[amitoj]

Is the ANHC E-MT the lowest variant of ANHC? If so, then i'd recommend Jazz.

You had a doubt regarding how much money you'll be left with for mods and repairs (if any). Well, mods you wont be able to do while the car is under warranty and for repairs, you have insurance.

[Silverfire]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Is the ANHC E-MT the lowest variant of ANHC? If so, then i'd recommend Jazz.

You had a doubt regarding how much money you'll be left with for mods and repairs (if any). Well, mods you wont be able to do while the car is under warranty and for repairs, you have insurance.

Yes E MT is the lowest variant.
Mods as in ICE, Leather seat covers etc

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

Yes E MT is the lowest variant.
Mods as in ICE, Leather seat covers etc

Ah ok. My definition of "mods" has been "modified" over the years
Anyway, i say go for Jazz because you will get more creature comforts in it than in ANHC E. Since you really dont care much for the boot and bigger engine of ANHC, then why go for it? that too the lowest trim?

[kartho]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

Just finished a test drive of the City.
Looks awesome & has a sweet engine.
Reached 90 in the second gear comfortably and felt a definite surge beyond 4000 RPM.
Nice & stable at 100.
Brakes well... had to emergency brake from 100 when a rickshaw waala decided to suddenly take a U-turn from the slowest left lane..cutting across without any indicators The wheels locked up but the car tracked a straight line.
Space was fantastic at the back.

Downers
The E MT variant i am looking at comes with grey interiors and not the biege ones according to the salesman.
The ride at the back was slightly bumpy& the car scraped a speed bump right outside my front gate !


I have realized that with hatchbacks getting more and more advanced the feel of a hatchback is not really very different from a sedan.
A sedan offers more space at the rear & a bigger boot, but in terms of features and the feel of driving a Honda City is not a world apart from a Hyundai i20.
I don't understand why the mags keep harping on "big car feel", "feels like a sedan" when the best sedan under 10 lakhs feels not so different from the hatches ( In fact i would rate the Punto to be much better than the City when it comes to ride & handling)

Thus for a single driver like me who doesn't need the backseat or the boot, i have started to wonder if a sedan really makes sense.
Especially in congested Mumbai.

Pls advice.

I agree with most of your observation on the Honda City. In other words, you can say its a good city car which could be priced lower, however its not a secret that Honda sells their products in India at a premium. Cant blame them if most of us think high price = prestige & high quality. If the fully loaded city is sold at the cost of the entry level variant, may be it made more sense. That aside, living in Pune, i share a similar concern like yours on the Ground clearance. I used to take my OHC all the time to a local garage everytime after a bad under belly hit, so that he could manually undo the damage caused by speed breakers and bad roads. Once I had to even replace the 'B' section of the silencer as the mileage and pick up was getting affected because of the repeated hits.

Regarding high speed handling / highway drives, the OHC did much better than the ANHC IMO. I feel very insecure in the ANHC in high speeds and i cannot ignore that. All said its still a decent buy if you are just looking for city drives and not bothered by the ground clearance and price.

Originally Posted by mkh

I will say in this case the smartest is Honday City or I20l. None can predict the future man, after 4 years who knows what will be the resale of ANY car. However 2 things
1. I am surprised at you referring to the i20 as tin can build?? It has a solid build and in fact a lot of safety features. If just the door "thud" is a measure of the build quality, i beg to differ big time. How else do you measure build quality than perfectly fitted parts, no blemishes, superb material quality and good safety features? Anyways will not like to debate on that
2. I20 will continue to be a standard in premium hatch segment for another year at the MINIMUM, with all planned launches over in this segment for this year and maybe next.( the rest are in the mid level hatch segment)

On the wow factor its the ANHC only. Jazz will probably get a "why this??" response!!
If you really want a wow factor- buy the i20 with sun roof and 6 air bags

Punto is technically v good, however you need to check 2 things
1. Just ask your friend to call them for a TD at his location, see if they turn up. I guess you went personally for the TD?
2. Check other owners on what they say about *** in your city, do not only go by here as most of folks here are FIAT lovers, so will ignore a lot of -ves
As for having a sedan, i am 100% in agreement that UNLESS its the real need for a large boot, or power or jsut the feel of a "big car" there is no use of buying a sedan, exactly why most action is in the premium hatch segment.

