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Old 18th October 2011, 12:17   #3871
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by StarrySky View Post
I think all TD cars normally tend to be E.Pack versions which have a little bit better clearance due to the 195/60/R15 tires. Are your friends talking about the lower variants? For eg: my friend's MJD Emotion did scrape the speed-breaker near my home with just the two of us in it, whereas my MJD 90HP has never scraped that speed-breaker even with 5 adults on board.

My friend's medium grey MJD 90HP is being delivered tomorrow. He chose it over the Honda City (of which he was/is a big fan) and i20.
Lower variants do have this problem I believe. Though I don't scrape the normal speed-breakers here in bangalore on my Emotion, it's near impossible not to scrape at places where the road is out of shape/non-existent. I would be at near zero kmph at the places and still end up scraping ( esp with four people on board). Recently I drove an i20 at places the roads have been washed off completely in Chennai and it still managed to handle them without even scraping once. I suspect the kerb weight/suspension has something to do with this.
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Old 18th October 2011, 13:47   #3872
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by sbkumar View Post
Lower variants do have this problem I believe. Though I don't scrape the normal speed-breakers here in bangalore on my Emotion, it's near impossible not to scrape at places where the road is out of shape/non-existent. I would be at near zero kmph at the places and still end up scraping ( esp with four people on board). Recently I drove an i20 at places the roads have been washed off completely in Chennai and it still managed to handle them without even scraping once. I suspect the kerb weight/suspension has something to do with this.
i20's suspension is softly tuned. Hence, i20 has more chance of scraping with four people on board. Also i20 has a GC of 165mm.

Punto on the other hand has a hard suspension. The scraping you are referring to may be the mudflaps touching the ground. I am personally pleased with the GC of my Punto 1.3 EPack, by numbers probably the best in its class (Next to Chevy U-VA [188mm ! Correct if I am wrong on this)
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Old 18th October 2011, 15:15   #3873
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by gp_fanatico View Post
i20's suspension is softly tuned. Hence, i20 has more chance of scraping with four people on board. Also i20 has a GC of 165mm.

Punto on the other hand has a hard suspension. The scraping you are referring to may be the mudflaps touching the ground. I am personally pleased with the GC of my Punto 1.3 EPack, by numbers probably the best in its class (Next to Chevy U-VA [188mm ! Correct if I am wrong on this)
I guess it's a case where the numbers don't give the real picture. True, even I was surprised by the behavior of i20 since I knew it had a lower ground clearance. Unfortunately I could test the GP at the same stretch, but going by the difficulties I have faced elsewhere I was sure that I wouldn't have managed. And its not just scraping mud flap, there are instances where I have had the metallic clang pounding my heart !
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Old 18th October 2011, 15:31   #3874
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

The metallic guard below the engine bay scrapes more than any other part in it.
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Old 18th October 2011, 16:56   #3875
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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The metallic guard below the engine bay scrapes more than any other part in it.
Correct. AFAIK, it is the ONLY part that gets scraped; but then, my car has no mud flaps and it is an EPack.

The said part is made of very strong material. My car has scraped umpteen times, twice in last week alone. As someone has mentioned, if you approach a speed breaker fast and break hard just before, you will certainly scrape. Apply the breaks gently, or drive gently.

The problem is, neither of these are possible when you are driving a Punto.
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Old 18th October 2011, 17:16   #3876
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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But will the wrap have the desired looks? the lustre of the paint? also, wont wrap fade after a year or two? I dont mind even if its irreversible. I will PM you the details.
I suggest you to go for the stickers Raj. It'll give the same looks (95%) and It'll not fade.
You can alternatively try the carbon fibre like sticker.
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Old 18th October 2011, 17:31   #3877
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by neoonwheels View Post
The Punto's nose is pretty low and that's why it scrapes most of the times

The bottom part of punto's nose is curved down but the GC is usually referred to the lowest part in the body which probably be the bottom most area of the bumper.
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Old 18th October 2011, 20:13   #3878
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Hi Arkin, Sorry mate this week is too busy in the evenings. I am also driving to Tiruvannamalai in the weekend. If needed, we can plan to meet up next week some time.
Well, I pass by EGL at around 8.30am and in the afternoon everyday.
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Originally Posted by sourav21 View Post
Congratulations on your correct decision.

This is one exceptionally engineered car. At 9000 kms my 90HP feels way smoother and rev happy than my previous Santro Xing - even I can't believe that I am comparing a diesel with a petrol. Rev it up and you find no difference. Actually the car is meant for 2000+ rev range. No trace of nervousness at 130+ and you can hear her Maserati like engine note at that speed. And high speed ride quality and stability is just amazing.

Just did a 200 km Bangalore - Chikballapur - Dobbaspet - Bangalore and I feel as if I have done 20 kms. Exceptional car - getting newer as it ages and I for one can feel it is worth more than what it retails for.
Indeed! I travelled 220+km from AP02 to Dairy circle y'day in the early morning and suffered no fatigue at all! My dad says its just like sitting in a vault and getting out of it in another place! Kept the revs low at 3k rpm for the 1st 1000km. It cruises at 120 at 3k rpm. Pretty convenient.

