[vibbs]

Buying a Hatchback?
Dont look beyond the swift.
Buy the i20.
Why Hatchback? Buy the amaze!!
Hey the Eco sport Man!!
FIAT?? Are you mad?
Who buys a FIAT anymore?

Well, I bought a Punto, and against the advice of everyone around as you can probably guess from the first few lines. Guess thats how it goes always with Fiat.



Well, so this is going to be an ownership review. I will cover the entire decision process, sales experience and the ownership experience as it unfolds.

The second and third posts are the about the test drives and the decision. The fourth is the buying experience and initial impressions.

The Need

To cut a long story short, some time early this year, I got an offer for employment in Pune and we ( me and wifey) moved down. In Delhi we were being served by our swift (1.3 petrol),



which was being used by both me and dad. Last year an avenger



also joined the garage.

The move to Pune left me with a need to own a vehicle. Swift is in Delhi, which may or may not end up in Pune. Avenger is there too but it will find its way here once I sort out the re-registration issues. But we did need a new car. So then, what car now?

I had no clear idea of what car to buy. Just a few priorities. Some more important than others.

Priority No. 1: ABS.
Priority No. 2: Good to drive (By my yardsticks).
Priority No. 3: Comfortable front seats.
Priority No. 4: Spacious enough for 4.
Priority No. 5: Decently loaded


The fuel was not a concern, both petrol and diesel would do provided the car was fun to drive. But my running wouldn't justify premium on diesel. So diesel was out of picture unless it was priced very competitively or really a blast to drive. The budget was 6 to 6.5 lakhs tops OTR.

The contenders.

1. Swift- Four years with the swift and still it brings a wide grin on my face every time I take the wheel. It had to be there.
2. i20- The most premium Hatchback. Has got almost everything one would need from a hatch.
3. Liva- Toyota (Enough said)
4. Micra/Pulse- Heard it is competent
5. Brio- Its a Honda after all!! Actually it would have been a closed had the Jazz been around. I would've bought it with closed eyes.
6. Polo- German Engineering!!
7. Figo- For the ride and handling!!
8. Sail Uva- New kid on the block
9. Last but not the least Ecosport


Not considered were the Vista (No offense but no Tata please), Amaze, Dzire (Not a fan of pseudo sedans, would buy a premium hatch anyday) and the Punto(Dont know why, but no!!)


I started visiting the showrooms, started researching and reading ownership threads of these cars on team-bhp. Out of the list of the only car other than the swift that I had driven was the i20.

I liked the car for what it was however I had two serious issues with the i20.
1. The light steering and
2. The soft suspension.

I guess that was due to the fact that I love my swift so much. Compared to the i20 I felt the steering on my swift was quite heavier and the suspension too was stiffer, which is what I had begun to like. I know many people would buy i20 for exactly these very reasons, but for me these seemed a deal breaker. It is the diesel that I had driven, I really liked the engine but it is a bit pricey( specially if I need abs). My wife and me, we both were not great fans of i20s look. So despite being such a great product I had dropped i20 without an official test drive ( its a different matter that I have driven it more extensively than any test drive would allow me to).

[vibbs]

The Test Drives

Swift was the first car we thought to check out. Diesel was way out of my budget (abs you see), so it was only the zxi I was interested in. The first day I visited the showroom Swift zxi was not available for test drive. However the SE said they had an Ertiga vdi for test drive.
Well, I didn't disappoint him.
There was significant turbo lag, but once the turbo spooled in the car gained momentum quickly. The interior quality was decent, the ride much better than I had expected and except for the turbo lag, the car seemed quite easy to drive. My wife however was not comfortable in the front passenger seat. The issue seemed to be that the seat height is a tad high and that made her feet not touch the floor.
We wraped up the drive quickly since we werent really interested in Ertiga and asked the SE to get us a Swift zxi as soon as possible, which was promised for the coming weeks.

The next car happened to be another one that I had no intentions of buying. The Etios. Actually a colleague of mine had called over the car for a test drive so I too tagged along. First look was pretty impressive with the space on offer. However the moment I fired up the engine I was in for a shock. The whole car shook as if it was a diesel under the hood with one of the engine mounts gone bad. There were significant amount of vibrations filtering through the pedals and the gear lever. Something that I didnt really like. The drive itself was good, I took the car to some bad roads and it made small work out of the bumps. Very impressive. The steering was light, however even though the sales guy said it weighs in well at speeds, I didn't feel the same.
In the end, I realised that although it is a competent car in itself, I really wouldnt want to be in one. I had no reasons, but somehow the whole experience didn't cut it well for me. The vibrations, the built to cost interiors, somehow all this had a cumulative effect on me. I even asked the sales guy if the vibrations are a problem unique to this particular test drive car, but he couldn't provide a conclusive answer. The big T was hence out.
I still wanted to try the Liva. But my wife was not a great fan of its looks and this coupled with the experience of Etios meant, Liva is out of contention.

