[kaushal21fb]

Disclaimer: Please note that some cars got rejected due to not meeting our parameters/expectations during the selection process. You could have bought any of those cars on some other logic and requirements. That’s absolutely fine.
My only aim is to share our buying experience and share some knowledge gained in the process. Please don’t kill me if my observations don’t match yours. I think there are no really bad cars out there, however there are tradeoffs that one must be aware of whilst making an informed decision.
Also it’s my first thread on T-BHP after many years of membership so let’s get started.
Below are the reactions from my office colleagues when they heard that I’ve booked the New Linea:

Colleague 1: Is Fiat still continuing? Didn’t they close down their shops?

Me: Yes. They just split up with TATA.

Colleague 2 (From Finance): What? You’re buying a Fiat? You know it’s not going to give you any resale? You could’ve bought a good sedan like Dzire and saved a lot of money!!

Me: (Smiling sheepishly) Ya, but it’s hard to explain.

Colleague 3 (A German living in Dublin) whilst going for a business lunch: Wow that’s a beautiful car! They (Fiat) do not sell it in Europe. Now we know who’s making the most money in India.

Me: (Again smiling sheepishly) it’s not very expensive, besides it doesn’t sell much in India. I bet it wouldn’t sell in Europe as well.

Colleague 3: I would buy 1.

Well above are some examples from a broad spectrum of reactions that I’m getting used to since I got the Linea .

So how we ended up with the New FIAT Linea:

Never was much of FIAT fan, always knew them as someone that makes good small cars (how James May keeps raving about his Fiat Panda and somehow I still love the Palio) but is run by a horrible management resulting in sale disasters, and yeah they also make India’s national engine.

Test Drove the Punto about 5 years back and was put off by the awkward driving position and quirky plastics. So went ahead with the Ritz.

Switch to 2014 push around extravaganza aka Auto Expo. After a bit of a queue Me and friend managed to find the seat inside the New Linea and both were immediately blown away by the quality of interiors. We thought nothing in the southward of 15L matched in the entire expo. However there were no thoughts of buying the car and the months passed by.

Six months later we were in the market for the replacement of our beloved Ritz which completed 120,000 KMs in 5 years. Like the most of the country we were convinced that New Honda City is the best thing that has happened since the last gen City. Still remember driving the 1st gen Vtec, in 1 word amazing. But since we were going spend more than a million bucks we thought its better we study the market and buy like an informed customer.

Though we were primarily looking for a bigger more comfortable (highway) vehicle with safety (Ritz Vdi had no ABS, Airbags etc.) being the prime concern. More so since we now had a new born in the house. The Idea was to go for the top variant, so that we don’t have to do anything with the aftermarket stuff because those are the things that usually fail first.

We also checked out so called mini SUV’s (looking at the roads) and people carriers (we Indians have joined/extended families so the cars that can take more than 5 are always temptations) etc. Basically everything that falls in the budget, which was capped at 12L. Though we could’ve spent more but I wanted to keep the loan under control. Frankly we did not find anything compelling either that would make us want to spend more.

So with the back seat comity comprising of the ladies (wife, mom and my 10 month daughter) we set out, and we were to find a few things out:

Test Drives:

Fiat Linea (T-Jet & Multijet): It just happened by chance. We were heading straight for the Honda showroom, but since we had some time in the evening so I suggested driving a little ahead take a U- Turn and check out the new Linea (I still remembered the interiors) first. Nobody raised objections to my idea so off we went to the Fiat showroom.

We were primary looking for a diesel (daily running is 80 km+) but since Mutijet was out for another test drive the SA offered a drive in T-Jet which we accepted. In the first impression the driving position immediately felt weird (reminded of the Punto test drive in the past) and during the entire course of test drive I couldn’t find a comfortable (even after moving the seat and steering, hopping, jumping and experimenting with all Yoga asana’s I know) spot leading to some woes.

However the rest of the story was just different. Everything else just blew me way. The engine :-if I would’ve known that petrol prices would drop I would’ve definitely (even with my current running) gone for the TJET. Just Amazing! The entire package has such an organic appeal. The steering gives the perfect feedback, Brilliant NVH levels and butter smooth ride quality. The quality of dashboard/interior again impressed, and back seat committee was happy (though not jubilant) as well.

