After a lot if wait, I finally got the Linea on Friday. I took her out for a quick spin, and here are my first impressions.
I will not go into performance of the car so soon, as its not going to be fair to comment on performance during running in. Specially when I am *trying* to keep the tacho hovering around 2K rpm.
Going into the bad: The plastics are pathetic. The first bit came off within 3 minutes of touching the car. I pulled the bonnet lever, and it just came off. Damn. :( There are visible gaps in the dashboard panels - specially under the steering wheel. I am afraid to pull the lever to open the trunk, incase it breaks. All this was so much better in my palio. Not what I expect from an expensive car. But that's it.
Now into the good: This is such a lovely looking car, that it guarantees turning heads. Its a great ice breaker. I kid you not, I have had children coming over and saying that this is a beautiful car. Drag their parents over for a chat. I am sure, that I would not have drawn so much attention, had I been driving a city, or an (ugh) dezire.
The build quality feels solid so far. Doors thunk as expected. So does the boot lid. Makes road irregularities vanish. No buzz or vibes felt.
Clutch play is long, but can get used to it. Dead pedal is big. can be an issue to people with big foot size. Gear shifts are a little hard, as compared to a Palio, but I guess, they will become smoother with age.
Steering adjustment is nifty. Need to get the driver armrest installed. That would make life so much better.
Music system is just adequate. Would have liked more control on the mp3 playing sequence. Already missing the steering wheel controls.
My Car feature is great. It made my life so frustrating during the initial drive on the expressway, since the speed threshold was beeping every 5 minutes. (I had set it to 85kmph) The instant average is great. Goes all the way to 33/34 when cruising at 80, in 5th gear. And all the information displayed is very useful. Specially door open indicator, and seatbelt indicators.
Internal space... ah, this car is huge. I cant touch the windscreen, when seated on the driver's seat. Family found the rear legroom very good. Its a 50% upgrade, when compared to the Palio.
Will update with medium term review soon.
Basic pic here:
Hey, it's me again...: Curvi-linea is here...
Cheers,
Hrishikesh Deshpande
24th August 2009, 13:23
