[mahadev_kc]

Originally Posted by shebin

Guys i booked my MJD yesterday from concorde motors bangalore.They say a waitig period of 3 weeks.But if its black they will give immediate delivery on full payment within two days.I am not sure how balck palio looks.I prefer furnace red.

You have to see a photo of black palio put by a team-bhpian.. It looks awesome. Search for it. I guess that person is from Mangalore or costal Karnataka.

After seeing that photo, I'm sure you will straightly head to showroom to get that black palio.

[shebin]

As i told you Indica Dicor has come out good,but the interiors are a big let down and you will feel bored inside.The engine has become quite efficient i believe.They should introduce a full option version.But stll it struggles for class.

Topspeed doesnt matter to me as i rarely go above 100 in a hatch.For me build quality is very important as i hate creaking sounds in my ride(swift and indica).Fiat has compromisd a little bit on this car's overall quality but who else has not?most of common rail versions from all mfrs are quite overpriced with less features.They say the cost is high for the new tech and they have to compromise to control the pricing.

Regarding the engine performance of FIAT,i firmly believe that the true potential of this engine will come out only after a proper run in of atleast 3000km.It will be a different story afterwards.

ACI guys are not that great in providing objective reports.(my personal opinion)

[neon_daytona]

Not sure if its the right place for it or if it has been posted earlier

MACHINIST - Fiat inks MoU with the Govt of Maharashtra to increase production capacity

Going forward spares availability should not be a problem

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by deepakhon

Auto Car India April 2008 issue has a comparison between Indica Dicor and Palio MJD. They say that the usual strengths of build, ride and handling remain in the Palio, but nothing else seems to be that impressive. Going by this review, I feel disappointed with this attempt of Fiat. This attempt of plonking a diesel mill into the Palio seems very half-hearted. I think Fiat has more or less given up on Palio

IMO, this offering from Fiat should do them good. The average buyer is not looking at 0-100 timings. And 149kmph is more than what a normal hatch (or even sedan) is going to see on Indian roads. Also, other factors like build, ride and handling are good for this car. Exterior looks are good compared to its peers.

Interiors seem to be the only major sore point with most people. Plus a lot depends on how Fiat works on the A.S.S. and spare parts availability.

The key factor in the MJD's chances to succeed would be FE, which has been the bane of the petrol Palios. Given the impressive FE figures from Swift-Ds (which share the same engine), the Palio-D should also deliver similar figures, which would keep the majority of the customers happy.

I think, this Palio is going to do good business.

[deepakhon]

The reason I was harping on the 0-100 stuff is that Indica Dicor with 5 horses less and 4 kgm of torque less is doing this better than Palio. Also, Palio has just about managed to pip the Dicor in terms of in gear acceleration. To Dicor's credit, it gives more mileage than Palio. Now, how is Palio's MJD with a much superior technology any better than Indica Dicor? This beats me! According to ACI, MJD gives about 12+ in city and about 16 on highway whereas the Dicor gives close to 14 in the city and about 17+ on the highway.

I do not know about the bias from ACI, but the mileage figures they have quoted for Palio 1.2 NV is spot on. I am getting as much as the ACI says I should be getting. I rely on them at least for the mileage figures.

The same engine in Swift is doing wonders. When Suzuki can blend MJD better in Swift, what is Fiat doing with its own engine in its own car? Don't you see something amiss here? That is my gripe.

Maybe, the market might accept it; I have no idea. But, I personally feel that the effort is lacking from Fiat. If this is all they could manage in their car after having benchmarked the Swift Diesel, which has been in the market for close to one year, then they have gone terribly wrong.

[supremeBaleno]

I dont know whether ACI is biased, but what I have seen is that figures (FE, 0-100 etc) differ from mag to mag. And from my experience, FE figures quoted by mags has been way of the mark. So, I would not rely on their figures.

Also, it is too early to debate the MJD's FE figures. Let the car get into the market and we will get a better idea.

The MJD might have disappointed the enthusiasts like you, but from experience Fiat would know that the cars that they sold here and which appealed to the enthusiasts, did not set the market on fire. So, maybe the lesson learnt is to target the normal buyer this time around and work on ramping up sales figures, which I feel is a good move.

[extreme_torque]

The Autocar figures are hard to believe. I have driven both the dicor as well as the MJD and MJD felt a lot sprightly after 2000 rpm... there was no comparison. It sailed past 90-100 kmph with AC ON at full blast and three person inside, effortlessly.

[girish.r]

Originally Posted by shebin

As i told you Indica Dicor has come out good,but the interiors are a big let down and you will feel bored inside.The engine has become quite efficient i believe.They should introduce a full option version.But stll it struggles for class.

I did check out Indica DICOR while it was stationary. The accelerator/clutch are smooth and the engine responds very well at the slightest pressure on the accelerator but I have no idea how it responds when it moves, need to take a TD.
Couple of questions for you Shebin:
1. how do you differentiate between Indica DICOR and Palio MJD in terms of engine refinement/power delivery/pickup?
The marketing guy told that Indica DICOR is more fuel efficient than Palio MJD but technology wise MJD is better than DICOR
2. How did you convince yourself to book Palio MJD inspite of people complaining about the spares availability/costly spares etc?

Anyways All the Best and we are eagerly waiting for your ownership report once you get your hands on your new car.