Resale will depend on how you keep the car, market dynamics at that time and other offerings at that time. Both ANHC and I20 will have a decent resale most likely.
Just my 2 cents.

+1 to this, I would rather stick to an i20 with sun roof and all other hip features rather than a Punto. For the record, i went personally for the TD of the Punto and still dint get a TD and neither did i get a call back - but this is almost a year back and may be things are better now, but why risk as i20 has your resale taken care too along with the wow factor ! Its a very practical purchase. If power is the issue, why not consider the 1.4 Auto ?

[Silverfire]

Completed the 2nd test drive of the Punto.
This time the vehicle was sent to my house and it was from Pandit Auto.
Big difference from the ill-maintained test drive car of B U Bhandari, whose engine insulation had blown off.
This time the Punto din't sound raucous or harsh. A little bit loud above 3500 rpm but nothing of undue concern.
The plastic handle of the seat height adjust had broken, but i guess the poor quality of plastics is something you have to accept and live with if you choose the Punto.
100 was reached with ease, and the ride & handling continued to impress. The steering was weighty and nice.

Felt that the rear seat space was better than the Ritz and much better than Dad's i10.

Overall, much impressed by the car.

At 6.7 lakh through CSD, the Punto offers a well built car, with great ride & handling, scorching looks, great mileage & loaded to the gills.

The comparable i20 is a lakh more expensive.

The downers are the poor plastics & the rumored bad A.S.S.
The resale value is also a bit suspect, but forum mebers are of the opinion that the MJD will carry value much better than the 1.2 or 1.4 petrol.

As GTO mentioned in his review, this is one hatch that really tugs the strings of your heart, making you stop trying to be "smart"

I think having finished all my allocated test drives its time for a decision.
And the choice this time is between


1. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red

2. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD ELectric Blue

3. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Bossa Nova white

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

I think having finished all my allocated test drives its time for a decision.
And the choice this time is between

1. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red
2. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD ELectric Blue
3. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Bossa Nova white

My vote is for "Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red". Did you happen to see Punto in newly added "Tuscan Wine" colour?

[Amartya]

I would recommend the Bossa Nova White. It's an understated colour that brings out the finer details in the Punto's design (e.g. the tail lamp cluster).

Congratulations on the choice, this is a choice you won't ever regret.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

1. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red

2. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD ELectric Blue

3. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Bossa Nova white

Are you in a hurry? It pays to wait for the Punto Sports which has 1.3MJD VGT of the Linea.

I too would vote for the Bossa Nova white.

Congrats, by the way.

[Silverfire]

Originally Posted by HammerHead

My vote is for "Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red". Did you happen to see Punto in newly added "Tuscan Wine" colour?

Naah, the car had come to my house.
The "Tuscan wine" looks like the "Morello" in the fiesta S... some deep shade of Purple.
Will see if its available in the showroom

Originally Posted by Amartya

I would recommend the Bossa Nova White. It's an understated colour that brings out the finer details in the Punto's design (e.g. the tail lamp cluster).

Congratulations on the choice, this is a choice you won't ever regret.

I am also gravitating towards the white. Can lift the decals from the Sportz edition then

Originally Posted by JVH

Are you in a hurry? It pays to wait for the Punto Sports which has 1.3MJD VGT of the Linea.

I too would vote for the Bossa Nova white.

Congrats, by the way.

Cannot wait till July.
I am decently happy with the current performance.
I presume the Punto sportz will come for a hefty premium ( Atleast 80k more than current E+) what with the powerful engine, decals, projector lamps, sunroof & leather interiors.
Better to buy this car and mod it as per ones wishes as and when the pocket is heavy with money !:P

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by mkh

You figured out wrong, a great buy surely caters to the popular demand and what most people want, not necessarily the reverse. Does not matter what it means etc, finally what people like is what sells the most. A great buy is one which YOU like and suits your need, the rest does not matter.

You contradict yourself here mate. Yes, a great buy is one which you like and suits your need, and the rest does not matter - whether it sells in great numbers does not matter.

