Palio 1.1 Stile SLX first 1000KM Review

humans · 22nd May 2007, 20:51

I booked Palio 1.1 after reviewing Santro, Zen Estillo, Indica V2 Turbo, Xeta, Alto in 2nd week of April and took the delivered on 28th April.

This is my first car and obviously I am not an expert in automobiles, but just describing my experiance of driving Palio.

First the question which many of you have is the mileage. I got about 12.5 KMPL with mix of highway and city driving (Say 50:50). I am not much concerned about this as long as I enjoy driving it.

The model I got was the first sale of Palio Stile 1.1 for A-One motors in Delhi. And after me I have received numerous calls from the dealer to make to talk to other buyers who came to enquire about Palio. Came to know from the sales rep yesterday the sales are picking up for palio. Hope the trend keeps on going.

Aircondition is superb and I feel chilled if I put it on 3 or 4 for more than 2 minutes. And I didn't felt any strain on engine while running it with AC.

Because mine was the first car there are some finishing problems internally. Found some threads are coming out in corners of roof finishing and such, but nothing big issue.

The pickup is smooth, but you definetly can't expect to zip past other vehicles on red light in Stile 1.1. On highway I drove up to 120KMPH and the handling was awesome, I never felt I am not in control. Also on highway I feel like car is telling me when it requires a gear change.

In city driving the ride is very much comfortable and suspension is just too great. I drove it for about 2 KM on a brick road and still felt like driving on road, no bumps or jerks. Also in traffic it pulled very nicely on higher gears (once I found myself driving in 3rd gear at 10KMPH but the car didn't complain at all).

I will giving for the first service this week, you guys wanna give any suggestions for that, should I go for oil change or something else. Thanks in advance. Cheers

finneyp · 22nd May 2007, 21:51

Hi buddy, I guess you are the first BHPian to own a Palio Stile 1.1! Congratulations!

Good to know that sales of Stile models are picking up! If Fiat & Tata can market it aggresively, it can give a tough competition to the likes of Santro, Indica, Swift etc.

A/C as usual is powerful, chills in no time.
And Highway driving is the forte of Palio, the Control & Handling it offers on high speeds is awesome!

On your query on 1st Service:
They just do a check-up for 1st Service to ensure that the new Car is bahaving as expected. There is no oil-change etc
You can change Engine-oil during your 2nd Service or 7500kms.

mobike008 · 22nd May 2007, 22:04

Hey that was a "cute" feedback on the stile and as finney said, you must be the first owner and probably also the reporter on owners feedback. Good to know its behaving nicely. Enjoy the drive and do post some pics too.

Btw, just a query, as you may have TD a santro as well, how do you compare stile's power to a santro 1.1 xing?

theMAG · 22nd May 2007, 22:23

Glad you're enjoying the car. Since this is your first one, I guess we cant inundate you with technical queries abt the new 1.1 Panda engine

GeekSrik · 22nd May 2007, 22:25

humans

good review dude. the mileage certainly is not bad and i guess after first service and if you always drive at higher gears sooner, then you will get even more! no doubts fiats strategy is working. tata is helping too.

as finney said dont do anything major until second service. enjoy your car and man do post some good photos!

gemithomas · 22nd May 2007, 23:43

you must have had to go through some real criticism for going for the Palio as your first car? Anyways good to hear that you ar enjoying the drive. Just take care and drive safe.

1100D · 23rd May 2007, 00:20

Congratulations on your Purchase. The review was very crisp. Your FE will likely go higher with usage. Good to see Fiat getting some nice responses however can't really be saying that am happy about what they (Fiat) are doing.
But then enjoy your 1100!!

swathyd · 23rd May 2007, 01:01

How do you feel in third gear. because some reports in ACI was telling 3rd gear as very sluggish.

Nimz · 23rd May 2007, 01:05

Hi Humans,

You mentioned TDing Santro, Xeta, Alto and the V2 turbo.. before settling for the 1.1 Stile. Did you find any significant lack of pickup/ engine responsiveness compared to the other cars?

