[superavi]

Hi team,
I thought of typing - Palio 1.6 Tested and ripped, but then I hadnt really ripped the car.

BU Bhandari called me at 2:30 saying that they'll bring along a new 1.6 Stile Sport (that's a long name, 1.6 from now on) for a test drive at 3.30 today. At 3.30 they gave me a call saying "sir the car has come, we're parked at Infosys cirlce at Hinjewadi phase 1". It was raining, and the place was wet, but the 1.6 looked like a beaut! Those drops of water on the body made the car extremely desirable. In the pics i thought the retro was better looking, but now i prefer the Stile!

Exterior
Exterior - great looks! The front three quarter view or the full front view is where the car looks the best. Va va voom.

Opened the bonnet - the front grille is new, and then the internals looked the same as My Fiat Siena (my cousin and i bought it together, and he's the majority shareholder). Checked the tyres - 175 R 14 Tubeless GoodYears. Nice.

The side indicator was a streak, rather than a dot - on the retro. The door handles are the pull type - similar to the corolla - nice looking. All in all a pretty car. GTO is right, the exterior of the 1.6, even in the Stile avatar is sexy!

The Insides
Now on to the interior, got into the driver's seat, and shut the door, it shut with the same reassuring thud. Nice again. The beige interiors did lots to spruce up the insides, although the familiar Fiat dials are a let down. It felt better in the 1.6 than in the Siena though. I liked this cockpit better than the Siena's.

The driving experience
Started the car, and put her in first and drove off. The first thing that struck me was that the gear shift is hard. The clutch was ok, the gear shift was tight in comparison with the Siena. The shifts were positive however.

There was a slight incline, and i was in 3rd, with the engine rpm being about 1500, ac on as well, and 4 people in the car. The car pulled steadily, but once it crossed 2500 rpm it took off. Similar to the Old Palio. Nice again. Super in fact.

I came across some broken tarmac, the Palio just rushed across the road, the only things filtering through to the cabin were muffled (extremely) thuds, the steering was great, and the ride awesome - better than the Siena (the siena's covered 65 k+ kms and probably the comparison isnt correct). Body roll was much lesser and I liked the car more and more!

Decided to put it to a test - stopped the car, put her in first and let go of the throttle - grippy tyres (i smoke the siena ever so often) and the acceleration was progressive. She did make rapid movement, and then I pressed the brake - gone was the spongy feel of the Siena, it seemed like I was in the Civic, the brake acted immediately and I almost felt like I hit a wall. Took a few seconds, but I got used to the brakes, and I think these brakes are a lot better! I like this baby.

Cons
1) Still limited storage space - lack of cubby holes and places to keep knick nacks
2) The fascia - or the dashboard - it's still the same. However I thought the beige on the steering wheel would be yuck, but it looks nice. I liked it the moment I saw it, maybe photos dont do it justice.

Overall -

If i had the money, i would buy it now!

BU Bhandari
I requested a test-drive on Friday afternoon, in the evening I had a call from BU Bhandari. I asked them to call me on Monday afternoon. Bang on - Monday afternoon, i had a call, they asked me if 3.30 was ok for them to come by, it was fine. They were outside my office at 3.30.

After the test drive, they thanked me, gave me the brochures and price list. Once I came back in the office, there was an email from them, again thanking me and providing me with contact details. Wow.

Team,
Apologies for the lack of photos - I didnt have a camera. And this is my first post of a test drive - I noticed that no one had tested the 1.6 Stile, so if there are errors, forgive them this once!

[BUSA]

hey superavi, Nice report them.

The 1.6 engine in the Palio is a beas, its has awesome torque at lower RPMs and does fly over 2500RPM.

[markiv]

Somehow I dont quite like the Stile 1.6. It is more sedate looking, older model had that aggro look. Especially didnt like the rear of new Stile!! Even the interiors are drab, at least for the sport version, the older red-black chequered fabric fit the bill just right. 2 tone interiors not to my liking either. And is it true that the 1.6 doesnt have rear spoiler!! and that it will only be available in black and red?

Thankfully the 1.6 engine still is unchanged ;-) .............what a powerhouse!!

Just a dab on the pedal and it doesnt need second invitation to take off. Its almost as if the car has a will of its own!!!

[roms]

Lovely first review of the 1.6 superavi.Good to know it still packs a punch,even after being slightly detuned.The brochure says that it still weighs 1060 kilos (kerb weight),so its gonna be identical to the Euro 3 Mark II version in terms of overall performance.The other thing that impresses is that they seem to have worked on the iffy brakes.So the package gets even better now.There seems to be an issue with the gear shift though.I have'nt driven the Stile but had sat in a 1.1 and the gear shift seemed hard.In comparison,my S10 feels so much smoother,infact better than the NHC we have.

