[_raviShankar_]

The Beginning
Our car was ageing.She had taken up all that was thrown in her way and converted each drive into a pleasure.She was a 2002 model Honda City 1.5 Exi. Although the engine was a beauty and never missed a beat for all the years I had owned her, the other parts had started wearing out. The number of visits to the nearby workshop was increasing.
So the thoughts of buying a new car had crept into our minds. I had expressed my thoughts to my better half and she agreed. But she was very sad to let go of the "city".

I was sold on the Ecosport months before its launch and was reading every article, reviews, comparisons I could find on the net. The current ford cars are reliable and have become cheaper to maintain than their older counterparts. This is based on the experiences with the two fords in our family. My dad has a Figo and my brother in law has a Fiesta. I have used these cars a lot and was very comfortable using them. Both were diesels and i had my thoughts focussed on the diesel titanium variant of the Ecosport. There was no other car on our mind. We were even having discussions on which colour would we book.
The Ford Ecosport was launched on the 26th of June with a lot of Hallabullah before and after the launch. But there was another launch that caught my attention a few days before that. On 10th June the T Jet was relaunched. The TJet was known to be one of the few driver oriented cars in India below 15 lakhs. And now it was cheaper than before (mouth watering prospect). The weekend after the launch I called up the nearby Fiat dealer asking for a quote. They mentioned they had a test drive vehicle and would ask a sales guy to bring it to my place for a test drive. Half an hour after the call we were sitting in a TJet.

The initial test drive was short and was in the nearby lanes and narrow roads. The sales guy had brought the stripped down Active variant which was their new test drive vehicle. The car felt solid and the acceleration was mind numbing. The engine felt very refined. The ride quality was very nicely balanced for my liking - neither too stiff nor too soft. The increased ground clearance meant I didn't scrape any of the speed breakers that my Old Honda City used to scrape daily. I was very impressed by the overall package. My better half was also impressed. We now had to wait till we test drove the Ecosport to take the decision. Planned for back to back testdrives.

Another car was added to our list for the same - The Honda City.Since we had been owning one and had been satisfied with the reliability of the Honda, we decided to keep City as the benchmark and evaluate the others.

We booked a test drive for the ecosport a few days after the test drive vehicle was available.I was impressed with the ergonomics and the gadgetry. The test drive was a short one due to the long waiting list. The ride quality was a bit stiff, but ok. The biggest let down was the steering. It was very light with zero feedback. The rear bench felt a bit claustrophobic. All that aside the deciding factor was the boot-space. Although it had decent boot-space for a sub 4m car, my wife was not impressed. So the ecosport was vetoed out.

Next in list was Honda City. As soon as we entered the showroom my wife started inspecting the amaze. She had always wanted to try it out. So it was the amaze first. We tried the Diesel Amaze. The only thing i liked about the car was that the clutch was super light for a diesel car. The dashboard and the interiors looked too basic. The body felt too flimsy, taking away confidence in the build quality.

So we moved on to the Honda City. The moment we were inside the car, we started comparing it with our Old Honda City. The plastics and the interiors of the Old Honda City had aged well and we always liked them very much. Compared to that we felt let down by the new one. The exterior had so much of styling and looked very aggressive. But the interiors were not up to the mark. The ride quality was fine and the engine felt very smooth. But i felt the tires were a let down and the steering could have been a little tighter.

Comparison for both these cars were our Old Honda City and two Ford siblings at home ( The Fiesta Classic and the Figo). The two fords have very well weighted steerings and inspired a lot of confidence in curves. That had set the benchmark and both the ecosport and City did not meet the expectation.

Straight after the Honda city test drive it was time for the Tjet again. This was going to be the second test drive for the Tjet and wanted a longer one. The car felt very solid and stable. Since the test drive experiences of the other cars were fresh in mind the comparison was much easier. This car felt like a vault and the engine felt really powerful.The steering feedback was awesome. So it was all in favour of the Tjet.