BTW, my dad has says the car is more fun and easy to drive compared to the i10 1.2 (I myself found it hard to believe!) in the city! He just drives in the correct rpm range and all the other vehicles are little spots on the ORVMs! The lag is pretty cool actually. You can drive sluggishly in bumper to bumper traffic without the power gushing out unnecessarily, and when it clears up, press the accelerator and take off!! Add the Maserati like muffled growl - pure bliss!

Besides, the Voice commands, exhaustive tripmeters, and the whole infotainment system of my car have dropped the jaws of many! In fact, mine's the 1st Punto in my apartment/society, and everyone keeps staring at my car and admiring it! In fact, two gentlemen walked upto our car just to check out the beauty's name and brand!
Even on the road, curious eyes greet the car! I don't think I will buy any other car for the next 5 years at least, even after which, I'd buy ONLY a FIAT! I'm 'starstruck' by this gem of an automobile!

The FE I got on NH44 @ 100-120 km/h was 16.5!

DONE:1000km! Within 4 days of having the car with me! \m/ And it's been driven fast on some bad, bad roads!
Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review-fiat.jpg
Ownership thread will be up asap.
EDIT: At those talking about the underbody scraping, mine slightly scraped a 1ft. + tall & steep speedbreaker. From then on, my dad attacked the speed breakers and deeper potholes at at least a 20-30 degree angle, forget the underbody scraping! We were'nt even thrown around!

Last edited by Arkin evoisrevo : 18th October 2011 at 20:22.
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Old 18th October 2011, 23:22   #3879
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by akshay1234 View Post
Get a wrap, don't paint it. The wrap will be easily reversible and will not spoil the paint underneath. Can you give some details on the wrap with warranty?
Quote:
Originally Posted by hemanth.anand View Post
I suggest you to go for the stickers Raj. It'll give the same looks (95%) and It'll not fade.
You can alternatively try the carbon fibre like sticker.
Black roof done friends. You can see the pics here. Thanks.
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Old 19th October 2011, 14:28   #3880
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

@Arkin: Where did you get the rear parking sensors fitted? Did you get them in white? Looks neat ! I have a Medium Grey and planning to get one fitted soon !
Also the Exhaust Tip? looks neat too !

@Raj: Black roof looks awesome ! I am on a hunt now for the automotive vinyl !
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Old 19th October 2011, 17:03   #3881
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by gp_fanatico View Post
@Arkin: Where did you get the rear parking sensors fitted? Did you get them in white? Looks neat ! I have a Medium Grey and planning to get one fitted soon !
Also the Exhaust Tip? looks neat too !

@Raj: Black roof looks awesome ! I am on a hunt now for the automotive vinyl !
I got the "SAI" rear parking sensors from Prerana motors. Yeah, they came (crystal) white. List price is 4500. Don't think you'll get it in Medium gray though. Go in for the black ones. Will cost you 2k in the market I guess.

Got the exhaust tip from Mr Satya / Blueraven316 / EVO. Cost me a little over 0.5k i think.

EDIT: About the Vinyl, I think Wasi stickering does a decent job. They'd done black matt vinyl on my i10 and the results were satisfactory.

Last edited by Arkin evoisrevo : 19th October 2011 at 17:06.
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Old 19th October 2011, 17:50   #3882
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by Arkin evoisrevo View Post
I got the "SAI" rear parking sensors from Prerana motors. Yeah, they came (crystal) white. List price is 4500. Don't think you'll get it in Medium gray though. Go in for the black ones. Will cost you 2k in the market I guess.

Got the exhaust tip from Mr Satya / Blueraven316 / EVO. Cost me a little over 0.5k i think.
Loved that exhaust tip! Congrats on covering 1k in your car in just 4 days! Any plans for an ICE upgrade ? If you've discussed it with Satya and feel its worth mentioning please let us know if an amp with components can do the job or is there a need for a sound processor.
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Old 20th October 2011, 00:01   #3883
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

Can anyone please let me know who in Fiat is handling customer issues for the Kerala region? My friend has a problem with his Punto and I would like to help him bring it to the notice of Fiat officials. It'll be great if some e-mail ids can be provided.
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Old 20th October 2011, 08:01   #3884
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by shashank.nk View Post
Loved that exhaust tip! Congrats on covering 1k in your car in just 4 days! Any plans for an ICE upgrade ? If you've discussed it with Satya and feel its worth mentioning please let us know if an amp with components can do the job or is there a need for a sound processor.
Thanks! I hope to complete 2000 over the weekend.

Yes, speakers will be upgraded during the 1st service, and the rear spoiler added. I've not yet discussed about it with Mr Satya though.
I'm not going in for an amp or comps (though I'm used to my i10's Boston Comps) as I don't want to mess with the warranty. Some good co/tri axials will go in.

Oh, and what have you decided!?!?!?!?!

EDIT: This is one hell of a car, mate! My dad drives it the way it should be - it takes off like a rocket and all the (old) swifts, i20s, Fiestas. Innovas et al are left behind biting the dust!

Last edited by Arkin evoisrevo : 20th October 2011 at 08:03.
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Old 20th October 2011, 10:07   #3885
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Re: Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

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Originally Posted by StarrySky View Post
Can anyone please let me know who in Fiat is handling customer issues for the Kerala region? My friend has a problem with his Punto and I would like to help him bring it to the notice of Fiat officials. It'll be great if some e-mail ids can be provided.

Get in touch with Mangesh. He should be able to direct you to the person in charge for your area. PM me if you need his number.
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