One other car that my wife struck out even without letting me test drive was the Micra. The very moment we entered the showroom, I could see it on her face. A few checks inside the car, she told me her decision. I wouldn't want to be in this car day in and day out. Lets try the Sunny but
You dont have much choice when your home minister passes the dictat, do you?

So it was the Sunny then. There was no way I could fit a sunny in my budget. If I stretched my budget by a lakh, I could opt for base petrol and it had abs. However as luck would have it, there was no manual available for test drive. What was the point in test driving a cvt when it was the manual you would buy? But, why would any Bhpian refuse a chance to test drive a car?

The first thing that caught our eyes was the space. Even after setting the driver seat to my favorite position there was acres of space left behind. Slot the CVT into D, lift your feet off the brake lever, the car moves ahead effortlessly even with four people on board. Press the accelerator gently, and the progress is good, which indicates a good response within the city. I took the car on to the Pune bypass and on slightly spirited driving, I found it to not respond as well as I would have liked. I have not driven an automatic before, so maybe there is something to get used to while driving one. Over all we were impressed, however the CVT was way over the budget and the base sunny which we had thought of for some time was a bit too basic. There was no point in spending a Lakh over my budget to go for base variant of a car one segment higher which would also mean higher maintenance charges. Now since the Micra had been disapproved by my wife, it meant two cars were off the list without even a test drive. Liva and the Micra.

Sometime during all this I also discussed with a few of my friends regarding my decision to buy a new car. One of them suggested the Punto. I was till then not ready to consider the Fiat. Too many perceived issues with service and also spare part cost/availability. Around this time itself, I got my hands on an autocar issue that had compared spare parts cost of different cars. Surprisingly for me the Punto had given a tough competition to the Swift and had one of the cheapest spare part prices. This made me sit up and take notice of the Punto. I started observing them more on roads and started following punto ownership threads on team-bhp. There were a few complaints, but definitely better than I had expected. The Punto always looked good to me, though for my wife only one hatchback comes close to being a good looker on Indian roads. It was the Polo. A test drive was up and I thought Punto can wait till I am done with the Volkswagen.

The sales people at B.U Bhandari, Pashan were very courteous and helpful in making us accustomed with the features of the car. ABS mandatory meant that I had only two options the top end petrol and diesel. The diesel was way out of the budget and the petrol at 6.6 lakh on road after discounts was almost within it. So decided to chuck out diesel and check out the petrol. Outside the Polo was always our favourite when it came to looks. On the inside too it was impressive with the quality and attention to detail. On firing up the engine you do feel the vibrations which don't really go away, but incidentally both me and my wife liked the slight vibey nature and tge gruff engine noice. I was delighted by the slickest gearbox ( my!! It was a pleasure slotting the gears) and the wonderful steering. The ride was also very mature though I couldn't really test the handling. The sale executive then took us to a very bad road to demonstrate the ride quality, and that is where the first proverbial chink in the armour was seen. I could feel a touch of bounciness with the car. Not too disconcerting but the very slightest of jumpiness specifically the nose. I had a feeling that my Swift owing to the stiffer suspension would've handled the same road at higher speeds without much drama. Well I could be wrong too. However all in all we were very impressed and the polo was well above others till now in our test drive experience.

That was when we finally got our hands on the Swift zxi. The moment I got my hands on the wheel, I knew I ll be grinning ears to ears if I buy this car. It was a great step ahead of my beloved Swift. The interior quality looked much better and the ride had improved noticeably without affecting the handling much. I took it on the highway and the free revving k12 just brought the biggest smiles on my face in recent times. The swift was making a major case for itself again and I felt as if we may end up buying a second swift. The front seats of the swift were always a favourite of ours and even in the test drives it proved to be the best for our tastes.

After a month of test driving and checking out cars, we had come up with two cars now which seemed significantly ahead as compared to others. The Swift and the Polo. Closer examination revealed both having strong points but we placed the Polo ever so slightly over the Swift in our ratings. The reasons being the distinctly better parts quality in the inside and the outside plus the over all ride comfort, but the Swift did have the famed Maruti backing.

