[shebin]

If fiat doesnt screw up this time with AFTER SALES,this is the right time for them to consolidate their position in the market.I hope this time they will rectify their previus faults

[architect]

Originally Posted by speed-demon

According to the company guy, palio will return a mileage of 17-18kmpl on city roads and 20-22kmpl on highway. which we should assume as 16kmpl in city and 19-20kmpl on highway.

From my Multijet, I have got a mileage of 15.5 kmpl (in the usual terrible Delhi traffic) with AC on 80-90% of the time from my first tankful to tankful calculation before First Service.

Originally Posted by Slick

.....This reflects the attitude of the dealershios for both these models. My brother liked the skoda immensely for its looks, Build quality, interiors, image and the drive quality.

But the FIAT factor steps in and everything goes astray.

PS: The interiors, as mentioned earlier in the forum are poor but considering the price at which the car is being offered cant complain either.

(Both figs are approximate, onroad Mumbai)
Needless to say my brother is buying the Fabia. The turning factor though was the stories he has heard about Service and the first hand experience we got....

Well, we can't compare the Fabia and the Palio because of Sheer Pricing. Regards Service, it is a problem and I was fully aware of that while buying. Previous posts on this thread by me and their responses have discussed that in detail.

While it is natural to compare this car to the Swift DDIS, just check the equipment level of a SDE and the LDi (both 5 lacs OTR in Delhi). Personally I find Maruti's features-variant-pricing strategy a bit too much. I think a tachometer is an absolute necessity in all cars and especially diesels (ducking for cover). The basest Indica Xeta without AC has a tacho!

Originally Posted by shibujp

However my test drive did not leave me with a good impression.

My gripes were as follows:
- cheap interiors.
- good engine but a very heavy clutch. After the light one in the Swift Vdi this felt like an exercise for your calf muscles.
- when using the clutch my shoes kept getting stuck in the footwell. Might be cos i wear size 10 but the Swift doesn't have such a problem.
- the gear shift as a result was not easy to use and I alway got the feeling that I had not depressed the clutch enough leading to tentative shifts.
- Refinement was not a patch on the Swift and the cabin became positively boomy when you revved up
- Somehow the engine felt quite stressed when revving up as opposed to that of the swift.
- Seating comfort seemed fine as did the boot space which is better than the Swift.

Interiors: Dated and not so great in finish, if that is what you mean by cheap. Correct. But I find the ergonomics spot on... I am an architect-interior designer, I can appreciate the difference between a comfortable interior and a good looking one. But again, comfort is a matter of personal preference.

Heavy Clutch: Maybe. haven't driven the DDIS extensively. Have got used to it. Gearshift is a couple of generations ahead of WagonR, Alto, Indica as per my judgement and experience.

Footwell Size: At size 8 shoes, no issues. Will ask somebody with larger feet to TD. Dead pedal is comfortable. Pedal placement is such that I place my right heel on the floor. The right foot can easily tackle both accelerator and brake by a simple movement of the toes, without lifting my foot (because they are so close). Maybe it helps in heel and toe but I have never practised that except in the Ambassador days when handbrake used to be inaccessible!

Engine feels Stressed at higher RPMs: Don't agree. Have broken my self imposed limit of 2000 RPM once or twice and it runs very freely... like an unleashed beast. Once turbo kicks in, Engine comes into its element. Have no experience of beyond 2700-2800 rpm, but goes upto 3000 rpm quite well. If it its going at 90 kph on 2500 rpm in fifth gear, then why would anybody rev it in the region of 3500-4800 rpm (that's the redline) in normal usage except on the expressways while doing 120-130 kph?

Seating comfort / boot space: I agree totally. The pricing and the space had settled the issue for me. I know the Indica is more spacious by measurement, but I have done 1000s of kms on all seats of the Indica all over North Indian cities and highways, and I think Indica seats have poorly designed cushioning. Palio seats are much better with great underthigh support which many sedans lack as well.

All said, a comfortable, big, heavy hatch with a big turning radius and not so nicely finished interiors. Now that sounds a bit like a Tata , doesn't it?

[shebin]

Architect,i support your views in the above post.Sheer price difference makes Skoda and palio incomparable.Interiors are good in my opinion eventhough plastic quality is lacking.I like the dashboard design of fiat more than swift and find it more driver oriented.Other than the much debated after sales issues,There is nothing to hold back palio this time,

[Rahulkool]

This months overdrive has a short road test of the car
they have got city mileage of 16kmpl and highway mileage of 26.72kmpl :-O

0-60 time is 6.42secs and 0-100 is 17.81secs, they said its quite slower to swift because of gearing and top speed is 155kmph(true) which is more than of swift

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

This months overdrive has a short road test of the car
they have got city mileage of 16kmpl and highway mileage of 26.72kmpl :-O

0-60 time is 6.42secs and 0-100 is 17.81secs, they said its quite slower to swift because of gearing and top speed is 155kmph(true) which is more than of swift

Heck it cant be that slow for sure!

[opendro]

Originally Posted by architect

Seating comfort / boot space: I agree totally. The pricing and the space had settled the issue for me. I know the Indica is more spacious by measurement, but I have done 1000s of kms on all seats of the Indica all over North Indian cities and highways, and I think Indica seats have poorly designed cushioning. Palio seats are much better with great underthigh support which many sedans lack as well.

All said, a comfortable, big, heavy hatch with a big turning radius and not so nicely finished interiors. Now that sounds a bit like a Tata , doesn't it?

Off topic, but a correction. Tata Indica a few years back (November 2004 to be precise when I bought) had very VERY GOOD thigh support. I don't know since when they trimmed the thigh support. But I do know it is now trimmed.

