[TorqueyTechie]

Sometimes a small itch will turn out to be something big! Mine was something similar.

I had been using the Maruti Alto (pocket rocket as I was calling it) since 2007. It had been constant companion and I had taken it to many places. The engine's peppy and easy to drive in the city but lags quite a bit in the highway. It was serving us well and my bro in law was using it when I was not in town. But the car was idle over the last 6-8 months because of unavoidable circumstance. Spent some considerable amount of money in getting it repaired but somehow I was not feeling the same driving it. The car was looking aged now and lot of niggles along with the car stopping on me couple of times when returning from office made me to think of changing the car.

Now even though my mind was saying its OK to drive this car for some more time, my heart was not into it. Slowly a small itch started of looking at buying a car even if its used. And this itch started to grow further after I drove my friend's polo. The last straw was the time when the car stopped on me while returning from work even though the battery was new.

Having made up my mind to change the car and being clear that it will be a used car, I kept the budget as 2lakhs. I had few points (mentioned below) regarding my next car purchase.
1. Sporty hatchback. We are a family of 3 (sometimes sister and bro in law join us) and it didn’t make sense to buy a big car. But was ok to look at good sedan options as well.
2. Would keep the car for 4-5 years so had to be well maintained and not highly abused.
3. Good highway manners. I am not very regular in hitting the highways but for those times when I do I want a car which doesn’t feel underpowered or give me goosebumps when taking those tight turns.

My preferred cars in the same order were as below.
Palio GTX or S10 (No better car than this satisfying the above criteria)
Punto
Polo 1.6
Fiesta 1.6 or 1.6S
Ikon 1.6

Now my lookout for the car started in the used market. Started looking out at the regular places in the used market (Olx, CarTrade, Quikr, our own company classifieds, Dealers and of course in Team BHP classifieds).

If you are in onshore for quite some time it spoils you in many ways including car purchases and I found it out the hard way. Used car market in US is very mature and finding a car which suits your needs are little easy to find. But here its quite different.

1. Car owners quote high prices for cars which are either old or not maintained well. Indians attach emotional value to the car which makes them not see the true value of the car.
2. Have to careful about vehicle accident history and also odometer tampering as its very easy to do it here.
3. Its Bangalore so please be ready to pay high price.

Found out after sometime that I have to drop the idea of S10 and GTX as finding a well maintained one on the market is little difficult and enthusiasts would generally not sell it very easily.

Since I had to start looking out for my other options it meant I had to increase my budget a bit more. Found some which is bit more than my budget and went for test drives. Below are my experiences with the cars I tested.

Polo 1.6 : Car is a hoot to drive. Pick up is great and is easy to drive as well. But it was way over my budget.

Punto : Car is well built and felt sturdy. Felt underpowered and there is quite a bit of lag as well.

Fiesta : I couldn’t find any good fiesta’s available. The ones which I saw were quite abused and not maintained well. Somehow didn’t get to drive any as seeing them itself I didn’t feel like wasting time is testing them.

Ikon 1.6: Found couple of ones well maintained and less mileage on them. Car was good to drive and boy this car is simply awesome. Great engine, very responsive and the HPS steering makes it a very good package. But as mentioned before the owners were quoting simply high prices. Paying close to 2l for a 12 yr or 15 yr car is not something I would do even with my eyes closed.

By this time I had spent almost 1.5 months and was getting frustrated but was somehow holding on. By this time a friend of mine suggested about an ad for Palio Stile 1.6S. Now I had not looked or thought about this particular model from Fiat at all. Called up the owner and set up a meeting on a weekend. Went and saw the car . First impression :

Engine is very responsive. Very less lag. Roomy interiors. Same build quality. The engine started without a stutter. The ride was smooth and the gear shifts great. Having been used to short clutch travel in my alto , driving this took some time to get used to but nothing alarming there. The reassuring thud of the car door was great to hear and the drive was excellent.

The way car looked when I first saw it.



This car was a 2008 model and was driven for 6k km only. (Yes you read it right). Car was used sparingly by his son who had went to US.

Checked the car all around. The interiors, exteriors and the engine everything was neatly maintained.

Came back from the short drive and checked all the papers. The service was done only thrice till date as the car was not driven much and it was done at authorized service center only.

Having liked the car , now the discussion for the price started. The car was quoted at 2.5lakhs (way overpriced). I didn’t want to pay that much but at the same time didn’t want to lose this deal. Haggling a price is the most difficult for me as I am not good at that. Came back that day but my mind was always stuck with the image of me driving the car! .

