[julupani]

Originally Posted by Biraj

Are you sure about that? I can see the lap-belt in this pic from Karthikk's comparison between 2011 and 2013 version.



Source: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3151272

They have removed the centre head restraint but the lap-belt should still be there.

I had read it somewhere that the new car was classified as a 4-seater, thus thought that may be they have thus removed the seat belt as well. Apparently, I was mistaken.

[TheTeacher]

Originally Posted by shreeda

I too asked about the petrol and was told that they fill petrol for 500Rs. They were very confident that it would last for a decent distance. But because of the distance the car had to travel (about 80Km with stockyard - dealer - rto - dealer trip) before I got the delivery it was close to empty. My learning is that if you trust anyone in the Auto industry, you're asking for disaster!

I made sure the 5 litres had been put in immediately before I took delivery.

With Vecto at least, the car does not go to the RTO; a guy from the RTO makes rounds of different dealers, checks the paperwork and serial numbers and goes back to the RTO. The car stays put; at least mine did. It had "H 10" on the Odo when I took delivery.

In any case, I asked about and drove to the nearest bunk, about 0.5 km on the same service road as Vecto (heading towards Electronics City). I filled petrol for Rs. 600 at that HP bunk. Then I headed straight to the tyre shop to swap out the OEM tyres. Fortunately for me, I saw a Shell on the way (near Lalbagh) and filled up there.

[JishD]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Performance wise : I would say both T-Jet and TSI would be in same league with minimal difference

The Polo Tsi will leave the Tjet in its dust purely because the vague shifting Tjet gearbox is no match for the lightning quick DSG.

[Arkesh]

Originally Posted by JishD

The Polo Tsi will leave the Tjet in its dust purely because the vague shifting Tjet gearbox is no match for the lightning quick DSG.

Performance specs of both polo tsi a/t as per a leading automobile magazine is as follows:
0 to 100 for polo is 11.34 secs
0 to 100 for linea tjet is 11.05 secs.
Hence I don't thing linea will lag behind with polo's dust.
Not that I don't like polo but I would appreciate if you had a reliable source for reference.

[namit]

Originally Posted by JishD

The Polo Tsi will leave the Tjet in its dust purely because the vague shifting Tjet gearbox is no match for the lightning quick DSG.

Humble submission please drive the linea tjet extensively to know its prowess
Yes i have driven both and polo tsi is no match against the Fiat in question
To add here no car below 12 lakhs can match linea tjet and the only one above would be the laura tsi
Lets be fair

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by Arkesh

Performance specs of both polo tsi a/t as per a leading automobile magazine is as follows:
0 to 100 for polo is 11.34 secs
0 to 100 for linea tjet is 11.05 secs.
Hence I don't thing linea will lag behind with polo's dust.
Not that I don't like polo but I would appreciate if you had a reliable source for reference.

Well I guess the OP is talking about the gearshift. The Linea will take time to shift gears because it has a human behind the wheel whereas the automatic DSG is pretty fast.

That said, I don't think that's a fair comparison and the TJet is actually a very good car. Probably the best under 10lakh in India of its kind.

[evilmessiah]

The Linea T-Jet was displayed at my workplace on Friday and I didn't miss the chance to check it out and test drive it.

The Highs:

+ Stupid fast. Can reach triple digit speeds real quick. Linear, forceful and extremely refined power delivery.

+ Oodles of torque. Was pushed back into the seat multiple times. Something I miss in our Honda City iVtec.

+ Superb drivability. Cleared all the speed breakers in the vicinity of my office in 3rd gear easily. No complaints about the gearshift quality and the clutch either for the T-Jet.

+ Very direct steering feel. Again, more so than the City's steering- which is lighter and has lesser feedback.

+ Excellent brakes. I was surprised at how capable they are compared to the City.

+ Well sorted ride quality. Can't talk more about the handling as it was a short TD. Very glad to see that Fiat hasn't skimped on the tires.

+ SUV- class 185 mm ground clearance. Cool, but if it were my car, I would have lowered the suspension for better handling.