We again went in and test drove the Multijet as that’s what we had to choose (alas) due to $$ sense it made. It was a mind winning over heart decision, but we still ended up with the Linea, so I guess it’s a draw.

Likes:
• Ride and Handling
• Breaks
• Amazing engine (T-Jet)
• Quality of Dashboard and interior upholstery
• Solid Build Quality
• NVH Levels
• High ground clearance
• 150000 Kms 5 yrs. warranty
Dislikes:
- Awkward Driving position
- Rear headroom
- Doubts about Fiat’s After Sales
- Average bottom end (Multijet)
- Doubts about resale value
- Not many cubby holes to hold stuff
- Some quirky bits in otherwise solid car.
- Some modern features like reverse parking camera, auto folding mirrors missing on even the top variant.

Honda City:.So off we went next to Honda to check out the New City. We were made to wait for about 10 minutes before the sales agent attended to us. So we ourselves went ahead and started taking a look at the City S with optional showroom accessories loaded parked in the display area. Suddenly the sales agent appeared from nowhere and led us away to the red colored Amaze parked a little away. We politely told him that we’re not interested in the Amaze and want to know more about the City. His reply almost made me laugh:

SA: “Amaze has the same engine as the City..”
Me: So
SA: Soo it’s almost the same car..

I think we should’ve “Informed Customer- TBHP” apparel, which one can wear whilst going out on vehicle buying excursions.

Anyways we politely led him back to what we were interested in i.e. the City. We were finally offered a test drive. Since City V was out so were offered a test drive in City S which we accepted without any objections.

The first impression, City S immediately felt a step down after the Linea. The plastics weren’t so good and there was no premium feel in the already soiled interiors. Though unlike Linea finding a comfortable seating spot was no big deal. Things felt a bit flimsy and it was reaffirmed when we got on the roll.

The NVH levels were disappointing for a 10 L + (City S) car. The engine sounded loud, and the suspension made crashing noises into every bump and there are a lot of them in the Faridabad section of NH2 so you can imagine. A few gear changes and the hologram on the gear lever fell into my hands. When I commented on the build quality the SA replied “ Sir this is a test drive car so badly abused. You should try the Amaze, it’s better built than the City”. He asked us to turn back from the first U turn so I came back a bit heartbroken from a short test drive and thinking “Was I expecting too much?”

The back seat committee though was mighty happy with acres of legroom and if it was entirely upto them we’d have bought the City that day. Women I tell you!

We test drove the City V in the second run a week later. But sometimes when your heart gets won over (in this case it was the Linea) it’s hard to find contention.
Likes:
- Good Diesel Engine
- Spot On ergonomics
- Feature rich (City V)
- Interior Space
- Honda Brand Name and after sales assurance
Dislikes:
- Poor NVH
- Average ride and Handling
- Average built
- Overpriced (especially lower variants)

Renault Duster: Best ride in the class. The suspension has a strong feel to it and can ride over pretty much anything with ease. However average quality interiors and slightly botched up ergonomics put us off. We thought it was a bit pricy at 13.5 L + for a top end 110 Bhp.
I also have this thing every time I visit a Renault or Nissan showroom I find some fighting with someone. This time it was a customer who thought he was being cheated and not being offered the promised price. If you see someone fighting it just kills the mood.

Like:
- Amazing ride quality
- Decent handling
- SUV like feel with high sitting perch
- Spacious
Dislikes:
- Average build
- Average quality of plastics
- Weird driver ergonomics
- Pricey

Mahindra Scorpio and XUV 5OO:
Scorpio (previous gen):

