Sx4 Zxi or Linea Petrol Emotion pk - Which is VFM?

drashkum · 26th March 2009, 18:51

i wanted my dad to start the car and drive first followed by my uncle and then ,me so that each of us could assess the front and back travelling separately.

when i put the key ( foldable with keyless entry with boot release copied from skoda) there was a driver facing keyhole just like verna. but sx4 has a light glowing around the keyhole which would aid putting key which linea missed. but sx4 had a side facing key hole.
i was told by the executive that on insertion of a fake key the engine wiuld be immobilised and only a regular key can start the car again. it also hads a double carnk prevention system just like ford ikon which i once owned.

when my dad started the car and drove forst thing he said was " suspension is good". and my uncle retorted saying " clearence is also good". my father and i had left clearence issues with verna but it seemed tobe not there atleast in linea. i agree the gc is too good in sx4 and i scores greatly over linea in the commanding position that driver is in sx4. but its not that bad in linea . the clearence is 165mm sorta ok for it. handling was superior to sx4 at low speeds and high speeds too . we drove through pot holes intently and it didnt have us thrown all over as in verna. in sx4 too i was not very comfortable driving in lowspeeds in potholes. linea seemed a better thing in suspension.

sore point: the response under 1000 rpm is almost similar to sx4 that made my father ask " is this a deisel or a petrol car". he was used to driving verna which is good at low rpm. but above 100rpm it easily cruised to any pushing of accelerator.

the braking was good to with ebd and abs. the executive asked us to go at 80-100km speed ( this time my mother and aunty did not come) and hit the break suddenly which we did and car didnt throw us apart and we had some good excitement. car didnt budge sideways.

after crossing 100km there was a beep sound cautioning us to go slow ( was set by mfr to prevent td vehicle from overspeeding).

couldnt test the car for higher speeds.

again the sore point was a hard seat. the dealer promised that the issue will be resolved if i put a art leather seat cover. hope it resolves!!

another sorepoint: when coming on a speed breaker ( there is a mountain like speed breaker near my home. 4 times as big as a normal speed breaker) car repeatedly got scrathched underchasis with a sharp sound when fully loaded. the execitive told this wouldn happen if it is normal size.

the nvh was good at 100km speed just like other cars in segment. and manytimes better than santro.

i wanted to take reverse of the car to see if there was visibility issues with rear. i always have issues of rear visibility with verna as it also has a high rear end. but this was better than verna. and way ahead of sx4 which i was not comfortable reversing.

on the whole my dad/ mom/ uncle was satisfied with the car. my uncle owns a indica. he was first jittery about fiat a.s.s but when he saw the brochure that had concorde in name he was pleased . he had got the indica from concorde. i explained to him about the fiat tata jv . he said " if it was a separate fiat i would not have recomended it but since it is a tata association we need not worry about the a.s.s"

that sums up the td of fiat linea.......

tomorrow is the decision day!!!! let me wait till tomorrow to think about it

thats all folk for now. will get back tomorrow

gemithomas · 26th March 2009, 22:19

At last. After some real hot discussions. You have proven some apprehensions wrong and some right. Anyways. All the best. Choose the car you love to be in.

And dont forget to post an ownership report with pics

VahanPujari · 26th March 2009, 22:47

Dr. Ashwinkumar,

They say certain things in life are worth waiting for. Your TD justified that. This is the most extensive TD I've ever seen with minutest item mentioned. All the best for your decision

joy_swift · 26th March 2009, 22:51

Guess you would veer towards the Linea.Although the seats being uncomfortable maybe an issue....Although the suspension is better but the GC not so much.Bla,Bla,Bla

The sole intention is to confuse you

It will be a very hard decision for sure

Btw,where is your SX4 TD report?Sorry if I missed it in the thread.

d_himan · 26th March 2009, 23:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by amit

I find the NVH is poor for a 8 lakh rupee car. I would say this even if it was a Fiat Sx4, Honda SX4 or Ford SX4. Unlike many on this forum, I do find and accept faults in my car.

