[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by nicesachin

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.

Punto is not the best car for the ladies and beginners. Firstly the ladies may not like the heavy steering, then the turning radius is high, it requires 3 point U-Turns at places where other hatchbacks like Swift and Ritz will do it at once.

The AC has adequate performance, it takes time when the car is parked in Sun but starts chilling in some time. The Plastics has improved over time but typical fit and finish issue remain the same in the current batch.

I own a 2009 June Punto MJD, i have driven it for 23k kms in one year so i find myself qualified enough to answer this query. I have driven each and every diesel hatchback in the market properly.

[teky]

Originally Posted by arunkk

I have one more query. Can we stream music from our mobile phones through Blue&Me so that it plays on car speakers?

Yes you can, It worked from my SE W810i but doesn't work with iPhone. I've ordered an adapter to make it work. Make sure you check if you phone is compatible with B&M system.

[download2live]

Originally Posted by nicesachin

@ 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.

Doubtful whether ladies will like it. Its on rather bigger side. And turning radius is also on higher side. Women, well most of them will like something like Santro, nippy and easy to move around in City (but I have seen some ladies driving Innova also).
Brand mascots will give idea:
priety zinta@santo and yuvraj singh@punto.

Hope that clarifies.

[mrohit17]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Punto is not the best car for the ladies and beginners. Firstly the ladies may not like the heavy steering, then the turning radius is high, it requires 3 point U-Turns at places where other hatchbacks like Swift and Ritz will do it at once.

The AC has adequate performance, it takes time when the car is parked in Sun but starts chilling in some time. The Plastics has improved over time but typical fit and finish issue remain the same in the current batch.

I own a 2009 June Punto MJD, i have driven it for 23k kms in one year so i find myself qualified enough to answer this query. I have driven each and every diesel hatchback in the market properly.

My wife drives a swift which I drove close to 24000KM before switching over to Punto a year back. I too have crossed 23000KM. Let me tell you my wife craves for Punto. She hijacks it whenever its free. In her words "it is much smoother than Swift aka Makkhan". She doesn't face any issues with the steering though. But I would agree with Anshuman that the steering of Punto is bit heavy, the upside of this is good control while driving. After driven both cars for close to similar distance I would say "Swift and Punto do not compare". Punto is in a league of its own. The best part is the driving pleasure: Excellent steering and beautiful (no words to describe) suspension and to top it all none of the so called "average plastics" or "fit and finish" issues till date.

Girls love the looks of Punto too. I have had couple of situations where Girls on two wheelers/other cars kept staring at my Car and on the other side my wife had those "will see you at home" looks on her face ;-).

I would suggest let the ladies test drive the Punto and decide for themselves.

[arishi1]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Can we stream music from our mobile phones through Blue&Me so that it plays on car speakers?

If you mean A2DP streaming then the answer is no. However you can play the music by making the phone as external memory source e.g. USB

Originally Posted by teky

Yes you can, It worked from my SE W810i but doesn't work with iPhone. I've ordered an adapter to make it work. Make sure you check if you phone is compatible with B&M system.

Yes you would need the Blue & Me adapter for playing music from iPhone library, you would also need to update the firmware of Blue & Me for the complete compatability.

[better4worse]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The AC has adequate performance, it takes time when the car is parked in Sun but starts chilling in some time.

I own a 2009 June Punto MJD, i have driven it for 23k kms in one year so i find myself qualified enough to answer this query. I have driven each and every diesel hatchback in the market properly.

I found the AC to be pretty effective but then again I'm still in the early phase of ownership and maybe AC performance deteriorates over a period of time. Out of sheer curiosity, which car in your assessment has a better AC in the hatchback segment (Diesel / Petrol) ?

- B4W

[arunkk]

Originally Posted by arishi1

If you mean A2DP streaming then the answer is no. However you can play the music by making the phone as external memory source e.g. USB

Yes I meant A2DP streaming only. I wonder why this is such a big issue to implement as audio streaming is possible while on call !! Most phones will go offline if connected in USB mass-storage mode.

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by better4worse

I found the AC to be pretty effective but then again I'm still in the early phase of ownership and maybe AC performance deteriorates over a period of time. Out of sheer curiosity, which car in your assessment has a better AC in the hatchback segment (Diesel / Petrol) ?

- B4W

IMHO, FIGO has a fantastic a/c.
Swift's a/c is pretty good too.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by mrohit17

After driven both cars for close to similar distance I would say "Swift and Punto do not compare". Punto is in a league of its own. The best part is the driving pleasure

mrohit17, you are spot on. Many people compare Swift to Punto because they use the same FIAT engine. One has to drive a Punto to see and feel the real difference for themselves. Sadly, FIAT has earned a bad reputation before with A.S.S which still haunts them. Both Punto and Linea are world class products which sadly is not getting their due recognition in India

[crn12]

[quote=mrohit17;1971091Girls love the looks of Punto too. I have had couple of situations where Girls on two wheelers/other cars kept staring at my Car and on the other side my wife had those "will see you at home" looks on her face ;-).
I would suggest let the ladies test drive the Punto and decide for themselves.[/QUOTE]

You are right, I took my wife & my son of 3yrs to have a look at the new Nissan Micra, basically wanted to see if she likes the car. To my surprise, I liked it but my wife, & my son did not they both agree that Punto is the car to buy next & nothing comes close to it! I couldnt believe what I heard! & my love towards PUNTO just got bolder!

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by nicesachin

@ 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.

Most of the guys have already briefed about it. I am getting close to 17 kmpl with city and highway mix (City on higher side) with 100% AC. AC is pretty effective too in my opinion. At least I have not faced any issues with cooling. The low end torque makes it good to drive in city but of course can not expect outright performance. Highway performance is way too good till 130. After than Engine noise is a bit high. Stability wise you can go beyond 140 without any loss of confidence. I have driven almost 4000 km now and found that the engine noise is slowly coming down than it was when hardly drive.

[ancientmariner]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Punto is not the best car for the ladies and beginners. Firstly the ladies may not like the heavy steering, then the turning radius is high, it requires 3 point U-Turns at places where other hatchbacks like Swift and Ritz will do it at once.

Only today evening I saw a lady in a Red Punto taking a 3 point U turn at the busy NGV(Koramangla) signal in Blore. I drive my Punto thinking it to be a sedan so no issues for me. AC is effective too and interiors aren't that bad as it is made out to be. Mine is a June 2010 model.

[better4worse]

Originally Posted by ancientmariner

Only today evening I saw a lady in a Red Punto taking a 3 point U turn at the busy NGV(Koramangla) signal in Blore. I drive my Punto thinking it to be a sedan so no issues for me. AC is effective too and interiors aren't that bad as it is made out to be. Mine is a June 2010 model.

I completely agree, drive it like a sedan and its all easy !

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by better4worse

I completely agree, drive it like a sedan and its all easy !

My innova has a tighter turning circle, not kidding.

[ramzsys]

Pardon me, but what is a three point U turn?

Edit: ok i got it, just the name is so confusing, points and all...