I’m a big fan of the way it looks i.e. big, imposing and masculine, however wife isn’t. Anyways convinced the wife for a test drive and it was promptly offered by the showroom guys. The ladder on frame reminded of the truck that I drove (my uncle has a transport business) a long time back. The feeling was of sitting on top of the car rather than inside it. The seat did not have the height adjust making the driving position a tad weird. The gear knob is weirdly tilted towards the driver, indicating some jugaads to aid ergonomics. The test drive car had 11,000 Kms on the odo. Two minutes into the test drive and the AC developed a mind of its own. Leaving us to battle the heat with just the blower. Some button presses and engine restart later it finally got working. Micro Hybrid is an irritant as it keeps shutting down the engine every time you stop. The test drive was short (courtesy the SA) so didn’t get to push a lot. But by and large the feel of the car (from dashboard plastics to ride and handling) was unpolished. Also third row of seats was something that back seat committee decided that they’d never want to get into. If you’re (which we were) looking for some motoring finesse then Scorpio might not be your cup of tea. Though it ticks on some useful aspects.

Likes:
- Large and Imposing definitely a good thing on Indian roads.
- Feature rich
- Value for money.
Dislikes:
- Poor ride & handling
- Average built and material quality
- Poor 3rd row seating
- Not as spacious as it looks

XUV 5OO: Popped the clutch and wop it stalled. The springy clutch lacked any feeling or progression, reminded me a bit of old Indica. However overall build quality and drive was way better than the Scorpio. But more desirable top end variant was out of budget at 15 L+.

Likes:
- Decent Built way better than anything Mahindra offers
- Really well equipped especially the top variant
- Feels more like a car
- Looks cool and imposing.
Dislikes:
- Clutch and brakes lack progression and feels springy
- Still some quirky bits in the overall package, and doesn’t feel very premium.
- Lower variants do away with a lot of good features

Vento and Rapid: We already have a Polo in the family and Vento did not feel too different from it. So it was chucked out as an option. Rapid had an amazing deal on finance, but one of my good friends owns a Rapid and he has terrible after sales experience with Skoda. So it was left out as well.

Verna: Not a big fan of Hyundai cars but still went to the showroom to check the car out. The sales staff was busy selling i10’s and Santro’s. No test drive offered only brochure handed out. Weirdly they made us for 10 minutes (which was irritating) and then all sales staff ran out to help a customer who was being delivered the new Xcent and the security didn’t let him out because they did not give him a gate pass. We decided enough is enough. We were not too interested anyways.

Ford Fiesta and Ecosport:

These were probably the two cars that gave a very good contest to the Linea.

Ford Fiesta: What a car! The driving dynamics are simply amazing. It loves being chucked into corners and I loved chucking it around. I took the test drive twice (once wasn’t just enough) and I must say both the times it left a big smile plastered on my face. The ride is firm and there’s a sure footedness missing in any Japanese/ Korean counterparts. I think with the facelift it doesn’t look too bad either. Only thing that put it down is the rear seats. The back seat committee just out right rejected it, and no amount of explaining could convince them.

Likes:
- Amazing ride and handling!!
- Superb dynamics
- Feature rich
- Good ICE sound quality

Dislikes:
- Poor back seat comfort
- Can’t remember anything else. I’m too nostalgic.

Ecosport: Ecosport came second in our buying list. Good ride and handling and SUV feel is something we liked. It’s also well priced for the features. But the back seat again lost here.

Likes:
- Ride and Handling
- SUV feel
- Feature rich and Value for Money
Dislikes:
- Back seat is a bit claustrophobic

Delivery experience:

Nothing too exciting here. The DRS Fiat staff is dull and not as proactive as I would have liked them to be. We were not sure till the delivery day if the car would be delivered. They said it’s in transit and every time it was me who was following up. Asked them to show the car for PDI which they obliged. Checked the VIN and it was an April2014 manufacture. Went ahead and took the delivery on 21st July 2014.

Word of advice; take everything in writing during negotiations. Anything not made implicit will not be given. As we found out whilst taking the delivery of Punto Evo (more on that later) for wife. We negotiated on the On road price (including accessories) but they chose to omit the basic accessories (mudflaps, mats etc.) during delivery. We didn't fight a lot as we didn't want to kill the mood.

The first time I lay my eyes on it.