And I agree with you,the Stile looks lousy in pictures,but it looks pretty neat in the new blue colour.Undoubtedly the best thing money can buy under 5 lakhs,if you can overlook the bad mouthing that is.

Unfortunately,the attitude sucks.I dont get the funda of this two colour availability for the 1.6. I mean there are some colours like white and blue which could look smashing on the Stile 1.6.And why cant the dealers provide proper test drive cars with the stickering and stuff? Its sad,you dont necessarily get the colour of your choice,there is a probability that the customer might finally get a car which has been thrashed by others,and then there are the usual question marks.
Palio 1.6 Stile - 8/10
Fiat India - -ve 8/10

[esteem_lover]

Great review super, but i do not agree with the looks, i mean if it is the same as the 1.1. I have not seen the 1.6, but the 1.1 looks so lame that even the estilo, IMO looks O.K. Bring back the old palio, please !!!!

[finneyp]

Nice brief Review Superavi, though some pics would have been nice!

I like the front design of Stile with those double barrel headlamps!
But for the back, I prefer the old Palio design.
And what to say about that powerful 1.6 engine, was wondering if I can transplant my 1.2 engine with that 1.6!

[rishibravo]

nice review superavi.... I still feel that the FIAT should have done something about the interiors of the car rather than just facelifting it...

[Thingummy]

Thanks superavi for the report. This is my first post in the forum, and i've been looking for user reports on the 1.6 stile as i'm keen on buying one. Is it just me, or is there a difference in the driving position between the 1.6 Stile, and the old 1.6 Sport. I got the feeling that the 1.6 Stile seating was a little lower, and affected driving visibility somewhat. I also got the feeling that it was a somewhat tighter fit with the steering column rubbing against my knees often (I tried the exact same seat position with the retro 1.6 sport, basically by moving the seat to the position where i could comfortably depress the clutch completely) The salesperson mentioned that this could be because of the newer seats, which seem to have better thigh support, but are narrower than the older seats.

My personal opinion on the looks is that although the old 1.6 looked aggressive, the newer one is softer looking, with very nice bumpers. I especially like the rear bumper which is different from the 1.6 Sport (which i think used to jut out) I like this softer look, and with the slight angling that has been given at the rear of the roof, the need for the spoiler is not as much too.

Another thing i noticed was the black styling strip on the front windshield which seems to have been improperly designed/ fit. The person at Concord in Bangalore mentioned that this is a new design to prevent water from the windshield splashing onto the front side windows, and helps the water flow down the sides of the windshield. This might be useful, especially if someone keeps the side windows open, but the finishing seems a little rough, with the strip sticking out at the place where it meets the roof. I'm not sure if this is how all 1.6 Stiles are finished, or if it was a mistake on the one i looked at.

There don't seem to be any TD cars at Concord, and they only give out the retro 1.6 Sport to TD (using the argument that everything is exactly the same and only the looks have changed a little)

[roms]

Originally Posted by finneyp

I like the front design of Stile with those double barrel headlamps!
But for the back, I prefer the old Palio design.

So you prefer a concocton like this I guess -





This one is sold in Argentina.This looks perfect to me as well,almost.Note the old style handle bars for opening the door.Prefer the new pull-out ones to these.

[GeekSrik]

superavi

great review. but people who dont take cameras for TDs must be shot at it would be great if the stile 1.6 comes with airbags what with those strong brakes, and great rides. safety becomes paramount. i wonder why fiat atleast does not offer it. even at an extra cost.

[devarshi84]

superavi, good writeup.

Cargo motors called me atleast 7-8 times, each time I had to clear the fact to them that I am waiting for 1.6, the girl will apologize and then I get a call again.

It once happened that the same girl called me thrice in a single afternoon. I wish she were beautiful

[sushanthr77]

Originally Posted by roms

So you prefer a concocton like this I guess -





This one is sold in Argentina.This looks perfect to me as well,almost.Note the old style handle bars for opening the door.Prefer the new pull-out ones to these.

Absolutely cool. This one is a great combination. This lady still looks very gorgeous even ages after I feel in love with her

[moralfibre]

Another thing i noticed was the black styling strip on the front windshield which seems to have been improperly designed/ fit. The person at Concord in Bangalore mentioned that this is a new design to prevent water from the windshield splashing onto the front side windows, and helps the water flow down the sides of the windshield. This might be useful, especially if someone keeps the side windows open, but the finishing seems a little rough, with the strip sticking out at the place where it meets the roof. I'm not sure if this is how all 1.6 Stiles are finished, or if it was a mistake on the one i looked at.

I dont know about fit and finish but these strips on either sides of the windsheild are present in all models of the Palio and they serve the purpose well!

[payam]

nice review man and great service by BU.well done.

[greatDrive]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I dont know about fit and finish but these strips on either sides of the windsheild are present in all models of the Palio and they serve the purpose well!

Yes its "As Designed" and not a BUG.