+ Tank-like build quality. The steel used in the Linea-Punto lineup has to be the thickest in the sub 10 lac segment. Closing the door is like closing the proverbial vault door.

+ Greatly improved plastic quality. I had been disappointed in this area when the Linea first came out. In fact, the main reason for us rejecting the Linea and buying the City was because of the poor plastic quality in the former (not to mention that I was less than thrilled with the 1.3 Multijet). Fiat has improved the plastic quality a lot in this regard. Not really Hyundai or German standard quality, but it's no longer a deal breaker as it used to be and is more than at par for the segment.

+ White Interior treatment and the white Nappa leather upholstery looks very classy to me.

+ Still a looker on the outside. Paint quality looks impressive.

+ Seems pretty loaded with gizmos. Didn't concentrate much here, though, as I was thrilled to bits with the driving experience.

+ OTR price was near 8 lacs after a 100K discount.

The Lows:

- Still some misfitting and badly aligned plastic bits. Fiat still hasn't learned to assemble the steering column cover with the ignition keyhole properly. Also, I noticed a misaligned plastic panel in the driver's door.

- White upholstery and plastics, though good looking, is sure to be a pain to maintain.

- No dead pedal, I think. I would love to stand corrected as I didn't really pay attention to this (was too thrilled by the drive).

- Bigger than usual turning radius. I think that the meaty tires contribute a lot to this.

- Fiat's after sales service is a gamble. It was terrible when TVS was in charge, rumored to be bad when teamed with Tata, and it remains to be seen how good it can be with an exclusive dealer.

I was ecstatic after TD-ing the T-Jet. I had been eyeing this car for a long time and the driving experience didn't disappoint. In fact, I had an overwhelming urge to return to the display booth and drive the car again.

The OTR price of around 8 lacs after a 100K discount is pretty good. You do get a lot of bang for the buck. But, Fiat's unknown service quality, fuel efficiency which is bound to be lower than that of our City (I get around 17 kmpl on the highway, my Dad claims to have got 22 kmpl once) make it an impractical choice for me at present. Still, the T-Jet tugs at my heartstrings (kind of like the RE Classic 500 did when I had been about to buy a bike a year back) like no other cars in the sub 10 lac segment do. Unfortunately, like most people, I tend to let my brain take over (I bought a CBR after being scared off by RE's A.S.S and pathetic QC). Which makes me sad. Cars like the Linea T-Jet and Punto 90 HP deserve to sell a lot more than some thoroughly mediocre cars (no offense to owners- just my personal take) like the Dzire and the Etios (not a best seller, but sells more than the Linea). I envy all the T-Jet owners out there. Wish I could afford one on my own and fly first class :-)

[DRIV3R]

You are all right except for the dead pedal bit.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by JishD

The Polo Tsi will leave the Tjet in its dust purely because the vague shifting Tjet gearbox is no match for the lightning quick DSG.

@JishD,

Have you driven both cars? What is the basis of your statement? If you have driven the cars, you can publish a report for the benefit of the members.

Cheers!

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

The OTR price of around 8 lacs after a 100K discount is pretty good.

Is this the pricing of the active variant ?

The ex-showroom price of the active variant is 7.9L in Bangalore, and the OTR price (before discounts) is a lot more.

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

You are all right except for the dead pedal bit.

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Is this the pricing of the active variant ?

The ex-showroom price of the active variant is 7.9L in Bangalore, and the OTR price (before discounts) is a lot more.

Sorry about both cases... as I said, my brain was all fuzzy after the piloting the T-jet Thanks for correcting me- that's one con struck off from the list! This car is seriously cool. The pricing wasn't for the Active variant- it was of a higher trim level with metallic color (Emotion, is it?) was 9 lacs something OTR, dropped to 8 lacs after a 1 lac discount.

[JishD]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

@JishD,

Have you driven both cars? What is the basis of your statement? If you have driven the cars, you can publish a report for the benefit of the members.

Cheers!