PDI:


Delivery:



Living With the New Linea:

Have clocked 24k Kms in the last 11.5 months (including 3 highway trips) and below are the observations:

Design and Styling and build- Exterior:

Looks are a personal preference. The front grille kind of looks a cross between previous gen verna and Baleno. The sculpted Shark fin front bumper gels well with the overall design.
The rear on the other hand I think looks more mature than the previous gen but also a bit more generic. The quality of chrome (which is available in loads) is very good though. I love chrome so I’m not complaining.
I love the side profile and the stance the car has. Alloys are smart units but the 90’s style door handles not. 205 section tyres add to the looks
The quality of paint is good too. Had a bit of a rear bumper scrub with Fortuner’s rear bull bar on a narrow road. The sound was awful and I got out almost expecting a scratch. But voila there was nothing.


All dusty during Ranthambore Trip:



Along Side the segment Leader. Wanted to take both cars in full but the morons driving the City were sitting inside and drinking.



Side Profile (sorry for the poor quality pic and the dirty car, I'll post a better one) the best angle to see the Linea:



The back profile. Gone is the Emotion badging, it now reads more secular- Multijet



Linea embossed on chrome. The chrome quality is very high. 1 Year and no signs of rusting or anything.



That's dirt on bottom chrome strip. Can be easily cleaned though.



The M800 style door handles. Can pinch your fingers and it hurts esp. in winters. Chrome quality is good here too.



Double barrel headlamps. Outer ones are low beam and inner high beams. Though not the strongest but provide decent beam spread and illumination.



Under the hood and boot. No scarcity of insulation here. The bonnet itself if heavy duty and needs some effort lifting up.

The boot has electric release. A useful feature.





The Magneti Mareli Struts work really well. Just a little nudge and the boot opens all the way up. They also don't apply excessive pressure whilst closing and there's absolutely no pressure in the last 1/4 of boot opening. Making closing the boot a 2 finger affair. You've to keep reminding people especially guards in the parking lot to be gentle with the boot.



Design, Styling and build -Interior

The overall feel of the interiors is premium. I love the plastics, the leather quality, and even the cloth used in the roof lining. The switch gear feels premium as well. Everything is soft touch or action which shows some good engineering.

All is not fancy though, the door handles are flimsy and have become shaky. It has been rectified in the second service. The power window switches feel flimsy as well. There’s a click sound after the windows have wound up/down fully, indicating that the power to the motors hasn’t cut off. Not a good thing for power window motor life. The head restraints don’t lock and just slide up and down. The rear left is loose and the service guys say they can do nothing about it. I’m planning to write a mail to FIAT for faulty rear left restraint. It has been causing a lot of trouble to my old parents. Some plastics are hard wearing.

The stubby switch gear (wiper and indicator stalks) feels nice to use and operate with a reassuring click. The light stalk does not move up or down and the high/low beams are operated with upward click.

Overall everything feels solid no rattles to report after 24K km of driving in all conditions.

The steering wheel feels nice to hold. Leather Wrap on it feels premium.



Dash looks funky. The soft touch plastics feel good.



Shiny centre console has good plastic quality. Does not attract finger prints. Can be cleaned easily with soft cloth in case of dust. Note the boot release button.

ICE came with pathetic speakers that sounded horrible. Things improved a lot after switching to Harman audio. The sound presets in the unit are almost useless. You can only adjust bass and treble in the manual mode i.e. no adjustment for the mids. But the highlight is the blue and me which has nice phone features. The voice commands works fine, but to me it's more a gimmick and I rarely use it.



AC controls. Not sure what the Full Auto Mode tries to do when switched on. The blower runs at full speed and let's the outside air in. With full wind blast at my face I lose patience in 5 minutes, and then switch it back semi-auto. The AC overall is very effective though.
Note the note the one touch defogger switch.



The gear knob is good to hold and conveniently placed. The quality of leather is premium.



