[nurni76]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Test drove the Punto MJD back to back with the Jazz and apart from interiors quality and a little more interior space, there is no competition. With 5 people in the car with the AC on at full blast, the Jazz with the weedy 1.2 struggled to move unless given a hammering and full throttle treatment, Punto on the other hand was effortless at anything over 1700 rpm.
Suspension, ride and handling is different story altogether. The Punto just smoothered rough roads and potholes like they never existed while Jazz crashed and through and made all sorts of noises. I am really apalled by the suspension setup in the Jazz. Havent driven the i20 but I am not sure if it would match Fiat's ride and handling balance, let alobe bettering it.

IMHO this is an unfair comparison between a Diesel with high torque and a petrol. You should have driven the 1.4 Petrol instead. You would then be saying exactly the opposite and I can vouch for it having test driven the Jazz and Punto. You will need a Jazz to pull the PUnto 1.4 petrol

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by vid6639

In my Alto to change lanes I look out of the rear window as that's where the seat is. .

I tried my level best to imagine how you would be seated, but failed !! I already posted earlier that the punto ride was not as smooth as I expected (my TD was yesterday and the comments were posted here) and I felt the steering on the harder side, made me think twice if the power steering was no more functioning.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by vid6639

The Punto is tuned very well but it is on the harder side. I drive on the same road everytime and I don't really bother how well the car takes the potholes. I see how comfortable the passengers are in the back and how comfortable I am driving fast over a bad piece of road at a certain speed.

I dont know where you are coming from but i sure do abt myself. I test drove the car with 5 people in the car, driven over worst roads and none of them complained 'bouncing around' or harsh... all they had was praise for the ride quality.

Originally Posted by vid6639

In case of i10, i20, Getz, Alto, Laura, Altis and Optra Magnum I never had to slow down nor did anyone complain. The i10 and Alto were not the best as faster speeds means they pitch a lot more.

I have been in the Laura or the i20 but to be Punto ride better than all the other cars mentioned above. The magazine reviews seem to agree as well.
Its a fallacy that soft suspension means good ride becuase the ride is good only at very slow speeds. Build up speed and the up and down movement and rebound of the suspension would make things very difficult.

Originally Posted by vid6639

The worst of the bunch was the ANHC closely followed by my Lancer.

I agree. Havent driven the ANHC but if Jazz can be a reference point, the suspension is nowhere near Punto.

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by ntrack

However, one can expect Hyundai to make a blunder of the pricing of i20 CRDi, as in the case of Getz. A reason why the latter bombed!

This is the most likely scenario which Hyundai must avoid.
Price gap between Punto E+ & Linea E+ is around 1-1.25 L if I remember correctly. Now, if i20 CRDI were to be at 50K premium, the difference between it & Linea E+ would be 50K-70K. Indian market has snob value for Sedan.
This scenario is not unlikely considering how high Hyundai priced 1.2 L Petrol i20. So, you can consider how much more i20 1.4 CRDi would be priced over i20 1.2L Petrol

1 day to go. let's see

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

I dont know where you are coming from but i sure do abt myself. I test drove the car with 5 people in the car, driven over worst roads and none of them complained 'bouncing around' or harsh... all they had was praise for the ride quality.

I just took all the passengers to the roads around my office and some of the roads are yet to be paved. Only mud roads. Just drove normally on the same road I commute everyday and I felt it was harsher than the cars I mentioned. Not to mention I usually go with the same group of friends for every TD. So far we have driven a lot of cars (more than 30 this year) amongst our group. So when we compare we can compare to a lot of cars. All had the same opinion of the Punto. Ride was on the hard side.

I have been in the Laura or the i20 but to be Punto ride better than all the other cars mentioned above. The magazine reviews seem to agree as well.
Its a fallacy that soft suspension means good ride becuase the ride is good only at very slow speeds. Build up speed and the up and down movement and rebound of the suspension would make things very difficult.

