Team-BHP - Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayBerry (Post 3010680)

Hi to all,
Wanted to keep you all posted.
My Punto sports has accompanied me for 4300 KMs in about 45 days.
Things that can improve:
1. Headlights - sad, reminds me of my 6V RX100
2. Wipers - cant believe it fogs up on the outside with the wipers on

Mind you, I am comparing Punto with X5, Passat and C300
Overall, am very happy with the car. great drive and a joy on highways.

Replace the bulbs with OSRAM NB+ or Philips(forget the name) about 1000 a pair. The high beam will be fantastic, however low beam improvement is nothing great, you should get rid of stock as soon as possible. If you do a bit of night driving, especially in the rains, the stock lights are dangerous.

The wipers may have diesel residue, try cleaning them with a cloth sprayed with glass cleaner.

Hello,

just a small update on my Punto. 2 yrs and 30k kms on still going strong. faced a s few issues but were all resolved promptly by the service center. nothing major.

there is this one particular issue that i am unable to resolve. listing the problems that i face regularly :

1. The B&M is acting up badly. it just starts scanning the already set FM stations.
2. I have a 8GB USB which i have been using since almost 1.5 yrs now. At times the system refuses to recognise it. restart the car; pull out the usb and plug it back IN and its good to go.
3. The bluetooth connectivity is also quite poor. Have to restart the phone BT 1-2 times before it connects. I first assumed its my phone's fault. But earlier i had a Moto Defy+ and now LG 4X. same issue.

I was in plans to get rid of the OEM System and change to normal single DIN with better speakers, but don't feel like giving up the steering controls convenience; so shall only go for speaker upgrades.

Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l (Post 3011192)

Have you tried updating the B&M firmware? Could help.

Also I agree about retaining the stock HU and controls. PM me if you need a good installer in b'lore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabe loser (Post 3011202)

Have you tried updating the B&M firmware? Could help.

Also I agree about retaining the stock HU and controls. PM me if you need a good installer in b'lore.

Hey,

Thanks. I am based in Ahmedabad. I did try to update the B&M firmware. Keeps giving me USB ERROR : 10. read through most forums related to it. Will check with Service center if they can update it for me.

just unable to figure out a good speaker set. most installers suggest amp + speakers but than it goes out of budget for me :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarthikK (Post 3010882)

I guess this is because you are comparing with some of your German titans which come with HIDs :D. I found the Punto's lamps to be quite satisfactory in the city and on highways. They're not great, but definitely not bad. Perhaps you could get the headlamp beam adjusted during the service or even get the bulbs swapped for better ones like nkrishnap has done, to Silverstars or Osram nightbreakers?

Could you elaborate a bit on this? I didn't understand how it can fog up on the outside when rain water falls on the glass anyway. :confused:

KarthikK;
A think film of water is left behind even with the wipers on, and with on comming trafic with lights on, it just blinds, will try to take picutre next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NFS2024 (Post 3005935)

Thanks Rufus - Will definitely test drive the car and see for myself. Yes, for now am looking at something which can seat 3 people comfortably which I cannot do now in my swift.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarthikK (Post 3008154)

I have owned both these cars, Swift in the past and Punto sport now, so I'll give a shot at answering your queries.
.

Well I finally managed to test drive the 90hp Punto a couple of times. Yes it is a good car no doubt in terms of power, torque, handling, ride comfort etc. But I thought the driver ergonomics was very poor (seating, long clutch, high mounted steering) and also the head room is at a serious premuium both at the front and back. The transmission hump is more pronounced and hence it is good only for 2 at the rear. Boot space is good.

The sports version is no longer sold from the factory, but all the features of the Sports version is now available only as accessories at the dealership.

I tried to find information about the new launches at Prerna, but the SA had no clue when the refreshed Punto and Linea are going to be launched.

So the wait continues for me :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by NFS2024 (Post 3020477)

Well I finally managed to test drive the 90hp Punto a couple of times. Yes it is a good car no doubt in terms of power, torque, handling, ride comfort etc. But I thought the driver ergonomics was very poor (seating, long clutch, high mounted steering) and also the head room is at a serious premium both at the front and back. The transmission hump is more pronounced and hence it is good only for 2 at the rear. Boot space is good.

