[Tats07]

I was in Fiat Caffe, Inner Ring Road Bangalore today. On entry, I was greeted by a person wearing a Fiat T shirt. I asked for a test drive of T-Jet, and was requested to wait at the Caffe up stairs. We were offered pastries, and also couple of snack packs with soft drinks. Appreciated the hospitality, but the caffe is yet to become fully functional.

After a while, I went downstairs to ask, and found that the person greeting me was no longer there! However another person, presumably a sales exec came forward, and I mentioned about the T-Jet. He said that the vehicle had just come back, and in about 10 mins time, he handed me the car keys.

I stepped into the Dynamic trim. There's no way to tell the trim just by looking, since there's no badging at the rear other than T-Jet. And I liked it that way. The test drive vehicle was marked as that, and was white in colour. The interiors, while never being a deciding factor, disappointed me, the centre console looks so spartan and out of place! Another multijet on display looked somewhat better, possibly because of the leather seats, and a different beige and black combination from the Dynamic one. As I started the engine, it was not at all audible. In fact, couple of times later, I had difficulty in understanding whether the engine had started even after I had cranked the ignition on green lights.

I have not driven a turbo petrol properly before. Had very brief drive of a friend's Laura TSI many moons back, when I couldn't really tell the difference between a NA and Turbo. At that point, a bigge car with a better poweful drive - that is all I could tell as a differnce from a Santro. Now, I was a more experienced person, having driven few more cars in the C and D segment. Hence, even if not an expert, I was in better position to compare my experiences.

Very recently I have driven both Vento and Rapid, and Verna diesel. The first thing that I noticed was the turbo whoosh was not as prominent as in a diesel, it felt more linear, and I did not feel a turbo lag to begin with. Maybe because I saw an empty stretch, and accelerated immediately to get past 2500 RPM. The power was prominent, and felt very very nice. The car was heavy, but I did not feel that either. In fact, as I advanced, there was a bad traffic, and yet, the low end torque made itself felt, as I comfotably nudged myself in to a gap. And I did that more than once. As I made progress, and the traffic worsened, I felt the lag with the RPMs dropping.

I drove for about 30 mins, mostly over a stretch full of traffic and signals. And over bad roads. The ride was extremely comfotable, and I never realized the speeds that I was making be it 30 or 60. There was a part when I drove at somewhat higher than necesary speeds over pot holes. While I could feel the suspension, hardly anything major made its way into the cabin. I could also zip easily between cars few times. This is in spite of the fact that the gearshift, as reported, seemed quite notchy, and doesn't give the right feel. I'm no expert on steering feeback, but it felt vey precise, and I could tell exactly which way the wheels were turning, even if by few inches.

The last part of the drive was on return to the inner ring road. I got a small empty stretch again, but blocked by a slow mofing Verna and a truck. I waited for 10 secs, when the truck had moved forward a bit on the right, I accelerated past both the Verna and the truck effortlessly, in nick of time before the Verna could narrow down the gap by playing little more to the right. No great feat on my part, but felt extremely satisfied. Then there's this part of the ring road which gets bit winding. I found that stretch empty again, and my heart started to pound as I accelerated to 90+ in secs, crossed couple of fast moving cars from the right while the road turned by itself, and even before I knew it, the word 'Lovely...' slipped past my lips! Really really lovely!! I know too well, since I try the same thing every day with my Wagon R, and who else can tell the DIFFERNCE?

My wife was with me. I noticed too well, and she told me, she was disappointed with the interiors. There were rough plastic bits here and there, with the potential of scratching you if you brush your arms. She also mentioned that Wagon R at least did not have such rough plastic bits, even though my vehicle is quite old. However, I took a feeback from her on the rear bench comfort, and she said it was very very good. Also, she could hardly tell when I was making higher speeds, and reported no body roll on the winding stretch where I was the happiest.

Overall, it was a nice experience. However, I feel I need much more extensive test drive to 'feel' the car. It stays on my shortlist, and I will try again for a Laura TSI If I can get one.

