[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

1. City driving & comfort : i20
2. Highway driving and stability : Punto

These are just my opinions as a user of both cars. In no ways i am saying i20 is a bad car or anything.

Thanks for the owners perspective Harshal. One question, on the kind of roads we have in the city (potholed, uneven) what is your experience on the two.
I have done the TD of the Punto and found that it handles these conditions with aplomb. Coming from a Ford Ikon 1.3, i love the way i can zoom over broken roads without too much of a hassle. On the other hand, while driving my wife's ANHC, i just dont get that kind of a ride.

[h@r$h@l]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Thanks for the owners perspective Harshal. One question, on the kind of roads we have in the city (potholed, uneven) what is your experience on the two.
I have done the TD of the Punto and found that it handles these conditions with aplomb. Coming from a Ford Ikon 1.3, i love the way i can zoom over broken roads without too much of a hassle. On the other hand, while driving my wife's ANHC, i just dont get that kind of a ride.

This being the perfect time to answer this. Its been pouring here since a week and most roads in city are broken / un even. between the 2 if i had to rate it would

i20 : 7/10
Punto : 8/10

Both are marginally different. While driving over bad roads you do feel the THUD a little more harshly in the i20 than the Punto.

Forgot to mention this in my previous post

Last Monday it was pouring crazily & we got stuck in some crazy water on way home from work and SOMEHOW felt safe in Punto. GOD knows why. Honestly, no logical explanation i can provide for same. The very next day we were in i20 on same patch with equal amount of rains and water on the road and the car just didn't feel to go in straight line. It was kind of floating.

The water was almost 3 feet and every time a heavy vehicle passed by us, the i20 seemed to get pushed away where as the Punto was sorted of hugging the road. I really don't know if i can explain any better than this.

Hope this makes sense

Regards,

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

Last Monday it was pouring crazily & we got stuck in some crazy water on way home from work and SOMEHOW felt safe in Punto. GOD knows why. Honestly, no logical explanation i can provide for same. The very next day we were in i20 on same patch with equal amount of rains and water on the road and the car just didn't feel to go in straight line. It was kind of floating.

The water was almost 3 feet and every time a heavy vehicle passed by us, the i20 seemed to get pushed away where as the Punto was sorted of hugging the road. I really don't know if i can explain any better than this.

Hope this makes sense

Regards,

Isn't that because of the extra kilos Punto carries, & the force of water turbulence caused by the speed of the other vehicle which crossed you... & what would be your opinion if there were Swift instead of the i20. I do not think Swift with its lightweight construction would be as road hugging as in this case, as on normal roads.

[h@r$h@l]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Isn't that because of the extra kilos Punto carries, & the force of water turbulence caused by the speed of the other vehicle which crossed you... & what would be your opinion if there were Swift instead of the i20. I do not think Swift with its lightweight construction would be as road hugging as in this case, as on normal roads.

As i said i really don't know the cause behind this. And i can't comment on Swift as i have never driven one in such condition. Since i20 & Punto are both my daily drives, i can answer questions related to these 2

In the city i20's light steering wheel is a boon. So damn comfortable and makes driving and parking a breeze. Punto on the other hand has its heavy steering which is amazing on highways but a pain in city and with its low slung front you tend to scrap the bottom a lot.

Both cars have their Pros & Cons. All in All we are happy with both. No regrets whats so ever. They both are serving the purpose well.

Regards,

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

Punto on the other hand has its heavy steering which is amazing on highways but a pain in city and with its low slung front you tend to scrap the bottom a lot.

Dont think the scraping would be an issue with the 2012 Punto, with increased GC Or is it ?. I just HATE that sound and unfortunately get to hear it quite a bit in ANHC

[h@r$h@l]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Dont think the scraping would be an issue with the 2012 Punto, with increased GC Or is it ?. I just HATE that sound and unfortunately get to hear it quite a bit in ANHC

Ya, the 2012 Punto has sorted the GC issues. I normally don't have issues related to that. its just that my office has a wierd parking entrance where i hit the bottom at times if not taken up carefully.