If I come across a 70s Impala in good condition, it will be a great buy for me. I always wanted to buy such a car and restore. Forget about sales here, it still is a great buy for me.

If I can get an old Minolta 50mm prime lens, it will be a great buy for me because I have a camera body that suits that lens - you see great buy doesn't always mean that it should cater to popular demand, and it may not be something which everyone is dying to get.

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

I think having finished all my allocated test drives its time for a decision.
And the choice this time is between
1. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Exotic Red
2. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD ELectric Blue
3. The Fiat Grande Punto MJD Bossa Nova white

You finally want to go for a non-smart choice?

To my eyes, Bossa Nova White (with mean looking alloys) looks much better than Blue and Red.

[Silverfire]

Originally Posted by RX135

You finally want to go for a non-smart choice?

To my eyes, Bossa Nova White (with mean looking alloys) looks much better than Blue and Red.

Well there are some smart things about the Punto also :

1. The best ride & handling package this side of 10 lakh
2. The Diesel has decent power & Great Mileage
3. Superb build (Better than i20 & City)
4. Fully loaded at 7 lakh, unlike the City which at 9 lakh doesnt give even a ICE.
5. My driving will be in Mumbai/Pune where from what i have read on the forum, the A.S.S is decent.

[NutsNBolts]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

Overall, much impressed by the car.

At 6.7 lakh through CSD, the Punto offers a well built car, with great ride & handling, scorching looks, great mileage & loaded to the gills.

I wanted to buy Punto and ended up buying Linea? How? Prior to confirming CSD price, I had a budget of 6.8 OTR for Punto in Kochi. Checked up CSD prices and surprise. Linea 1.4 E+ cost me 6.5 OTR. Yes sir. Remaining money I used for putting Kaarlson seats. Check my thread for pics. So do think about it. A bigger car for even lesser money

[punitkakri]

Originally Posted by NutsNBolts

I wanted to buy Punto and ended up buying Linea? How? Prior to confirming CSD price, I had a budget of 6.8 OTR for Punto in Kochi. Checked up CSD prices and surprise. Linea 1.4 E+ cost me 6.5 OTR. Yes sir. Remaining money I used for putting Kaarlson seats. Check my thread for pics. So do think about it. A bigger car for even lesser money

Rightly said. Linea is a great car. Anyways one of your requirements is that it should be aspirational.. A good sedan will always be more aspirational in the minds of Indians as compared to a Hatchback

[Silverfire]

Big drama day today !!
Started the day at Pandit to book the car.
Big question was CSD or Direct dealer buy.
The guys at Pandit auto were extremely professional and i am extremely impressed with them.
But they dint have a clue about the CSD procedure.
In any case they had exhausted there stock of the Euro 4 1.3 emotion packs.
So CSD or direct dealer i would have to wait for 1 month minimum.

Shot across town to Bhandari.
They had the Punto euro 4 in stock !!!!!!!!!!
Bhandari had a guy dedicated to CSD queries.
He came up with a CSD quote which was 6.86 INR.
The direct dealer price was working out to 6.93.
But i knew from my Pandit experience that the CSD quote also gets free insurance worth 19k which this guy was denying.
Went and chatted up with the sales head at Bhandari.
She confirmed that the real CSD quote willl be 6.67.
A differance of 26k.
Should i pay extra and get the Punto right away or book through CSD and wait for a month ?

Came back home and called up my friends in Tata motors.
Asked them to call up Tata sales guys and confirm.
Meanwhile Bhandari CSD guy calls up and says CSD prices quoted were for Euro 3 variants.
Euro 4 variants might end up being 15k more expensive ( He is not sure as the new CSD price list is not out)
I am in a new dilemma now.

In the meantime my Tata motors friends call up and tell me its better to book directly through dealer.
You have the option of doing a PDI and rejecting the vehicle.
In CSD you have to pay the entire amount upfront and get the vehicle allocated to you.


In all this confusion i decide peace of mind is above the 20k that might be saved.
So i drove down to Bhandari and booked my Punto.
Red MJD.
Euro 4
March 30 date of manufacturing


Will go and do a PDI tomorrow at Wakad.
And start a new ownership thread hopefully

This Italian beauty is coming in on Tuesday