Fiat Caffe is being operated by KHT motors, who have Tata and Chevrolet showrooms am told. On road price here are 9,49,491 (Active), 10,48,709 (Dynamic) and 10,92,334 (Emotion), including extended warranty, road side assistance and Rs. 8000 'handling charges'. Booking amount is Rs. 50,000, and the sales rep told me that they have about 8/9 bookings in the past 7 days. The waiting period now is 3-4 weeks, but may increase with more bookings. They would deliver the car from this caffe, but sevicing is at Whitefield.

[_raviShankar_]

Test Drove the new T Jet today afternoon. Called them up around 12 noon and the guy from the dealership was here in an hour.
Got very little time with the car as my kid was not feeling well and i had to take her to the doctor.
The test drive vehicle was the strip down active variant in white colour. Took her for a short spin. The massive amount of torque available was pretty evident even in the short ride. The suspension was brilliant. The ground clearance was decent too. It was floating over humps where my OHC scrapes daily.
The only thing i was not really happy with was the plastics. It felt really hard. My wife was saying that the plastics in our OHC were better.
Hope the plastics are durable. One of the reasons it felt bad was that the dealership guys had applied some polish on the dash and it was looking a little oily too. We wouldnt have felt too bad if it had a little matte finish.
I feel that the T Jet would be a nice car to have after years with my old city. Lets see.
I might ask them for a longer test drive.

[TNAWAYAJ]

I also visited the Fiat Caffe near the Domlur flyover this evening. Great hospitality shown and a nice looking showroom too. Very helpful sales reps - Syed and Tauseef knew about Team-Bhp and mistook me for fellow Bhpian Sandeep Mohan.

I first took a good look at the Linea MJD that was on display and then asked for a test drive of the T-Jet. I completely concur with Tats07's well articulated experience above - being a dieselhead for the last 5 years, the quite purr and the instant, linear power delivery of the T-Jet motor was a revelation. In contrast, I test drove the MJD immediately after that and it failed to impress me as much - it seemed heavier and weighed down.

I know that the interiors might seem dated - my wife disliked the central console, but one thing is for sure, the car is absolute FUN to drive. A true driver's machine. Given that Skoda has suspended manufacture off the TSi, this might just be the one for me (and the wife, of course).

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by GreyAsta

Hi karthikk!.
Glad to know that you are going for a test drive of the linea t-jet. As you said, please do give us a review on the new linea T-jet, it'll be very helpful for us.

As far as the SA is concerned, he's surely in for a shock! . The same happened to me when I went for a TD of the facelifted i20 as I already have one!

The TD didn't happen today, since I was busy with some Punto-related stuff. I'll be going tomorrow with my T-Jet and doing a comparo of the 2 generations. Planning to do a proper comparo with some pictures; my 2 cents on the facelift should be up by tomorrow night.

[GreyAsta]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

The TD didn't happen today, since I was busy with some Punto-related stuff. I'll be going tomorrow with my T-Jet and doing a comparo of the 2 generations. Planning to do a proper comparo with some pictures; my 2 cents on the facelift should be up by tomorrow night.

Oh, that's fine karthikk!. Take your own time . Please ask the dealer about the T-jet engine that whether its still being imported or is it being assembled locally in India.
By the way, what happened to your Punto?

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by GreyAsta

Oh, that's fine karthikk!. Take your own time . Please ask the dealer about the T-jet engine that whether its still being imported or is it being assembled locally in India.

As far as I know, the T-Jet engine is now manufactured locally, which is enabling them to price it ~60k lesser than the 2011 price.

By the way, what happened to your Punto?

Nothing serious, just some mild shuddering felt during light braking during the past few days. It was traced to some uneven wear on the brake pads due to one side being faulty. The Fiat service personnel did not ask any questions. They changed the full set (pair) of pads and discs under warranty. Problem solved free of cost! More details will be put up in this car's respective ownership thread.

[GreyAsta]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

As far as I know, the T-Jet engine is now manufactured locally, which is enabling them to price it ~60k lesser than the 2011 price.

By cutting the prices, I seriously hope that Fiat doesn't compromise on the quality and performance. The outgoing T-jet engine is truely a jem!.

Please Fiat are you listening?