[_raviShankar_]

The Decision
So the TJet got itself a place in our hearts and the decision was made!
Now it was time to decide the colour and the variant.
Our old Honda city was a golden one and I had always wanted a black car. So we decided to go for the Hip Hop Black colour.
The Dynamic variant was the one that I had in mind. But we loved the looks of the 16 inch alloys that came with the Emotion pack. We enquired whether the same alloy design was available for the dynamic variant in 15 inches. But it was not available. The Emotion variant also came with leather seats, 16 inch alloys and wider tyres.
Finally the heart won the battle with the brain and it was decided that we would go for the Emotion variant.

Booking the Jet and the discounts offered
We booked the car from Hyson Auto Sales, Kochi on 23rd of July. Paid a booking amount of Rs 50,000/- and also decided to let them have a look at my old car for exchange. They brought a used car dealer to check out the old car and he offered a decent price which we agreed upon. The amount was to be added as the down-payment for the TJet.

Application for Car loan was done through SBI and the process was smooth.

We were offered free insurance for the car which was the prevailing offer for the month. Now the waiting began. The Dealer had promised delivery in approximately 3 weeks. After a week I got news from a reliable source that the 1 lakh discount which was earlier available for the Multijet and NA Petrol variant was also available on the TJet. I called up the sales guy immediately and asked him about the offer. He said that he was not aware of any offer like that and would check out with his higher authorities and let me know. He also assured me that if any offer like that was available from Fiat it would be made available for my car. He promptly calls me up the next day and said that the offer was available on the TJet. But he also confirmed that the free insurance will have to be waived off if I was to go for this offer as they could not club both the offers together. I agreed to that and I got the 1 Lakh discount on the car .

At this point I would like to thank the sales person Mr Vaisakh for getting me the discounts. They could have simply said that they had already placed the order, finished the paper works etc and it was not possible. And I would have said Okay !

[_raviShankar_]

PDI and The Delivery
A few days later Vaisakh calls and informs that the car has reached their stockyard. The weekend after that me and my brother in law go for the PDI. I find the keys inside the car and turn on the engine. I find a warning light on and the display showing "check number plate light". Everything else looks fine. The odometer showed H 18. I ask the guy to fix the number plate light and leave.

The SBI car loan was approved without any hassle. The sales guy says he needs two more days to get the paper work done and the temporary registration. He says he can deliver any day after that. I was planning to get the car registered myself and get a registration number of my choice.

That's when disaster struck!
I was down with food poisoning. Took a few days to recover and we planned the delivery on 14th of August. My father had suggested the date and asked for delivery at 12 noon as that particular time was considered to be auspicious. To be on the safer side I asked the dealership to be ready with the vehicle by 11 AM (Indian Standard Time usually becomes Indian Stretchable Time). And as luck would have it the car was nowhere to be seen when we reached the showroom at 11 AM for taking delivery. They informed that the vehicle was on the way from their service station after the wash. We waited patiently and as time passed i got tensed. They missed the deadline of 12 o clock and my father asked me not to take delivery.

Me , my brother in law and my father gave the guys a stern talk and left the showroom without taking delivery.

The sales guy promised to deliver the car at home the next day even though it was a holiday (August 15th). And the next day he was on time!

[_raviShankar_]

The Drive So Far
The odometer stands at 3019 kms as of today. It has been a pleasure driving this beautiful piece of machinery. The acceleration from this turbo charged beauty is very addictive and brings a smile on your face each time. The hydraulic steering is perfectly calibrated and along with the suspension gives a lot of confidence to the driver. The turbo boost happens at a very usable range in daily driving. This is one aspect of the car I love the most. My old Honda city was a free revving engine and would show her true colours in the second half of the rpm range. However this black beauty starts showing off her capabilities much earlier.

Out of the 3019 kms driven so far there has been three long highway trips and the rest of it in stop and go city traffic.

