[swiftdiesel]

Congrats on your purchase! Great car this! I'm very much able to relate with your nightmarish experience with your dealer. Is this how all the companies do their PDI? When I got my Ertiga I decided to stay away from the dealer until he finished all the formalities, otherwise it will cause me a heartache to see the way they treat my car. Enjoy your drive and I'm sure you don't do valet parking like me!

[superutp]

Congrats on your new Punto. Happy amazing and safe kms in it.

Really enjoyed reading your ownership post. The icing on the cake was the photoshoot of Autofreaks Beat and your Punto. Two of my favorite looking hatchback's!

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by nandans2005

Congrats on your punto. Pretty sad to know the state of affairs with Fiat dealership. I mean there seems not even an ounce of respect for the business one gives them . The attitude of the workers in a organisation largely shows the management attitude.

I am also shocked to see the infrastructure of this dealership though i couldn't gather much from the pictures, but it seems pathetic. Cars parked on the road and stuff like these.

Punto is a good choice, no wonder. I have an Italian vendor who was in India last month. He was very happy to see the puntos here and said that his wife drives a punto in Torino , while he drives an Alfa Romeo !!

Safe Driving

Exactly. But I needed the car badly, had no other go, as this was the third booking. How I wished if there was an option to take delivery of the car directly from the factory!

Good to know about your Italian vendor. These cars have soul. I can see some Lancia/FIAT/Alfa Romeo branded parts under the hood. A la VAG for Volkswagen/Skoda/Audi.

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Congrats on the Punto, DRIV3R !!!

My friend @ Trichy has the same model in the same color and I had the chance to use the car for 3 days when he left it in my care @ Chennai, while he flew to Calcutta on work.

Thanks SB. So, how did you like the car?

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Congrats on your purchase! Great car this! I'm very much able to relate with your nightmarish experience with your dealer. Is this how all the companies do their PDI? When I got my Ertiga I decided to stay away from the dealer until he finished all the formalities, otherwise it will cause me a heartache to see the way they treat my car. Enjoy your drive and I'm sure you don't do valet parking like me!

Not really. I have seen this only in TATA Fiat. Other guys do rash driving, but not torture like what I have explained in my OP. I mean, who could rev a brand new diesel engine to the red-line in the name of PDI!!

Maruti guys are very professional from what I have seen, don't you worry.

Originally Posted by superutp

Congrats on your new Punto. Happy amazing and safe kms in it.

Really enjoyed reading your ownership post. The icing on the cake was the photoshoot of Autofreaks Beat and your Punto. Two of my favorite looking hatchback's!

Thanks buddy! Well, I and Auto Freak are buddies from school and both are absolute car nuts.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Thanks SB. So, how did you like the car?

It was a new experience for me on various fronts. My first diesel-car experience if I discount the Jeep I drove a few times many years ago. And my first proper Fiat car experience (a friend's Premier Padmini I drove does not obviously qualify as a Fiat). I loved the torque (goes endlessly at 40kmph in 5th gear with no A-input), the MID, the thud and other nifty features, but I guess I am more a petrol-head. I did jot down the pros and cons on a daily basis on Notepad, but did not save the file assuming that Hibernation will always work on my laptop. Till one day, it shut down instead of hibernating and all the info was lost. But yes, it is a good choice to consider in the current crop of diesel hatches.

[DRIV3R]

I left out to jot few more dislikes in my first post:

• Long clutch pedal travel
• No A2DP streaming for Bluetooth

Here are few cheap bits from the car, FIAT you need to step up here!


Cheap rubber almost everywhere, FIAT did a wrong move by outsourcing manufacturing to TATA!


Here is the door beading.










Here is the cheap fog-lamp reflector, look at the finish of the reflector, like a teenager's pimpled face! I have seen properly finished ones in bi-cycles, and this a 8L rupee car!





This is the rubber above the windshield, just near the wipers.





[Note in picture itself, for the below one]





And this is one more niggle I found, the power steering oil is leaking!








More pictures coming shortly.

[DRIV3R]

Please refer to the foot notes for the below pictures.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

I left out to jot few more dislikes in my first post:

These pictures remind me of my Yezdi Roadking (when it was bought brand new in 1996). Crude bits here and there, oil and grease could spoil the shoes, but the overall the happiness quotient was unmatched (compared to the super finished 100cc Japanese motorbikes)

Enjoy the beautiful Fiat...

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by vb-san

These pictures remind me of my Yezdi Roadking (when it was bought brand new in 1996). Crude bits here and there, oil and grease could spoil the shoes, but the overall the happiness quotient was unmatched (compared to the super finished 100cc Japanese motorbikes)

Enjoy the beautiful Fiat...

You said it! Despite these cheap bits and niggles, just one drive and you are sold.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Is your car with the upgraded ground clearance package? If so, what is the measurement in mm please?

Hi Shankar, the GC for front axle was 18 cm and for the rear axle was 13 cm, measured from the lowest point, which was some suspension bit in the rear. Please refer to the pics in the other post.

[DRIV3R]

Stock battery is from EXIDE! 50 Ah



Boot lamp comes on automatically once the hatch is released



Somebody kidnapping you in the Punto? No problem, just pull out this red string to release the hatch from inside.



The footwell on the drivers side is pretty cramped. Notice the dead pedal.



Day-Night mirror useful during nights, when a moron with high beams is tailgating you. However, once it is clear, I resort to the day mode for better visibility.



Notice the door lever in locked position. Pull it gently to unlock all doors. Pull again to open the door. #European style



Door lever in unlocked position.