[blueblooded]

Its good to learn that Tjet is a true revelation to quote a fellow bhpian .Finally Fiat seems to putting its house in order with wonderful pricing and good customer support .I hope this original bonhomie is converted in good sales of Tjet and punto.This time around fiat deserves kudos from us .
regards
praveen singh

[puchoo]

As far as i am concerned now , FIAT has really managed to make a complete hash of this launch as well.

I was supposed to have a TD yesterday only to be told that the "Delhi launch" event is taking place and the TD car has been put inside for display hence no test drives possible. We all know that the car is out , why a specific Delhi launch is something i dont understand and the reason the prices for delhi were not out on the website or with the dealers were because they were waiting for the launch. Highly inefficient if you ask me - they should have launched everything when they did , have the TD cars and the display cars at the dealership and concentrate on that rather than these events - and if i might add , there were barely any people to begin with at the event. There is only 1 car in the Delhi region right now it appears and that too only the dynamic. And its shuttling between different dealerships to cater to the test drive requests which are coming in. They have delayed the launch by 2 months from its original date in April , atleast the logistics should have been in place and streamlined by now.

There is still a lot of gaps when it comes to information on the car. For example the sales guys are not sure which alloy design is present on the Emotion - they told me its the same as in the dynamic which i dont think is true given that those are 15 inch wheels and the emotion has 16. Plus photos from the Mumbai event show the car with the turbine-fan designed alloys.

Even after the prices were released ,no clarity on the break up of the costs which i shall hopefully get today. As per my estimate the Emotion Tjet is going to be about 10.15-25 on road.

Some member mentioned that the spare wheel now is a steel and not an alloy. Checked with the dealership - no clue.

A bad start to a 2nd innings.

[khoj]

In case you go ahead with this, ask for and check Form22, Original invoice from the manufacturer to the dealer, cross check the VIN number on the paper with that on the vehicle's body. These have to be original as they together with the original dealer's invoice to the buyer along with insurance and RTO prescribed forms constitute the RTO file and none of these documents come back from the RTO. So if originals are not there, something or should I say everything is wrong. Walk Away.

However if documents are in order then besides the cash discount you must ensure that :-
1. All fluids and filters are changed in front of you, engine oil, gearbox oil, coolant and brake+clutch fluid, engine oil filter, air filter
2. Battery (if required )
3. Tyres. The rubbers are now 3 years old and besides that standing still for long periods of time puts undue stress on the particular section that is bearing the load, thereby weakening it.

Besides this ensure that the dealer issues the extended warranty booklet that clearly specifies the period start and end date. This is a company issued booklet and is readily available with all dealers. Do not accept any assurances regarding warranty on dealers letterhead.

Ensure you get free insurance. This was something offered by the company on all TJets. This is not from the dealer.

All discounts should be calculated on the original invoice price which was 9.3 odd in Thane for the 2011 model, must have been lower than that in 2010.

Happy Motoring.

Originally Posted by blurust

Hey Guys
I need your help, I was looking to upgrade from my getz 1.1 to something which is more fun to drive and i really loved the way tjet drives.
The fiat dealer here, not disclosing the name, is giving me a substantial discount on a display tjet (2010 manufactured), only run about 3k kms.
the car is spic and span with no scratches dents etc.
no rattles. and no signs of rust.
Should i go for it ??

Fiat does not allow the dealers to sell TD/display vehicles for X no. of years. I came across a couple of pristine examples last year when I went jet hunting and upon broaching, the concerned dealers refused outright to sell those cars citing company policy. Such cars usually end up as the dealership's official's official cars.

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Not unless he's giving it for 6lacs. Why? It's 3 years old. Could've been a test drive vehicle with a manipulated odo. Any dealer can make a car look spic&span. Why'd a dealer keep a display vehicle when there was credible news that it was to be discontinued? He could've sold it then, maybe he'd have got a better price too, but the fact that he didn't makes me skeptical.

[puchoo]

Just an update - the on road for the fiat t-jet emotion is 10.08 Lacs. The price lists and break up is with the dealership now. Delivery time from date of booking atleast in Delhi currently is about 12-15 days.