Wholeheartedly agree with Amit. Before people pounce, my family's a Maruti lover (a Swift VXi, a Swift VDi, a SX4 ZXi)

1. Very noisy on concrete roads. Above 120 kmph, there is also some air turbulence from the A Pillar (initially thought the windows weren't closed, but they were!) Yes, the original JKs make a din too. The suspension makes noises.The NHC/Fiesta/Linea are WAY more refined.

2. 9-9.5 kmpl with reasonably hard city driving. That's ok to me, a Kmpl or two more wouldn't have excited me terribly.

3. Superb over potholes. And one of the few cars one can bully autoricks with! I love to drive it in crowded roads. Also, superb, confident brakes.

4. I personally like the firm ride. But gets a bit twitchy, like an ostrich bobbing its neck when there is pronounced road undulation.

5. Coarse engine. Too much noise again at 3500+ rpm. Revving the Swift VXi and touching 170 kmph is so much more fun and involving than the SX4! I think the SX4 is just not meant to be driven flat out. Sometimes, i think the SX4's engine feel is like the VDi at city crawls, the same noise and slight sluggishness (compared to the Swift's petrol)... just that there's no turbo, just the lag!

The Linea Petrol, which I tested, felt equal or maybe worse in city responsiveness. I'd pick it up though, if the choice is between SX4 and the Linea purely for the fit/finish/looks (subjective)

drashkum · 27th March 2009, 07:50

it has got a rear fog lamp( a lamp in the tail lamp itself a additional thing)for hill use. a foldable back seat as in every car, a clock, external temparature indicator

the digital display i have seen in dash is the most impressive i have seen in recent cars ( more informative than skoda). what impressed my father was it was even able to tell which door is open( rear left door open) which sometimes is useful in day to day life when some one doesnt close the door and we have to fish out which door is open.

the MID( multi information display) also tells u how many litres of petrol u have in tank / how many kilometers it will go when u travel in particular speed, what is the current fuel efficiency in that particular speed and blah blah.

one great feature is blue and me

it does not support all phones. it supports most of nokia and sony ericsson phones and all windows mobiles. after connection it gives a pin code for pairing. it copies the phone book of your phone to the car. and when u say " dial" it says please give me the number and when u say wife iot dials to my wife. what ever call u make or recieve comes on the speakersand there is a inbuilt mike where u can speak.

the message reader supports message sent only via blue tooth.

the good thing is that when u r playing the stereo it cuts off the stereo when the call comes and restarts it when the call ends.

a great handy for me in indian traffic conditions!!!

drashkum · 27th March 2009, 13:10

hi Guyz I Am Very Happy To Inform You That I Have Booked
Linea Emotion Pack Petrol Flamingo Red

Seems It Will Take 3 Weeks Time To Come. The Dealer Has A Silver And White Readily Available But I Didnt Want To Go For That Colour.

So Wish Me A Happy Motoring...................

Ill Let U Know In Subsequent Posts Why I Chose This Car Over Sx4

VahanPujari · 27th March 2009, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by drashkum

a foldable back seat as in every car,

Is foldable backseat available in every car in this segment? not sure hence would like to ask respective car owners.

supremeBaleno · 27th March 2009, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by drashkum

Ill Let U Know In Subsequent Posts Why I Chose This Car Over Sx4

Did you already TD the SX4 ? Dont remember seeing your report here.

shantyrocks · 27th March 2009, 14:03

congratz dude!
linea is a amazing VFM luxury sedan in its segment.

drashkum · 27th March 2009, 14:45

Quote:

Did you already TD the SX4 ? Dont remember seeing your report here

@ supreme

i td sx45 but couldn write a detailed report i am going to write that too and also why i chose linea over sx4 within a day or 2

architect · 27th March 2009, 15:04

Congratulations

The people at the Tata-Fiat dealer told me that Linea petrol is selling better than expected (they expected only the diesels to sell!). Even the stats on Team-BHP show it.

Just a few points:

1. Hard seats (firm seats) are good for long drives. Get seat covers with good padding and you have the best of both worlds.