Fuel type mentioned on the lid and the filler cap.



Ground clearance up-front. Notice the engine sump guard.



Ground Clearance at the rear.



Found this sticker in the glovebox, not sure what they are trying to say.



Driving in the rain? Hatch door dirty? Use this recess to bring the hatch down.



Neat hood release lever.



Nice key-fob. FIAT calls this as desmodronic foldable key! Once you press the unlock button and if none of the doors are opened within 30 seconds, the car locks itself back!

The Linea's key-fob gets a third button for the boot release.



Leather wrapped steering wheel.



Monogram thieves beware! These logos are firmly secured, bolted to a clamp on the body.



The 2012 models get a matte finish for the B-Pillars. The earlier ones had a glossy finish and I suppose they were real paint while these ones are just stickers!



MID doubles up as a clock when the car is turned off!



Here are two pics to give you an idea about the minimum and maximum legroom for the front and rear.





No hanging/naked wires. Neat!



Poor rear visibility, due to the thick C-Pillar. Sometimes a boon, otherwise a bane.



Rear fog-lamp standard across all variants.



Single reversing lamp only, difficult while reversing into tight spots in the dark!



Rear seats are 60:40. Middle passenger gets only a lap-belt.




All 3 grab levers are retractable.



Pull this lever down for adjusting the steering height.



Steering mounted controls for Audio/Voice commands/Phone(Bluetooth). They are backlit BTW.





Rubber in place to prevent rattling of the rear parcel tray!

[DRIV3R]

It asks for a confirmation before deactivating the passenger airbag.




Notice the Passenger Airbag off light in the instrument cluster.



The wiper stalk is on the right, while the light stalk is on the left. After shutting the engine and taking out the key, tap the light stalk to left/right indicator position and turn on the parking lamp to activate the one side park lamp. This feature doesn't turn on while you shut the car with the indicators on, clever! #European Style





The doors open in three stages, just like most other European cars. The rear doors feel lighter and tinny when compared to the solid front doors. #European Style



The MID tells you which door is actually open.



Trip computer controls in the Wiper stalk.



The Emotion variant and the 90 HP get tweeters up front.



195 section tyres stock for the Emotion trim.



The door pockets are pretty useless. You cannot stuff a one litre bottle there.



Vanity Mirror for co-passenger.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

The doors open in three stages, just like most other European cars. The rear doors feel lighter and tinny when compared to the solid front doors. #European Style

Wasn't aware that rear doors are thinner all across & was accusing Ford all this while.

Dislikes:[*]Brake issues

The ZDi has good brakes and you need not worry about its braking prowess.

On other aspects & once getting used to Europeans, you simply won't get back to others. The chassis, the steering feel is enough to warrant the same Car again over others.

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Why the FIAT?

Baffles me as to why not the 90HP, when your budget was ~10L?

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Sheel

The ZDi has good brakes and you need not worry about its braking prowess.

Yeah, I am aware the brakes have stopping power, atleast with the ZDi, but there is an other issue. In crawling B2B traffic or while reversing, while half clutch is used, the brake booster does not get enough vacuum, thus leading to loss in brake bite. You can go through other related threads to confirm this.

Baffles me as to why not the 90HP, when your budget was ~10L?

In my books, it is either the 75HP Emotion OR the Linea Dynamic 2012/ Emotion 2011. 90 HP did not interest me much as the price difference between the 90 HP and Linea tilted the favour towards the latter.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Lot of excellent pictures there - gave some new info to me! I had not done such detailed analysis on the parts - should try and see if the same applies to my car as well.

Some things that came to mind while going through the above pics?

1. Any issue with the A-pillar black sticker? Mine is not properly sticky at one place on the left front door.

2. How to activate the rear wash? Haven't tried the rear washer yet.

3. Inspite of the rubber boot on the parcel tray - it rattles, doesn't it?

4. I had no idea what that red string in the boot was for! Thanks.

5. How is the music system (speakers) holding up? Mine started cracking at around 4k+ on the odo. And it became almost useless at around 6k kms on the odo.

6. Sadly - I saw a Punto today morning in our area with the logos missing. I guess thieves have a workaround for everything.

7. Even the stock HU is made for Lancia/ FIAT/ Alfa - Made in Portugal. Stock front speakers in my 90HP was Alfa/ Lancia/ FIAT branded and made in Poland.

8. Sure 90HP comes with tweeters? I dont remember noticing any during the ICE installation. Infact, I forgot about it altogether - but I had taken tons of pics - the door pad just seems to have a weird cut for speakers. If you look closer in the pics you attached - the shape inside is not round also, right?

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Somebody kidnapping you in the Punto? No problem, just pull out this red string to release the hatch from inside.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

4. I had no idea what that red string in the boot was for! Thanks.

Nice detailed review with lot of attention to detail

Me thinks the red string opens the fuel lid from inside - it acts as an over ride for the fuel lid release lever near the driver seat. Can you kindly confirm it?

[hemanth.anand]

Nice close up shots DRIV3R

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Somebody kidnapping you in the Punto? No problem, just pull out this red string to release the hatch from inside.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Me thinks the red string opens the fuel lid from inside - it acts as an over ride for the fuel lid release lever near the driver seat.

Its for opening the fuel lid if the driver side floor level lever fails or if you are near the boot!

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

The 2012 models get a matte finish for the B-Pillars. The earlier ones had a glossy finish and I suppose they were real paint while these ones are just stickers!

The glossy ones are also stickers and not paint.
Atleast thats what I got on my 2010 punto.