[KarthikK]

T-Jet comparison thoughts : 2011 Linea T-Jet+ v/s 2013 Linea T-Jet Emotion

When news of the Linea T-Jet re-launch came out earlier this week, I was curious to know what exactly had changed with the facelifted version. Exactly 2 years back on this day (June 16), I had completed the PDI for my Black T-Jet+ and had come home with a beaming face and a satisfied feeling that I haven't lost till date. There were tons of speculations on this thread, and elsewhere on the net about what was removed, what was added, what was different and what was the same.

The only way to find out the real deal was by pitching the stellar 2011 Linea T-Jet+ in a direct and unforgiving battle against its own reincarnated avatar - the 2013 Linea T-Jet Emotion. Without further delay, lets get down to the battle, but not before a couple of disclaimers :

* My comparo is only between the older version and the newer version. I don't want to get into inter-brand battles here since it is seriously OT. Everyone knows that Fiats and Fords are still undisputed kings in some areas, so lets leave out debating about the Indo-Japanese, German, Pure Japanese, Czech, Pseudo-American and Korean competition for now.

* The opinions reflect MY thoughts as a first-gen T-Jet+ and second-gen Punto 90HP owner. They might conflict/differ with yours. Lets agree to disagree in that case.

* The test drives were 2 in number. I covered ~40 km over the total drive distance, and the drive encompassed highways, twisties, potholed stretches, severely potholed stone roads, dense traffic, tight U-turns and corners, etc.


2011 Linea T-Jet+ v/s 2013 Linea T-Jet Emotion:
I'm not going to elaborate on all aspects, the official review already lists everything about the T-Jet+ well. I'm just going to focus on the stuff that I felt different or things I feel need highlighting.

Exteriors :

The car looks more or less the sameas the older version. I managed to take some pictures of the 2013 T-Jet with its erstwhile ancestor. I couldn't spot any evidences of cost cutting on the outside. The most noticeable difference now is the lifted rear stance due to the 190mm GC. Lets go over the nitty gritties with a few pictures:


The first time I laid my eyes on the facelifted version, I could spot the lifted back as an eye-sore for what was otherwise a beautiful design



When I went closer, I realized that the awkwardness of visible tyres at the back was increased because the car had no mud-flaps, whereas I was used to seeing mud flaps on my car. With flaps added in, it may not look as bad as I first thought.



The chrome exhaust is thankfully retained in the newer T-Jet. It is the only external feature which allows identification of T-Jets (now that the morons have started giving the 16" propeller blade alloys on MultiJet emotions). Hope they don't do a Pulsar family-style feature/look sharing and put this on the other versions of Punto and Linea.



The T-Jet badge on the front grill is also retained, no cost cutting here either.



Same old Goodyear Eagle NCT5 tyres and 16" alloys come standard on the T-Jet Emotion. Advice to prospective buyers: please consider changing the tyres straight from the showroom. I had a tyre belt failure at 6k km with these shoddy tyres, and was forced to swap them; I went in for Michelins later.



Then I brought in my own car - the Linea T-Jet+ alongside the T-Jet emotion demo car. With incessant 3M detailing, no prizes for guessing which one among the two looks newer *winks*. The white one is 2 days old, and mine is 2 years old



While the older Linea hugs the ground, the newer version stands taller and ready to tackle bad roads. The height difference doesn't show up much in this particular picture.



But take a look at this. Compare the chrome lining on the bumper for reference. The older Linea T-Jet sits at least 1.5-2 inches closer to the ground



Don't believe me? Watch this frontal shot and observe how the bumper, headlamps and mirrors are considerably raised on the 2013 version.



Still not convinced?Here's a close-up shot of the mirrors on the two cars, where the white one is higher by at least an inch or so.



Rain-sensors (in the blue circle) to activate the automatic wipers, are now affixed to the windshield below the IRVM mirror mount. Automatic headlamps are also now standard on the T-Jet. Retrofitting these sensors on older T-Jets is a bit complicated from what I found out in the service station. It opens a can of worms since these features are triggered and controlled by the ECU and requires more than just simple wire connections.



Interiors:

When I opened the door of the 2013 T-Jet, I was surprised to find that the interior upholstery looked different from the one in my car. The off-white color leather in my car (and older T-Jets) looked a slightly more brownish tone, and the tone in the 2013 T-Jet is a lighter, almost-white version.