Ergonomics:
Due to high ground clearance the driving perch is deceptively tall. Driver ergonomics are plain weird to start with. The clutch travels too long (why?) and the steering wheel is too on. After a few days of trial and error I managed to find a comfortable spot. I think the shorter you are the weirder it’ll be for you as you’ll keep getting too close to the steering. But anyone above 5’6” shouldn't have too much issue. The overall front and side visibility is brilliant. I've no idea of the boot while reversing though. Thanks to parking sensors (which work really well) I haven't bumped in yet.
The back seat itself is good and comfy with excellent under thigh support. The legroom is adequate but nowhere in the Honda city territory. The headroom is tight due to sloping roof-line and people over 6” will have headroom issues. Also fifth occupant is a tight squeeze.
AC works well and due to rear vents cools the cabin in not time.


You can call it more an elbow rest. I'm 5'10" and keep the seat backed up whilst driving. So I find it OK while changing gears:



Leather inserts in the door trims. The leather is soft touch and feels good. The plastic on the top is hard wearing.



Something to keep the wife happy.



Front and rear internal lights. The front light has 2 bulbs for driver and passengers.





Handling:
A lot has been said about it. My take, turns in quick and holds the line impeccably. If you’re the kind who likes to find the apex in every turn to your office, then it’s pretty easy to do it in Linea. When pushed hard there’s a bit of body roll but nothing unnerving. The nose feels perfectly connected to the steering and just a little turn points it to where you want it to go. The average gripping and noisy Good Year NCT’s starts to give in way before the chassis does. When I'm bored with hitting Apexes, I usually have fun doing precision driving on the lane markings whilst taking turns. It's all like a back of the hand kind of job for Linea.

The foot-well. The pedals are ergonomically spaced out. The dead pedal is good if I'm wearing sneakers or sandals. The boots tend to foul up with the clutch pedal.

Note the bonnet latch in the corner. Both Fuel and Bonnet latches are manual.




Ride:
Is supple and a bit deceptive. At first it feels a bit hard but as you start taking pot holes you know it’s a different. The suspension irons things out impeccably sending minimum impact inside. I’ll just say what Autocar had to say in their review:- makes bad roads feel good and good roads velvety. .
Also I love the way there’s very little lateral and vertical body movement. This can be best felt whilst taking speed breakers or unpaved roads. The body remains by and large steady whilst you can feel the suspension working down there.


Door Sill. The only aftermarket accessory apart from speakers on the car.



Thin power window buttons and flimsy door handle


The leather seats have a premium feel.



Engine and Transmission (Where’s 1.6 multijet when you need one Fiat):

To start with the engine really needed some serious running in. For the 1st 2000 Kms it felt absolutely gruff and underpowered. It wouldn't climb bridges and inclines without shifting down. I just couldn't believe it could be so bad. At one point I even thought of writing down to Fiat and ask them to take the car back. But then something told me to keep running it in and it would turn out fine, and it eventually did. Got the engine oil changed at 5,000 Km’s, and then the things improved drastically.

Even after running in it’s nothing like set the world afire. The 1.3 takes its own sweet time to build up speed. If you’re below 1800 RPM and above 2nd gear, then do what you may with that right foot of yours it’ll move when it has to. Therefore overtaking is a planned activity, especially in city traffic. Isn’t VGT supposed to make low end performance better?

Keep it around 2000 RPM and you can keep up with the traffic. Highways are a different story though. 90 Kmph happens at around 2200 RPM in 5th gear. You can keep cruising all day without a stress. Combine it with rock solid straight line stability and it’s a joy. The NVH levels are well controlled and there are hardly any vibrations at any speed.

Engine and gear ratios is something that also makes it very irritating in the hills, as I found out in our recent Binsar trip. You constantly need to keep shifting to keep the engine on the boil. Since there’s not much power in the lower RPM’s it’s really prone to stall (even in the 1st gear) on steep inclines. However please note this is pretty steep hills I’m talking about and taking bridges and fly overs is a non-issue. Also in the hills and bad roads the steel sump guard is a big reassurance. The front bottom took a hit a couple of times (on Binsar road and Bajpur- Rampur stretch) but no damage or fear of one. . Especially felt nice when I saw an XUV with a hanging plastic guard on the same stretch.