Hi Ajay,

I have TD'ed both cars twice - disclaimer being I dont own any of them. My feeling is that the Tjet only comes into its own once it hits 3rd , by which time the Tsi will be far far away. However the Tjet braking setup is unbelievably good...better than anything I have driven till 20 big ones. Need to haul up my lethargic self for the report though

[puchoo]

Originally Posted by JishD

The Polo Tsi will leave the Tjet in its dust purely because the vague shifting Tjet gearbox is no match for the lightning quick DSG.

You are right , the DSG is better but i would not agree on the T-Jet box being "vague" its not , the throw is a bit long but its precise and smooth and pretty quick as well.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

The Lows:

- Still some misfitting and badly aligned plastic bits. Fiat still hasn't learned to assemble the steering column cover with the ignition keyhole properly. Also, I noticed a misaligned plastic panel in the driver's door.

- White upholstery and plastics, though good looking, is sure to be a pain to maintain.

- No dead pedal, I think. I would love to stand corrected as I didn't really pay attention to this (was too thrilled by the drive).

- Bigger than usual turning radius. I think that the meaty tires contribute a lot to this.

- Fiat's after sales service is a gamble. It was terrible when TVS was in charge, rumored to be bad when teamed with Tata, and it remains to be seen how good it can be with an exclusive dealer.

The plastic bits have improved and it appears to be on a case by case basis . for example in mine , the ignition box is perfect.

Turning radius is big and i agree with you on that

Dead Pedal present , picture attached from my review for reference

[Kartik Kumar]

The wife and I did a short test drive a couple of weeks back and here is a very short good and bad points list from that drive

Positives.

1. Very good, confidence inspiring brakes. Makes you feel confident driving fast and braking late.
2. Good value for money compared to the competition.
3. Ride is good, stable and planted over good roads, yet to test over bumps and potholes at speeds low and high. Handling is very good and steering is precise but then I'm used to these (except the ride) in my hatch so it feels more of the same not something too far ahead of what I have.

Negatives.

1. Difficult to find a comfortable driving position. It was OK for me, not so for my wife who couldn't get one.
2. Lack of space inside compared to the size outside. My hatch has more space at the rear!
3. City driving promises to be a pain with the length of the car, large turning radius and turbo boost only available beyond 2200 RPM or so. It felt sluggish below that.

Fuel costs will kill you though. Multijet would have been good except that its underpowered. A 1.6l MJD would have been ideal and would be even more FTD than the current T-Jet (except that the 2014 Linea will have a different look not palatable to me).

[khoj]

Originally Posted by Arkesh

Performance specs of both polo tsi a/t as per a leading automobile magazine is as follows:
0 to 100 for polo is 11.34 secs
0 to 100 for linea tjet is 11.05 secs.
Hence I don't thing linea will lag behind with polo's dust.
Not that I don't like polo but I would appreciate if you had a reliable source for reference.

Originally Posted by sharninder

Well I guess the OP is talking about the gearshift. The Linea will take time to shift gears because it has a human behind the wheel whereas the automatic DSG is pretty fast.

So let me understand this better, the 0-100 timings above were obtained without changing any gears what so ever in either of the cars?

Originally Posted by namit

Humble submission please drive the linea tjet extensively to know its prowess

I would like to add to Namit's post above that apart from driving extensively, it would be best if members were to experience FIAT's A.S.S. before hand or at the very least find out regarding actual experiences from FIAT owners rather than posting comments based on hear say.

Whether one likes the car or not is one's own personal take and I have no qualms with that, however callous statements on the A.S.S. such as those being posted on the thread are getting a bit long in the tooth.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

The Linea T-Jet was displayed at my workplace on Friday and I didn't miss the chance to check it out and test drive it.

The Lows:

- Still some misfitting and badly aligned plastic bits. Fiat still hasn't learned to assemble the steering column cover with the ignition keyhole properly. Also, I noticed a misaligned plastic panel in the driver's door.

- Bigger than usual turning radius. I think that the meaty tires contribute a lot to this.