2. Except SX4, most sedans will scratch with mountain-like speedbreakers. So take it easy.

3. Written or not, airbags will make you secure (just because you mentioned feeling secure after reading "Airbags"). Saw a badly crashed Linea at the dealers. Vehicle had hit a two-wheeler whose rider got thrown on to the windscreen. The airbags had deployed (good to see that they worked!), the windscreen was intact (laminated) despite the being totally cracked, the engine etc had not suffered too much damage despite frontal impact with something (not the bike, I guess). Behind the bumper and lights and radiator, the car was quite intact.

VahanPujari · 27th March 2009, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Did you already TD the SX4 ? Dont remember seeing your report here.

Looks like drashkum has already checked/ owned many cars as his TD on Linea mentions almost all cars in this segment & also some in hatch segment while he was comparing every part / feature/ function of Linea with many other cars.

supremeBaleno · 27th March 2009, 15:37

Well, as per him, he was going to TD both cars back-to-back & post his impressions. So while I saw the Linea TD report, I did not see anything on the SX4. Hence my query.

finneyp · 27th March 2009, 18:39

Congrats Drashkum! Great choice!

Welcome to the Fiat club!

26th March 2009, 18:51	#136
drashkum BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: chennai Posts: 226 Thanked: 206 Times	the drive!! i wanted my dad to start the car and drive first followed by my uncle and then ,me so that each of us could assess the front and back travelling separately. when i put the key ( foldable with keyless entry with boot release copied from skoda) there was a driver facing keyhole just like verna. but sx4 has a light glowing around the keyhole which would aid putting key which linea missed. but sx4 had a side facing key hole. i was told by the executive that on insertion of a fake key the engine wiuld be immobilised and only a regular key can start the car again. it also hads a double carnk prevention system just like ford ikon which i once owned. when my dad started the car and drove forst thing he said was " suspension is good". and my uncle retorted saying " clearence is also good". my father and i had left clearence issues with verna but it seemed tobe not there atleast in linea. i agree the gc is too good in sx4 and i scores greatly over linea in the commanding position that driver is in sx4. but its not that bad in linea . the clearence is 165mm sorta ok for it. handling was superior to sx4 at low speeds and high speeds too . we drove through pot holes intently and it didnt have us thrown all over as in verna. in sx4 too i was not very comfortable driving in lowspeeds in potholes. linea seemed a better thing in suspension. sore point: the response under 1000 rpm is almost similar to sx4 that made my father ask " is this a deisel or a petrol car". he was used to driving verna which is good at low rpm. but above 100rpm it easily cruised to any pushing of accelerator. the braking was good to with ebd and abs. the executive asked us to go at 80-100km speed ( this time my mother and aunty did not come) and hit the break suddenly which we did and car didnt throw us apart and we had some good excitement. car didnt budge sideways. after crossing 100km there was a beep sound cautioning us to go slow ( was set by mfr to prevent td vehicle from overspeeding). couldnt test the car for higher speeds. again the sore point was a hard seat. the dealer promised that the issue will be resolved if i put a art leather seat cover. hope it resolves!! another sorepoint: when coming on a speed breaker ( there is a mountain like speed breaker near my home. 4 times as big as a normal speed breaker) car repeatedly got scrathched underchasis with a sharp sound when fully loaded. the execitive told this wouldn happen if it is normal size. the nvh was good at 100km speed just like other cars in segment. and manytimes better than santro. i wanted to take reverse of the car to see if there was visibility issues with rear. i always have issues of rear visibility with verna as it also has a high rear end. but this was better than verna. and way ahead of sx4 which i was not comfortable reversing. on the whole my dad/ mom/ uncle was satisfied with the car. my uncle owns a indica. he was first jittery about fiat a.s.s but when he saw the brochure that had concorde in name he was pleased . he had got the indica from concorde. i explained to him about the fiat tata jv . he said " if it was a separate fiat i would not have recomended it but since it is a tata association we need not worry about the a.s.s" that sums up the td of fiat linea....... tomorrow is the decision day!!!! let me wait till tomorrow to think about it thats all folk for now. will get back tomorrow
	() Thanks

26th March 2009, 22:19	#137
gemithomas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,366 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	At last. After some real hot discussions. You have proven some apprehensions wrong and some right. Anyways. All the best. Choose the car you love to be in. And dont forget to post an ownership report with pics
	() Thanks

