[COMMUTER]

This was the car that I yearned for and hoped against hope that my parents would buy when they visited the Tata showroom, without me, in 2006. They took the Indica Xeta. This '100 bhp' is what made me sacrifice all comforts and get the Figo 1.5D Base for 6.17L on-road instead of some other better equipped car. Great to come across a guy who has stuck to this gas guzzler even during the petrol deregulation times. True enthusiast.

[pedrolourenco]

I had the same engined "New Siena" (Later renamed Petra). Was really a pleasure to drive. It was silver but I got it painted to "Formula Red".

[Lone Ranger]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Its one unimaginatively designed dashboard which has so much logic behind it. Sit inside on those wide front chairs, and start admiring how sound the ergonomics existed in the 90s. The brilliant view from the low set windshield, the logical placement of the huge steering wheel, the oh-so-straightforward placement of stereo, the switches, its a brilliant driver aligned cockpit.

I loved reading your post sidindica. It truly seems to have been a labour of love. It saddens me that back in the day the common man could buy these honestly engineered machines that were purpose built to deliver performance, but today you can't buy a performance variant in the entry level hatch segment (not counting the alto k10), but you can get a lot of hatches that look like SUVs!

[rangarx]

I had this very car in my wet dreams before I bought a car, sadly not a Palio. Had no access to the market intelligence like today before 8 years.

Mate, this is Monica Belucci of cars IMO. Enjoy every moment of it. Have fun!

[ARAY]

What a beautiful narration. The thread made me a bit emotional and regret the day when I parted with my FIAT Punto. I prayed for along time that FIAT makes a massive comeback but I feel the prayers have not been heard. It makes me very sad that my kid will probably never get a chance to own a beauty called FIAT in India. This has been and always will be a benchmark of HOT-Hatch. Glad you took the time to pen down the feelings you shared with your FIAT.

[grkonweb]

Stunning pictures of the Palio, glad to see in pristine condition. You are passionate about the car and it shows in your narration and the pictures. Very few Palios are maintained this way today. Happy miles & smiles!

[Keynote]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Moments.

Moments
When you get a chance to read such a passionate review on a Monday afternoon and it brightens the rest of your day to the max.

Excellent pictures too, especially when THE RED RACEHORSE stood in the same location without moving an inch forward (assuming) and still managed to tell a story around it brilliantly.

Rating a well deserved 5 stars

[Klub Class]

sidindica, you've a way with words. You're one lucky fella - finding a single owner car with just 16k is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Much respect for giving all the tender love and care she deserves

One of the tricky parts about owning a Palio is finding a reliable and trustworthy mechanic. Back in Kerala, we used to get all our Palios (1.9D SP, S10 and GTX SP) serviced by our friendly mechanic of MyTVS, Calicut whom we know from our Uno days. He's more like an extended family member for us. Finding a similar guy to work with the car in Davangere was not that easy. I still remember taking my car to a reputed multi brand workshop guy and calling him out on a wrong diagnosis. He with a condescending sneer told me that I'm welcome to use his tools and fix the car by myself. I walked out and took the car to Bosch service centre and they haven't let me down so far.

You name any issue - most likely someone else have went through it and documented in detail on forums like PalioUsersGroup or Team BHP. I must add that FIATians are like a closely knitted family - always happy to help others in distress, be it helping you troubleshoot the issue, sourcing parts etc.

Few related threads :

• Differences between GTX and Sport
  
• A memorabilia about Palio by our sidindica

Originally Posted by sidindica

It has no ABS

You forgot the good old GTX Safety Pack.

The car has rear safety belts also, which the early BS-2 or 2001-2002 cars didn't have

I was shocked to see no rear seat belts in my GTX SP

Though I drive solo almost all the time, I went ahead and fixed rear seat belts (non retractable ones) from a scrapped Siena with the help of our friendly mechanic. I'll be replacing them with the ones from a Palio, hopefully soon.

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

buyers don't want this old car anymore.

Very true. I decided to retain my car for few more years rather than selling it off to someone who does not appreciate GTX. Majority of the guys on OLX wants to fix the price over messages without even seeing the car in person and that too for a throwaway price.

the tuners don't even touch this car

And there are guys like you who go the DIY way

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

2006 model with the FIAT logo in blue squares?