We had many more cars left to check out now. The Figo, the Sail uva, the Punto, the Brio, the Ecosport and the Pulse being the main ones. The Sail uva was rejected on account of looking very boring, Brio looked too small on the outside and Pulse is essentially the Micra. The Ecosport had been evading me for quite some time now. All efforts to get a test drive were failing. A couple of mails to ford resulted in someone calling up and ensuring me of getting one of the dealerships to arrange a test drive for me, but it didn't materialize. However I ended up testing the Figo.

It was evening and the bumper to bumper traffic on baner road gave the Figo ample opportunity to showcase its superior driveability compared to other diesels. The near zero turbo lag meant that it was a breeze to drive in traffic. A slick gearbox and precise steering made the whole thing a lot sweeter. Where I felt it lacked was on the front seat comfort. I felt the Swift seats were more supportive a view that was shared by wifey too. Another area where it disappointed us was the absence of all four power windows. I mean come on!! I am paying 7 lakhs (almost) otr and buying a fully loaded one and I don't get full four power windows!! I was willing to over look all that for the fun to drive factor. However my wife was not too impressed with the desirability. It was a good car no doubt but do we want to buy it? My wife was not too sure.

Finally it was all onto the Punto. The car had grown up on me ever since I started to take it seriously. However my wife was not too happy with the looks. She didn't dislike the looks but the Polo as per her was distinctly ahead in that department. So it was decided that I ll take a look at the car first and then if I feel it is worthy of a second look we'll do another visit.

Pandit Auto, Model colony was the closest showroom and I chose it purely by its closeness over the Fiat Caffe which was much farther. I had a close look at the display cars. From the outside everything looked well sorted out with perfect fit and finish. On the inside however there were distinct areas for improvement. Fit and finish were visibly poor. However the way the doors shut made me an instant fan of the sound. Solid!!
The petrol models have ABS only on the top end 1.4 ltr model which came OTR at around 7.25 lakhs. Much above my budget. Will it be good enough to justify it? I decided to check out. Unfortunately the petrol was not available for a test drive. But a 90 HP MJD was available which the sales lady offered me for test drive. I did not want a test drive opportunity to go waste so accepted it. While checking out the car it did feel quite heavy with the build quality and all, unfortunately driving it also gave me the same impression. The turbo lag made city driving a real pain. Or perhaps I didn't know how to drive a diesel. What blew off my mind was the way it handled the bumps. Even at those slow speeds, it smothered out most bumps. I was seriously impressed. However paucity of time meant I couldn't check out high speed ride so we got back to the showroom.

The 90 HP was way over the budget and the petrol top end (the only petrol version with abs) was too. So despite having me impressed it seemed that I ll have to overlook the Punto. That's when I had glanced at the specs sheet. It said the dynamic had ABS too. I was excited as that meant I get a car with abs within my budget. But there was a small star beside it which meant that it's only the diesel dynamic which had ABS. The price list said it would be 7.4 lakhs on road. So that too was way over my budget. The sales lady told me the discounts would bring the on road price to just below 7 lakhs. Now this brought in a glimpse of hope in my mind as here I am looking at a car probably 30-35 k more expensive than the ones I had shortlisted, but crucially running on diesel. However that was just the economic part. It had to satisfy me in the desirability front too to have a fighting chance against the leaders of the pack- The Polo and The Swift. I requested them for another test drive. This time of the 75 HP MJD, preferably dynamic. However they did not have a dynamic for test drive but agreed to give me a test drive on a 75 HP Emotion variant in the coming week. I made it clear that I am looking for atleast a 10-15 kms drive to which they agreed. Meanwhile I informed my wife that I feel we should give a fighting chance to the Punto, I am seriously impressed by the build and the ride comfort.

Second test drive (or rather the first of the 75hp) was done on a Saturday afternoon. Before that on one of the weekdays I had taken my wife to the showroom to check out the car once more. She still was not a fan of the styling and kept complaining about similarity with the Indica. However in the showroom for display it looked better. The way the doors closed, the Hatch weight, the metal backs on the rear seat all helped in scoring some browny points. Interior however was still a sore point. Main issue was the fit and finish, specially compared to the Polo. But in the end the impression was ofcourse more positive than negative. The test drive experience of the 75 hp was little different to the 90 hp. There seemed to be slightly better driveability at city speeds. However you keep waiting for the surge after turbo spooling which never really hits you. We hit the highway, I take some potholes on the way and the Punto impressed both me and my wife on the ride front. I purposefully drove through some real bad road to get an idea of the suspension and I was impressed. Yes it was a little low on power and the interiors were a let down. The gear shift was a bit rubbery too. Far cry from Polo and the Swift. But on other fronts it seemed ahead or equal to the competition.