I think even if Fiat did not upgrade the engine adding a 6th cog would’ve helped. Especially adding a ratio between 2nd (which feels short) and 3rd gear, would have really helped in improving the city performance. On a side note I don’t find the shift quality to be bad or imprecise as mentioned in various reports. The gear action is extremely light and gears slot in the gates quite precisely making it a joy to use. I’ve given the gearbox quite a thrashing at times and never have I landed on to a false neutral or a wrong gear. The throws are long though so you’ll lose a couple of milliseconds if racing. But on everyday roads does it matter?

The clutch action is quite light as well. It’s perhaps the lightest clutch I’ve experienced in a diesel car. What ruins it a bit though is the long travel. Otherwise the progression is good and I’ve not felt any issues with unintentional stalling etc.

Braking:
I think braking is something that needs a special mention here. Brakes have a good bite and there’s absolutely zero suspension dive under heavy breaking. The car beautifully remains in line without any nervousness. The ABS kicks in late, had a few instances of heavy breaking but ABS has never kicked in. However what makes it really special is the way that pedal talks to your foot. The pedal action is light and well-modulated. There’s progression in every mm of travel and it gives perfect feedback by weighing up appropriately. Join all the factors and you get a lot of confidence in Linea’s braking abilities. The T Jet only betters it with the disk setup in rear.

FE (Kitna Deti hai):

I've about 60% highway and 40% stop and go run to office and around. In summers with AC ON always I've been getting 16-17 KMPL. In winters it improves to 19-20 KMPL.

Got 20 KMPL in the Ranthambore and 17 KMPL in the almora trip.

To Sum up:

So Linea doesn't have the most powerful engine, it's not the fastest, not the best FE, it's not the most popular, won't give you a top notch resale either.

But If you ask my about a good car I would say it’s not necessarily the one that has the most powerful engine, or best price to features/size, or the cheapest maintenance, or even scores high on practicality or reliability.
As an enthusiast you buy cars with your heart (like Mr. Clarkson said once), and a good car is the one that connects with you, makes you want to drive it even after a bad day. It comes into your life and becomes a part of it. Makes you feel special and unique every time.

It’s hard to explain, it’s more like emotional decision, and can be different for different folks. For me Linea ticks a lot of boxes and touches my heart. It puts a smile every time I take corner. Makes me feel safe and secure and most of all special.

My only suggestion, next time when you’re out to get a car. No matter what they say (resale, brand, blah blah) buy it with your heart. After all you can’t put a price for everything in life.

Cheers!

[arnabchak]

Hi Kaushal

Looking for something more from the review.
Though you started on a great note, the conclusion was a little abrupt.

Check NKrishna's detailed review on the Linea and will give you some ideas of what you can expect from this Italian beauty.
Also, dont miss pdma's post on the car!!

Happy revving and miles of smiles !!

[GTO]

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

[Blue Bird]

First of all congratulations (I guess its been a year now). Thanks for the review, even I have been on the lookout for a car, I had taken a TD of the Avventura,however for the past couple of months I had been worried more about the future of FIAT than the Car.

After reading your review my mind is again wandering towards FIAT. Do i take the plunge or not

Really loved the way how you let your heart take the decision. All the best and looking forward to further updates.

regards.

[Nik2772]

Great review, kaushal21fb. Nice to know that you are having a good experience with the Linea. It sure is a great looker (though the facelift messed up things IMO) and a great handler too. White colour looks fresh and elegant. Wish you lots and lots of miles in the car.

The 'sum up' part of the review was straight-from-the-heart. Very true. There is nothing wrong with the Linea, had Fiat been more stringent with their dealer attitude, it would have eaten into the sales of competitor cars surely, and strongly.

OT: I also keep visiting Faridabad (Gurgaon to Palwal drive). Do honk/flash when you see a good-looking Alto with LCLC.

[pdma]

Hello Kaushal,

The car is no doubt very good and 24K Km's with no squeaks or any noticable issues/ niggles is a small testimony of the decision you have made an year ago. I admit that I initially had some apprehensions when I decided to go ahead with a Linea however all the air is now clear and I too love the car for all the reasons we all love it for. The quality of service has improved from my experience and from the feedback received from other FIAT owners in Hyderabad which is a good thing, however as we all know FIAT has a lot to catch up with and hope they gain some ground soon. I second your mention on the FE part and I see that the car returns very decent number's on this front in-spite of the heavy build and huge tires (as per new Indian standards). The more you drive, the more you love and do keep sharing your experience with us.
Iam also sharing the link to my ownership thread below so that you can check the same when you are free and add your comments where appropriate as the information might be handy for folks who may need it.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-1-3l-mjd.html

Cheers,
pdma.

