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

Quote:

Originally Posted by gautomobile (Post 1445743)

Its over a month that I am using my GP. At the delivery itself I did not fond any rust or any other defects.

My Punto is doing great till now, has clocked 2000 kms recently.

Its giving a mileage of overall 15 kmpl, about 13kmpl in the city and 22kmpl on the highways! That seems to be really good I think considering the size and the weight of the car. The ride quality is simply class apart.

And the blue and me is superb feature, if you require to communicate regularly while driving. The voice quality over the Blue and Me seems is crystal clear.

So guys this is a fabulous car. Congrats to all of you who have chosen the GP over others!

Hi Gautom !!
Congratulations !! Yes it is indeed a fabulous car

I am curious to know if you own a petrol or diesel (?) The city fuel efficiency figure looks a little on the lower side to me ( if it is a diesel).. especially after the car has clicked 2000

Quote:

Originally Posted by pineapple_ameet (Post 1445331)

yep amogh!
and that senior official is nobody else than the Marketing Chief of Fiat Himself!
problem with Fiat , which their own dealers have 'cribbed' about is that they have a fantastic product, just don't have the right mix of Sales and Service to pamper the same...

Dunno about the sales, but I have seen several posts complimenting the service guys for prompt and correct action on Fiats. Some owners have also mentioned that the A.S.C. guys are courteous and pleasant.

I certainly hope that Fiat (and Tata) have managed to turn things around re. the service.

Cheers,

@ All

This is a bit off-topic but has anyone booked a Punto from Rama Motors, Okhla, New Delhi? How was your experience?

I have booked a RED Grande Punto 1.4 FIRE and am having a very bad experience. I had booked on the 26th of July, and I wanted a RED color only. I had been enquiring every week and they have been non-committal about the exact date of delivery. They have been giving me new dates about the car being dispatched so and so but yesterday when I contacted them, they were clueless and said that the car hasn't even been loaded yet!!! I vented my frustration on the manager there and have been assured of a speedy delivery in the next few days. If this continues, i'll just have to settle for the available color :(

Turning radius is a problem. No doubt about it. It is a bigger problem if you are used to driving cars with a lower turning radius (Mid 4's compared to the 5.4 mtr turning radius of the Punto) .. Someone upgrading from a Wagon-R to a Punto is definitely going to feel the pinch of the larger turning radius.

I drive three cars that have almost identical turning radius (Octavia @ 5.4 m, Innova @ 5.4 m & Punto @ 5.4 m) However, of the three I find the Punto most difficult to maneuver.

It's probably got to do more with the mind than anything else. Being a hatchback I expect it to turn quickly. But I am getting used to it slowly :)

Tight city roads was not a big problem for me since I am used to driving cars that have a similar turning radius as the Punto. I don't drive the Wagon-R much now, but I would have loved it if the Punto matched Wagon-R's turning radius.

Amogh

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 1446971)

I'm awaiting delivery of my GP 1.4 FIRE so I was wondering if anyone else has booked the petrol version? Can anyone share his personal experience regarding the mileage etc of the 1.4?

I own a red 1.4. Here is my ownership thread.

In city, I'm getting average of around 14-15 (driving in mild traffic). On highway I have got around 17, with speeds not exceeding 100. The car has so far done 900+km's.

I personally dont feel that the punto's turning radius is a problem. May be cause i have upgraded from the palio. But one thing is for sure i do feel and one of my friend (who again owns a Palio S10) feel that, the Puntos turning radius is far better than that of Palio's. I dont have data to prove this, its just the assumption of both of us after taking a U turns in my Punto.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 1446971)

I'm awaiting delivery of my GP 1.4 FIRE so I was wondering if anyone else has booked the petrol version? Can anyone share his personal experience regarding the mileage etc of the 1.4?

I own 1.4 emotion pack Mem grey. Right now I am getting around 11.5 kmpl with 100% AC in delhi city traffic. Maybe mileage will increase after 1st service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nav75 (Post 1448373)

Thanks nav75! wow! I was dreading that I had booked a petrol while everyone was sayin that it wasn't all that efficient. My car will hardly have a running of 500 km/month as it will be a second car, so I didnt want to go for the diesel. 14-15 kmpl is awesome. Now if only I could get my delivery soon :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolkurt (Post 1447639)

When I contacted them again they told me that a RED 1.4 FIRE has a very low demand and hence the production of this variant has been stopped at the plant for the time being. I didn\'t know what to say....how can they stop the production of a newly launched car? I just couldn\'t believe their farce.

Can someone pls give me some suggestions as to how to handle them? Thank you for your time.

Spotted two white puntos in typical \'test mule\' avatar in Bavdhan area on last friday around 6 pm.

Is fiat still testing VGT spec engine?
And, why should they hide car details when car has been launched?

Had seen \'test mule\' of Scorpio AT last year. And Mahindra didn\'t bother to hide test vehicle details. Anyways, different manufacturer, different approach.

Mods: Couldn\'t see any appropriate thread to post this. Other threads for punto have been closed, hence posting in this thread.