The Fuel stats till today


1st Fillup - 15th Aug 2013 - 40 ltrs
1st Refill - 17th Aug 2013 - 38 ltrs - 335 km @ 8.81 kmpl
2nd Refill - 18th Aug 2013 - 38 ltrs - 600 km @ 15.78 kmpl
3rd Refill - 29th Aug 2013 - 38 ltrs - 330 km @ 8.68 kmpl
4th Refill - 31st Aug 2013 - 38 ltrs - 420 km @ 11.05 kmpl
5th Refill - 02nd Sep 2013 - 29 ltrs - 383 km @ 13.20 kmpl
6th Refill - 08th Sep 2013 - 39 ltrs - 600 km @ 15.38 kmpl
7th Refill - 06th Oct 2013 - 37 ltrs - 316 km @ 8.54 kmpl

The figures shown by the MID are very close to these calculations. The fuel efficiency hovers around 16 kmpl for the highway trips and around 8 kmpl for the city trips.
The city trips have been in very heavy traffic and you better not look at the Range ( distance to empty) or Instantaneous Fuel consumption figures during this time. I started viewing it for my first few drives and realised that I better turn it off, enjoy my drive rather than worry about the fuel efficiency figures.

The Golden Beauty and its replacement

[_raviShankar_]

Things I like about the TJet

- Stunning Looks.
- Solid Build Quality.
- Perfectly calibrated steering and suspension set up makes it a brilliant ride.
- Leather wrapped steering and gear knob gives a nice feel.
- 16 inch alloys, fat rubber.
- Fantastic low end and mid-range torque makes city driving effortless ( less number of downshifts)
- Disc brakes on all four wheels. Brakes provide sufficient bite and are confidence inspiring.
- Very refined engine. Does not feel strained at higher rpms.
- Drivers arm rest.
- Collapsible rear sun curtain.
- Above all I feel this is the most fun to drive car in the segment.
- Automatic Climate Control does its job efficiently.
- All 4 power windows have auto down feature.
- Blue & me works well.

Things I dont like about the TJet

- No bottle holders. Have to find an after-market solution to this.
- No lamp inside the glove box. Would love to have this feature.
- Huge turning radius (compared to other cars in the family). Have to be careful taking U turns.
- Light coloured floor carpets (Will be a pain to clean during monsoons)
- Head room at a premium for tall guys. My friend who is 6' 4" found the front seat very comfortable but the back seat was a nightmare for him.

The Summary

The ownership experience has been a delightful one so far. The long drives have been very pleasant.

Thoroughly enjoying the diesel like torque from the turbo boost and the free revving nature of this very well refined tjet engine. Looking forward to enjoy each drive that comes my way.

Niggles So Far
There has been a couple of minor niggles so far. One of the rear break lights had gone kaput just after delivery and was promptly replaced free of charges by the dealer. The check number plate light warning which had come up during the PDI came on a couple of occasions and went off similarly. Will have to get it fixed during the 5000 km check up.
So far so good

Accessories

Planning to get these done in next few months whenever i get time

- Reverse parking sensors -Planning to install them as I feel that this is necessary for this vehicle as it is long and the high boot-lid compromises the rear view slightly. Will help parking in tight spots. Managing it so far without them.

- Rear Spoiler - Purely for cosmetic reasons Feels that the spoiler will complete and add balance to the whole design.

- Illuminated door sills - Again purely for cosmetic purposes.

[.anshuman]

Note from Support: Thread moved here from Assembly line. Thanks for sharing the review with us

[ghodlur]

@Ravishankar,

Let me be the first to congratulate on the Jet. The colour looks awesome, a real head turner. The multi spoke alloys are a real looker. The jet is an ideal update to your old horse. You got a good deal with a lakh shaved off the final price.

Enjoy the flight with the jet. Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[BigBrad]

Hello Ravi,
Good to know your experience with the JET. I own a Punto which was bought from Hyson, Kochi. We dealt with Vaisakh & Biju and they were quite friendly and helpful.

Your car looks fantastic in black and a proper detailing session would make her shine even better. Also, the highway fuel efficiency looks good.

Wishing you many more wonderful miles with the car.

Keep revving..

[swami.n]

Congrats on the fantastic car Ravishankar. Its probably the best sedan available in our country at that price range.

All it needs is a good A.S.S from Fiat to complete the package. :-)

[Samar117]

Congrats mate on a brilliant car. The T-Jet is indeed the sedan to have if you like driving and enjoy the response you get from the car. A used T-Jet some years in the future is what I'll look at The car looks absolutely stunning in black, and those alloys do the car full justice.