[swathyd]

I too did a test drive yesterday. But i think palio diesel is better than swift as far its mid and high end performance is concerned . Initial response is not good as swift . Gearbox is a big letdown as it lacks refinement, even the gear knob and lever lacks that quality feel associated with earlier palios. When i compare it with my adventure it feels crude. Swift s' gearbox is much better. And another area where it feels deficient is its clutch. There is jerking when we release the clutch. The gearbox and clutch is not able to cope up with the kind of torque delivered by this engine. The gearbox i suspect is directly picked up from the petrol/1.9d palio.

The most bad thing is that it doesnt have a digital odometer. These days even motorbikes comes with digital odometer and speedometer. Every car in india comes with digital odometer apart from maruti 800.

Its ride as well as handling is better than old palio . Has got better room and comfort ( in rear) in comparison with swift and old palio . In these areas it scores over swift. Though it has flaws it is rs.28,000 cheaper than swift. So let us forgive fiat .

[amit]

Originally Posted by swathyd

The most bad thing is that it doesnt have a digital odometer. These days even motorbikes comes with digital odometer and speedometer. Every car in india comes with digital odometer apart from maruti 800.

Do the Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Santro and Ford Ikon now come with a digital odometer?

[aks_karthik]

Originally Posted by amit

Do the Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Santro and Ford Ikon now come with a digital odometer?

My 2005 WagonR too has Digital Odometer.But 5+ Lakhs car doesn't have a Digital sign.Defn it'll be a let down and interior is also not eye catching and modern.
riding is somewhat Ok and turning radius is not a big deal.
it's VFM .Here in chennai OTR is 5.20L for Palio SDX.
Black and Red is available immediately.

[blue_pulsar]

I did a test drive of the Palio MJD last weekend and here is my analysis:

1)The Palio feels solid.

2)The engine feels slightly noisier than the Swift.

3) Ride is very good.

4) The surge of power around 1800-2000 is not strong as the Swift. Also, the power delivery in the lower gears felt jerky. Swift is more smoother.

5) Gearbox is very bad. Though the gears fall in slots and it does not feel like a rod in a hole(Eg. Estilo), it is very rubbery and changing gears often is very boring.

6) Interiors are a big letdown. The color of biege is not good. looks somewhat like dirty white. In comparison the biege color of i10 is good.
Also, the metal parts on the door panels look like that of 800.

7) The clutch felt very very hard compared to the Swift and to my surprise, the vehicle would stall as soon as I left the clutch less than one fourth, i.e, it is very difficult to do a half clutch.

8) Brakes are good.

9) It is very interesting to note the gear ratios here.
Palio:
1st 4.2
2nd 2.2
3rd 1.4
4th 1.0
5th 0.8

Swift:
1st 3.54
2nd 1.90
3rd 1.23
4th 0.91
5th 0.73

This could be one of the reasons for the lower mileage and lower top speed when compared to Swift as claimed by ACI. Also, I felt this is the reason why the power delivery is a little jerky.

[shebin]

Originally Posted by girish.r

I did check out Indica DICOR while it was stationary. The accelerator/clutch are smooth and the engine responds very well at the slightest pressure on the accelerator but I have no idea how it responds when it moves, need to take a TD.
Couple of questions for you Shebin:
1. how do you differentiate between Indica DICOR and Palio MJD in terms of engine refinement/power delivery/pickup?
The marketing guy told that Indica DICOR is more fuel efficient than Palio MJD but technology wise MJD is better than DICOR
2. How did you convince yourself to book Palio MJD inspite of people complaining about the spares availability/costly spares etc?

Anyways All the Best and we are eagerly waiting for your ownership report once you get your hands on your new car.

Girish,
Eventhough Indica has come out good its not as good looking as FIAT and interiors are hopeless.Secondly the reliability of Dicor is yet to be confirmed.we only come to know about the engines actual capacities once its run for about 50k km.In my experience tata engines even though initially good loses the steam after some time.Morever tata engines are very sensitive regarding maintenece.Fiat bulid solid engines that lasts long.

I convinced myself on fiat due to the reasons

1.spares and *** are not going to be problem i believe as fiat is investing a lot in the Maharashtra prod unit.This time with Tata they are serious I believe.If you see thr product we can understand that fiat has understood indian market and now is playing to the gallery,esp with the pricing.
2.More Mfrs are using fiat engines and again spares will not be much issue.
3.price looks ok to me and adding onether 50k i can spice up the interiors a bit
4.tata sales men were seriously selling fiat and that shows the kind of *** also.
5.Fiat diesels are still in demand and i know a lot of people recently trying hard for used ones without success.
6.The last reason is somewhat illogic......Its the FIAT factor.I want to own one.

Girish these are basically my viewpoints and may not be correct also....
And thanks for your kind wishes......

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by shebin

Eventhough Indica has come out good its not as good looking as FIAT and interiors are hopeless.Secondly the reliability of Dicor is yet to be confirmed.we only come to know about the engines actual capacities once its run for about 50k km.In my experience tata engines even though initially good loses the steam after some time.Morever tata engines are very sensitive regarding maintenece.Fiat bulid solid engines that lasts long.

I wonder why they have become favourites with the taxi-wallahs?

Out-of curiosity, any Palio/Adventure owners in team-bhp having run close to a lakh kilometres?

Originally Posted by shebin

5.Fiat diesels are still in demand and i know a lot of people recently trying hard for used ones without success.

If that was true, shouldn't it translate to high resale value? (For example OHC VTec)

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Out-of curiosity, any Palio/Adventure owners in team-bhp having run close to a lakh kilometres?

A Palio 1.9D owner at palio users group has run 130K kms & still going strong....!