I wouldn't say your words are wrong, since ergonomics are a very subjective issue, but I am surprised that you find the seating bad! :Shockked: I was at total ease while driving the Punto sport, and the front sport seats offer best-in-class under-thigh support, lower back support and bolsters. Perhaps you should also test drive other hatches and then decide which one is ergonomically good for you, since different people might have different ergonomic preferences :thumbs up.

In my quest for a diesel hatch, what I found was that the Punto has the best cockpit space (front) for driver and front passenger. It suffers in the rear bench space though, they thoroughly deserve to be bashed for mismanaging the rear space on this car.

The long travel of the clutch pedal is a definite irritant, but it is fortunately very light, and the travel is something the owner will get used to in a few days. The headroom is bad, yes. This is the price we pay for that awesome-looking, coupe-like sloping roofline. Regarding the steering being a little high, you can always counter this by the tilt steering + seat height adjustment to match your height.

Quote:

The sports version is no longer sold from the factory, but all the features of the Sports version is now available only as accessories at the dealership.

I tried to find information about the new launches at Prerna, but the SA had no clue when the refreshed Punto and Linea are going to be launched.

So the wait continues for me :(

The sports version was anyway a limited edition, cosmetic makeover of the Emotion 90HP, so I guess the stocks of Punto Sport are exhausted now. I heard them mention that the 90HP Puntos are still available, albeit without the "Sport" badging.

Good luck with your search, and since we are already in 2013, perhaps you can wait for the facelifted version which might come out around year end, according to this scoop post -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3012872

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarthikK (Post 3020504)

Hey Karthik - This was my impresssion after taking the test drive a couple of times. Also you know its quite amazing to see that Punto has entirely mis managed the space utilization inside the cabin. I mean not even a single place that can hold a 1 liter bottle? That says something.

I have been following the post you have mentioned and accordingly the Evo refresh should be launched by max mid this year, else I do not see how Fiat can manage foot falls into their new showrooms after the dealerships are up and running.

Karthik at Prerna had no clue on this Evo launch and kept on saying there are no new launches till 2014.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NFS2024 (Post 3020551)

Completely agree on the space (mis-)utilization part. The best we owners can do is make adjustments. No 1-1.5 litre bottles now. We can however accommodate 500ml bottles in the central bottle holder, and in the door panel storage areas. :uncontrol So there you go, instead of a single 1.5 litre bottle, you have to use 3 x 500ml bottles.

Quote:

I have been following the post you have mentioned and accordingly the Evo refresh should be launched by max mid this year, else I do not see how Fiat can manage foot falls into their new showrooms after the dealerships are up and running.

Karthik at Prerna had no clue on this Evo launch and kept on saying there are no new launches till 2014.

We can't really blame sales executives here. For all you know, he may very well be aware of the launch dates but might be asked not to reveal confidential roadmap information to every customer walking in, else their today's bread and butter might be affected if the launch date is too far away. Once the launch date is close enough, I'm sure showrooms will automatically stop taking bookings for old Puntos and ask customers to wait for the facelifted version. :)

A small correction by the way - the roadmap in that link says Punto 'Refresh' in 2013 and New Punto (Evo) in 2014. That means the 2013 version would most likely be a Maruti-type facelift, with some slightly modified shape of headlamps/taillamps/grille and/or some decals. I wouldn't be too bothered about their 2013 launches - the 'refresh' version won't significantly differ from what is already on offer, is my guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l (Post 3011192)

...I was in plans to get rid of the OEM System and change to normal single DIN with better speakers, but don't feel like giving up the steering controls convenience; so shall only go for speaker upgrades...

Missed this post last time I guess. Even if you use an aftermarket HU, there is some IR device for it which will enable the steering controls, bluetooth etc. I am SURE about this for many double din systems, should be possible for single din as well. Some manufacturers bundle the IR device along with the system. If they don't you can buy it separately for 1 or 2K. Most reputed installers have this stuff.

Please do check with installers if you want to do it. Simply upgrading the speakers don't work if you are an audiophile. :)

I wish I would not have to write this post but I found 1st noticable issue in my Punto last night, after 55497 kms in 2 yrs 2 months. I was coming back from North Karnataka and nothing came up till I was doing constant 5th gear till Yashwanthpur junction, the time and started moving gears and putting break I got a sound from left hand side and looked like something was stuck in my wheels, I stopped the car and looked down did not see anything, for a while the sound disappeared, but came back again and it was coming only when I applied breaks, hope nothing major has gone wrong, will take the car to service center today afternoon. If I come to know about any issue will post it.