[johy]

Pros

1) Handling, Handling, and Handling.
2) Turbo whine. You can hear it even at 1100 rpm. I will often switch off the car radio just to listen the music of the turbo whine!!
3) Excellent pickup in the turbo band.
4) Brakes are super. They are so good that you risk the chance of being rear-ended!
5) Safety (probably should be point #1). Apart from ABS with EBD, dual airbags for front, all 4 disc brakes, it comes with Fire cut-off switch. In case of a crash, the fuel gets cut off, the engine shuts off. Once the fuel shuts off, the doors unlock automatically and the cabin light will light up to facilitate safe exit. Now that is some reassuring safety feature.

Cons

1) What car am I going to replace it with next??
2) Huge turning radius. You need to plan it well. An Alto will often squeeze me on my right because I have to leave a huge amount of space to my right when making those U-turns.
3) Service might be a problem. So far the Tata service center has helped me out well. I just took the car for the 6-month free check-up (not service, service is every 15,000 kms) and they did a good job. I am hoping they come up with camps or a workshop for Siliguri soon. There are quite a number of Lineas and Puntos in this area of the country. In fact on some days I see more FIAT cars than Hondas!
4) Ground clearance is a bit too little for the roads that I sometimes drive in (semi-urban, neglected-by-the-government roads). So far, no damage, only soft soil scraped.
5) Fit and finish, especially of the interiors is not top notch. I see a lot of room for improvement here.

Prologue: "I love cars. I mean no offence to owners of other cars in this review. Our own GTO has written a very detailed review on the T-Jet. There might be some overlapping of perspectives. After all, it is, in effect the same car! I am no expert in narration or photography. This review if of the 2011 Fiat Linea T-Jet Plus. Or I will just call it the T-Jet Plus (Plus is the variant with Italian leather seats and 16 incher alloys). Fiat is scheduled to launch the 2013 T-Jet in two variants, Dynamic and Emotion. The Emotion should replace the T-Jet Plus. Bouquets and brick-bats may please follow."

Sneak Peek



For those of who love westerns, I think one of the best duels captured on film would be the one between Johny Ringo and Doc Holiday. I wonder how many of you have seen the movie Tombstone (1993). Well Johnny Ringo was supposed to be a fast one, quick on the drawn and shoot - until his duel with Doc Holiday. Johnny has barely pulled out his gun - by which time Doc has shot him and put his back his gun in the hostler - absolutely classic.

For the uninitiated, a small preview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGpajGj07BU

And in that corny way, I must say best describes the T-Jet. On the highway. There is that slow truck coming from the opposite direction. And the menacing Scorpio (no offence to any owners) behind it, he wants to overtake. Lines up. But before he has flashed his headlights, I am already there in the slot. It is too late. Ringo, you are not just fast enough.

Or when I am on an open stretch. There is one of those "fast" blue bikes with fat rubber just next to me. Again, a slow-moving truck to overtake. I downshift and hit the gas. The revs pull the T-Jet effortless and she grips the road as if she always belonged there. The world around seems to pause for a blissful moment. Overtaking maneuver over, I let go off the foot off the pedal. Revs drops. You can hear Glen Campbell over the stereo once again. It was as if nothing happened. She is driving like an old dignified lady. The bike catches up after a while. This guy is furious. He shows me the finger; he thinks I am "racing" him (all I was doing was overtaking a slow truck). Oh! egos! The dignified lady and I am smiling. We don't retort - we are dignified.

Circa August 2012. I decided to sell of my Baleno. No specific reason. Just that she was aging a bit fast than I would have liked. I had bought her pre-owned. In fact, she was lying in the yard with the financers, dust having enveloped her silver body. The previous owner had failed to pay his bit. I found the right guy to sort out the paperwork. And brought her home. And brought her back to life. New batteries. New rubber. And an occasional heavy foot. She would reward me well. Driver and car would be one driving down to Sevoke at 7 p.m. It was the fun car. The weekend car. Then parts became difficult to come by. On one occasion a Bolero reversed into my front grill and I was never able to find a replacement. So I got it fixed and painted the grill black. I also felt I needed a safer car. Airbags and ABS she had none. And so the decision was made to let her go. I put up an advert in Carwale and also on team-bhp.com. Soon queries started coming in. Everyone would love the car, but no one would buy it - it was frustrating. Meanwhile I decided to look up the next prospective cars.