The changed lighter tone leather upholstery





The cockpit of the 2013 T-Jet



The cockpit of the 2011 T-Jet+. You can make out the slightly darker tinge of beige on the older version, both on the plastic panels as well as the leather shade. Not that it makes a difference.



A side-by-side picture. Not sure if the color difference is so perceptible in this picture, but it is noticeable in person.



The quality of leather remains top notch, and best in segment. They look very nice and upmarket too, with the perforated design and the parallel seam stitch lines.



That's about the leather, but the pigmentation deficiency doesn't end there. The T-Jet now has pigmentation loss from all the bottom panels of the car too!

Here's the footwell of the old T-Jet+ where the OEM carpet, dead pedal and the bottom floor plastic panel were black in color.



And here's the hypo-pigmented beige version of plastics in the 2013 T-Jet.



A wider view of the interiors: 2011 T-Jet with beige 3D Kagu mats



A wider view of the interiors: 2013 T-Jet. The bottom panel housing the gear and handbrake levers has now turned from black to beige



Unfinished edges, panel gaps and improvable plastics continue to plague the T-Jet. The older version has better plastic quality on the beige panels than the facelifted off-white ones. Here's a picture on the driver-side indicating the famous keyhole gap, a poorly fitted panel below the steering, and some unfinished, crude and below-par texture near the door handle.



A word to prospective buyers and bashers: lets face it, if Fiat hasn't been able to mend these interior fit and finish glitches in these many years, they probably never will. There really is no point cribbing about the poor plastic fit and expecting them to improve it - because I don't think they will ever do that; at least not until the 2014 total facelift of Linea and Punto. The interiors now are acceptable as a package on the whole, if you can ignore the below-par fit and finish on the lower dash panels. On the positive side, nothing is gaudy. The console designs are old-worldish and simple. The seats are very plush and seating comfort, underthigh support and lumbar support are best-in-class.

If you like driving these cars so much, you'll have to accept poor interior finish as one of the drawbacks and go ahead with your purchase, just like anyone buying a Hyundai / Jap car knows about the tradeoff in the opposite sense - better interiors v/s average or below-average drive experience.


Moving on, here's a picture of the 2011 T-Jet which had all 3 adjustable head restraints for the rear seat passengers


The 2013 version now ditches the centre passenger's headrest! Sun curtain is retained though.



The rest of the rear seat specs, rear AC vent and the armrest with cupholders remain the same as before



Acceleration :

The T-Jet's drive experience is mostly about acceleration, mind numbing acceleration for its segment. The newer version does not disappoint one bit. It is still the same old monster that was present in the old T-Jet. I did find some difference in the turbo spooling zone around ~1500 rpm. While the older T-Jet+ builds up momentum and literally explodes into action at around 1800 rpm, the 2013 facelift seemed a lot more linear in the 1400-1800 rpm. The mad acceleration post-1800 rpm felt the same in both cars. The linea-effect could also be because the test drive car just had 272 km on the odo and hasn't yet opened up. On the whole, there isn't much difference between the two versions.


Steering feedback :

There is a marked difference between the 2011 version and the 2013 versions. The older T-Jet+ steering feels a little stiffer and tighter at city speeds and crawling pace parking speeds. The 2013 T-Jet's steering feels a lot lighter in the city at speeds <30-40 kmph. Once you gain speed, the 2013 T-Jet weighs up nicely and matches the feel of the old T-Jet+.

It is like having the best of both worlds now with the 2013 version. You can no longer grumble about a hard steering when parking the car (the test drive car was almost as light as an EPS with more feedback), and yet you can't complain about loss in feel at higher speeds. The overall steering feedback and communication about the road surface irregularities remains the segment benchmark. The older T-Jet has a tighter setup at low speeds and gives a feeling of being in command of a heavy tank-like build. I personally preferred the older heavier steering.


Body roll, handling and highway manners :

Handling is top-notch and remains eons ahead of the competition (barring Fords) in spite of all the fault-finding going on with the 190mm GC. I was always of the opinion that 20mm increase (how big is 2cm really??!) in ride height cannot change a car from a Fiat to a fluidic Verna (no offense), and I was right.

