010, 13:29	#2367
nicesachin BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 128 Thanked: Once View My Garage	Guys does Punto Emotion pack varient plays songs with USB Pen Drive. ?
	() Thanks

7th July 2010, 14:06	#2370
nicesachin BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 128 Thanked: Once View My Garage	@ Neoonwheels. I see on your signatures that you own Punto MJD. I want to buy this car for ladies at home. how comfortable is this car in handling and parking in congested markets. Also how much is the mileage that you are getting. I heard about some AC problems with punto has that been sorted out and the Plastic quality of 2010 models seems improved. Pls share you views. I own Linea MJD E pack and I am very happy the performance. But just dont know much about punto.
	() Thanks