During my last service my SA did ask me if i was interested in the GC increase kit; but i don't see a point spending close to 12k on that. Use it the way it is.

[Soccerfan]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Isn't that because of the extra kilos Punto carries, & the force of water turbulence caused by the speed of the other vehicle which crossed you... & what would be your opinion if there were Swift instead of the i20. I do not think Swift with its lightweight construction would be as road hugging as in this case, as on normal roads.

The i20 is slightly heavier than Punto AFAIK.

[Carrera555]

Even I do get an opportunity to frequently drive the two cars i.e. the Punto & i20 Diesel. My views are no different than Harshal's. The i20 is meant to pamper you while the Punto is there to spoil you.

Punto handles the rough patches of roads really-really well & I feel the i20 is w-a-y behind the Punto in that area. From the time I have owned the Punto I have forgotten to notice any uneven roads, except some HUGE speed-breakers. The ride is quite bouncy in the i20 at higher speeds. The i20 has a fabulous Petrol like CRDI engine. The NVH levels of both the cars cannot be compared. But at the end of the day, 'Power is nothing without Handling', so that quite sums it up. The features you get in the i20 are the best you can get in the segment. All 4 disc brakes, Auto Wipers, Headlamps & what not.

The i20 I get to drive is of a close friend & has been upgraded to 15" 205 mm tyres. I found a drastic change in the handling as compared to the stock 14" 185 Apollo Acelere's. But the EPS has been said to not to give a connected feeling no matter what. lol

So as per me the i20 is for the Gizmo freak & the Punto is for the car lover.

[parimal_g]

i own a Fiat Punto Sports 2012 Edition, and today only went to test drive a i20 as i really want to see why the interiors are so special..? Frankly speaking i like the punto interiors more, just i20 has brown and Beige combination which is not of my taste, the Puntos black grey combination looks good.
1> Front Seats ... I like the Punto seats more and Fabric is also better.
2> Rear Seats ..Punto is Far better than i20 when it comes to back support the firmness of the seat.
3> Plastic Quality its same, i like the Soft Finish of Punto Dash and it has a good fesign flow and better center console..its my opinion.
3> The power window switches like the one on Punto feels of bettwer quality and strong and built to last, even the placement of the switches is more ergonomic in punto, the door handle feels very solid in Punto than i20, and the designers have kept a nice curve feels designed perfectly and feels solid.
Also Punto has one touch Auto down for all windows.
4> No bottle holder in both cars, but i20 has better storage in front of gear lever.
5> Glove box is better in i20 and it has cooling also. Punto glove box is adequate.
7> No engine start button, but it hardly matters.
8> MID Punto has more info available than i20, best part of Punto is you can switch off the passenger Airbag.And on board display can be managed on punto by button on wiper stalk which is way more convenient.
9> Punto has better quality wipers but no rain sensors, but then really dont know how useful they are.
10 > Sound is on par from both Music systems, but in i20 you can do music streaming from your mobile through Bluetooth. Punto also has voice commands .
11> Punto steering is perfectly weighted, never felt so hard. Even the steering wheel i like the one in Punto, but even i 20 has good wheel with metal insert in it.
12> Engine the test drive car was not available so cant comment, but then 90Bhp Punto is very silent and in 2012 version they have reduced the NVH levels. And the Climate control is fantastic in punto, did not got chance to test the same in i20.
13 Yes i20 has Auto headlamps.
14> Sunroof... which is optional on even top end,which already costs more than 9L.
15> alloys punto has bigger alloys and bigger tyres.

And about the handling and suspensions its already discuss many times.

I dont know about the Service interval and average service cost of i20 and even my Punto is 6k old so cant comment.

And there is a Huge Price difference between two cars.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Soccerfan

The i20 is slightly heavier than Punto AFAIK.