Bring in the old T-Jet+ here and only then you can make out a difference in dynamics. There is a wee bit more body roll in the 2013 T-Jet compared to the 2011 version, but this difference can only be made out by driving the older version extensively and then trying the new version. For people who hadn't driven the older version, you will find the new one excellent and satisfying. You can throw both versions into corners, but the 2011 one will trump the 2013 Jet in this area when pitched face-to-face.

The old T-Jet+ is simply inch-perfect and refuses to be unsettled even in the worst of worst corners. The 2013 does show signs of saying "I'm human after all, I can only take on this much...", while the 2011 T-Jet will say "Is this the best you've got for me?? Come on...". While the 2011 T-Jet stuck to the road like it was fixed with Araldite adhesive, the 2013 version is a Fevicol in comparison. If I give the older T-Jet a 10/10 for handling and being the benchmark in this segment, the facelifted T-Jet will probably get 8/10. The other competition (barring Fords) would be ~5 or 6/10.


Braking :

The all-4 disc setup remains exemplary in the current version, just like it was in the older T-Jet. No differences were found in this area, so I won't dwell too much on this.


Build Quality :

Remains same as before. The tank-like build is superb, and the thick metal ensures that satisfying Thud every time you shut the boot or a door. I personally felt the doors were a little lighter on the 2013 T-Jet, because the Thud wasn't as loud or heavy as that on my car. This may very well be an illusion, since that test drive car was just a couple of days old.


Ground clearance :

Fiat always has a habit of overdoing the response to customer-feedback. When people said the 160mm GC of the old Linea was a bit too low, Fiat got together and raised the height by a staggering 30mm, which took it to SUV standards! (in fact, the Yeti's ground clearance is 185mm if I remember correctly). Improve it to the necessary extent, but don't overdo it! For god's sake, no one is going to buy a T-Jet sedan and plough agricultural fields with it!

The old T-Jet+ came with 16" wheels and 205/55 tyres, which brought the ground clearance from 160mm to a healthy 170mm. I haven't had any issues with the 170mm GC over my 2 years of usage and extensive highway driving, sometimes to remote areas. They probably should have retained that setup to get the best balance of GC and handling. The T-Jet emotion now gets a ridiculously high 190mm of clearance! While this is a superb proposition for tackling bad roads and road trips to remote areas, the increased GC brings forth 2 disadvantages :

- One is the reduced cosmetic beauty. Historically, sedans have always looked good when they were low slung. No one likes to see sedans that look like high-heeled shoes. The 190mm ground clearance produces exactly this effect, it has a slightly lifted behind which is not so good to see now, when placed next to a pre-facelift Linea

- Another area is the slight compromise in dynamics which we've already discussed.

Here's the high point of the 190mm GC : in my total test drive distance, I didn't manage to scrape the ground / speed breakers/ potholes no matter how hard I deliberately tried to bottom out. BHPian floyd.bell test drove after me and he managed to scrape the engine guard plate only once on a very high manhole cover!

An option for prospective buyers if you are so concerned about the 190mm clearance : I just checked with the staff at the service centre: it is possible to retrofit the old Linea's suspension setup when you give your car for service. Opt for the older 170mm setup as and when time permits, if the increased centre of gravity bothers so much.


Ride Quality :

After experiencing a bit of body roll and deterioration in handling prowess on the newer version, I expected that they might have softened the suspension setup a bit. I was mistaken. The ride felt as plush and flat as the 2011 T-Jet. I couldn't find any difference in the ride quality, and couldn't find any hint of bounciness or anything compared to the previous gen car. This is from a backseat perspective and later even as a front seat passenger.


Some myths to dispel :

- Some posts on this thread and elsewhere on the web mention that the sun curtain was removed in the 2013 T-Jet. This is not true. The rear sun curtain was very much present on the Emotion car that I test drove.

- Spare wheel is now a steel wheel shod with 195/60R15 size rubber.

- I did not spot any audio system remote and the SA did not know about this. I don't think this is going to be part of the OEM ICE package. Some posts and sites seem to list that a remote will be supplied, which is not true.