The test drives were done. My wife told her verdict; purely on desirability, she would pick the Polo. I was a bit divided. I liked the Polo, but felt that Punto had a better ride quality. Both were fun to drive in their own ways but I would rate Polo higher here due to the better gear shift. It was tight between the two and ofcourse there was the Swift too.

[vibbs]

The decision process

The test drives had presented us with three distinct winners. The choice was going to be tough and in a lot of ways it would be the best among equals.

The cars we had rejected were not bad cars per se, but just that they didn't appeal to us. Some of those may be infact better in many people's eyes. But one thing this research made us realise very clearly was that most of the cars out there are pretty much close to each other. Some better in some areas, some in other and some jack of all trades. It was upto us to decide which one was for us.

Choosing one of the three was going to be difficult. We decided that first of all we would try to rank them on desirability and forget the economics. Once we rank them on this, we will then bring economics into picture and see how it disturbs the rankings.

My wife was pretty clear with her choice. For her it was Polo all the way, the Swift and Sunto were not out, but Polo was the leader.
For me, however desirability was a function of many variables. It included the reliability, the ease of ownership, the fun to drive, the comfort, the looks, build quality both interior and exterior to just name a few.

Swift was top notch in reliability, it had decent enough interiors, a responsive engine, was fun to drive, the best possible front seats and a design which still looked good. Where it fell short was in the ride comfort and the exterior build. The other two cars felt much better built. Interiors though seemed better than Punto, were a step below Polo.
The Polo had great interior quality, wonderful looks, good build, good ride, was reasonably fun to drive because of the great steering and the gear box. I was doubtful on the service, parts cost and the vibey engine, which although I liked at the moment, I wasn't sure how it would be as it grows old.

Punto was the leader when it came to ride, the steering felt good, great build quality on the outside, one of the most reliable engines and good looks. It lacked the interior flair of Polo and the ease of ownership that comes with Maruti. The turbolag and the gearbox made it not as fun to drive as the other two, but not bad either, because the Polo was not a scorcher either and the Swift's ride was not as mature.

The Swift seemed to be ahead of the pack at this stage albeit for one issue. I already had one. I would have rated the Swift the best and the most desirable car, had I not owned one already. Ironically the previous experience with it was bringing the desirability down, not because of any issues, but purely due to the desire to go for something else this time.

Due to this very reason, if I had made a decision at this stage, I would have gone ahead with the Polo, closely followed by the Punto.

However one half of the decision making process was still remaining. Which of these made better economic sense?

The Swift zxi was quoted at 6.78 lakhs on road ( no discounts whatsoever), the Polo was 6.64 lakhs on road after discounts, and Punto MJD Dynamic was 6.97 lakhs on road after all discounts.

This did bring in some changes now. I had liked Punto on most parameters. Looked good, best ride and possibly the best sheet metal grade (judging purely by impression). Plus people said it is a good handler too. It lagged behind the other two cars on interior quality and possibly on the power front, though the Polo is no racer either. However at just close to 35K more, I was here getting a diesel car which was as almost as good as the other two over all. Crucial thing that was missed was the airbags.

I always wanted a car with as much safety features as possible within my budget. All the three cars were beyond my initial budget, two were giving me complete safety package, whereas one was giving me ABS but no airbags and a cheaper fuel at a slight premium. I have always believed that if one had to choose between the two important features: ABS and Airbags, it should be the ABS (I know this can be debated, but we will save that for another thread where it is being discussed). The Punto hence had the one important feature that I was not willing to compromise on and some additional feel good ones like all four power windows, electrical ORVM adjustment, rear wipers etc.

For me overall it made better sense buying the Punto, though it may not have seemed as desirable as the Polo at one stage. Convincing my wife was not too difficult, she could see the distinct benefits of owning a diesel at not too high premium compared to other cars we were considering.

The Punto it was then!! And it had to be either a red or a blue one.

They say you buy a Punto not with head, but with heart. But in our case, though there was a lot of heart in the decision, it was finally the head that sealed the case.

