[StarrySky]

My friend who owns a Punto MJD bought in Oct '09 had the infamous 'clutch slave cylinder' failure today. This inspite of the fact that he had specifically mentioned slightly hard clutch during 45K service just a few weeks back. Luckily for him, the car was at home when it broke down today morning.

The good news though is that Fiat RSA personnel reached his home and fixed the issue free of cost in about 2-3 hours time (he stays about 35km away from the service station).

[ashok_lat]

Yes the Gearbox is not good as Polo/Fabia or any other car. Its too rubbery and particularly with hard clutch in Punto 1.4 the combination of Gear and Clutch is too bad for the Car which handles very well in all conditions. If Fiat upgrades Punto it should with a better Gearbox and gear-ratio.

I had three breakdown in my Punto all related to Clutch slave cylinder failure. Twice it broke in busy road and i have to be in road for more than an hour. Fiat has replaced the slave cylinder connecting rod with a metal one which earlier was made of plastic. Hope the problem doesn't happen again. My family is reluctant to go for long trips because of this. They better prefer our Alto than Punto.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

Yes, I definitely think the smoothness of gear shifts has improved in my car (now about 14K km old). As I mentioned, some of it could be attributed to just getting used to the car.

That's good to hear, the car i drove had 3700 odd kms on the odo so i thought may be after a 10k kms the shifts would be more easy, and also this TD car could've had some issues.

Originally Posted by dj_turbo

great to know that you liked the car, in its 90HP avatar, its really crafted for true fan.
Regarding the gear shift, i must say that the feel is rubbery and first gear is too short but i have not had any issues in shifting to 5th cog so far in my 10k kms.
Just to be doubly sure, try a different TD car as well.
Dj

Sure dj, will try out another 90HP TD car.

Originally Posted by headers

Not at all, You seemed to have a TD car that is a 90 HP LEMON!! TD another car

Could be, will try out another 90HP car.

Originally Posted by sbkumar

Yes, I had a similar feedback in the TD and also during the first month of ownership. But now that I am nearing 1 yr and completed > 15K, I don't feel the difference anymore. It is definitely not as smooth as polo/fabia/i20.

I haven't driven the polo/fabia but have driven the i20 and like u mentioned its definitely smoother when compared to Punto. I think in a matter of a few months i'll get used to the shift quality.

Originally Posted by nkg77

I have a 5 month old Punto and have covered 7800kms as of now. I have not faced any difficulty in changing the gears till now, but as others have told the shift is slightly rubbery.

In the TD car the gearbox refused to slot into the 5th it was like gearbox v/s me on both occassions i tried to shift and fortunately i won

EDIT: Is the clutch slave cylinder issue sorted out in the 2011 models ?

[sdp1975]

From GTOs review on the first page, post

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post1355245 (Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review) :

• I noticed a lot of drivers fumbling when engaging the 5th gear. Certainly takes effort + attention.

I had problems initially as well with my new car but got used to it later on.

[deepakhon]

I remember that I used to struggle to engage 5th gear when I bought my Palio about 8 years back. I have heard that Punto uses the same gearbox as Palio ...

[shashank.nk]

sdp1975: Thanks for the link! I'd just finished re-reading GTO's review and came across this line too.

Is there any news of beige-fied punto to be launched anytime soon(a thread mentions a diwali launch for this)

[mo1]

Hello Punto owners!
I am a prospective Punto buyer. Took a test drive and I loved it!
All is well except one thing. The rear space. Do you think Punto is good enough to carry 3 medium sized adults for an occasional long drive? I know the space(legroom,headroom etc) is less but does it offers so much comfort(NVH,ride quality etc) so as to at least somewhat compensate for the space?
(Please note: I have been using an Indica XETA for last 5.5 years so my expectations about space and comfort are relative to that. I expect at least so much or bit better comfort!)

[garry.brant]

@MO1: Please please please , do not compare Punto with Indica Vista in terms of rear space, however the ride quality and NVH levels would be at par in Punto.
Expect superb ride quality and you would not be worried about usual potholes at all. If you are looking for Rearseat comfort , have a TD of Indica Vista Refresh, it runs on the same engine as Punto however provides better Rear seat comfort. Rest depends on personal choice , I am very biased towards FIAT though..