My requirements

1) Replace the Baleno. You know it is a difficult thing to do the moment you decide to let this one go.
2) My running is not more than 600 kms per month plus/minus 10%. A petrol would do the job fine. But everybody told me this is the age of diesels and that there were no good petrol cars any more. They were to be proved wrong. Most of my running in the new car would be urban/semi-urban, open stretches. I have the Wagon R for city duty.
3) The car would be used for stress-busting drives as I like to call them. Take her for a spin at the end of a long day.

The Usual Suspects

Renault Duster. This was one of the first cars I got to check out. I went to the showroom one rainy morning to discover that they had just got the car the day before. You could feel the excitement among the staff there while they reversed the car to the parking lot so that I could take a closer look. I was not able to take a test drive then, but only after a month or so. Meanwhile, I made sure I took a good look all over.

This car was different. Felt different. Spacious.

But in some way it felt very familiar.

I spent time sitting at the wheel and then at the back. Looked around and then I realized it looked so very Spartan. Just like my Wagon R and so the familiarity! In fact, my driver asked me why on earth I would pay so much for a car that looked so uninteresting, so much like the Wagon R (he swore the Wagon R looked better!).

I was able to test drive the vehicle a few weeks later on an extremely rainy day over a bad patch of road. The car behaved well. Bumps were swallowed, not too much body roll. The high(er) seating position helped visibility. It is probably a sensible car to buy for a person who lives in these parts - where the roads are bad, especially if you are driving up the hills where the road can really be bad in some places. But for one thing. It was boring. No offence again to any owners of the Duster. It is a fine machine for what it is built to be. But coming from a Baleno, this was a dud. No testosterone. No estrogen either. It was a damp squib. The experience only made damper by the incessant North Bengal rain. Despite all that, I still kept the car shortlisted. Spartan for what you were paying for it. But still shortlisted.

Skoda Rapid: If you are on team-bhp, you will come across Skoda horror stories. And fan boys. But I love cars and so when I was willing to spend up to a million and possibly a bit more, I wanted to see the cars my money would buy. The Skoda and VW showrooms are just side by side at City Centre, Siliguri (or at least they were when I went to for a look-see; Skoda has since moved shop). So when you went to one shop, all the sales people from the other showroom would be staring at you from the next window. And vice versa. It is quite a feeling. You are a bit embarrassed, but I think they are more so than you are. You feel important, but then you are not sure if it is correct to feel that way. But the car is still to be looked at. And test driven.

From what I gathered on the forums, for both the Rapid and the Vento, you should be looking at diesels. So diesel it was. I have never liked diesel clatter. Say what you will, but these are noisy automobiles. Outside as well as inside. The first test drive was short like the usually are. You are quite not sure what to make of it. It felt okay ...then it felt good for a moment. Then it felt mediocre again. Something was quite not right. I wondered if it was the talkative sales lady. Or the diesel clatter. Not quite sure.

VW Vento Petrol Auto. Meanwhile a week or so elapsed and I had a look at the Vento as well. At first, as I wanted a petrol, they offered me an auto tranny for test drive. This belonged to the owner of the showroom. The car was well maintained and spotless. As soon as I hit the road, I stopped. And put it to Sports mode. Or whatever the mode is called - the one which makes the car seem to go faster. This was a solid car. Looked mature. Drove mature. Even the sales lady looked like a proper lady with her stiff-collared shirt et al. I could visualize myself driving this after 20 years. Yes , that would be me!

VW Vento Diesel Now that the formalities of driving the petrol was over, I got hold of the diesel. Everyone says if you want to drive a Vento, it should be the diesel. So a Diesel it would be. This one picked up pace a bit quicker, albeit with a lot of din and clatter. Diesel Clatter. I would probably get used to it. Otherwise, it felt just the same like its petrol brother. These were mature dudes. The German kind. I was not sure I would fit into one of these. For a while, it even felt like a car from a 70s German movie. Oh and it was a brand new showroom-ready deep blue Vento Diesel I got to drive. I know showrooms should not be giving away brand new cars for test drives. But that is what they did.