[vibbs]

Buying Experience and initial impressions

Buying experience at Pandit Auto was very satisfying. I had made it clear at the time of booking that I would be carrying out a PDI before the car is sent for registration.

The car was booked on 17/09/2013. The VIN number was alloted after 2-3 days with a manufacturing date of 20 Aug 2013. Something that I reconfirmed using Wildon's VIN decoding technique. The car arrived at the dealer's place on 28th and the PDI was conducted on the same day with a request to deliver the car on October 1st (my wife's Birthday). There was only one working day before the requested date and despite some issues with the registration documents, the Sales Lady managed to get the car delivered on the requested date. Three cheers to that!!

On October 1st as promised by the dealer, my Exotic red Fiat Punto Dynamic (MJD) comes home.



First one week was mainly Pune in-city driving. The light clutch and short ratios for first two gears have not made my life too difficult despite there being significant Turbo-Lag. The Engine is actually dead before 2k and even after turbo spooling, it doesn't really take off. However, if you are not looking to race on the roads, the shorter ratios for first and second will take care of most bumper-bumper situations without much drama. The third is good for general city driving (execpt bumper - bumper traffic). Fifth is necessary only above 70-80Kph, below that one can cruise in fifth but any overtaking would require downshifts. 2 K to 3 K the engine builds up linearly(I have not tried to revv beyond 3K yet), no adrenaline rush due to turbo spooling. But just the simple linear acceleration. Highway driving was largely limited until this saturday when I took it out to Mumbai. The engine chugs along quite decently at around 2K rpm in the fifth gear when the speed is 85ish. That is when the turbo spools and which means there is sufficient juice for further 50-60Ks more. I think it should hit an indicated 160, though it may take some time to reach there. However one thing is pretty sure, high speed stability is A class. At speeds, it just eats up most of the bumps and one can take bad roads much better in this car than most hatchbacks. During the return leg, there was some truck traffic on the expressway at the inclines. The lack of response below 2k rpm made its presence felt on more than one occasions. You need to be on a gear less to keep the engine in boil and exact any movement out of it on climbs. The significant turbo lag and the higher kerb weight means the Punto will lag behind in the ghat sections. Or is it that since I am so used to driving the petrols that it will take some time for me to adjust to driving a diesel? Time will tell perhaps. Interesting thing however, despite maintaining fairly high speeds, the average fuel economy for the trip was upwards of 17 Kmpl.



The rear space after setting the driving seat to my desired position is strictly average (comparable to swift), however with slightly more width I presume.



Quite a bit has been said about the poor driving ergonomics of the Punto. I didnt understand the fuss during the short test drives. However on driving it for quite some distance now, I realized that the driving seat/position on the swift is vastly superior. There is little under-thigh support and as a result there is more pressure on the buttocks leading to a very painful tail bone within an hour or two of driving. The low under thigh support is not because of small seats per se. But mainly due to the fact that there is a slight curve down to the seat towards the front which causes a significant gap between the thigh and seat (more so since the thigh inclination is upwards in the forward direction).



I can improve the matters a bit by pushing the seats further back, but then no one can sit behind me and also the steering would be too far for my liking.

My knee constantly brushes against the center console.



The place where your right elbow would rest (if you like to rest them) on the door panel while holding the steering wheel is made of rough fabric and the skin begins to hurt in some time.



Other area of concern is the absolutely bad fit and finish. The glove box cover for eg. is fitted very badly and there are visible uneven panel gaps.



Plus the absence of any real storage areas. There are two pockets in front of the gear knob which cant hold anything bigger than a can.
See how the gear knob/hand brushes against the 500ml bottles kept in th holders.







Both the front door pockets can hold a 500 ml bottle each and one can come behind the hand brake lever. Thats all.



The audio doesn't have USB port and the OEM speaker quality on the dynamic is below average.

The dash is simple. I like it.



Two parting shots

The front.



The Back.



Thats all for now. Will keep updating this thread.

Cheers!!
Drive safe!!

[GTO]

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

[ghodlur]

@Vibbs,

Congratulations on the Punto, the colour really looks exotic.

I could relate to most of your buying experience. Looking forward to more pics and interactions on the Punto.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

[Auto freak]

Many congratulations on your Punto Vibbs!
Wish you miles of happiness with her

The Punto MJD is great fun to drive too. The surge that follows the turbo lag will sure get you addicted to it pretty soon. And out on the highways the sure-footedness at high speeds coupled with the brilliant handling will sure have you grinning

[Dry Ice]

Congrats vibbs! The Red is looking cool.