Finally next day I again called up the guy and started discussing about the price and also went for a second drive. Price haggling continued for quite a few days and finally managed to wrap up the deal at a reasonable price. Paid more yes but this car is worth it I felt after having seen and driven other so called well maintained cars.

Last straw left was to sell the current car before I can buy this. I had managed to contact Maruti true value and other dealers for selling this car and they were quoting 1.1 or 1.2 for the car but I was holding out for a good price. At last managed to find a dealer who took it for 1.3 lakh.

Last pic of my faithful old car.



Went over the previous weekend and completed the paper work and paid the amount. Got the keys to the car and started the car as the owner for the first time. Took it for a customary temple visit and got the pooja done.




Based on few days of ownership, here are my likes and dislikes

Likes :

Great Build quality.
Great ride esp on bad roads.
Engine is smooth and the response is awesome!
Acceleration is smooth and linear.
HPS unit - Again great response from the steering and fun to drive.

Dislikes :

Interior Fit and Finish - Not very great. Finishing leaves a lot to desire.
Beige interiors - Don't like it.
No 6th gear. Would have been good to have.
No much storage space for storing any water bottles or such.

Total Cost of Palio 2.2 lakhs
Old car sold for 1.3 lakhs


This car is my primary drive and I am using it daily to my office. Total one way distance is 25 kms which has 70% stop and go traffic and rest relatively easy traffic. Car performs well on both occasions. Pick up of the car is great. Car pulls in from 2nd gear too easily from standstill. The best rpm range I feel is from 1800 - 3500 rpm when the car delivers power linearly. Thanks to the recent bandh I could take the car for a spirited run and it felt as if the car was yearning for it to be revved freely. Only thing I want to is to get a air filter installed but confused whether to go for a conical filter or a standard one.

Ride is on the stiffer and it was harsh but has been better after filling nitrogen for tires. I use the car along routes which has bad roads but it eats up all the potholes easily with not much transferred inside.

Exterior : Great looks and build. Car looks good from the front. Well proportioned car and I still feel that it can give new cars a run for the money in the styling department. Paint is still very good. The type of paint is said as soft paint and needs to be maintained properly especially color being black.

Rear View


1.6 sport logo


Double barrel clear headlamps.


Fog Lamps


Panel gaps are uniform.


Tires are of Goodyear make and still has good treads in them. Thinking of changing them after sometime. Road noise is less from the tires.


Love the design of alloys but planning to get them painted black.


Spoiler adds sportiness to the car. Jet spray should have been integrated with the spoiler. This is like an after attachment on the car


Ground clearance is OK but the car did bottom out once when there were 5 people in the car but the speed breaker was a huge one. Have not yet encountered any other speed breaker or potholes where it bottoms out.


Tail Lamp


Fiat Logo

[TorqueyTechie]

Door opens in 3 stages, Door pockets are present but cannot hold any water bottle. Best for magazines or newspapers or any other of that sort.


Cockpit View. Design is simple and understated. I like it.


Quality of plastics is poor. Could see lot of glue/some sticky kind on the dashboard. Its reduced now after getting it cleaned. There is a glare of the dashboard on the front windshield during bright sunlight.


Meaty Steering.


Sporty car pedals.


Dead pedal is very small and difficult to place your leg there!


Clutch travel is long and needs some time to get used to. Gear ratios are small and precise. Should have had a 6th gear IMO!

Leather wrapped gear knob :


A/C takes sometime to cool the entire cabin especially the back seat. Need to increase the fan speed to cool it faster. Fan noise is slightly higher. Closing the A/C vent will completely stop the air flow.


Storage places are at a premium. No room to keep the water bottles or coffee mugs!


Leg room : I am not a tall person (5’ 10”) and the leg room is sufficient. The travel for front seat is good.
Front Leg room


Rear Leg Room is good. Picture shows leg room when the front seat is pushed all the way back. Comfortably sits three as floor hump is negligible. Provides good under-thigh support as well.


Rear view mirror provides good vision but visibility is less. It has the night vision as well reducing the glare from the vehicles.


Side mirrors can be adjusted from inside but needs to be opened first manually. Also it does not go backwards and hence has a high chance of getting broken in Bangalore traffic.

260 lts of boot space. Can increase it more by folding the rear seat. (No 60:40 split for rear seat).



Spare tyre is not alloy.