Godfather · 23rd May 2007, 01:45

Congratulation on being the first on TBHP to own a stile.. where are the pics??

Godfather

humans · 23rd May 2007, 12:52

Thanks guys. I really faced lot of criticism when I made this decision, all my family members, friends (except one), and relatives virtually forced me not to buy Fiat. But I am very adamant on my decisions once taken and bought Palio. And now they also started appreciating features of Fiat.

On my TD comparisons with other cars here is my feedback.

Alto: With AC it was difficult to climb upwards with 4 adults sitting in it. Also the leg space on back seat was very cramped. With almost all the family members of good height it was a bit of problem.

Indica V2 Turbo: This was my first choice and was almost on the verge of buying, but then drove 2 Indicas of my friends which are about yr old and didn’t like the performance with AC on as well as too much of N & V. I wasn’t able to pull in 3rd gear when approaching red light and decreasing the speed. Also have to switch off AC every time we are climbing. Maybe because of higher torque.

Xeta: This was rejected by big brother as he is in transport industry for more than 15 yrs and didn’t feel comfortable with Tata petrol engines. Otherwise I felt nice while driving it except the noise which I felt a bit on higher side.
Santro: The test drive was good in city but on highway I felt when approaching 100KMPH the car is not exactly talking to me and just going, means wasn’t feeling comfortable overtaking high speed truck and other vehicles. Also didn’t like the shape for no reason whatsoever. Compared to Stile, you will feel better in Xing only on bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic, maybe because of higher BHP. Otherwise Stile would beat it all the other things and driving.

Overall on my experience I can say if I start all the 5 cars from red light except Stile everyone will go ahead for first 300 meters and then Stile will take over. The third gear is not sluggish at all, infact I am driving more in 3rd than in 2nd and it is able to pull so nicely in lower speeds I can’t imagine with other cars I tested, while making my decision.

One more thing I will say here is that I don’t like to race and drive more on the sober side so maybe my experience is not the correct parameter for testing the performance of Stile which definitely deserves its due credit.

This weekend going for long trip in Rajasthan will post the pictures than.

Note from mod: Please do not use FONT and SIZE tags

zoombiee · 23rd May 2007, 13:03

Stats:
I have done about 700 kms so far. I get about 12-13 kms in the city with the AC on for about half the duration. I got 160kms for my first 10 litres ( this included 80kms on highway and 80 kms in the city). I havent ripped the car as yet and maintain my speed below 70kmph.

Comfort:
The car is extremely comfortable to drive in city traffic. The hydraulic clutch is a boon. The car does not vibrate at all in half clutch.

Warning: The blue Stile is sligtly darker than the one in the ads. The color is close to the blue of Bajaj Pulsar's.

Ajay_J · 23rd May 2007, 14:12

The only stile on forum but still no pics. Humans please post few pics of your new car (both interiors and exteriors).Mileage figure are not as good as people expected(for 1.1 stile)...may improve after first service. Keep us posted.

invincible7 · 23rd May 2007, 14:14

Nice review humans.. congrats on your car.. for helpline u can choose the crossroads or race... i have been using Cross Roads for 3 yrs now... and its good as far as my experience goes..

supremeBaleno · 23rd May 2007, 14:18

Saw one Stile (must be 1.1, not sure) parked in my neighborhood. From the little I saw (I was driving, so did not get a clear look), the older Palio looked better. Maybe some pictures by humans should give a better perspective. Reported FE is low, given that this version was supposed to be only for the "average-kitna-hai" types.

