[bhaskar.guru]

Hey Sid,

Congratulations on your new ride. I've always been a fiat fan and wanted to own this piece of beauty but their lack of commitment to the Indian market made me look for other options for the upgrade of my Nano.

But your wonderfully written piece reminded me why I love the Punto and made me fall in love with it all over again.

Thanks for confusing me again! :P

Regards,
Bhaskara Venkatesh G

[ramgkulkarni]

Congratulations on your latest acquisition. It is indeed an amazing car although still a facelift of sorts. It is something peculiar with the fiat owners I guess, my brother has a Palio and wouldn't let it go even if his life depended on it.
Although he did buy a Linea even if it meant buying an additional parking spot for himself.
Like you, even I consider the interiors on the Punto Evo very fresh and likeable.
Great ownership review.

[Moto_Hill]

The answer is, some cars endear us so much that we cannot think of any valid replacements.

A valid reason indeed. Congratulations on following your heart and bringing home yet another Punto.

A very well poet(ed) review. I enjoyed reading it fully. Remap at just 3k, you must be spoiled by the pleasure of driving your remapped Red Punto. I'm still contemplating the remap for my 90HP sports which has done 12k.

Seeing the pictures and your take on the new touchscreen HU (with navigation). I may want to replace my current HU with it (if that's possible)

Keep sharing the experience.

[sidindica]

7,000 kms and counting. And more torque-for a reason.



The world always asks the big W questions like "What if?"
What if we had an excellent all rounder and make it somewhat better?
What if we can alter the permutations and combinations to churn out better results?
What if we follow the principle of kaizen?
And that's what exactly happened. The map was good enough, but there were still some flat spots in lower rpms and in gear acceleration and the time taken for turbo to respond after gearshifts in the range of 1900-2600 rpm. I spoke to Akshay, and he responded well enough to my requirements and within 2-3 days, an updated map was applied and tested.
And now, the all roundedness of VGT multijet is even better.
This map had some changed parameters and lag was reduced even further. gearshifts became less, and driving in the city is much more easier. The engine now responds more eagerly to the throttle and its more a joy to pilot.















265 nm couldn't have been enjoyed better. And I hated the twin sunvisors provided in my car. So, I did the unthinkable and fitted a pair of Linea sunvisors which came with covered vanity mirrors on both sides and a light which, of course does not work. Will need to figure out how to make it work.
Because, probably, continuous improvement, happens for a reason.

[kaviprem]

Nice car
Nice writeup
Nice loving care, you show

Linea + AT - I am in.

Prem.

[Palio_2005]

My heart melts whenever I see a Punto, What timeless design. If only the idiots at Fiat had brains to market it. Nothing beats the Punto/Linea in their looks, handling, feel and features....
Whenever I corner in my Scross I always sigh at the feeling I had with my Linea MJD (165 mm GC) which used to hug the road and take the curve as if driving on rails... and the steering feedback telling you where exactly you are headed... evn my driver misses it

[Thumping Soul]

@Sidindica

Sir! You just did what i have been thinking of doing. I tumbled on this thread today, i feel for some 'reason'.

It was your initial ownership report of the red hottie that made me decide on Punto in 2011 and i love it till date. Now after 6years and over 1lakh kms, I have been thinking of a new car but nothing except Punto & Linea excite me enough.

So, once again i feel its gonna be another FIAT for me!

Regards
Saurav

[sidindica]

The frosty reindeer is kept out of limelight, because a new member has just entered the garage. Its called the red racehorse.
Ownership report coming up shortly. Till then, I am enjoying the thrill of old school screaming 7000 rpm Italian growl.
Because, cars like these, are enjoyed, for a reason.

[sidindica]

10,000 steps of a kilometre. Every step has a reason.

