[sameer551]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Its 500 per month, if i remember it correctly. Infact, i'm almost sure i read it here. Please confirm.

2500 per month is not a bad figure at all, considering their target for the petrols combined together is 3000 cars a year! However, its not 2500 a month.

O yeah sorry..now i remember it is 500.

but 500 is too less for Palio MJD!!

[finneyp]

Last Saturday, myself & Sushanthr77 test drove Palio 1.3 MJD at Concorde Motors, here is my observations, request Sushanth to post his review too:

Exterior:
More or less same as Palio Stile, except for the new Grille, Red Fiat logo at front and rear & double-barrel headlamps gives a bit premium feel to the Car.

Interior:
Again quite similar to Stile, somehow didn't like the beige dashboard, would prefer a Black one with Silver console (like in the Sports & earlier NV series).
Gear box made for MJD was a disappointment, felt notchy like in the Wagon R etc.
Atleast they could have reused the 1.9D gearbox.

Performance:
Wow, whatte engine!
I slot the car in 1st gear and slighlty release the clutch, it surges ahead (unlike the 1.2 where the car just rolls on), in 2nd gear it keeps up the momentum, and in 3rd gear it is raring to go, you need to just push the gas pedal.....!
Never felt for a moment I was driving a diesel, it has loads of Power & torque that it almost gave me a feeling of driving a 1.6.

If I was in the market for a diesel hatch, would buy this car just for this MJD engine.

Sushanth who drove his Dad's Swift D mentioned that Swift D delivers more power that Palio MJD, so I need to TD Swift D as well, but I felt Palio MJD has more than sufficient power you really require.

[phamilyman]

and guys, I had a swiftD to myself on Saturday. To those who say Palio MJD has higher NVH, I can only respecfully disagree. Only issue is that unlike other diesels, you can't slot into 2nd, leave clutch and cruise in bumper-bumper traffic!! too much torque!

PS: The direct steering/handling of SwiftD is much better than palio and makes it that much more fun.

[rajdoll]

test drove both these cars back to back. Already lot of inputs given by various team members, so will give mine in brief and in pointed manner. My current car is Indica DLS, so comparison is with that car and with each other.
1. Interiors: In Palio, felt like going out of the car ASAP, only one word pathetic, absolutely no color scheme, awfully protruding center console. Swift is much better, but still it does not give you very airy feel. Indica feels more roomy.
2. Engine and NVH: Surely somthing was wrong with Palio test drive car. In first gear, it was shuddering on slowly releasing the clutch. It really spoilt the test drive. The guy from fiat, was not much concerned about the issue. Power was good but refinement was not there. Compared to Swift more engine noise and more effort to push car to gain speed. On the other had swift felt more smooth and peppy. Palio's clutch was too hard, even Indica has softer clutch than it. Swift was more petrol like. Though the vibration on steering wheel can be felt in Palio as well as swift and were similar to my Indica. Though indica has more pronounced vibration on gear knob. Palio's gearing is bad, felt like chaning gear on some 2 lakh rupee car, whereas swift has got much better gear slotting feel. Even indica felt better even though rubbery.

Overall, not impressed with Palio at all, not put together well. Swift has got everything going for it except the inner space and feeling. I wish Tatas do a good job of putting this engine in their V3 achieving Swift's drivability/NVH/Gearing and providing airy space of Indica, that will the real ideal car.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

PS: The direct steering/handling of SwiftD is much better than palio and makes it that much more fun.

Hita noooooooo ................ for god's sake thats an EPS and they hardly come as direct, loaded with feel as the one on Palio. The one on Swift lacks feel although the steering wheel is short and sporty.
Swift more fun to drive compared to Palio in city... Yes!

[sushanthr77]

I had test driven the Palio D last saturday with Finney. Here is a report:


Exteriors:
Beautiful. The new grill adds a lot of character to this Italian lady. The headlamps also add a lot to make the car very appealing.
Badge: Fantastic. The new badge clearly represents Fiat's resurgence in the automotive industry (in Europe of course).


Interiors: The console's color has been slightly changed and is now a shade of brown which makes the dash looks cheap. It doesn't blend with the beige console combination as well. A big disappointment here.