As far I know, i20 is lighter for the 1.2 petrol by 24 kgs & few kilos for the base diesels (you need to compare the Kerb Weights of both the cars). But, again the movement could also be the result of other vehicle crossing you higher speeds due to which stronger turbulence was caused in i20s case. Handling & stability of cars should, IMO, be judged on curves & highways, not in water .

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

i own a Fiat Punto Sports 2012 Edition,

Hi Parimal, do you have an ownership thread yet? If not please start one, I am waiting to read a review of the 90 Sports as I dont think there are too many on the forum and if there are there arent any reviews yet.

What color did you get?

I know Karthik is awaiting one and I am still on the borderline,

Havent seen a single sports on the roads of Bangalore so far, though number of Punto's here seems to be increasing (or I am noticing them much more lol ). WIll go and see a white one this weekend to check the interiors as thats the only one available at one of the dealerships i am speaking with.

[dmplog]

FIAT inaugurates its first exclusive workshop in Pune.
http://www.fiat-india.com/admin/News...%20release.pdf

[parimal_g]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Hi Parimal, do you have an ownership thread yet? If not please start one, I am waiting to read a review of the 90 Sports as I dont think there are too many on the forum and if there are there arent any reviews yet.

What color did you get?

I know Karthik is awaiting one and I am still on the borderline,

Havent seen a single sports on the roads of Bangalore so far, though number of Punto's here seems to be increasing (or I am noticing them much more lol ). WIll go and see a white one this weekend to check the interiors as thats the only one available at one of the dealerships i am speaking with.

Hi Sammboy,
I dont have an ownership thread, will write a small review and few Pics for your reference.
Even i hav not seen a single sports in Mumbai as well as Pune, but then who cares..
The car is awesome to drive and is very silent hardly feels disel engine inside the cabin ones the engine is warm. Pickup is also very good but from third gear onwards.
I like the fit and finish, my car has done 6k on the worst roads you can ever imagine and still rattle free.
Handling and high speed stability is supreme, no comparisons here.
Top speed on expressways done is 180 Km/hr, with full load and AC on, feels safe even at these speeds.
Awesome breaks.
They have improved the quality of speakers but still no match to Ford but acceptable on par with i20.
The sports pedals looks cool, will attach picture.
The wiper controls looks classy and feels of good quality.
I personally like the Black and Grey combination goes well with over all theam.
and the dashboard design is also good, but yes the storage space is less compare to other cars in the class.
I think Seats are biggest in the class with excellent support and the fabric used is top class.
I have changed the tyres to Michelin on the day 1, stock tyres were Good Year.
Clutch is ultra light, just butter.
The reduced turning radius helps and the increased GC is boon in this part of the world.
Audio system lacks Bluetooth streaming and no Aux support.
Blue works fine.
Mileage max i got is 22 On Mumbai Pune Highway speeds maintaining below 100km/hr.
Am in love with this Italian beauty.
Pictures:

[nkg77]

Originally Posted by sammyboy

Hi Parimal, do you have an ownership thread yet? If not please start one, I am waiting to read a review of the 90 Sports as I dont think there are too many on the forum and if there are there arent any reviews yet.

You should get sufficient information from this thread - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...unto-90hp.html
Also there are lot of ownership reports of 90HP in teamfiat<dot>co<dot>in

[gopikb]

Originally Posted by parimal_g

I like the fit and finish, my car has done 6k on the worst roads you can ever imagine and still rattle free.
:

Talking about fit and finish of the Punto, I have driven close to 33K Kms in 3 years in my 75bhp Punto. 90% of the mileage was crunched in highway drives both in butter smooth 4-lane highways and some of the worst roads in Kemmangundi, Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai highway etc. No rattles so far, But the stock GT3 gave up with side wall puncture during a Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai drive. Have changed it to Yoko C-drives since the last 20K kms and have not stopped smiling since then.