As I drove back to the VW showroom, the Skoda salesmen people were staring from the adjacent window. I had deceived them. I had broken the trust and was driving away in a brand new Vento. They were disappointed - but later relieved to see me walk away empty handed.

Skoda Rapid Redux. Relieved to learn that I had not bought the Vento, the Skoda sales lady approached me. I said I was not quite decided about the Rapid. I wanted a more extensive drive. So they promised to bring the car for a long 16 x 2 = 32 km drive. Wide open road. That is plenty of road for torque.

So another dull day at the office. It is the time between afternoon and before evening is setting in. The clouds are beginning to gather. Just then I get a call from the Skoda sales lady that they have come with the Rapid to my doorstep. I am thrilled. I need to get behind that wheel for this long test drive. In my mind, I am almost certain I will buy the car - once I am satisfied with this longer test drive. I take the car towards Sevoke - there is a very nice stretch of straight open road before you hit the hills.

Once we are past the army camp, I let the car open up. It starts raining almost simultaneously. Heavy Rain. It is raining cats and dogs in a while.

The seating position feels a bit weird. It almost feels I am sitting in a smallish SUV, a big high up. Not sure what is wrong, I pull over at the side of the road, adjust the seating, and restart. The seating still feels a tad weird.

We are making good speed; this car can go fast. Then all of a sudden, the sales lady asked me to pull over which I do.

Then she rolls down the window. Puts her head out. And pukes!

That was the end of the Rapid Story! I can smell all the diesel fumes once the windows are open. I don't feel like going for the Rapid now. All I think of is puke!

Honda City: It is customary to check out the Honda City, isn't it? It checks almost all the check boxes for a petrol car, free-revving engine, tried and tested, better still with sun roof and leather seats. That is what I get to see at the dealer's. And I am impressed enough to sign at the dotted line. Puny wheels are are no-no, but that can be sorted out later. The test drive is good. I floor it, till almost the redline. Good. Nice small steering. A big light, but that is going to be boon in traffic. I short list this car. Even though it is some dated, I kind of like it.

Fiat Linea T-Jet: I will be frank with you guys. I had never considered it. I had read GTO's extensive review. Felt good to read, but never thought about it. Then I just thought, I should go and take a look. After all, the Tata-Fiat showroom is just next to where I live.

There is a humongous Aria parked there besides a bright-yellow Nano. We are asked to sit on a sofa just behind the Nano. And once you sit there, nobody can see you. There is no fan, no AC. No one brings water either. For a moment you wonder if you are in a Tata Showroom or a sarkari office. So I sit there and all I can see is the Nano doors. I get impatient after a while. I want to see the T-Jet. The lady at the desk is not sure what I am talking about.

She asks "Petrol Linea, sir? Sir, the Fire engine one, bery good?'" She points to the brochure.

I say "No, No. I want to see the Linea T-Jet. She says there is no such model.

"Wait, why don't you speak to the territorial manager."

So she makes a call to him (he is apparently in Kolkata) and I get to speak to him. He understands what I want. And he then speaks to the lady. Apparently, they have a T-Jet somewhere, a test drive vehicle.

I am asked to wait for a while. 10 minutes. It is 30 minutes in the end of it all.

Then a guy who looks like a driver comes in and says he has got the car. "Sir, tel khatam ho gaya tha.". Good.

There is light blue car he has brought. Nothing like what I would like to buy. Leather seats, yes, but dirty. They look almost grey. It is a test drive vehicle, so I think this must be abused and stuff. The car feels big. And feels like a vault. Yes, exactly what GTO wrote about. And in the narrow road, I am suddenly aware of this car being long. I am even a bit afraid I might bang it up. I have driven long cars, the Sonata, and this one for some reason feels very very long. It is a short drive. Then after a while I hit 1500 rpm or so and she transforms, pulls away with ease. Then I get go off the foot, and she eases again. The heavy steering feels good. And solid. The big tires are gripping the road well. Handling is oddly precise.

