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Old 21st June 2009, 00:01   #106
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM View Post
1) Fiat Punto- Fresh and sporty look, homegrown super performer engine

4) Swift DDis - Peppy, but cramped, if not for the multijet, it would have been phased out by now

7) Ritz - half done car, selling well only because of Fiat engine
1) Which engine of all the three are great motors that make Punto a scorching performer ? I think in this price band Swift in petrol and Getz in diesel are the one that are quite quick.

4) Swift single handedly beat all others with that G series motor. Its has its own positives and driving pleasure is nice too. I strong disagree with your statement of the car being phased out by now if it were not diesel motor. Still sales of petrol model is quite good.

7) Again I disagree. How can we conclude that the car is half done. Its infact even better than swift in refinement and steering feel deaprtment. Got good petrol motor too.

I believe that the following are negatives in case of Grande Punto, some are minor, some are not minor points.

a) Long travel clutch. How many times do we have to change gears. Even is smaller city like mine, I am tired of shifting gears in M800, a car that is reputed to have the lightest clutch of almost all cars. This might seem small, but for me atleast this is a big issue ( hence limited to me ).

b) Cost cutting. People are putting a lot of money expecting fit and finish would be atleast acceptable. From GTO's review, I am sure that many corners are cut. Not good.

c) Space. This car cannot be considered a spacious hatch. Its almost 4 mtrs. long and cab forward design ( earlier also I have mentioned this and GTO too acknowledged this lack of space along with many others who have perosnally visited the car ). Dash IMHO is taking a lot of space.

Out of all the points, cost cutting is not acceptable and color was there on the glass in GTO's review. How this is possible.
Fiat has to act on :
Fit and finish.
A.S & S.
Giving in a more powerful engine to this fantastic chassis.

Last edited by aaggoswami : 21st June 2009 at 00:02.
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Old 21st June 2009, 00:18   #107
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aaggoswami View Post
b) Cost cutting. People are putting a lot of money expecting fit and finish would be atleast acceptable. From GTO's review, I am sure that many corners are cut. Not good.
I think fit and finish levels are acceptable... and GTO has mentioned that they are good in places and average in some. Cost cutting would be there else how do you expect something which costs 12k pounds in UK to be priced the way they have for India. Atleast the build quality hasnt suffered which is the case with Swift and Ritz both and they are cheaper than Punto in the UK market. You also have to keep in mind Maruti volumes.
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Old 21st June 2009, 00:22   #108
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I agree with extreme_torque.
As I've mentioned in my review it's not the space that's less, it's just that the car is made with a bigger boot. The rear legroom is less no doubt but it's not an impossible situation.
The diesel motor is pretty quick,it may not be as quick as the swift but the linear powerflow will make it easier to drive.
Don't quote me on this but as far as I know most fiats have a long clutch. The diesel I drove today had a magnificent clutch, it didn't trouble me at all.
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Old 21st June 2009, 00:26   #109
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Had a look at the Punto and I was disappointed. Don't mistake me, I do not mean that it is a bad car, but it is not up to my liking. I used to own an S10 and the Punto is not a worthy successor to it.

Here are some of the negatives:

1) Rear legroom: Really bad, maybe not as bad as the Swift, but similar to the i10. The Linea seemed to have acres of space compared to the Punto. My bad, I never believed some people in the forum when they said that the Palio is bigger than the Punto. It is true, at least inside.

2) Quality of plastics: Bad, but not too bad. I went and sat inside a Vista which was standing a few yards away and was horrified. Those who complain about plastics in the Punto hasn't seen the Swift properly.

3) Looks: Honestly, I didn't like it very much. I kept glancing at the Linea over my shoulders, so looks like I might go back to the Linea.

BTW, I have a few suggestions to some of the concerns aired in this forum:

1) Underpowered: Get the 1.3 MJD and Pete it. A Peted MJD would develop 90 bhp and that is adequate amount of performance.