Viper and light stalks are good and will last long.



Glovebox is deep but not very big.


Odometer looks simple and good. Veglia Borletti make!


Front door pads have space to hold newspapers, magazines or any such thing only.


Rear door pads do not have any storage space.

[TorqueyTechie]

Engine bay:




NVH levels are low. Engine bay is insulated well reducing the noise from the engine. Also have got paint protection coating done which has reduced road noise from the tires.


Missing scuff plate means few scratches on the door sill. Need to find and install them soon.


Only scratch/dent on the car. Thinking of getting it corrected. Any place to get this removed.


Front View:


Last and the most important :


Kitna Deti Hain? I am getting close to 12 kmpl with light foot and 10kmpl with a slightly spirited drive. These figures are with 100% A/c on all the time and inside city.
Highway mileage has been 14kmpl with 100% A/c.

Have been using this car for a month and have to say that everything about the car is leaps and bound above Alto except maybe the plastic quality.

Ride & Handling : Ride is on the slightly stiffer side but nothing of a major issue. Have been using this car as my daily drive and has been a pleasant experience till date. Handles all the potholes with ease as also the speed breakers. The power delivery is quite linear. Engine has slight lag until it hits 1400-1500 rpm range but after that its very smooth. Car loses the punch once it crosses 3000 rpm though. Engine begs to be revved and can bring out the smile on your face during those spirited highway runs.

City driving is good with gear changes minimal. Car can pull in 3rd gear at 30kmph but does feel heavy at low speeds. On Highways the car shines though you cannot brand it as sports car. Its more in the league of cruiser. It takes sometime to reach triple digit figures and you would need to downshift for that quick overtake. You will be able to drive long distances without feeling tired (yes maybe slight hand pain because of the lack of arm rests).

Suspension is quite good. Ride tends to be harsh and firm when driving in city and at low speeds. But when taken to highways no need of reducing speed for those rough patches. You can confidently drive on it. Straight line stability is good and is quite similar to the BMW(not same) I owned earlier.

When driving you will be surprised to know that you have reached triple digit figures very soon. Braking is quite good and there have been occasions I had to do panic breaking and the car responded brilliantly. I take the elevated flyover to my work place daily at EC and where earlier I used to be scared because of the lighter feel of Alto and its steering, this car inspires confidence.

Car feels planted and though heavy is easy to maneuver. One thing I liked on this car is its on road manners. Stable at high speeds which gives confidence. Tires are OEM and provide enough stability and has good road grip. Steering is a HPS unit and provides precise feedback and control. Perfectly weighted with tight steering when stationary. Inside city it is slightly light. Weighs as the speed increases. There is a slight body roll when cornering at speeds but nothing very high. Turning radius is little high and generally you will have to do a 3 point turns. There is no height and reach adjustment for the steering though.

Sport pedals are good but tend to be slippery especially during rains. Also the dead pedal is pretty close to the clutch and is difficult to place your leg there.

To summarize, there has been some downsides in the car but which I tend to neglect as I liked the positives more. This is definitely not for people with concerns on the mileage but for folks who like to drive. I had to hear from my friends and colleagues for buying a fiat and that too a Palio but its something which only the person who has driven would know. I am enjoying this vehicle and as of now no complaints whatsoever.

That's it folks for now. I will keep on updating this thread regularly though with all other updates. Thank you all for reading.

P.S : Before proceeding with buying the car I read the threads ‘How to buy a used car in India’ and ‘5 year old car whether to keep it or sell it’ and have to thank the people who have contributed to the thread for the immense information shared!

[Aditya]

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

[arnabchak]

Dear Touquey
Congrats on the pristine buy!!
Just 6K for a 2008 model is a steal for Rs.2.2 lacs.

However, just an observation: The ABC pedals looks a bit abused and seems to have been used more than the 6K in the odo.

Pls. have a check with Fiat ASC on the car history to ensure no odo tampering has been done.
If the tyres are stock then you can think of replacing then as they are already 7 years old and rubber disintegrates.

Overall, a very well maintained car and the dent can easily be fixed within Rs. 3K.

Wish you many happy miles in this Italian Beauty!!

[sdp1975]

Congratulations on the car - looks well maintained ! That's a very good city mileage you're getting.

A good place to get the dent/scratch repaired in Bangalore would be Trend automobiles. Details are here

[h14]

Hearty congratulations on the Palio. Wishing you a wonderful ownership with the beast.