Of all the cars I had test driven, this makes you feel the car, the surface, you can feel you are driving. I suddenly realize this car is in a different league. These guys have made the car with a lot of thought.

I don't like the way the front of the car looks. To me, looks like an old lady. My better half says the car looks beautiful. After a few days I visit the showroom again. The same one where they make you sit behind a Nano. They have now put the T-Jet on display there. I still don't like how it looks (from the front). I am perhaps conservative. The lady still says it looks beautiful. And looks better on the roads (in retrospect, I think she was correct; this car does look better on the roads).

I start looking for Lineas on the road. That evening on the stress-busting drive in the Baleno, I see a white one speeding ahead. It is a Multijet. Suddenly the cars look stylish to me; what have I been missing? Not the Linea commercials on TV. They looked good. And sounded even better!

I start convincing myself I could go for this car instead. Yes, there could be service problems. And is not a new model. A 2011 model, but cash discount of 1.15 lac, exchange bonus of 1 lac, free insurance. And a turbo-charged petrol! My driving is limited so a petrol makes sense (I will be frank; you don't buy the T-jet for the mileage). And none of the cars I have driven drives like this one. Hey even the step-ney is an alloy one! (compared to those German breeds where they are giving you 4 alloys; ' sorry saar, VW only gives steel as step-ney; you don't need alloy in step-ney."

I also read about the race-ready spark plugs (no big deal, I think) and race ready pistons (this sounds good).

I also quite like Blue-and-Me. True, the novelty would wear away fast. But every now and then, some friend asks me to show them my car. I am telling them about the engine and the turbo, and the grip and handling. And they are not getting me. So I press the "windows" button and say "settings." She replies "settings" They are impressed! The non-petrol head friends!"

Booking and Delivery

So finally I decide to take the plunge. I won't crib about the booking bit. But I will say this much. They were hardly selling any numbers, but they still make me wait for an eternity! I pay up a lac as advance. And still go through a long waiting period (3 weeks!).

(Saar, transport truck is stuck-in-Madya-Pradesh story. Then a few days later they tell me the truck has started from Pune! - Surely the Fiat-Tata guys must have their atlas printed upside down!). A few e-mails, a few threats (I think they serve more as reassurance for guys on team-bhp), and finally I get the car. Damn.

Delivery day was one longgggggggggg day. They take the entire day to transport the car from the trailer to the showroom, which is 2 kms away. In the end, I lose my patience, go to these guys and tell them I am taking the car. Now! Now the showroom owner is my school mate. His manager is cribbing about some papers from HDFC.

"Arre! Papers or not. I am going off with this one."

In the Wagon R days, when you got a car, you got a dabba of sweets from the dealer. No longer. But I made sure I gave a dabba of sweets to the service manager at the workshop. And it has helped me in due time.


Ex-showroom price: Rs 9,59,943
Model: T-Jet Plus 2011.
Discounts: 2, 15,000 (1 lac exchange bonus and 1.15 lac discount)
Insurance: Free
Road tax (for 5 years): 41K or so. The West Bengal Government had recently hiked the road tax and so I ended up paying around 20 K more. Further the delivery got delayed, adding to my woes. I might have saved some dough on this one had they delivered the car in time.
Freebies: None. They did not even give me a bag for keeping the documents in!

Documentation errors (plenty of them!!)

I must make mention of the fact that Tata showroom guys made a lot of errors with the paperwork. If it was one mistake, I would probably dismiss it, but they are experts at muddling up paperwork.
The Tata-Fiat showroom people bungled up the invoice as well. The figure was wrong in the first one! These guys are actually good at this!

1) Car mentioned as diesel in blue book and in extended warranty!! Corrected after an argument.
2) Car mentioned at 2012 model in insurance papers (should have been 2011). Again corrected after raising some din and noise.
3) CC and HP mentioned wrongly in Blue book. They mentioned 69 bhp!!

The sales rep's response was "Sir, I have checked; T-Jet is 69 bhp only."

I told him "The T-Jet never came in 69 bhp and never will!)