On the evening of March 21, the silver hawk (new nick for my Evo) completed a milestone,



And every moment has been enjoyable. The dollops of torque, the mid range pull, the comfortable seats, and the charm of old school HPS, all culminate to make every drive a step. And every step of a kilometre has a story, narrated for a reason.
The engine has opened up more, and its next service is due at 12,500 kms, which will be done at Landmark. Till then, time to enjoy more drives. And more miles, and of course, more smiles. Smiles, narrated, for a reason, in every season.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The engine has opened up more, and its next service is due at 12,500 kms

Why 12,500 kms? Has the intervals been revised now? Or you are sticking to your own reduced service intervals?

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Why 12,500 kms? Has the intervals been revised now? Or you are sticking to your own reduced service intervals?

Sticking to my intervals. Oil and filters change every 7500 kms. First diesel filter change at 12500 kms, after that every 15000 kms.

[sidindica]

Second service and the right stance.



The car has now covered 12,541 kms. As per the schedule, 7500 kms have passed after the first service and oil change. So sticking to the same interval, the second service was performed at Kashyap Fiat, Noida. The GST has taken a toll on their DMS system and Fiat being slow as they are, they are still on the process of updating the DMS.
The routine oil (selenia WR 5W40) was changed, and oil filter, air filter, AC filter and diesel filter was changed. Plus brakes cleaned and all the underbody and interior fittings taken care of. Excellent work by them, with bill being in the range of 6Kish.



Now, came the big question...I was tempted to lower the stance of my car ever since i hated the truck like wheelwell gap of my car. Eibach distributorship was taken by Autopsyche and many of my friends who are VW car owners gave a very positive feedback on the overall balance of comfort and roadholding of Eibach. Plus, in Delhi, one Abarth Punto also got the same fitted and lowered from Autopsyche. That tempted me to take plunge and do the same.
Went to Autopsyche, and Arush was extremely helpful in answering all my queries that I had. Springs were installed in 2 hours and quality of work has been very good. We did testing across all kind of surfaces, including bad roads, potholes, speed breakers etc, and the car took no underbody hits thankfully. Gave a go ahead and there has been an estimated drop of 30mm. The car has shock absorbers which are about few mms higher compared to 2009-2011 Puntos and this also helps in overall practicality. The balance between comfort and roadholding is just perfect. Yes, There is some stiffness felt over bad roads but its not bone jarring or juddering. The springs are progressive and even with 2 people+luggage behind, I havent noticed any underbelly hit till date.
Rest updates when more kms are clocked.





Because, every stance happens for a reason.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Rest updates when more kms are clocked.

Sidindica is so not meant to be your ID handle, Sidfiat is more like it

I'm an admirer of Fiat too, very few cars impressed me on the first drive.. and in the case of the Punto I knew it commanded respect within the first minute of driving it.. no VW or Ford can come within a mile of it. The first thing to impress me was the suspension, its ridiculous how well tuned it is.. did the Eibach springs change that at all to any extent? I feel it was not needed since Fiat has got the balance of stiffness and softness spot on, any stiffer and turning in corners might be easier and more sublime but over rough roads the jerks will be felt.

The only advantage to owning multiple Fiat cars is that you will never have a boring drive ever. Its guys like you who're keeping the brand name afloat and I'm happy for that.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Because, every stance happens for a reason.

Looks much much better than earlier pics posted above. Money well spent.

Bangalore municipal authorities take it up as a challenge every time a vehicle crosses a speed breaker without hitting it, so unfortunately I can't can't think of doing it, even though it looks so much better with the lowered stance.

[sidindica]

Shooting the twins.
The Punto has just crossed 15,000 km mark. And with the eibachs, there has been no issue whatsoever. Ride is a bit harsh and bouncy at low speeds, but that's about it. On deep potholes too, haven't seen any underbelly hits.

Did a recent mini-shoot.









Have been occupied a lot with restoring and driving my 1.6 which I bought in March. Done 8,000+ kms on it. The charm of a big NA petrol engine is just unmatched no matter whatsoever technology brings in today.