Once again congrats on such a beauty!( and the beast in the hood!)

[PGNarain]

Congrat on the TJet and for listening to your heart instead of the head!! You will love every minute driving your TJet.

Btw your City too looked in immaculate condition. Kudos!!

[extreme_torque]

Congrats on the Jet. How much did your City delivered in City driving conditions?

[petrolveins]

[quote=_raviShankar_;3251985]Things I like about the TJet

Things I dont like about the TJet

- No bottle holders. Have to find an after-market solution to this.
- No lamp inside the glove box. Would love to have this feature.
- Huge turning radius (compared to other cars in the family). Have to be careful taking U turns.
- Light coloured floor carpets (Will be a pain to clean during monsoons)
- Head room at a premium for tall guys. My friend who is 6' 4" found the front seat very comfortable but the back seat was a nightmare for him.

Congrats on owning a beautiful piece of machinery. This is one car where the sales numbers quite do not do justice to the overall car that it is. Very good buy particularly when the things that you did not like are not too much of a deal breaker, except for may be, turning radius, back seat head room.

[_raviShankar_]

Thank you guys

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@Ravishankar,

Let me be the first to congratulate on the Jet. The colour looks awesome, a real head turner. The multi spoke alloys are a real looker. The jet is an ideal update to your old horse. You got a good deal with a lakh shaved off the final price.

Enjoy the flight with the jet. Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

It was a dream of mine to own a black car. There was no other car that was in budget, which impressed me so much and also felt like an upgrade from my old car. Very lucky to get the 1 lakh discount.

Originally Posted by BigBrad

Hello Ravi,
Good to know your experience with the JET. I own a Punto which was bought from Hyson, Kochi. We dealt with Vaisakh & Biju and they were quite friendly and helpful.

Your car looks fantastic in black and a proper detailing session would make her shine even better. Also, the highway fuel efficiency looks good.

Wishing you many more wonderful miles with the car.

Keep revving..

Except for them missing the delivery schedule, the interaction with Vaisakh and Biju was quite nice.
Got my car the paint sealant treatment from 3M car care center, HSR layout. The pics you see were taken a few days after that session. Thanks to my friend Sreejith for these beautiful snaps.
Hope your Punto is serving you well.

Originally Posted by swami.n

Congrats on the fantastic car Ravishankar. Its probably the best sedan available in our country at that price range.

All it needs is a good A.S.S from Fiat to complete the package. :-)

I really hope that the A.S.S will complement the wonderful package this car is.

Originally Posted by Samar117

Congrats mate on a brilliant car. The T-Jet is indeed the sedan to have if you like driving and enjoy the response you get from the car. A used T-Jet some years in the future is what I'll look at The car looks absolutely stunning in black, and those alloys do the car full justice.

Once again congrats on such a beauty!( and the beast in the hood!)

All the best Samar117. I hope you find yourself a good one few years down the lane.

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Congrat on the TJet and for listening to your heart instead of the head!! You will love every minute driving your TJet.

Btw your City too looked in immaculate condition. Kudos!!

We loved our old city a lot. Every one of my friends asked me to retain the city as a weekend car, project car etc etc , but we knew we couldn't keep it. Had to let it go with a heavy heart.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Congrats on the Jet. How much did your City delivered in City driving conditions?

The city used to give anywhere around 10-12 kmpl in city drives. Worst case scenarios i used to get 8 kmpl.

[parimal_g]

Congrats For the awesome Car.
Very nicely written, yes the MID shows near accurate figures, true this Car brings smile on your face every time you hit the turbo, to be frank once you get used to Handling of this Car there is hardly any car below 20L can give this kind of pleasure the breaks , ride and Steering. And trust me keep her happy She will keep you happy for long.
I own a Punto so i know how badly i miss the Bottle holders, hope they will get in 2014 Cars.
How about the quality of Speakers, heard they have improved and does your Music player comes with remote control..?, As this is a big problem in earlier Cars as no one can change the tracks other than driver if songs are played via MP3 player.