You're right. Palio 1.6 Sports came with blue circular logo. Know many people who swap the old logo with the new one and very few who does vice versa.

Was the "Palio nv" restricted to 1.2 models, post 2005?

Palio 1.2 NV (new version) was launched in 2003.

There is one more small feature - the dash board clock dims when we switch on the lights

Also the clock in S10 used to display the radio info.

Lastly, leaving few pictures of my 2002 Fiat Palio GTX SP :









PS : Rated this thread a well deserved 5 stars

[mh09ad5578]

Wow! Beautiful words, beautiful car, beautifully restored, breath takingly beautiful images and above all an amazingly beautiful story. Hats off mate you are a master story teller.
Rated the thread a appreciative 5 stars.
Ps - your writing skills reminds me of the legendary Sam kapsi, only he was funnier. Thanks for sharing!

[sidindica]

Moments, when you yearn to make it even better.

We are often a bunch of think tanks, always having a mindset, of going that extra mile to continuously improve our cars which are rare on Indian Roads.

I went for second stage of cosmetic restorations, small yet significant.
-New Bonnet carpet
-New firewall insulation
-New interior carpet
-Dead pedal installed
-both new elastic pads
-both new fender linings
-Few ancillary parts

I sourced most of the parts from FCA India via landmark and few from my mechanic.

Also, there were rattles from the underside and few suspension noises, which I got rectified.

However, whats important is how your heart beats and how your heart presents its tantalising beat. The heart of 100 horses, beating to the tunes of my command. Because, to feel real power, we just need to keep going higher.

So, spent a good amount of time detailing and cleaning it, and got the whole car buffed and polished. And here is how she looks like.









Because, every precious moment enjoyed with it, is a defined moment.

[vaasu]

Originally Posted by sidindica

So, spent a good amount of time detailing and cleaning it, and got the whole car buffed and polished. And here is how she looks like.

Because, every precious moment enjoyed with it, is a defined moment.

Beautiful narration for a beautifully kept car.

Can you please share where did you got your car buffed and polished from?

Thanks.

[sidindica]

One year of Happy Moments!



Its been an excellent first year of ownership with her and I have clocked 15,000 kms and counting in this one year in the 1.6. The small irritating niggles as expected from a pre owned car kept cropping in but its been fun in getting them sorted. I got the car serviced recently from my mechanic, and also changed a few parts.
-Coolent tank
-Brake oil fluid tank
-Power steering oil reservoir
-original battery terminal cover from FCA
-Battery belt
-Battery wraparound cover from FCA (Punto part)
-coolant hose (busted during one drive and all the coolent leaked out)
-new brake drum covers

The car shoots like a rocket even today and utmost care has been taken to keep it as original as possible. I just got the car properly detailed from dazzle and both Jaspreet and his brother Gurpreet, did an excellent job in bringing the car back to final shape.

The ODO stands at 27000 kms now and the car continues to munch miles without any fuss. But one just has to take care of the mechanicals. They are extremely robust and durable, though. Its not a car to be driven with a light foot, though. Fiat themselves said in a statement "To feel real power, keep going higher".
Hence, FE hovers around 9-12 in mixed conditions, with the best going upto 15 and worst even dropping to 7.

Signing off with few pics clicked recently.












Because, every picture of the machine taken, is a moment.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Signing off with few pics clicked recently.

Lovely pics, the car is lucky to have found a loving owner like you.

IIRC, the LH Headlamp was recently changed, has it started fogging again?? Looks fogged up

Regards,
Shashi

[shk 8896]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Lovely pics, the car is lucky to have found a loving owner like you.

IIRC, the LH Headlamp was recently changed, has it started fogging again?? Looks fogged up

Regards,
Shashi

That's almost like a feature for Palio . Nothing can be done to solve it from my experience. Almost all cars have the same.
Even I was irritated to see that on my car in the beginning but now git used to it. :P

[arindambasu13]

That 17 year old design is still stunning and in my view, will continue to be eye catching and lovely looking for years to come. Especially in this stunning red shade. I am assuming that you have recently done a detailing job on the car because it shines like it is just out of the showroom?

Even without making any mention of the engine (!), the car is just a looker. There is a lot to be said about nostalgia and reminiscing about vehicles of yore when mileage and detuned engines were never on the priority list for manufacturers to the extent that they are today.