Come on guys, this is is a T-Jet, not the run-of-the-mill Linea! I believe when Fiat first launched the car, they were giving a bottle of red wine with each T-Jet. Red wine aside, here I was fighting with the lot to mention the correct cubic capacity and the horse power on this one!

4) Long delay in registration. In the end, I had to personally contact the RTO and get the work done.

Post-delivery drive

Polk speakers fitted. Kagu 3-D mats spread (beige ones to match the interiors), I am ready to take her for a customary drive with the family. I go to Chalsa with the family. Most of the way the road is fabulous. The rains are still not over. After going around 20 kms, there is a landslide which is just being cleared by the earth movers. I feel the whole world is looking at the car as I inch her up the makeshift road that has been dug out of the mud and rocks. She bottoms out alright, but it is soft soil underneath; no damage.

The drive to Chalsa is most picturesque and with the new tarmac (in most places), it is a boon to drive. You have some twisty hill roads before you hit the dooars. And that took me by complete surprise. Coming from the Santro, then the Wagon R, and the even the Baleno, I was absolutely taken aback by the way it took to the hilly roads. The car not just handled perfectly, the tires were stuck to the hilly section like a leech! I will repeat it. The car stuck to the roads like a leech! On the twisty section, it was pure symphony. You got to drive it to believe it!


A few random pictures.

[johy]

I will cover a few points here before posting some pictures. As they will tell you much more.

Usage pattern: I have completed 6 months now, around 3800 kms only. The car is used mostly just on the outskirts of the city.
I will take it to the heart of town now and then, but not too much. And like I mentioned earlier, I have my Wagon R for city duty.
My running is less as my office is 0.0 km from home .

Mileage: Mileage has varied between 8.5 to 12.7 kmpl (this is off of the MID). Mostly hovers something like 10.5 (which is a combination of spirited and sedate driving).
Mileage is not something you think about while driving this car.


Exterior styling & design: Like I mentioned earlier, I did not initially like the way the car looked from certain angles, especially right up front. But the looks have grown on me. The side profile and the rear look stunning to say the least. Definitely one of the more better looking cars on our roads.


Overall build quality and fit & finish: Excellent built quality on the outside. I have to steal from GTO's words to say it is built like a vault. No other cars I drove comes close.

Anecdote: It is always an interesting sight at the mall where you have to open the boot for the customary security check. I will always look at the rear view mirror to see the expression on the security guard's face. 9 out of 10 times, he will get surprised at the weight. And 9 out of 10 times, he won't be able to close the boot with the usual force. Quite a sight!

On the inside, the car feels premium. And looks premium. Except for some shortcomings in some places (covered in pictures later). The inside fit and finish could be better.

Interior space and comfort: Front passengers, no complaints. The Italian leather seats afford good support.
I think the car is better suited for shorter individuals for the rear seat. The curving roof makes head room a premium.

Air conditioner: Absolutely chiller. I was spoilt by the Baleno's AC earlier and those who have used it know what I am speaking about.
This is perhaps better. Better because of the winters. It maintains cabin temperature better in winter. Very comfortable. No complaints except perhaps the AC fan is a tad noisy above 50%.

Seat support, ergonomics: Seat support, as mentioned before, is very good.
Ergonomics also very good. Especially when you have to reach for the power windows. No reaching out or moving the arm. The buttons on the steering wheel are all in comfortable reach. I have no complaints.
Only perhaps the fuel lid opener could have been a button on the dash - so that you don't need to bend down and reach for that lever!

City driving: Very plush ride. The fat tires eat up the potholes well.
Even though with the 55 profile tires, sometimes you can feel the road a tad bit more, especially if the air pressure is a bit low in them tires.
I have not had any issue with turbo lag in the city. I have learnt to be in the right gear and right rpm. No issues.
No sudden surge of power in the city. Very comfortable to drive. The only reason I won't take it to the densely populated area is the parking problem.

Highway Driving: Hoot to drive. Very addictive. Very fast. Very composed. Excellent handling especially on hilly roads. Grips the road like a leech!
I can't say how good it is; you have to drive it to experience it.