22nd May 2007, 20:51	#1
humans BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 134 Thanked: 25 Times	Palio 1.1 Stile SLX first 1000KM Review I booked Palio 1.1 after reviewing Santro, Zen Estillo, Indica V2 Turbo, Xeta, Alto in 2nd week of April and took the delivered on 28th April. This is my first car and obviously I am not an expert in automobiles, but just describing my experiance of driving Palio. First the question which many of you have is the mileage. I got about 12.5 KMPL with mix of highway and city driving (Say 50:50). I am not much concerned about this as long as I enjoy driving it. The model I got was the first sale of Palio Stile 1.1 for A-One motors in Delhi. And after me I have received numerous calls from the dealer to make to talk to other buyers who came to enquire about Palio. Came to know from the sales rep yesterday the sales are picking up for palio. Hope the trend keeps on going. Aircondition is superb and I feel chilled if I put it on 3 or 4 for more than 2 minutes. And I didn't felt any strain on engine while running it with AC. Because mine was the first car there are some finishing problems internally. Found some threads are coming out in corners of roof finishing and such, but nothing big issue. The pickup is smooth, but you definetly can't expect to zip past other vehicles on red light in Stile 1.1. On highway I drove up to 120KMPH and the handling was awesome, I never felt I am not in control. Also on highway I feel like car is telling me when it requires a gear change. In city driving the ride is very much comfortable and suspension is just too great. I drove it for about 2 KM on a brick road and still felt like driving on road, no bumps or jerks. Also in traffic it pulled very nicely on higher gears (once I found myself driving in 3rd gear at 10KMPH but the car didn't complain at all). I will giving for the first service this week, you guys wanna give any suggestions for that, should I go for oil change or something else. Thanks in advance. Cheers
	() Thanks

22nd May 2007, 21:51	#2
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,736 Thanked: 358 Times View My Garage	Hi buddy, I guess you are the first BHPian to own a Palio Stile 1.1! Congratulations! Good to know that sales of Stile models are picking up! If Fiat & Tata can market it aggresively, it can give a tough competition to the likes of Santro, Indica, Swift etc. A/C as usual is powerful, chills in no time. And Highway driving is the forte of Palio, the Control & Handling it offers on high speeds is awesome! On your query on 1st Service: They just do a check-up for 1st Service to ensure that the new Car is bahaving as expected. There is no oil-change etc You can change Engine-oil during your 2nd Service or 7500kms.
	() Thanks

22nd May 2007, 22:04	#3
mobike008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 11,814 Thanked: 15,599 Times View My Garage	Hey that was a "cute" feedback on the stile and as finney said, you must be the first owner and probably also the reporter on owners feedback. Good to know its behaving nicely. Enjoy the drive and do post some pics too. Btw, just a query, as you may have TD a santro as well, how do you compare stile's power to a santro 1.1 xing?
	() Thanks

22nd May 2007, 22:23	#4
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,811 Times View My Garage	Glad you're enjoying the car. Since this is your first one, I guess we cant inundate you with technical queries abt the new 1.1 Panda engine
	() Thanks

22nd May 2007, 22:25	#5
GeekSrik Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,281 Thanked: 22 Times View My Garage	humans good review dude. the mileage certainly is not bad and i guess after first service and if you always drive at higher gears sooner, then you will get even more! no doubts fiats strategy is working. tata is helping too. as finney said dont do anything major until second service. enjoy your car and man do post some good photos!
	() Thanks

