[Soccerfan]

Originally Posted by Stolichnaya

The last hike in Petrol prices in Karnataka finally did it. At least that's what I rationalize it with - but truth be it that I've been lusting for the Fiat Punto for sometime now. I finally did it. Traded in my Hyundai i10 for a Medium Grey Punto Emotion. Took delivery of it last evening, did a 140 km drive (drove upto Channapatna McDonald's and back), decided to go in for alloy wheels (strike while the iron's hot!) this morning and did it! After trading in my set of stock rims for Rs.1500, I paid up Rs.16250/- for a set of 5. (16500 for the set, 650 for spray painting the rusted drums inside, 250 for filling the tyres with Nitrogen from a cylinder and 350 for the whell balancing). Wheels look snappy now....


Still haven't got my registration number yet - RTO was chock-o-block full due to excess amount of registration before the commencement of month of Aashad from tomorrow (for those who are wondering what this is all about, for the next month, all vehicle dealers are going to face the driest month of the year. In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, no one will commence anything auspicious during this month.) Am attaching some pics of the car - did not take those of the interiors - it's a bit messy thanks to the rain (and the puja before we drove to Channapatna). As you can see from the wet road, washer her sqeaky clean before the pics...

congrats on the purchase and is the alloys 98PCD??

[arunkk]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

my exact observations. Now a days i see good number of Puntos. Infact i spot more Punto than Linea. Good to see Punto has touched 1.25K. But pricing of Punto sport would be key to boost those numbers. Lets wait for this Friday!

But in my observation, I could spot more Figo's in bangalore than Puntos. I sometimes wonder if Figo managed to sell more vehicles in just 3 months of launch than Punto did in over an year !!

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by arunkk

But in my observation, I could spot more Figo's in bangalore than Puntos. I sometimes wonder if Figo managed to sell more vehicles in just 3 months of launch than Punto did in over an year !!

The Figo's are everywhere, not just in Bangalore ! The Figo's pricing is the key to its success. The Figo sells around 6k units per month & Punto 1k, so 2 months of Figo sales = Punto for the year.
But the Punto will have its own customers, especially people who have experienced a Fiat before. (Not A.S.S ..!)

Actually Mysore has a good Punto population. I see quite a few on the roads when i'm there.

[Stolichnaya]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

congrats on the purchase and is the alloys 98PCD??

Yes, 98 PCD, 14" as I wanted to retain the original tyres (which were Bridgestone Tubeless anyway). Got the set of 5 for Net Rs.16250 here in JC Road.

[BMW-X5]

FE Update

Punto beats my expectation I had a 350kmts long drive to my home town Bangalore-Mysore-Gundalpet-Gudallur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna. It was an awsome drive, to surpise FE was higlight, the yet open up engine gave me 22.9 till Mysore and over all FE figure was 21.8 when I reached home. 100% AC on, temp was set at 20-22. Under sedate driving condition, touched 100 a couple of time for about 5 minutes rest of the time maintained a steady 80-90 Kmts till Mysore and 70-80 till Gudallur rest 80 kmts was typical kerala raods.

Yet to do a tank full calculation, close 1/4th tank fuel is still left even after 550kmts

[.anshuman]

I get a lot of PMs from fellow members regarding clarification on Oil filter and Fuel Filter prices. A lot of dealerships inflate the bill by changing the whole filter assembly instead of just the cartridge, which is required to be replaced at every service.

Before you collect your car after service please confirm the part number and price of both the filters. I have mentioned the part no. and prices here.

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by BMW-X5

FE Update

Punto beats my expectation I had a 350kmts long drive to my home town Bangalore-Mysore-Gundalpet-Gudallur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna. It was an awsome drive, to surpise FE was higlight, the yet open up engine gave me 22.9 till Mysore and over all FE figure was 21.8 when I reached home. 100% AC on, temp was set at 20-22. Under sedate driving condition, touched 100 a couple of time for about 5 minutes rest of the time maintained a steady 80-90 Kmts till Mysore and 70-80 till Gudallur rest 80 kmts was typical kerala raods.

Yet to do a tank full calculation, close 1/4th tank fuel is still left even after 550kmts

BMW-X5, You are bang on . This is exactly the mileage that most of us see in our Punto under sedate driving conditions (60~80kms/hr). But if you push her to the limits and do a constant 120km/hr, the mileage drops to 18km/l in highways

[devansn]

I booked a Punto MJD Tuscan Wine - emotion pack yesterday from Fortune, Nerul, Navi Mumbai.

The experience at the showroom was way better than I expected and I am satisfied. Especially my SA's "hamara" usage for Fiat cars is something I liked - "Sir, hamara gaadi's european design", etc.

I TDed both 1.4 and 1.3 versions and did not really feel either of them is underpowered except of lack of torque at RPMs less than 1500 or so - probably the Spark / Zen / Wagon R hangover. Although most of the pros and cons of the Punto have been read from team bhp, the only major issue I felt was the really long clutch play. Also, you have to keep your foot straight while pressing the clutch or it will hit the dead pedal. 1st and 2nd gear being short did not feel as bad as I expected as well. No need to talk about the ride and handling, but - usually my Mom complains about speeding for anything over 60 kmph in our Spark, but she didn't even notice the 100 plus I did while doing the TD of Punto!