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by mo1

Hello Punto owners!
I am a prospective Punto buyer. Took a test drive and I loved it!
All is well except one thing. The rear space. Do you think Punto is good enough to carry 3 medium sized adults for an occasional long drive? I know the space(legroom,headroom etc) is less but does it offers so much comfort(NVH,ride quality etc) so as to at least somewhat compensate for the space?
(Please note: I have been using an Indica XETA for last 5.5 years so my expectations about space and comfort are relative to that. I expect at least so much or bit better comfort!)

I don't think you'll have any reasons to complain about the ride quality, its simply superb! In my TD i drove through 4kms of roads which've been dug up or are in a bad shape due to metro work and the car just handled them effortlessly, however the sharp potholes do make their presence felt.

NVH levels at high speed (read 100+)are nothing great may be you can try damping at a later stage to bring the noise levels down.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by mo1

Hello Punto owners!
I am a prospective Punto buyer. Took a test drive and I loved it!
All is well except one thing. The rear space. Do you think Punto is good enough to carry 3 medium sized adults for an occasional long drive? I know the space(legroom,headroom etc) is less but does it offers so much comfort(NVH,ride quality etc) so as to at least somewhat compensate for the space?
(Please note: I have been using an Indica XETA for last 5.5 years so my expectations about space and comfort are relative to that. I expect at least so much or bit better comfort!)

Rear seat comfort in a Punto is way ahead of its rivals, and the ride quality and shockers will not let them get tired, I have done few long drives(600km+) with adults at the back(avg 5'7"/75kg) and at the end of the journey thay said one thing common, it never felt such a long trip.

[shashank.nk]

ACI(October issue) says a early 2012 launch for the Punto evo, the only changes are redesigned bumpers, rear lights thats confirmed.

They have no clear idea if the interiors on the evo would be the same as in te european version.

Looks like the refresh may happen sooner than expected, is it due to new swift launch and the new i20 to be launched in 2012 ?

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

ACI(October issue) says a early 2012 launch for the Punto evo, the only changes are redesigned bumpers, rear lights thats confirmed.

They have no clear idea if the interiors on the evo would be the same as in te european version.

The exterior looks of the Punto have not been in question. It's the interior look and feel which is a problem with the current Punto. With all the new launches, Punto interiors do look dated. If the Punto Evo is coming with the same interiors, I doubt it will do any magic for Punto.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

The exterior looks of the Punto have not been in question. It's the interior look and feel which is a problem with the current Punto. With all the new launches, Punto interiors do look dated. If the Punto Evo is coming with the same interiors, I doubt it will do any magic for Punto.

Absolutely agree! The exteriors are good for a cool 10 years i guess, its the interiors and the gearbox that needs to be addressed. I was so excited on reading about the evo, but all of it vanished when they put a question mark on the interiors change

I really hope Fiat decides to give us better fit n finish atleast.

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

Absolutely agree! The exteriors are good for a cool 10 years i guess, its the interiors and the gearbox that needs to be addressed. I was so excited on reading about the evo, but all of it vanished when they put a question mark on the interiors change

I really hope Fiat decides to give us better fit n finish atleast.

I really doubt whether Fiat will launch the Evo by end of 2011. Punto was launched only 2 years back and changing the car so early might not be economical for them. At the same time the fit and finish is not as bad as being told.

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Originally Posted by shashank.nk

I recently took a longish testdrive(25km approx) of the Punto 90HP was a proper testdrive, bumper to bumper traffic, open highways where i hit 3 digit speeds and small narrow roads to see how much of an issue that all bashers of Punto crib about. The huge turning radius.

I was very happy with the car except for one area, the gearbox. I want to know what the owners have to say about this. I found it very difficult to slot the car into 5th gear. Both the times i tried though i was able to slot it into fifth it felt very hard and almost like the gear knob was refusing to shift to 5th.

Is this a problem common to all punto's ?

We felt no such problem with either of the Punto 90s we drove.
Which dealership's car did you test drive?
BTW, I BOOKED ONE yesterday!!!!!!
Dispatch from Ranjangaon in </= a week.

Can't wait to get my hands on this gem of a car; we chose it over the ANHC!

EDIT: +1 to nkg77. Yes, there might be issues, but they aren't that bad after all.
Again, I thank all Punto owners on TBHP, as you've all influenced my decision in some way or the other.
One drive was enough to make us forget the ANHC, Fluidic Verna and i20.