2) Rear space: If you watch closely at the back seat you would see that, it is pushed forward more that required to give better boot space. Also, the seat is raked a bit too much than required. Take the car to a good workshop and they would be able to move the seat a bit (by a few inches) and give you a bit more leg room.

My search for the ideal car is still on.
 
Old 21st June 2009, 00:31   #110
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Is there a way of quantitatively compairing the rear seat base and the rake angle with other competing hatchbacks in its segment? I felt more comfortable on the rear seats of Punto when compared to my Palio.... the seating comfort that is.
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Old 21st June 2009, 00:37   #111
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM View Post
4) Swift DDis - Peppy, but cramped, if not for the multijet, it would have been phased out by now
Maruti Suzuki does NOT believes in "Phasing Out" (Read 800-Zen-Alto-Estilo.......)

Also, ashwinpak mentioned that petes would take 1.3 MJD to 90 horses, any idea on affect on FE? if any???

also, i gotta say.. GTO "ur da man" I am not gonna renew subscriptions for any of my automags for sure (except TopGear. fantastic foreign content)

Last edited by khan_sultan : 21st June 2009 at 08:34. Reason: fixed quotes
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Old 21st June 2009, 01:03   #112
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GTO,

Terrific review. Lots of details and pictures. I know you've done this as and when required, but it would be very useful if you could do a shoot-out between GP and it's competition. (Perhaps want to wait till the i20 diesel is launched)

I was a bit disappointed with the FE of the GP 1.4. Was assuming it would be way better than the Linea 1.4.

VahanPujari, others,

Can we also have some TDs (of the GP) from existing Linea 1.4 owners?
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Old 21st June 2009, 01:37   #113
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The GP 1.4 at 1145kg it is only 100kg short of Linea (P). So the GP should give only marginally more mileage than Linea. The Linea 1.4 gives a mileage of 10-11 kmpl in city. So expect 11-12 kmpl for GP. Nothing more.

One thing I want to mention regarding the FIRE 1.4 engine. Initial days the engine feels lethargic (especially in 2nd gear). But once it has done 1000km, the power and response feels much improved. Same has been felt by quite a few Linea 1.4 owners.
And this engine does not knock at all. 4th gear @ 20kmph ... 3rd gear 10kmph. yes!

Quote:
Originally Posted by CBlazer View Post
GTO,

I was a bit disappointed with the FE of the GP 1.4. Was assuming it would be way better than the Linea 1.4.

VahanPujari, others,

Can we also have some TDs (of the GP) from existing Linea 1.4 owners?

Last edited by neotraveller : 21st June 2009 at 01:40.
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Old 21st June 2009, 02:11   #114
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Nothing left to ask!

Ouch, I tune in a few hours late and the thread is a mile long with all the right questions being asked and very precise answers being shot off meticulously. I have nothing left to ask!

Thanks for a great review GTO. It is nice to see that Fiat has made the effort of inviting TBHP to TD and review their car. Another point that made me happy is the extended warranty now being offered by Fiat.

It is indeed unfortunate that Fiat is not offering anything to replace the S10 / GTX, guess we will just have to wait for that happy day.

One always bought a Fiat for reasons of the heart (not the head).

Cheers,
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Old 21st June 2009, 06:47   #115
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My gut feeling is that Fiat wanted to give middle of the road GP with regards to performance and fuel economy. They will sell in large numbers. With so many tuning options for both the 1.3 and the 1.4, they are aware that the performance freaks will go in for these and enjoy as well.
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Old 21st June 2009, 06:59   #116
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Hi GTO, your review is a brilliant package. I bet one can get a complete view of what to expect from the car by reading through your comprehensive review covering postives, negatives and most importantly, the practicality factor. And thank you for that!

Quote:
Originally Posted by extreme_torque View Post
Talking about my recent experience with ABS motors, as soon as the job card was opened on the Siebel CRM and promptly got an sms saying the same. The guys at Tata can see it and can also see what rating have you given them for the service. After the service was complete and the job card was closed, i got another sms saying that my car was ready to be picked up!
The following up was good too with 3 calls during the week ahead asking if I was satisfied with the service.
Guess what, Honda (Whitefield Honda, Bangalore) does this SMS thing too. But they don't call you 3 times after the service - just once.