26th March 2009, 22:47	#138
VahanPujari BANNED Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,308 Thanked: 8 Times	Dr. Ashwinkumar, They say certain things in life are worth waiting for. Your TD justified that. This is the most extensive TD I've ever seen with minutest item mentioned. All the best for your decision
	() Thanks

26th March 2009, 22:51	#139
joy_swift BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Kolkata Posts: 342 Thanked: 95 Times	Guess you would veer towards the Linea.Although the seats being uncomfortable maybe an issue....Although the suspension is better but the GC not so much.Bla,Bla,Bla The sole intention is to confuse you It will be a very hard decision for sure Btw,where is your SX4 TD report?Sorry if I missed it in the thread. Last edited by joy_swift : 26th March 2009 at 22:56.
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 07:50	#141
drashkum BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: chennai Posts: 226 Thanked: 206 Times	a few more points to add it has got a rear fog lamp( a lamp in the tail lamp itself a additional thing)for hill use. a foldable back seat as in every car, a clock, external temparature indicator the digital display i have seen in dash is the most impressive i have seen in recent cars ( more informative than skoda). what impressed my father was it was even able to tell which door is open( rear left door open) which sometimes is useful in day to day life when some one doesnt close the door and we have to fish out which door is open. the MID( multi information display) also tells u how many litres of petrol u have in tank / how many kilometers it will go when u travel in particular speed, what is the current fuel efficiency in that particular speed and blah blah. one great feature is blue and me it does not support all phones. it supports most of nokia and sony ericsson phones and all windows mobiles. after connection it gives a pin code for pairing. it copies the phone book of your phone to the car. and when u say " dial" it says please give me the number and when u say wife iot dials to my wife. what ever call u make or recieve comes on the speakersand there is a inbuilt mike where u can speak. the message reader supports message sent only via blue tooth. the good thing is that when u r playing the stereo it cuts off the stereo when the call comes and restarts it when the call ends. a great handy for me in indian traffic conditions!!!
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 13:10	#142
drashkum BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: chennai Posts: 226 Thanked: 206 Times	Booked hi Guyz I Am Very Happy To Inform You That I Have Booked Linea Emotion Pack Petrol Flamingo Red Seems It Will Take 3 Weeks Time To Come. The Dealer Has A Silver And White Readily Available But I Didnt Want To Go For That Colour. So Wish Me A Happy Motoring................... Ill Let U Know In Subsequent Posts Why I Chose This Car Over Sx4
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 14:03	#145
shantyrocks BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: thane Posts: 741 Thanked: 5 Times	congratz dude! linea is a amazing VFM luxury sedan in its segment.
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 15:04	#147
architect Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Ghaziabad, U. P Posts: 1,359 Thanked: 764 Times	Congratulations The people at the Tata-Fiat dealer told me that Linea petrol is selling better than expected (they expected only the diesels to sell!). Even the stats on Team-BHP show it. Just a few points: 1. Hard seats (firm seats) are good for long drives. Get seat covers with good padding and you have the best of both worlds. 2. Except SX4, most sedans will scratch with mountain-like speedbreakers. So take it easy. 3. Written or not, airbags will make you secure (just because you mentioned feeling secure after reading "Airbags"). Saw a badly crashed Linea at the dealers. Vehicle had hit a two-wheeler whose rider got thrown on to the windscreen. The airbags had deployed (good to see that they worked!), the windscreen was intact (laminated) despite the being totally cracked, the engine etc had not suffered too much damage despite frontal impact with something (not the bike, I guess). Behind the bumper and lights and radiator, the car was quite intact.
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 15:37	#149
supremeBaleno Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai / Kochi Posts: 5,547 Thanked: 2,703 Times View My Garage	Well, as per him, he was going to TD both cars back-to-back & post his impressions. So while I saw the Linea TD report, I did not see anything on the SX4. Hence my query.
	() Thanks

27th March 2009, 18:39	#150
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,716 Thanked: 319 Times View My Garage	Congrats Drashkum! Great choice! Welcome to the Fiat club!
	() Thanks