- Fiat's after sales service is a gamble. It was terrible when TVS was in charge, rumored to be bad when teamed with Tata, and it remains to be seen how good it can be with an exclusive dealer.

But, Fiat's unknown service quality, fuel efficiency which is bound to be lower than that of our City (I get around 17 kmpl on the highway, my Dad claims to have got 22 kmpl once) make it an impractical choice for me at present.

As for the long turning radius, comparable cars (size wise) such as the Corolla and in fact quite a few that are short on the wheel base such as the Vento, Rapid, SX4 etc have similar turning radii 5.5mts for the Linea and Corolla and 5.3 meters for the Vento, Rapid & the SX4. I fathom Linea is as difficult or as easy as any of the others to drive.

Further, the turning radius of any vehicle is not the result of it's meaty or skinny tires but is dependent on the vehicle's steering/rack & pinion geometry. Once again just like the comments on A.S.S. it will be best that such comments are based on factual knowledge of which this forum is a treasure trove.

Originally Posted by Kartik Kumar

Negatives.
3. City driving promises to be a pain with the length of the car, large turning radius and turbo boost only available beyond 2200 RPM or so. It felt sluggish below that.

Last but not the least the fuel efficiency. I too would like to have a vehicle that is safe, comfortable, confidence inspiring in its ability to handle all sorts of terrain, have really cheap spares, be able to out drag others, eat up generic traffic out on the highway..chew it up and spit it out of it's exhaust and yet return consumption figures just like my Zundapp used to.

In case we had a manufacturer who was able to crack all of the attributes desirable in a vehicle we would all be driving that one vehicle but then that is not so is it? One has to be realistic. While a given vehicle may excel in F.E. figures it might be lacking in handling or in-gear acceleration or spot on braking ability or safety or some other feature and so on and so forth. My JET does all of the above save for the Zundapp bit. So is it a bad car? no not to me, for me it is a fun vehicle that brings a smile to my face every time it spools up. Then should I tom tom it from roof tops? obviously not. Conversely my second Honda the "NHC" bought in 2006 used to give me 19 KMPL on the highway, yet I sold it within 6 months of buying it. Why? 'cause I found it lacking in build quality, unable to inspire confidence in high speed driving, poor handling, poorer braking and what not when compared to not another brand but to my Type 1 OHC which I bought in 1998 and sold in 2008. Does that make the NHC a bad car? should I drag it down at every opportunity? NO, where is the need to do that and what does it achieve? That car changed the game for Honda but did not do anything for me so I moved on.

Comparison is a must but then it has to be a balanced comparison. comparing the heavy, secure cocoon like build of Linea to a Honda with its lighter build is like comparing apples to oranges. The two manufacturers' design philosophy is as different from each other as chalk is from cheese. Heck, I cannot even compare Honda's build quality to my Mitsubishi's comparably heavier build then how do I compare it to that of the Europeans who are given to tipping the scales at the opposite end of the dial. Obviously this holds true inversely for consumption figures. Similarly to each his own but then why the kolaveri for the other brand. You do not like it fine, move on. Where is the need to unnecessarily drag any brand down? that too based upon rumors/assumptions.


Having flown the Jet for the better part of a year I have come to realize that this is one of the few petrol powered cars whose real World fuel efficiency (under normal traffic conditions and more so out on the highway) is comparable to what is claimed by the company under test conditions. Do note that under bumper to bumper traffic, fuel efficiency figures of any vehicle take a hit and FIATs are no exception to that but then out on an open highway and even in the city a drive under normal traffic conditions it can fetch you heart warming numbers.

Fuel costs will kill you though. Multijet would have been good except that its underpowered. A 1.6l MJD would have been ideal and would be even more FTD than the current T-Jet (except that the 2014 Linea will have a different look not palatable to me).

I am providing a link below to a fellow members post who has driven his Linea extensively across the length and breadth of the country & currently is on the return leg from his recent trip to the North. His Linea is a normally aspirated one however it will do to represent the point in case.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...ml#post3237783