Last edited by pmbabu : 21st June 2009 at 07:06.
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Old 21st June 2009, 07:15   #117
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post

@ Vivek : All of us need to see your review as well. I forwarded you the same request at the time of the Jazz, and now do so with the Punto. Please do so for the community.

You seem to have covered every aspect of the car and it will be a mere repetition of what ever you have said, buddy.
Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review-dsc03319-copy.jpg


I couldn't help but wonder why the successor of the Punto should be called the 'Grande Punto'. Because it is few millimeters larger in every dimension? That probably explains from where the new Sumo gets its 'Grande' from. You see, the Tata-Fiat tie up has given Tata Motors much more than an access to their new engines.

Just some of my observations on the car

1. Finding a good driving position wasn't very easy. The steering position was still a bit high to my liking even at its lowest rake position. The clutch is a bit off set towards the right to accommodate the dead pedal but they are too close that you have the dead pedal in your way while pressing the clutch, till you get used to it.

2. The gearshift quality wasn't the best.

3. Handling is excellent. Precise steering was quite a fun in the twisties of Himachal.

4. Petrol version has the sound to excite and the smoothness to make you relax but not the go of the 1.6litre 16valver in the Palio GTX. This car could do with a 1.6 transplant.

5. Diesel engine now has slower response than the one in the older Swift. heavy car has blunted some of the performance advantage of the sweet revving Multijet engine. The diesel GP is still the car to buy though.

6. Space was not quite generous.

7. The GP gets modern (or yesterday's?) clocks instead of the Linea's retro looking gauges although the rest of the dash is quite similar.

8. The design of the centre console is good, but the execution is quite ordinary. The choice of material and the finish doesn't make it look like it belongs to a brand new car, forget one that has been freshly launched.

9. Despite all these small quirks, I was in love with the styling of the Grande Punto. Would even consider buying one without an engine as a garden ornament.
Fiat Grande Punto : Test Drive & Review-dsc03284.jpg

Last edited by vivekji05 : 21st June 2009 at 07:23.
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Old 21st June 2009, 07:39   #118
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Sorry for the end to end posts but I thought this would be interesting.

During our drive through Chandigarh, we came across some strange looking automobiles.


Chandigarh seems to have the highest 'per automobilia' ( Italian and freshly invented ) concentration of 'bling' alloy wheels in the country. Everything from Accents to Tata Safaris were running on 'larger than commonsense dictates' types of wheels and all of them were chromed. Seen here is an Alto
Attachment 150368

Also being madly across the road was this black Scorpio with its loose cladding for the rear wheel arch poping out and patting on the backs of the the motorcyclists it overtook from their left. Not really, but it was giving nightmares to everyone. This is one must have if you want others to think twice before overtaking you.
Attachment 150367

Last edited by vivekji05 : 21st June 2009 at 07:42.
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Old 21st June 2009, 07:40   #119
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GTO, first the Ritz, then Jazz and now Punto, it's a hat-trick of your excellent reviews. I always relied more on ownership and test drive reviews of TBHP members rather than auto magazines in order to know about a particular car. Your extensive reviews have now completely superseded the reasons to consider auto mag reviews.
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Old 21st June 2009, 08:03   #120
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I went to Automobiles Sterling in Noida for a "Dekho" of the GP:

It is a beautiful car. However one thing is very obvious:

It is built as per the demands of the European Markets. It looks good ,but the space could have been better packaged for more interior room especially at the back. This may be ok for Europeans where the rear seats may be used very sparingly, but in India it is a family car and will lose out against the Vista, i20 etc. Secondly, the huge turning circle ( rivals the Sumo Grande) is a big no- no in cramped Indian cities. I see many potential buyers being put off due to this fact alone.

Over all it is the looks and the charisma of he car that appeals to me. How would I describe it : S*X on TOAST.
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