There will be the occasional TD and H (that would be Tom, Dick, and Harry) who will want right of way because they are bigger.
Just a little tap on the pedal - and they are converted to minute specs in the rear-view mirror).

Best part is that the car looks deceptively slow. I don't know why, but it just looks slow. In the city, the small hatch will try to zip you out. And in the highway, the torque monsters.
And you can outgun all of them without inconveniencing any other traffic.
I hate seeing some of the cars going fast, overtaking everyone, but putting other vehicles and pedestrians in jeopardy as they go through. This one can pass others ease and finesse. No one will notice; but you will be way ahead of them in a flash!


Engine: I believe the engine is imported from Turkey. Now this is not a free-revving engine like the Hondas (I have driven the Civic and City). It gets a bit throaty at higher rpms. But the power delivery is very good. Probably runs out of steam at 6k rpm.

The turbo-charger is reason enough to buy this car. You can hear the turbo whine even as low at 1100 rpm. In the turbo band, the car just transforms into another beast. One of the best engines I have driven.

Gearshift: Though not the best, one gets used to it very fast. You will adapt to the gearshifting very soon. At least I did. And have been rewarded well.

Fuel efficiency : City (~10 kmpl) and Highway (~12.5 kmpl). I have not measured them accurately.

Suspension & ride quality: Plush ride. Excellent suspension. Have to ride it to believe it!

Steering: Feels well weighted. Very balanced. Again driving in hilly roads, it is pure symphony.
The entire set up is so well mated, the steering, suspension, and power delivery. It is just amazing.

Now for some more descriptive pictures.

Meaty tires. 205/55 R16 Eagle NCT. "Turbine" alloys.


I have been wanting to change to something fancier (?Michelin Primacy or some good Yokos), but these NCTs are good for the bad roads.
Touchwood, no puncture so far. And believe me the roads are the worst kind (on my Wagon R, I got my first puncture within a week).

The car has very little storage space in the cabin. Just take a look at the cup holders. They are good only for keeping the (car) perfume can. I would not keep a cappuchino here!



Classic-looking Fiat steering and console.



Trip-meter button on the right stalk.



This car, like many in the market, has the turn indicator/lights on the left and the car wiper stalk to the right. I (still) get it wrong sometimes because I have to often switch between cars. The trip button is located on the right stalk. You can press this button to see:

a) Real-time mileage (not too accurate).
b) Fuel range.
c) Trip distance.
d) Average speed.
e) Average mileage. I would initially get a mileage of 9 to 10. Then I would swear I will drive more sedately and up it to 11 to 12. I would have driven 5 to 10 kms on a light foot...and I can bear it no longer. Return with 9.4 mileage

The trip button is sometimes a pain. You press it and nothing appears on the display (especially when some music is playing and the MID is displaying the music information). Then you try to press it a bit hard, the stalk switch might get activated, turning on the wipers! Has happened more than once.

Rear passengers' view. I have seldom sat here - just maybe to clean up and take some pictures!




AC vent at the back keeps rear-seat passengers happy.

There is virtually no place for keeping bottles, so the best place for fluid bottles is behind the front seats.



The 2011 models used to come in two variants, T-Jet and T-Jet Plus. My being the latter comes with 16" alloys and Italian Leather seats. The seats are a bit firm, but offer good support.

The leather quality, though not top of the line, is fairly decent. Even the stitching is quite good!



T-Jet's voice-activated commands (Blue-And-Me) is powered by Microsoft.

A lot of people think Blue-And-Me is 'Bluetooth.' It is much more than that. Putting it briefly, you can speak to the car. Useful when you are driving and want to call someone. Or skip a track, or repeat a song. You just say the command and the car responds, confirms, and follows that you say. I use it to impress my non-petrolhead friends with this one! You can update the software via USB.



USB pendrive slot is wayyyyyy inside the glove box. It is difficult to reach. Once you have that 8 gb drive, you would not like to remove it or insert a new one. Back-breaking job.



Glove box does not close well! This was a big complaint during delivery when the glove box would not actually close! Now the Tata-Fiat service guys tried to fix it. It still would not close fully. Then they showed me another Linea with the same issue. "Saar, all Linea glove boxes are like this only." Not sure what is to be done here.





