[SPARKled]

Congratulations on your brilliant car from another neighborhood Navi Mumbai Team BHPian. This is one car that I really want to buy but have not done it primarily due to lack of support from Fiat in the Navi Mumbai area. With a 9-5 job it really is tough atleast for someone like me to visit some far off Fiat service center to get service and support. I really hope Fiat opens up something in the vicinity.

I have owned a Fiat Uno and extensively driven a Palio and test driven a Tjet thrice when it was launched and really know and love all Fiat cars.

I will be glued to this thread and will be on a lookout for you Abarth in the vicinity. Happy miles and smiles to you for the future.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Ace F355

Wish you thousands of happy miles on your new acquisition.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Dr.Naren

Congrats buddy!!

Abarth Punto is the best car from Fiat in India. They could have made it better with minimal efforts. But I do appreciate Fiat for providing a car with 145 bhp at 10 lakhs ex-showroom price.

Thanks.Probability one of the best cars in this price range.

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

Congrats mate on the upgrade, i can't imagine how you must be feeling driving a Abarth after 1.2 Punto

The service centers you have mentioned are fiat authorized ones ? No issues in warranty ?

Yes, they are the authorised Fiat ones. I've known the manager there for a while (since 09 to be precise) and it was a pleasant surprise to find him so close to my home. Also, as you said the brakes are fantastic but take about 100kms to get used to. Once you understand their nature, you can brake more confidently.

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Awesome review and good pics. I just love the Abarth with those alloys, they enhance the looks of the vehicle.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by SPARKled

...This is one car that I really want to buy but have not done it primarily due to lack of support from Fiat in the Navi Mumbai area. With a 9-5 job it really is tough atleast for someone like me to visit some far off Fiat service center to get service and support. I really hope Fiat opens up something in the vicinity.

There are 2 in Navi Mumbai now. One in Koperkhairane sec 1A and one in Panvel. Now you can buy a Fiat

[SPARKled]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Thanks

There are 2 in Navi Mumbai now. One in Koperkhairane sec 1A and one in Panvel. Now you can buy a Fiat

Thanks for this info. But no Abarth dealers yet and no info on Fiat India website.

[sukrit7]

Excellent thread! Really enjoyed reading through, and I hope you continue to update it.

PS - Do the bosses at Suzuki know?!

[mahesh_sn]

A nice uncomplicated review there, Kanad!!! Wish you many happy (s)miles on your Scorpion.

Fiat does know how to design simple yet elegant and timelessly beautiful cars. Had the budget not been an issue 5 years back, I would have been happily driving a Linea. Heck, I had even mentioned Linea as my favorite car while filling up the Team BHP registration form.

Remember, I had an opportunity to drive your Abarth after our Mohammad Ali Road meet. What an experience that was for 15 odd kms! Yes, the gear shift was a bit rubbery but certainly not a deal breaker. Only ergonomic flaw I found was long clutch travel and awkward dead pedal. Otherwise this car is just phenomenal.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by sukrit7

Excellent thread! Really enjoyed reading through, and I hope you continue to update it.

PS - Do the bosses at Suzuki know?!

Thanks! You can expect a monthly update to this thread if all goes as per plan.

Nice catch there, but I've been passing her off as after market stickering on a plain old Punto. But a few close colleagues do know what she really is.

Originally Posted by mahesh_sn

Remember, I had an opportunity to drive your Abarth after our Mohammad Ali Road meet. What an experience that was for 15 odd kms! Yes, the gear shift was a bit rubbery but certainly not a deal breaker. Only ergonomic flaw I found was long clutch travel and awkward dead pedal. Otherwise this car is just phenomenal.

Thankyou Mahesh. Agree with you regarding the dead pedal, but for the long clutch travel you need to spend more time with her.

[lapis_lazuli]

Lovely review! As a 1.2 owner, I can relate !

A couple of questions: did you sell your earlier 1.2? Did you get a fair resale value?

The rats chewing up the wires: what do you mean when you say the wires were just connectors? They were dummy wires? You need to take extra precautions to preserve the car.