Ride/Handling:
Handles like any other Palio. The extra weight of the engine is not felt and the car feels well planted. The suspension is on the softer side and hence soaks up all the bad roads and is ideal for Indian roads. Palio never disappoints here.

Engine:
Having driven my pop's Swift's D extensively, I was sure what I wanted from the MJTD - Torque and loads of it. Unfortunately I was disappointed by the lack of eagerness of the engine. I know exactly when the Swift D opens up its turbo to give a surge in power delivery. However, I never found the precise RPM when the turbo made its presence felt in the Palio. Though the specification mentions about the 2000RPM, it didn't really do anything great beyond this limit.

Turbo Lag: Almost none! I found it to be extremely LINEAR. There is no surge in power beyond the 2000RPM hence it continues to climb up rather in a linear manner. There is one advantage though - The Swift feels terribly under powered below the turbo threshold but the Palio didn't seem to have this issue. A/C didn't seem to have any effect on the engine. Overall a good engine but isn't as effective as the DDiS. (I am not sure how Fiat India managed to do this, may be they should outsource it to MUL ;-))

NVH: Excellent. Super silent and absolutely no vibrations were felt inside the cabin. The engine was quite at idle speed, when cold and when it attained its optimum temperature. Great work done here by Fiat India since our Swift has a louder clatter and the sound definitely intrudes into the cabin. The Palio was quite. I loved this!

Power: I am not too convinced about the torque ratings. The Swift DDiS always felt like a match (in a lot of ways) to the Palio 1.6, to me. The same can’t be said about the MJTD. It is a better car than the 1.1/1.2 but still not as good as the 1.6 IMO. However the fuel type makes the MJTD a default and a sensible choice.


Gearbox:The biggest surprise came here since this felt rubbery and not as smooth and precise as my 1.2 NV's. I suspect some Tata/Indian hand in this development. I still does the job better than the Indica's gearbox.

Another point that I'd like to make here is that the 1st gear felt too long to me. The car tends to surge forward on 1st gear more than necessary. This urgency is not really shown on the later gears.


Breaks:
Pretty adequate. However an ABS will always be missed.

Price:
Quite a lot has been already written about this.

DDiS vs MJTD:
The Swift is a clear winner for me. The only drawback the Swift has is its terrible build quality which is common to all Suzuki vehicles. Being used to the Palio, I started slamming our Swift doors, only get frightened by the sheet metal melody!

Dicor vs MJTD:
I haven't test driven the Indica Dicor, however, I've test driven an Indigo Dicor XL and found it to be a truck. Absurd steering, coarse engine, crappy gearbox, and well the list goes on. It just wasn't fun driving it. I don't think Tata has fixed all these issues in a couple of month’s time in the new Indica Dicor. BTW, I think the Palio is definitely 55,000INR more worthy than the Indica Dicor. There isn't even a competition even if the Indica is quicker.

Other competition:
I think that the Palio in its MJTD avatar offers more than many of its competitors. The base version that comes for around 5L on-road is still more VFM car than: Estillo / Wagon R / Palio 1.1 / Santro / Swift Petrol IMHO. Only the Palio 1.6 and the Swift DDiS are ahead of the Palio MJTD IMO. Note: I am not considering the Getz 1.5D in this league.

Conclusion:
I think the Palio MJTD appeals to me more as a fuel efficient family car, which one can retain for long. It isn't for the enthusiasts. If build quality is high on your list and the interiors don't matter (some how), then this is the car. It is very good hatch for Indian conditions. Enthusiasts can however buy the Swift DDiS and fit a Pete's tuning box and have their fun.

[extreme_torque]

@sushant77.. Nicely written! Even I found the power delivery on the Palio MJD to be almost linear and although on full boost the power isnt as impressive as the Swift D but it starts pulling 1500 rpm onwards and pulls like crazy at 22-2300 rpm.
The muted performance has also to do something with the heavy build if you know what I mean.

[RADHIKADAS]

The new red logo is here! Yes, Fiat has rolled out its first car in India with the new red logo. The new red logo symbolizes the Fiat of modern age. Fiat which is trying hard to make a comeback into the Indian market has launched a diesel version of Palio stile. Launch of the Palio Stile multijet diesel version is first in the line of many exciting launches such as linea and punto lined up by Fiat through this year.