Cellphone holder, if you can call it one, next to the 12-volt charging port. Very tight fit. Also, with the handbrake lever down, the lever is almost pressing upon the phone! Thanks to Blue&Me, you don't need to fiddle with the phone once it is set up.



You can see how tight the space is on this side view.

[johy]

Easy access buttons on the steering (featured here are the settings, volume up-down, mute/escape buttons)



Easy access buttons on the steering on the right.



Looks good at night as well! Again, love the orange hue.



Power Windows, OVRM controls, easy access.



A Bhpian's T-Jet. (Note the poor fit and finish on the steering column).



Boot-opener button. On the dash. Very good. It was quite an incident when I went to look at the car for the first time. The key was missing and the sales rep did not know how to open the boot. We looked everywhere for a Lever. After 10 minutes we both gave up. Then a mechanic comes and presses this small button on the dash. Opens up a huge boot.



Love the Automatic Climate Control. Just hit the auto button. Absolutely fab cooling. Great temperature control in winters. Sometimes you can feel hot air coming in from 2 vents and cold from 2 (experienced this in the winters) to balance the temperature of the cabin. The AC fan is a bit noisy above the 50% mark though.



In contrast to the boot lid opening button, the fuel-lid opening lever is a total let down.



Fuel lid cap is anchored with a rubber strip. Very handy. The distracted petrol pump attendant is not going to lose this one.



Retro is hip.



Look ma no redline! The rev-limited is probably at the 6k mark.



Vanity mirrors with lights. Again, orange hue. However, they don't work well at night. Due to the lights, due to the glare it produces, you can barely see anything in the mirrors. So if the lady needs to powder her nose, she better carry her kit along.

[johy]

Sunglass holder for driver. Just a tad too small. A standard RB Aviator's case barely fits in. But it is convenient nonetheless.



Key fob with boot opener. Very convenient. Really love this feature.



Rear windscreen curtain. Very effective when I need to park the car in the sun. Looks good too!




Orange cock-pit lighting. This is a daytime picture. Works well at night. Very chic.



I like the orange lighting used all over in the cabin, in the dash, console, power window switches, and even the cigarette lighter point/mobile charger point. Easy to locate in the dark and looks very cool.



And with the charger port open.


I changed the stock headlamps to Osram Night breakers. It has made a little difference. The headlights look good in low beam. I like the ring created by the reflectors.



The doors open in stages and quite wide. The front doors open wider than the rear doors. Easy to enter and exit.


I bought Kagu 3-D beige-colored contoured mats for the T-Jet. Though they fit well, they don't seem very strong. Already have got a few scruffs on the surface.





I must say I have been thrilled by the car. By the way she handles and the way she drives. Now it is not about speed. She will overtake most cars on most days. Probably all the run-of-the-mill cars on the road anyways - that is - whenever I want to. There are faster cars, yes, but they cost a lot more. There are fanciers cars, yes, and they also cost much too. The way she picks up speed with ease and then slows down as if nothing has ever happened - the ease of it all - I think that is where the T-Jet really stand out.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[ACM]

Wow what a detailed review.

Loved the attention to detail. Do keep updating. Will rate this one high for sure.

Kagu in Beige for the floor - is that not a bit of a dirt magnet in some ways. You need to keep your shoes very clean - but in the monsoons?

Congratulations and best wishes, johy. Go through the owner's handbook thoroughly. Get acquainted with numerous features of your lovely Linea T-Jet+. Explore and enjoy.

[ampere]

And I dont have to mention, that the ownership reviews go a good ten notches higher, when they come through the heart rather than the machine.
And heart it is when it comes to Fiat and especially the T-Jet!

Congrats and all the best for many many miles!

[Motoringlover]

congratulations mate - I can certainly relate to it when you slingshot between spaces especially on overtaking maneuvers, I have driven the Tjet and respect it, this is coming from a VRS driver, my only grouse with the car has been the overall kit quality on the interiors, the beauty on the outside just does not match with the finish on the inside.

I am sure it all goes away when you have road in front of you. All the very best and drive safe, any feedback on when the power tapers off on the higher end of the power band ?