22nd May 2007, 23:43	#6
gemithomas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,366 Thanked: 143 Times View My Garage	you must have had to go through some real criticism for going for the Palio as your first car? Anyways good to hear that you ar enjoying the drive. Just take care and drive safe.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 00:20	#7
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,101 Times View My Garage	Congratulations on your Purchase. The review was very crisp. Your FE will likely go higher with usage. Good to see Fiat getting some nice responses however can't really be saying that am happy about what they (Fiat) are doing. But then enjoy your 1100!!
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 01:01	#8
swathyd BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: thiruvananthapuram Posts: 774 Thanked: 26 Times	How do you feel in third gear. because some reports in ACI was telling 3rd gear as very sluggish.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 01:05	#9
Nimz BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 594 Thanked: 199 Times View My Garage	Hi Humans, You mentioned TDing Santro, Xeta, Alto and the V2 turbo.. before settling for the 1.1 Stile. Did you find any significant lack of pickup/ engine responsiveness compared to the other cars?
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 01:45	#10
Godfather Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore / Atlanta Posts: 1,387 Thanked: 71 Times View My Garage	Congratulation on being the first on TBHP to own a stile.. where are the pics?? Godfather
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 12:52	#11
humans BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 134 Thanked: 25 Times	Thanks guys. I really faced lot of criticism when I made this decision, all my family members, friends (except one), and relatives virtually forced me not to buy Fiat. But I am very adamant on my decisions once taken and bought Palio. And now they also started appreciating features of Fiat. On my TD comparisons with other cars here is my feedback. Alto: With AC it was difficult to climb upwards with 4 adults sitting in it. Also the leg space on back seat was very cramped. With almost all the family members of good height it was a bit of problem. Indica V2 Turbo: This was my first choice and was almost on the verge of buying, but then drove 2 Indicas of my friends which are about yr old and didn’t like the performance with AC on as well as too much of N & V. I wasn’t able to pull in 3rd gear when approaching red light and decreasing the speed. Also have to switch off AC every time we are climbing. Maybe because of higher torque. Xeta: This was rejected by big brother as he is in transport industry for more than 15 yrs and didn’t feel comfortable with Tata petrol engines. Otherwise I felt nice while driving it except the noise which I felt a bit on higher side. Santro: The test drive was good in city but on highway I felt when approaching 100KMPH the car is not exactly talking to me and just going, means wasn’t feeling comfortable overtaking high speed truck and other vehicles. Also didn’t like the shape for no reason whatsoever. Compared to Stile, you will feel better in Xing only on bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic, maybe because of higher BHP. Otherwise Stile would beat it all the other things and driving. Overall on my experience I can say if I start all the 5 cars from red light except Stile everyone will go ahead for first 300 meters and then Stile will take over. The third gear is not sluggish at all, infact I am driving more in 3rd than in 2nd and it is able to pull so nicely in lower speeds I can’t imagine with other cars I tested, while making my decision. One more thing I will say here is that I don’t like to race and drive more on the sober side so maybe my experience is not the correct parameter for testing the performance of Stile which definitely deserves its due credit. This weekend going for long trip in Rajasthan will post the pictures than. Note from mod: Please do not use FONT and SIZE tags Last edited by tsk1979 : 23rd May 2007 at 14:28.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 13:03	#12
zoombiee BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 314 Thanked: 97 Times	Another Stile 1.1 update Stats: I have done about 700 kms so far. I get about 12-13 kms in the city with the AC on for about half the duration. I got 160kms for my first 10 litres ( this included 80kms on highway and 80 kms in the city). I havent ripped the car as yet and maintain my speed below 70kmph. Comfort: The car is extremely comfortable to drive in city traffic. The hydraulic clutch is a boon. The car does not vibrate at all in half clutch. Warning: The blue Stile is sligtly darker than the one in the ads. The color is close to the blue of Bajaj Pulsar's.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 14:12	#13
Ajay_J BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 360 Thanked: 0 Times	The only stile on forum but still no pics. Humans please post few pics of your new car (both interiors and exteriors).Mileage figure are not as good as people expected(for 1.1 stile)...may improve after first service. Keep us posted.
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 14:14	#14
invincible7 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Delhi NCR Posts: 665 Thanked: 173 Times	Nice review humans.. congrats on your car.. for helpline u can choose the crossroads or race... i have been using Cross Roads for 3 yrs now... and its good as far as my experience goes..
	() Thanks

23rd May 2007, 14:18	#15
supremeBaleno Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai / Kochi Posts: 5,654 Thanked: 2,802 Times View My Garage	Saw one Stile (must be 1.1, not sure) parked in my neighborhood. From the little I saw (I was driving, so did not get a clear look), the older Palio looked better. Maybe some pictures by humans should give a better perspective. Reported FE is low, given that this version was supposed to be only for the "average-kitna-hai" types.
	() Thanks