The downside in the Stile is the stickiness in the dashboard. That is due to the poor paint quality. It was a pain for me too, but you can get the same removed and maybe even get it re-painted (powder coat). I'm suggesting this since the stickiness will be back once exposed to sun/heat.

Once I sold my Stile, the current owner got the same removed and is now happy. I'll get the pictures from him and share it for you to get an idea.

[hothatchaway]

Torquey Techie - You have mentioned turbo lag but if am not mistaken this is a naturally aspirated petrol engine.

Also, consider getting the tyres replaced, despite the mileage being in 4 digits, these are now 7 years old and the rubber may have hardened by now. Grip while braking could be an issue

All in all, a great buy!

[abhii176]

Congratulations TorqueyTechie, that looks like a really good buy. The car seems to be in pristine condition. A mileage of just 6k for a 7 year old car does sound very hard to digest, but given that the tyre tread is still in place, it just might be right.
A mileage of 10 in the city with a 1.6 does seem pretty good man. Wish you lots of happy miles with this beauty!

[Speed Pujari]

Congrats on the car. This is indeed a beast and there is no such car today which matches the drive quality of Palio.

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Engine is very responsive. Very less turbo lag.

I am surprised how did u manage to induce Turbo Lag since its a normally aspirated engine.

[predatorwheelz]

Congratulations on getting the beast, that too in such good condition! I was always a fan of the Palio's build quality and its ride and handling package. Drove a friend's 1.6 and fell in love with the power of the engine too. Sadly at that time my monthly running mandated buying a diesel, and the Palio was discontinued shortly after. It always remained a Halo car for me.

Do bear in mind that while the engine begs to be revved on the highway, mileage falls drastically the more you push it. Also:

1. Get the tyres changed. 7 year old rubber is tired, hard rubber. Not good if you want to get sprightly with the car.

2. (Beside the scratch removal) get a good detailing job done. There are far too many swirl marks showing up in the flash you have used in the photos. See the pic of the "1.6 Sport" logo to see what I mean.

3. Just quoting Speed Pujari's statement, your engine is very much naturally aspirated . If you feel any kind of "lag", get it checked by a competent mechanic.

[TorqueyTechie]

Thanks Guys!I am really enjoying driving the car.

As many have pointed out, yes the Engine is naturally aspirated which I did not know and thought the lag I have is because of Turbo! I will get it verified when I have the check up done next week. Thanks hothatchaway, Speed Pujari and predatorwheelz for correcting me.

predatorwheelz, I have already got the detailing done and I will post the pics in some time as I need to downsize it.

Yes the next in list for me is to change the tires as well as alloys but in sometime.

[funkykar]

Congrats on the buy! I am sure you will enjoy the 100 horses.

As others pointed out, this is NA. I am surprised that you even used word lag. The 1.6 engine is super peppy even in Stile variant.

Set your expectation for expensive service bills. Many spares are expensive. Ensure you have comprehensive insurance.

Did you get the car washed before clicking the pics. Lot of places, it looks greasy and shiney due to the polish?

Did you get it from a dealer or directly from owner? An ad about this car was discussed very recently on another forum. TBhpian Pavan Kadam was showing interest on this one and when he tried to reach the number on the ad, the person was clueless about this car and Pavan was thinking if it were a dealer.

EDIT: If truly done 6k, most rubber parts including belts and tyres may need immediate attention. Also, see if you can connect through OBD and find the actual miles done by the car just to be certain(Don't know if the generic OBD scanners work on Stile 1.6)

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by funkykar

Congrats on the buy! I am sure you will enjoy the 100 horses.
Did you get it from a dealer or directly from owner? An ad about this car was discussed very recently on another forum. TBhpian Pavan Kadam was showing interest on this one and when he tried to reach the number on the ad, the person was clueless about this car and Pavan was thinking if it were a dealer.

EDIT: If truly done 6k, most rubber parts including belts and tyres may need immediate attention. Also, see if you can connect through OBD and find the actual miles done by the car just to be certain(Don't know if the generic OBD scanners work on Stile 1.6)

Thanks funkycar for the suggestions. First thing I did was to take comprehensive insurance. I did check with the FIAT SC and they did mention about the mileage indicated being correct. But I will get the ODB scanned as well once to confirm.

I am not sure where Pavan checked the car. This purchase was directly from the owner.

[h14]

OBDII never worked on the stile :( But you can definitely try.

Here's the pic of my ex-car with dash paint removed.