[GTO]

Team-BHPians will recall my Fiat Petra 1.6 Review and how I absolutely fell in love with this machine. More so at the charity price of 5 lacs ex-mumbai.

So Shaman dropped in today with their latest offering - The Diesel Petra. Hmmmmm, A power to weight ratio of not even 55 bhp/ton does not sound that exciting but hey, its for economy so lets check it out without the eager right foot.

So he pulls up outside my office in a gleamy silver Petra and walking up to it, I think "We meet again". Its looks great in person and the European looks have already been elaborated on in my 1.6 review so I'll save some space here.

Put in the key and turn to ignition, this baby moves and shakes like a giant robot waking up! The refinement at idling is just below okay, but on the move...its pathetic. This diesel engine just brought back memories of a drive in an Indica diesel - Its really that unrefined on the move. You can feel every vibration through the pedals, steering and gear. The diesel drone is a pain on the ears...Or maybe Fiat just forgot their NVH package on this particular Petra Diesel.

The acceleration was just about so-so. Entering a time when even small cars in India will soon be offering CRDI technology, I cant help but think that buying an IDI diesel is akin to purchasing a carburetored car in 2004!

On the good side, the ride quality...I say again....is astounding. And this is after a drive to work in the C today. Potholes? What potholes?

The Petra diesel starts at 6.17 lacs on the road in Bombay. Including the Rs.10,000 discount on the 1.6 DOHC, thats over a lac more expensive than the Petra Petrol which has just so much more technology packed into the engine. You will probably recover your money in 5 years, but is it worth the loss of power, refinement and driving pleasure? And whos to say that the price differential between diesel and petrol wont come down any further?

I didnt expect too much...and am glad! Let me put it this way. One of the most significant reasons to buy a Petra 1.6 is because of that delicious 1.6 liter DOHC 100 BHP engine. The only reason to stay away from the Petra diesel is the IDI 1.7 liter engine.

Thumbs down

GTO

[satish_appasani]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ] The only reason to stay away from the Petra diesel is the IDI 1.7 liter engine.

Are you sure it is 1.7 liter? Why didn't they put the 1.9 liter from Palio D.......

Feeling pity for FIAT for messing up the car which everybody thought will give Indigo a run for it's money..

[GTO]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Are you sure it is 1.7 liter? Why didn't they put the 1.9 liter from Palio D.......

Corrected! The Siena diesel was a 1.7, the Petra is a 1.9D. The same engine from the Palio.

GTO

[Revvmaster]

Hmm... 63 horses is too lil to move a car of that bulk. Fiat cud have put a light turbo in it that spews out atleast 70hp. That way the car wud have some momentum on the move.

That's also the problem in the Esteem Diesel as well. Why do entry level midsizers get anaemic diesels is beyond my comprehension. Can't manufacturers think beyond price and just install a turbo. They'd still manage to sell it a lakh below the Accent CRDi and give it a tough fight. Pity that manufacturers don't think out of the box!

Revv

[lamborghini]

hey guys i just found out that a twin turbos retail price is just rs 25000
if fiat could remove some of the cars features and put in the twinturbo and sell it for apprx. the same price, im sure they will have a winner on their hands...
btw if im not mistaken, fiat is planning to launch their JTD diesel engines for their entire line up in 2006
please correct me if i am wrong..

[shravan316]

Nice review GTO..... the diesel does sound pathetically under powered.
And Lambo is it true... the JTD will surely be better if it comes out in 06...

[SLK]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (GTO @ Aug. 25 2004,00:32)]Put in the key and turn to ignition, this baby moves and shakes like a giant robot waking up! The refinement at idling is just below okay, but on the move...its pathetic. This diesel engine just brought back memories of a drive in an Indica diesel - Its really that unrefined on the move. You can feel every vibration through the pedals, steering and gear. The diesel drone is a pain on the ears...Or maybe Fiat just forgot their NVH package on this particular Petra Diesel.

I like this! All diesels are alike. (not talking abt the mercs here)

[lamborghini]

well shravan
i think its true
and the engine is going to be shared with the maruti line up also.
i think its going to happen sometime in 2005 end- 2006

[cream]

gto,

you are right. the petra diesel is way too unrefined in the nvh area, also it feels extremely sluggish -

i had the same driving experience on the petra test drive. the car seems a little too unrefined - strangely enough the same engine in the palio is quite refined, and both my experiences with the palio d test drive were excellent - very limited noise levels, adequate power and great response - is it just the weight?

when i narrated this to my petrolhead friend of mine who has the s10, he said it might just be the fuel that they put - it seems with turbo diesel fuel, it is pretty okay!

[lamborghini]

hey cream man
there is little difference
man im stumped and ive got no answer to your question
GTO how about some help

[cream]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

well shravan
i think its true
and the engine is going to be shared with the maruti line up also.
i think its going to happen sometime in 2005 end- 2006

fiat is going to introduce it's next gen diesel technology sometime in mid 2006 - the engines will be manufactured in maruti's new plant to be set up. these same engines will be supplied to gm as well.

fiat now seems to be concentrating on what's it's good at - the multi jet diesel technology that it has developed - an improvement from it's own crdi technology and will release engines in the 1.3 L format. from what i've read - this new engine rocks - and seems to be the perfect balance of performance and FE.

let's hope even if their cars sell less - at least they will earn money on their core technologies.

anybody else know why the petra d behaves the way it does - vis-a-vis the palio d? though i must say - once the petra engine is up and running - it has this fanastic torque that almost eliminates the need for changing gears - i could go over speedbumps in 2nd and 3rd gear - almost virtually stopping/starting but not needing to downgear!