Any plans on accessories?

I am sure you must have already checked it out, but if not - do check out Karthik's thread - hes done some totally awesome mods to the car and it looks fab!

[Samar117]

Congratulations Vibbs! The Punto looks absolutely exotic in that red color.
Fiat fanboys will always argue that the Fiats handle much better than the other cars you'll find. And after owning my pre-owned Adventure for about 6 months. Damn they are right.
I too was pleasantly surprised to hear that spares are indeed on the cheaper side. Niggles might be the only issue. But if sorted soon, will create no problems.
Wishing you many many happy miles with her. I always have a soft spot for Puntos

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@Vibbs,

Looking forward to more pics and interactions on the Punto.

Happy mile crunching and drive safely.

Thanks!! I had gone through your thread extensively during the decision stage. Photos are due, but haven't been getting time for a shoot. But will be up for sure.

Originally Posted by Auto freak

The Punto MJD is great fun to drive too. The surge that follows the turbo lag will sure get you addicted to it pretty soon. And out on the highways the sure-footedness at high speeds coupled with the brilliant handling will sure have you grinning

Thanks Auto freak. Mine is not the 90 Hp so the surge is a bit subdued. Not complaining though. Despite being short on power, Punto is a great fun car, I can imagine the grin on your face with those 90 HPs on tap to complement the chassis.

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Congrats vibbs! The Red is looking cool.

Any plans on accessories?

I am sure you must have already checked it out, but if not - do check out Karthik's thread - hes done some totally awesome mods to the car and it looks fab!

Thanks Dry ice. Yes accessories will come soon.Yeah I have checked out karthiks thread. That car is awesome.

For the time being, I m on the look out for good seat cover. Need to do something to improve the driving comfort over long drives. Apart from that the first mod would be a driver arm rest.

[Sommos]

Many congratulatiosn Vibbs for the Punto. The car looks particularly smashing in red colour.
Wishing you a niggle free performance from the Italian beauty.
Drive safe.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Samar117

Congratulations Vibbs! The Punto looks absolutely exotic in that red color.

Originally Posted by Sommos

Many congratulatiosn Vibbs for the Punto. The car looks particularly smashing in red colour.

Thanks guys!

Meanwhile this happened on 15th October, 15 days after 'Red' came home.



Four days later got a much needed wash @ Bosch Service, Baner-Pashan Link road.



Glistening after the wash.



Today she got the interior treatment- Autoform Seat covers from Bafna Cars.



More Photos on the way after the 3M Paint sealant treatment tomorrow.

Hope the treatment is worth the 3.2 K that's charged.


Fuel Consumption
Total Kms run till last Tank fill- 1212 Kms
Total Fuel Filled- 80.4

Average Mileage: 15.07

I have found two niggles as of date. Both related to the door locks.
The front passenger side lock is a bit too tight when trying to open from inside.
Second one I got today, while running suddenly I heard the door unlocking sound and the latches came out to the unlocked position. Even after pushing the driver side latch inside, the doors didnt seem to get locked. I slowed down and parked by the side and tried to open the doors and was surprised that they wont open. Switched off the car and tried to open, they opened. Again started the car, pushed the driver side latch in, all the doors got locked. Unlocked again and drove off, at 20 Kmph the doors got locked automatically.

Strange, need to see if it happens again.

Signing off for now.



Cheers!

Drive safe

[Safeer]

Belated congratulations Vibbs. Liked your totally frank opinions and initial drive impressions on the Punto. I'd also same thoughts later if picking up a hatch -it was between Polo and Punto (but diesels for sure -since I prefer crude oil burners!).

Many positives for Punto. However reading your feedback on driver side ergonomics clearly demoed with the pictures (thank you very much for the illustrations)-its getting me thinking?!

Really liked the Autoform seat covers -blends well with the color and adds more sportiness (like the cedia sports / vRS seat stitchings) to the ride.

[vibbs]

Thank you Safeer.

Yes the driving position needs some getting used to. But going by long time users, you do get a comfortable driving position after a lot of trial and error. I have not yet found one for myself. But then ofcourse I am comparing it with my Swift, which I believe has the one of the most comfortable driving positions in the segment.

I am off to a Pune-Bangalore drive over the weekend and will try to give some more insights on the long time comfort while driving.

[Utopian]

Congratulation for the Punto. Even after so many areas, it is still a looker. They have got a still to catch up, specifically in the fit and finish department.
BTW, how reliable is the MID FE indicator on the Punto?