The engine note: does it change when you turn on the AC?

How is the alignment? Does it run straight or does it suffer from the infamous leftist control? <smiley>

Congrats again, on the classic! For everybody else, there are light, fuel efficient cars!

[SnS_12]

Congratulations on taking the plunge . I remember talking to you over PM's about the Mumbai dealer not getting a test drive car and finally news of they shutting shops. This is one of the reason, that I did not even bother to take a test drive while I was in Pune or Chennai for that matter, as I am not even considering one until they have a dedicated dealership in Mumbai.

Hope the car serves you well and wishing you many happy miles with your Abarth Punto

[driving_smartly]

@ Kanad

Congratulations on acquiring Italian beauty!

Awesome Review & Pics . That 145BHP motor must be hoot to drive. Abarth Punto looks stunning in white & red combination; I am yet to see one personally. Please keep updating as you pile on the kilometres

Wish you many Safe miles

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

Lovely review! As a 1.2 owner, I can relate !

A couple of questions: did you sell your earlier 1.2? Did you get a fair resale value?

The rats chewing up the wires: what do you mean when you say the wires were just connectors? They were dummy wires? You need to take extra precautions to preserve the car.

The engine note: does it change when you turn on the AC?

How is the alignment? Does it run straight or does it suffer from the infamous leftist control?

Congrats again, on the classic! For everybody else, there are light, fuel efficient cars!

Well for a 7 year old car, I did get back 32% of its list price at the time of buying, so I'll say it was a fare value. As it is we weren't expecting much resale value, but the dealership offered us 30k rupees more than anyone else.

The wires chewed were ones having connectors on both ends. So they were swapped out rather than tape them together. Any other wire would have required careful re attachment of the cut wires.

AC or no AC doesn't matter. engine note remains same. Also a strange observation, turning on AC doesn't affect mileage much in city driving!

Ah, the infamous left pull issue. I'm glad to say that it's not the case for Abarth, but since the car is only 2 months old, I'll approach a wait and watch strategy.

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Congratulations on taking the plunge . I remember talking to you over PM's about the Mumbai dealer not getting a test drive car and finally news of they shutting shops.
Hope the car serves you well and wishing you many happy miles with your Abarth Punto

Yeah, well I could not wait for Fiat to open up a dealership in Mumbai and I was really worried they'd discontinue Abarth before I could buy her. But the situation might improve sooner than later.

Originally Posted by driving_smartly

@ Kanad

Congratulations on acquiring Italian beauty!

Awesome Review & Pics . That 145BHP motor must be hoot to drive. Abarth Punto looks stunning in white & red combination; I am yet to see one personally. Please keep updating as you pile on the kilometres

Wish you many Safe miles

Thanks.

[kaviprem]

A nice and clean review. No stories, no English jargon, but all seems to have come from heart rather than mind
Congratulations on a great acquisition. Enjoy the ride.

If I were not in Bangalore [but in Chennai or my native], I would have definitely got this hot hatch for 2 reasons - FIAT my favourite and this one has all the power I wanted !

Prem.

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on getting the Punto Abarth home. Enjoy many more miles flying with the Jet.

Originally Posted by blackwasp

AC or no AC doesn't matter. engine note remains same. Also a strange observation, turning on AC doesn't affect mileage much in city driving!

I believe the AC Compressor is driven by clutch based pulley in Punto and Linea. So engaging and disengaging the AC would not impact the mileage that much. I will take a video of this and post it.

[Keynote]

That was a nice review with some awesome pictures. Many congratulations blackwasp and wishing you safe miles with the Italian Beauty

[Waspune]

BlackWasp, please accept my congratulations and some envy for bringing home the Abarth. I have driven the Abarth and its really a monster, power wise as well as torque wise, all that in a hatch

When i had taked a long TD of the Abarth, even I was a little spell bound to see that 155 mm of GC was quite sufficient, maybe because of the stiffer suspension setup. How do you find the ride quality at lower speeds, compared with your 1.2?

Have a happy Italian family, cheers.

[nehaagg]

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