Change of heart:
Palio stile which was launched in 2007 is currently available in 2 petrol versions - 1.1L and 1.6L Sport. The new Palio stile diesel is one of the most expected machines in 2008 as it is powered by popular 1.3L multijet diesel engine. Fiat, General Motors and Suzuki developed this diesel engine jointly and this engine has won many awards across the globe. We Indians know this engine as DDIS, yes, it is already doing the duty in Maruti Suzuki’s swift. This same 1.3L engine will power the Tata’s new Indica and General Motors new small car. Under the hood of the new palio stile diesel, the 1.3l engine produces a maximum power of 75 PS at 4000 rpm and a peak torque of 184 Nm at 2000rpm. These figures are almost the same as the Swift diesel. Fiat uses the same gearbox used in 1.9L palio diesel to derive power from this 1.3l Multijet diesel.

What’s new?
In addition to the new engine, Fiat palio stile diesel also gets plush new interiors, an attractive new front grills and attractive colours. The Palio Stile Multijet diesel will be available in 5 exciting colors - Furnace red, Magnesium grey, Ozone blue, Mint White and Carbon black, across 3 versions – SD, SDE & SDX. But the key factor which may lure hatchback buyer is the aggressive price tag. Fiat has priced the new Palio stile diesel very competitively. Palio Stile diesel base variant (SD) is priced Rs4,37,960, the mid SDE variant is priced Rs4,57,962 and top end SDX is priced Rs4,77,968. Fiat which sells 2500 units of palio diesel annually hopes to sell 6000 units of the car with the launch of new Palio stile diesel. Fiat’s palio stile diesel will compete Maruti Suzuki’s swift and the new Skoda Fabia. It seems that Fiat is finally has a winner on its hands, but wait till my test drive.

[drkhalsa]

Conclusion:
I think the Palio MJTD appeals to me more as a fuel efficient family car, which one can retain for long. It isn't for the enthusiasts.

Very well written review and excellent clear presentation

And Your conclusion is Exactly what I think Fait is targeting with MJD ( a faily car and nota Enthusiat roacket like 1.6)

Thanks for review and keep on writing


Jatinder Singh

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by RADHIKADAS

Fiat, General Motors and Suzuki developed this diesel engine jointly

Wrong! Fiat and GM had co-developed the MJD engine.
Suzuki is manufacturing MJD under licence from Fiat-GM.

Originally Posted by RADHIKADAS

Fiat uses the same gearbox used in 1.9L palio diesel to derive power from this 1.3l Multijet diesel.

Wish they had done so, but it is not 1.9D gearbox, looks like they built a new gearbox for MJD which is notchy & not upto the mark.

Originally Posted by RADHIKADAS

In addition to the new engine, Fiat palio stile diesel also gets plush new interiors

Wrong again, sadly they retained the interiors of earlier Palio.

[condor]

@Radhikadas, why is your post a straight lift-off from :
Fiat’s new Palio Stile Diesel | Straight Frm The Heart

The Photos look more like press releases, and not what you have taken.

[RADHIKADAS]

sure. does not say i've clicked them. and the there could be a lift-off my article too.
thnx anyways

Originally Posted by condor

@Radhikadas, why is your post a straight lift-off from :
Fiat’s new Palio Stile Diesel | Straight Frm The Heart

The Photos look more like press releases, and not what you have taken.

[neoonwheels]

Lets see this month's sales figures for Palio... I hope it will sell good in numbers..

[condor]

Originally Posted by RADHIKADAS

sure. does not say i've clicked them. and the there could be a lift-off my article too.
thnx anyways

Confused here. Are you saying your post here has been lifted and reproduced there ? That looks like an older post, though.

Or the web-page there is being reproduced here ?



While on the topic of source of information, pls do check our rules section.
Team-BHP - Announcements in Forum : Announcements

3. Do make sure that you provide the relevant permissions & references/original source for every piece of material that has been taken from another website/publication.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by finneyp

Wish they had done so, but it is not 1.9D gearbox, looks like they built a new gearbox for MJD which is notchy & not upto the mark.

Have they now abandoned the twin bowden cables that connected the gear lever to the box? Fiat used to attribute the Palio's smooth gear shift to that. Does the brochure for Stile mention this feature?

Even I found MJD's gear shift not upto the mark of earlier Palios and Adventure.