Up and down movement with the rebound I have felt only in the i10 and a little on my Alto. The i20 even at 110kmph with 4 people on board on varying terrain did not have the pitching. The ANHC pitched more. It's not true that a soft suspension will be prone to pitching. The Altis is super soft but hardly pitches. The Civic is harder setup but pitches. When your going on our highways and you hit a bad patch of road, it's the softer setup that will sail through. If your running the harder setup get ready to get abused by the rear passengers. I know because that's the case in my Lancer.

Anyways all this is OT and finally the point is the Punto has a stiff setup with a harsh ride. This is what I felt till 130kmph.

One more thing. The linea had better ride than the Punto.

I agree. Havent driven the ANHC but if Jazz can be a reference point, the suspension is nowhere near Punto.

I don't know about the Jazz till I drive it. Have booked for a TD on wednesday.

[GTO]

Vid, I strongly suggest you go for a TD again. One of the most redeeming qualities of the Punto is its ride quality. Sure, at low speeds, it is a tad firm (typical Euro setup), but as the speedo climbs, the ride quality is very big car like. This is one of the contributing factors to its outstanding high speed ride quality. However, your post says that you didn't like the ride quality upto 130 kph!

I trust your reviews, in fact always look forward to them. That's why I am doubting the test car tyres to be over-PSI'ed or something. Take another test and update please.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by GTO

I trust your reviews, in fact always look forward to them. That's why I am doubting the test car tyres to be over-PSI'ed or something. Take another test and update please.

Thanks GTO. Even I was taken aback as it did not correlate with the observations which others had made including yours.

The diesel Punto is expected this week for TD.

[Crimson]

I had posted this earlier on another I20 thread but for some reason it dint get through. May be a bad connection

What do you guys think would be better proposition:

1. Grande Punto MJD + Pete's Tuning Box: 90BHP
OR
2. I20 CRDi: Stock 90BHP

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by Crimson

I had posted this earlier on another I20 thread but for some reason it dint get through. May be a bad connection

What do you guys think would be better proposition:

1. Grande Punto MJD + Pete's Tuning Box: 90BHP
OR
2. I20 CRDi: Stock 90BHP

If GP with Pete does not increase the torque then whats the point? Also, when Punto is cramped relative to Palio in the rear, Is it fair to compare with I20?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by GTO

Vid, I strongly suggest you go for a TD again. One of the most redeeming qualities of the Punto is its ride quality. Sure, at low speeds, it is a tad firm (typical Euro setup), but as the speedo climbs, the ride quality is very big car like. This is one of the contributing factors to its outstanding high speed ride quality. However, your post says that you didn't like the ride quality upto 130 kph!

Having driven a Punto for more than a 1000kms on different roads with different load i 100% agree to GTO on this,The Punto eats up bad roads better than any other hatchback.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by srishiva

If GP with Pete does not increase the torque then whats the point? Also, when Punto is cramped relative to Palio in the rear, Is it fair to compare with I20?

i20 isnt spacious at the back either... infact its the most cramped in the catagory. Refer to the thread started by a bhpian which has the front and rear legroom for almost all the cars in the 25 lakhs bracket.

[Crimson]

Originally Posted by srishiva

If GP with Pete does not increase the torque then whats the point? Also, when Punto is cramped relative to Palio in the rear, Is it fair to compare with I20?

Yes it does! With Pete the MJD torque is 215 as opposed to the stock 195. Agreed the Punto has lesser rear room than one would expect from the size of the car but its still very functional and usable. Plus not everyone would drive with the front seat all the way back.

What else would you compare it to? The Punto and the I20 are directly competing with each other.

Lastly, the reason I am considering the I20 before finalizing on the Punto is for the additional BHP and slightly better interiors. Definitely not cause it has little more rear leg room. But that's just my opinion.

[breezydrive]

Originally Posted by vid6639

In my Alto to change lanes I look out of the rear window as that's where the seat is.

That is very risky, shift to a SUV or something

[arun1100]

i20 new models prices are out. Clearly Gunto is VFM..

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by arun1100

i20 new models prices are out. Clearly Gunto is VFM..

OT: This for me was the best one. Fiat boffins will be shaking their heads at this typo (arun, no offence meant at all).