[kaushal21fb]

Originally Posted by Blue Bird

First of all congratulations (I guess its been a year now). Thanks for the review, even I have been on the lookout for a car, I had taken a TD of the Avventura,however for the past couple of months I had been worried more about the future of FIAT than the Car.

After reading your review my mind is again wandering towards FIAT. Do i take the plunge or not

Really loved the way how you let your heart take the decision. All the best and looking forward to further updates.

regards.

Thanks Blue Bird for your kind words. I would again suggest listen to your heart. Though I'm no expert but my guess is that Fiat will not close down any time soon. Their engine business is strong and they've recently sold 1.6 multijet (I hate them for not putting it in Linea) to Maruti for S cross. Bringing in Abarth and Jeep are also positive signs.

Dealerships are a different story though. I find them really dull.

My service experience has been different though. It's been better than Maruti so far and the service guys do pay attention to what you tell them.

Originally Posted by Nik2772

Great review, kaushal21fb. Nice to know that you are having a good experience with the Linea. It sure is a great looker (though the facelift messed up things IMO) and a great handler too. White colour looks fresh and elegant. Wish you lots and lots of miles in the car.

The 'sum up' part of the review was straight-from-the-heart. Very true. There is nothing wrong with the Linea, had Fiat been more stringent with their dealer attitude, it would have eaten into the sales of competitor cars surely, and strongly.

OT: I also keep visiting Faridabad (Gurgaon to Palwal drive). Do honk/flash when you see a good-looking Alto with LCLC.

Thanks for your response. Yes dealerships do need to improve. They're simply dull and slow and their attitude does not match the cars. I've 2 Fiats in the family now and have been giving them feedbacks consistently.

I drive Faridabad- Gurgaon everyday. I'll keep a lookout for you.

Originally Posted by pdma

Hello Kaushal,

The car is no doubt very good and 24K Km's with no squeaks or any noticable issues/ niggles is a small testimony of the decision you have made an year ago. I admit that I initially had some apprehensions when I decided to go ahead with a Linea however all the air is now clear and I too love the car for all the reasons we all love it for. The quality of service has improved from my experience and from the feedback received from other FIAT owners in Hyderabad which is a good thing, however as we all know FIAT has a lot to catch up with and hope they gain some ground soon. I second your mention on the FE part and I see that the car returns very decent number's on this front in-spite of the heavy build and huge tires (as per new Indian standards). The more you drive, the more you love and do keep sharing your experience with us.
Iam also sharing the link to my ownership thread below so that you can check the same when you are free and add your comments where appropriate as the information might be handy for folks who may need it.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-1-3l-mjd.html

Cheers,
pdma.

Thanks pdma. First of all congrats for your Linea. I did read your review whilst I was writing mine. I'll be glued to your thread and let's keep sharing updates.
Even my service experience with Fiat has been good. FIAT being a niche brand I'm also enjoying some exclusiveness. It's a big departure from Maruti which was more of a million people standing in a queue.

[Speed Pujari]

Congrats for your first Fiat Kaushal, Have Happy million miles ahead(yup the car is built to last).
according to me the 'weird' seating position of Linea is not weird but actually new style of ergonomics. You should drive the car for continuous 1000 kms to understand what I mean. You may end up doing Yoga for good with no backpain or fatigue.

When I do not drive my car for more than 10 days then thoughts of changing the car keeps cropping up. The thought vanishes once I get behind the wheels even after 4+ years of ownership. No other car under 15-20Lakhs is a convincing replacement to Linea.