Thanks - ML

[nipcarlover]

Congrats Johy for this Italian beauty!
Nice to see someone going for a sporty Petrol car in these diesel times! Very nicely written review, I must say, nice pictures as well
This shade also suits the car very well.
Hope you have many more good times ahead!

[ACM]

Hey you don't need to place the Sun Glasses in the holder with the cover. The cover stays at home. Maybe then the Glasses will fit?

Maybe you would need to idle the vehicle for about 30 sec before shut down due to the Turbo Charger - Do check out the manual.

[tbppjpr]

Nice choice there Johy, Many congratulations. If you are to choose a Fiat, then chosse best amongst them and the TJet is that choice.

Originally Posted by ACM

Maybe you would need to idle the vehicle for about 30 sec before shut down due to the Turbo Charger - Do check out the manual.

+1. Its a thumb rule for all the turbo charged cars (unless they have turbocharger timer). If you take care of this rule, the car will keep serving you for years without demanding much. Please visit the GTO's thread on turbocharged cars, that would be very helpful.

[akshay4587]

Congrats
FTA looks good,too bad it has been discontinued.
And the Glove box is Achilles heel of Linea's and Punto's its in a similar state in mine.And as someone pointed out,the sunglasses holder is for the glasses not its case

Drive Safe.

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by johy

Glove box does not close well! This was a big complaint during delivery when the glove box would not actually close! Now the Tata-Fiat service guys tried to fix it. It still would not close fully. Then they showed me another Linea with the same issue. "Saar, all Linea glove boxes are like this only." Not sure what is to be done here.

Attachment 1077565

The gap looks huge.

The glove box issue seriously needs to be rectified. As an ex-owner of Linea, I can definitely confirm that this is not an inherent problem with all Linea vehicles. Our vehicle had perfect alignment of dashboard and glovebox. We can maybe understand that an mm here and there is due to quality issue in vehicle but this gap is way more than that.

[johy]

Originally Posted by ACM

Kagu in Beige for the floor - is that not a bit of a dirt magnet in some ways. You need to keep your shoes very clean - but in the monsoons?

Thanks ACM. Monsoons can be bad on the beige. I guess the only way is to go for dark grey ones post these monsoons!

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Congratulations and best wishes, johy. Go through the owner's handbook thoroughly. Get acquainted with numerous features of your lovely Linea T-Jet+. Explore and enjoy.

Thanks Ravi Sir. Let me tell you this that it has been a pleasure reading your travelogues.

Originally Posted by Motoringlover

I can certainly relate to it when you slingshot between spaces especially on overtaking maneuvers, I have driven the Tjet and respect it, this is coming from a VRS driver..


....I am sure it all goes away when you have road in front of you. All the very best and drive safe, any feedback on when the power tapers off on the higher end of the power band ?

Thanks - ML

Thanks ML, I have not ventured much into the upper end of the power band to comment on it, just run out of road. But when I am there, I will update the thread.

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

+1. Its a thumb rule for all the turbo charged cars (unless they have turbocharger timer). If you take care of this rule, the car will keep serving you for years without demanding much. Please visit the GTO's thread on turbocharged cars, that would be very helpful.

Thanks tbppjpr. The T-Jet's manual does not actually say anything about idling the turbo. In fact, it says you can stop and go in the traffic lights. However, I am aware of the turbo thread and have made it a point to idle the engine 30 or so seconds before start and for the same time after stopping. I got to respect the turbo and give it its due.

Originally Posted by akshay4587

Congrats

And the Glove box is Achilles heel of Linea's and Punto's its in a similar state in mine.And as someone pointed out,the sunglasses holder is for the glasses not its case

Drive Safe.

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

The gap looks huge.

The glove box issue seriously needs to be rectified.

Thanks guys, I will ask the service guys if they can look into the glove compartment. I have not bothered about it much. The turbo whine makes me forget these small things in a jiffy.

Sunglasses ....mmmmm. I certainly agree, the sunglasses sans the cover should fit fine, but I am paranoid of having my gold-plated Aviators scratched in that holder! Thanks again.