They have promised the delivery in 10-15 days. I have a few questions:
1. I have signed Form 20 at the time of booking. The SA told me that it is for registration of the vehicle. Did I have to wait till the PDI is done to sign something like that?
2. I remember having read somewhere that sticking sunfilm in the rainy season should be avoided. Waiting till October or so is recommended?
3. Anyone who successfully installed Linea handrest (driver's) in Punto? The size of the cup holder area behind the hand break looked perfect for the Linea handrest, but the accessory-in-charge lady told me that it is impossible to fit it in a Punto.

Devan.

[Newpunter]

I had a lot of problems initially with the dead clutch and the long travel of the clutch. I have got used to both now and don't think it's an issue anymore .
Congrats on your purchase by the way.

[nkrishnap]

Please see my replies in Bold

Originally Posted by devansn

They have promised the delivery in 10-15 days. I have a few questions:
1. I have signed Form 20 at the time of booking. The SA told me that it is for registration of the vehicle. Did I have to wait till the PDI is done to sign something like that?

Yes to be on the safer side, please do collect the signed form 20 from the dealer. Do hand the signed form over only after doing the PDI and you being satisfied with it.

2. I remember having read somewhere that sticking sunfilm in the rainy season should be avoided. Waiting till October or so is recommended?

I am not too sure on this though I have seen quite a few cars where the sun film is put during the monsoon.

3. Anyone who successfully installed Linea handrest (driver's) in Punto? The size of the cup holder area behind the hand break looked perfect for the Linea handrest, but the accessory-in-charge lady told me that it is impossible to fit it in a Punto.

Somebody on the forum has put a handrest, though not the Linea's handrest. Do search the forum for more information on this.

Devan.

[gods-envy]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Please see my replies in Bold

Krishna, I am the person who has an armrest for the Punto.
You can check the snaps here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1890822-post1983.html

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by devansn

INo need to talk about the ride and handling, but - usually my Mom complains about speeding for anything over 60 kmph in our Spark, but she didn't even notice the 100 plus I did while doing the TD of Punto!
Devan.

Precisely and this is also the reason why it feels slower than it is. Test drove my friends Punto yesterday and was absolutely disappointed with the acceleration until I saw the speedo. It masks speeds as well as any car around. The Abarth Punto will be a revelation.

[amulu10]

Something that Punters would love to hear-
We all know punto is an awesome handler but driving it on the recent MMST Teambhp track day was a total revelation! It had very little body roll and was absolutely smooth around the corners and boy the feedback is amazing ,infact i could catch up to much faster cars with better tyres around the corners .The speeds i could carry at the exits was great ! how does 120 km/hr at entry and 100km/hr at the exit of C1 in MMST track sound?
The problem with short first 2 gears didn't matter at all as it was 3rd-4th all day!
I did 2:38(in my 4th lap) in the only timed lap off the 16 i did and i am positive i was much faster by the end of the day as this was my first track day.I didn't push my car at all as the car has the poor stock rubber which kept squeaking and i could smell the burnt rubber a lot! But the tyres were awesome as in i could slide like there was no tomorrow! .Bottom line was that i had fun!
Headers reckons that the 1.4 punto P could break the 2:20 if pushed hard.
Many members where actually surprised that a Diesel punto with such slow 0-100 could be this fast . BTW i was faster than a diesel Ford Mondeo !
The abs worked wonderfully under heavy breaking but did lock up under heavy engine breaking! is this normal?
mileage: 14kmpl under constant ripping and shifting at 3800rpm. Cant wait for the next track day!
Ps:Was my Punto the first one to be driven around the track ?

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Precisely and this is also the reason why it feels slower than it is. Test drove my friends Punto yesterday and was absolutely disappointed with the acceleration until I saw the speedo. It masks speeds as well as any car around. The Abarth Punto will be a revelation.

+1
I realized i was going above 120 in some corners only because of the speed limit beep i had programed!

[devansn]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

I had a lot of problems initially with the dead clutch and the long travel of the clutch. I have got used to both now and don't think it's an issue anymore .
Congrats on your purchase by the way.

Thanks! I might as well manage to get used to it, only worried about the short lady at home.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Please see my replies in Bold

Thanks Krishna! I will try to get the form back from him - but, only once I do the PDI and pay the amount in full will they be able to proceed with the registeration process right? Just worried that asking it back would affect the trust / relation. But if its a must, I should take it back. Anyone?

Originally Posted by gods-envy

Krishna, I am the person who has an armrest for the Punto.
You can check the snaps here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1890822-post1983.html

Yours fits better than the Linea one, I guess - perfect size and shape. Did you see this in different colours? I hope this will be available in Mumbai as well - any one from Mumbai / Navi Mumbai?

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Precisely and this is also the reason why it feels slower than it is. Test drove my friends Punto yesterday and was absolutely disappointed with the acceleration until I saw the speedo. It masks speeds as well as any car around. The Abarth Punto will be a revelation.

Accelaration was ok for my kind of driving - not really a 0-100 enthu. The kind of high speed stability, ride and handling Punto will give is what I am keen at. Although I have not test driven Figo and Polo (and 2-5 km test drive may not reveal much, I think), Punto should be at least as good as them, I believe - inputs taken from different team-bhp threads. I used to be a Palio fan and something as good as or better than a Palio is what I am expecting from a Punto.

I am still wondering what was the reason I did not consider the Figo - Polo with ABS anyways was out of my budget.

[devansn]

Sorry for the second immediate post - Mods, kindly merge them if possible.

Forgot to tell something - we were checking Fortune Nerul's stock (an excel sheet they maintain) and saw a couple of 90 BHP Puntos in it, I guess in "in transit" status! Asked the SA and he told they are just waiting for the prices - it should be available no later than last week of July, he said.