[ssateesh]

Congrats on your new ride Kaushal. Wonderfully written in such a way that it feels as though we are in your place. I am going to point this thread to my wife for a read as my heart is on Fiat line t-jet as well as my first car but facing resistance at home :(

[pdma]

Originally Posted by kaushal21fb

Along Side the segment Leader. Wanted to take both cars in full but the morons driving the City were sitting inside and drinking.

Attachment 1383688

Let me try to fulfill your wish .





Cheers,
pdma.

[kaushal21fb]

Originally Posted by pdma

Let me try to fulfill your wish .

Attachment 1392685

Attachment 1392686

Cheers,
pdma.

Thanks! Side profile is I think the best to view Linea. Whilst city looks modern and science age, Linea looks more classy and sedate.

[Blue Bird]

Originally Posted by kaushal21fb

Thanks Blue Bird for your kind words. I would again suggest listen to your heart. Though I'm no expert but my guess is that Fiat will not close down any time soon.

I have yet see more passionate owners like Fiatians, I guess i am ready to take the plunge.

Originally Posted by desdemona

Hi there.

Am responding to a post of yours expressing a liking for Fiat but a fear about them/their commitment in India.

Tried the pm facility, however not working so choosing to reply here.

First of all thank you so much for your detailed and reassuaring message, I will be getting back to India next week and first thing i have planned is to pick up the Linea from Ahmedabad

I have seen that the fiat owners are the most passionate about there cars and that was truly reflected when I Test drove the Linea and Avventura.

What i am really concerned about is the Dealers in Ahmedabad, I have no clue as to how good or bad they are. Since I am planning for the Tjet I am a bit apprehensive wether I would get the latest manufactued one.

Thank you once again for your help.

regards.

[pdma]

Originally Posted by Blue Bird

I had taken a TD of the Avventura,however for the past couple of months I had been worried more about the future of FIAT than the Car.
After reading your review my mind is again wandering towards FIAT. Do i take the plunge or not

regards.

Honestly I do not see any issues here. They have some launches scheduled including the Abarth (I know this has been making some noise since ages on social media) so they are getting geared up (of course in their known lethargic way) and for sure and not downsizing. Personally I think FIAT is too lazy to even pull the plug ;-). If you love the car and If you think its right for you go ahead and Iam sure you will not repent.

Originally Posted by Blue Bird

Since I am planning for the Tjet I am a bit apprehensive wether I would get the latest manufactued one.

regards.

Again nothing to worry much here, the oldest I can see is you getting a Feb 2015 car would be like a 5 month old car and It should be absolutely fine. We can check the VIN which would be issued as soon as the car is ready to be transported. Also a proper PDI before you make the final payment will definitely put a full stop to all the apprehensions. In my case the PDI lasted for about 2 hours where every nook and corner was checked. This included getting the car on hydraulic jack to check the under body and the dealer was supportive.

Complete details in the link below on Post # 512 on 16 Feb 2015.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...review-35.html

I wish you all the best with your decision making.

Cheers,
pdma.

[RJ411]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition. Linea and Punto always stand apart from other cars in their segment. It may not offer all the bells and whistles present in segment topper, but it is certainly a VFM product.
Fiat will have to blame themselves for not getting strategies right and their products deserve better numbers.
Wishing you many more happy miles ahead and please keep the thread updated.

[kaushal21fb]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

Congrats for your first Fiat Kaushal, Have Happy million miles ahead(yup the car is built to last).
according to me the 'weird' seating position of Linea is not weird but actually new style of ergonomics. You should drive the car for continuous 1000 kms to understand what I mean. You may end up doing Yoga for good with no backpain or fatigue.

When I do not drive my car for more than 10 days then thoughts of changing the car keeps cropping up. The thought vanishes once I get behind the wheels even after 4+ years of ownership. No other car under 15-20Lakhs is a convincing replacement to Linea.

Thanks Speed! After an year of ownership, I don't find the position too weird now. It was only initially when I moved from the Japanese lineup (mainly Maruti's) of ownership and experience I had earlier. I've driven it about 500K in single day multiple times and I must say I never felt so less fatigued earlier. But I think brilliant handling and superb dynamics also aid to it i.e. since you're fighting the car less to keep it in line/turn. Totally agreed nothing south of 20L matches the Linea.