- Another rumour floating around on the net was that the chrome lining strips along the bumpers and doors were done away with. That is also false, as you can see from my pictures of the demo car.


Salient points to note about the new T-Jet :

- Now comes with increased 190mm GC for the Emotion variant and 185mm for the Dynamic/Active variants.

- Rain-sensing wipers and Automatic headlamps are added to the feature list

- OEM ICE quality has considerably improved since the ICE vendor has been changed from Blaupunkt to Delphi.

- Total warranty (OEM standard + extended) is now 3 + 2 years as opposed to 2 + 2 years which was the earlier norm.

- Engine production of the T-Jet is localized as opposed to importing the engines which was the case with the earlier batch of T-Jets. This (localization) is enabling them to price the car at least 60k lesser than before.

- Breaking away from their previous mistake, the price of the petrol T-Jet Emotion is now lower than the MultiJet Emotion by almost a lac (thanks also to increased taxes on diesel cars), which is in line with what most of the manufacturers' lineups have. In 2011, the T-Jet+ costed 11.1L while the MultiJet Emotion costed 10.3L, something the masses did not find acceptable! After all, how can a petrol variant cost so much more??

In a nutshell, would I recommend this car to a fellow enthusiast?? Hell yeah! I bet you cannot have as much fun as you would with this car for southwards of 15L. Modding potential is also immense since this car can easily handle 200+bhp of power without requiring any major revamps. It is the only turbo-petrol in its segment (forget Polo GT since that's a hatch), handles fantastically and provides the best ride quality in its segment. Take a test drive of this car, and I doubt you will buy anything else if you allow the petrolhead in your mind to take over.

[GrammarNazi]

Thanks KarthikK for the comparo! Your T-Jet looks fantastic! Excellently well kept!

I happened to get a long (60km) test drive just last year when they were selling off the old stocks, and WHAT a lovely car it was. For me, NO other car has matched up with that till date. I was offered a 2011 T-Jet+ for 9.5L then, but decided otherwise coz petrol prices were a concern, but have off late felt fuel costs barely matter for such gems... Thinking of checking it out again!

Also, just needed to ask another thing : One of my friends said the Rear Seat folding is not like it used to be before (60:40 flat), is this true? (Quite surely its not, but just confirming incase!)

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Thanks KarthikK for the comparo! Your T-Jet looks fantastic! Excellently well kept!

I happened to get a long (60km) test drive just last year when they were selling off the old stocks, and WHAT a lovely car it was. For me, NO other car has matched up with that till date. I was offered a 2011 T-Jet+ for 9.5L then, but decided otherwise coz petrol prices were a concern, but have off late felt fuel costs barely matter for such gems... Thinking of checking it out again!

You probably should check it out again. Now that diesel prices are also going to be deregulated gradually, you won't gain massively by opting for a diesel car. Also, some pleasures can't be measured with money.

Also, just needed to ask another thing : One of my friends said the Rear Seat folding is not like it used to be before (60:40 flat), is this true? (Quite surely its not, but just confirming incase!)

I didn't observe anything different on the 60:40 fold lever clutches or on the floor height, didn't even think they would mess with changing the design on something so basic for what is essentially the same car. It should be the exact same 60:40 flat fold; I can check with the test drive car the next time I pass by that area. Are you sure this is different on the facelift??

[johy]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

[b]

In a nutshell, would I recommend this car to a fellow enthusiast?? Hell yeah! I bet you cannot have as much fun as you would with this car for southwards of 15L. ...

Take a test drive of this car, and I doubt you will buy anything else if you allow the petrolhead in your mind to take over.

Karthik,

I have been looking forward to reading your experience with the new T-Jet, but I never imagined it would be so detailed! This is nothing short of a mini-review. Thanks a lot. The pictures are really good and spot on.

And I am sure glad the car has not changed its character one bit!

I just wonder how the locally spun engine would compare to the videshi one?

Edit: As for the remote control for the music, the old T-Jet also came with a remote-controlled music system. I know many of us did not receive it (I did not), but I have seen pictures of the remote controller across some of the forums.