[shibujp]

Interiors: Dated and not so great in finish, if that is what you mean by cheap. Correct. But I find the ergonomics spot on... I am an architect-interior designer, I can appreciate the difference between a comfortable interior and a good looking one. But again, comfort is a matter of personal preference.

Heavy Clutch: Maybe. haven't driven the DDIS extensively. Have got used to it. Gearshift is a couple of generations ahead of WagonR, Alto, Indica as per my judgement and experience.

Footwell Size: At size 8 shoes, no issues. Will ask somebody with larger feet to TD. Dead pedal is comfortable. Pedal placement is such that I place my right heel on the floor. The right foot can easily tackle both accelerator and brake by a simple movement of the toes, without lifting my foot (because they are so close). Maybe it helps in heel and toe but I have never practised that except in the Ambassador days when handbrake used to be inaccessible!

Engine feels Stressed at higher RPMs: Don't agree. Have broken my self imposed limit of 2000 RPM once or twice and it runs very freely... like an unleashed beast. Once turbo kicks in, Engine comes into its element. Have no experience of beyond 2700-2800 rpm, but goes upto 3000 rpm quite well. If it its going at 90 kph on 2500 rpm in fifth gear, then why would anybody rev it in the region of 3500-4800 rpm (that's the redline) in normal usage except on the expressways while doing 120-130 kph?

Seating comfort / boot space: I agree totally. The pricing and the space had settled the issue for me. I know the Indica is more spacious by measurement, but I have done 1000s of kms on all seats of the Indica all over North Indian cities and highways, and I think Indica seats have poorly designed cushioning. Palio seats are much better with great underthigh support which many sedans lack as well.

All said, a comfortable, big, heavy hatch with a big turning radius and not so nicely finished interiors. Now that sounds a bit like a Tata , doesn't it?

Will get a second TD sometime and see if my impressions change. The revving up might be a hang over from a free flowed 800

[given2fly]

You sure sound like one happy FIAT customer. Carry on and spread the good word. They need people like you who can distinguise oranges from apples and humans from apes.

Originally Posted by architect

From my Multijet, I have got a mileage of 15.5 kmpl (in the usual terrible Delhi traffic) with AC on 80-90% of the time from my first tankful to tankful calculation before First Service.

Well, we can't compare the Fabia and the Palio because of Sheer Pricing. Regards Service, it is a problem and I was fully aware of that while buying. Previous posts on this thread by me and their responses have discussed that in detail.

While it is natural to compare this car to the Swift DDIS, just check the equipment level of a SDE and the LDi (both 5 lacs OTR in Delhi). Personally I find Maruti's features-variant-pricing strategy a bit too much. I think a tachometer is an absolute necessity in all cars and especially diesels (ducking for cover). The basest Indica Xeta without AC has a tacho!


... All said, a comfortable, big, heavy hatch with a big turning radius and not so nicely finished interiors. Now that sounds a bit like a Tata , doesn't it?

Fabia surely doesn't compare with Palio. I would rather compare Fabia with Ford Fiesta diesel which is closer to its price (Not a Hatch but worthy Sedan) which is very very comfortable compared to other 'hot' hatches.


Originally Posted by Slick

.....This reflects the attitude of the dealershios for both these models. My brother liked the skoda immensely for its looks, Build quality, interiors, image and the drive quality.

But the FIAT factor steps in and everything goes astray.

PS: The interiors, as mentioned earlier in the forum are poor but considering the price at which the car is being offered cant complain either.

(Both figs are approximate, onroad Mumbai)
Needless to say my brother is buying the Fabia. The turning factor though was the stories he has heard about Service and the first hand experience we got....

[architect]

Originally Posted by shebin

Architect,i support your views in the above post.Sheer price difference makes Skoda and palio incomparable.Interiors are good in my opinion eventhough plastic quality is lacking.I like the dashboard design of fiat more than swift and find it more driver oriented.Other than the much debated after sales issues,There is nothing to hold back palio this time,

Shebin... atleast four people I know personally are waiting for my report after the first couple of months on this car. One Indica owner (a lady), one first time buyer, one Palio 1.6GTX owner and one Palio 1.2 NV owner. They are all ready to buy the MJD If I give them a positive report. But I am not sure until the first two services atleast.

The point I want to make is that if you think that the Plastic Quality (only the grey, not the biege or brown) is something you can live with, then there is no reason why this car should be out of the competition except the After Sales & Service. Fiat, are you listening?

Originally Posted by opendro

Off topic, but a correction. Tata Indica a few years back (November 2004 to be precise when I bought) had very VERY GOOD thigh support. I don't know since when they trimmed the thigh support. But I do know it is now trimmed.

I have done all those journeys on the new Indica with the Side-skirts (called Still Valence, I think) and those flared arches and they had bad thigh support. My friends Indigo Dicor is only marginally better.

[aushdeep]

Originally Posted by shibujp

Will get a second TD sometime and see if my impressions change. The revving up might be a hang over from a free flowed 800

HI all, I bought the same car(Palio SDX) just after "architect" from the same dealer. I own a Maruti 800 EII Mpfi 2003 and will share a fact. I have driven 800 for over 81000 kms. I have kept it in showroom condition, serviced it well in time, but after driving the MJD could not ressist buying it. Have driven all cars, verna, swift VDI, Scorpio but after driving this one it felt better than a petrol.

After driving the palio 800 seems like no power and drags. The palio is smooth and revving. Swift VDi was good but it used to give one a jerk while shifting gears. Palio is smooth. What have 3 secs as BS or overdrive quote to do but still I managed 14.5Sec 0-100 on the same old delhi roads however I still feel that they did not drive one as one quotes the fifth gear as NA, whereas it exists.

Initial ownership review:- The car felt bit stressed but after 150 odd km of running gosh its smoothened lie butter, the vibrations don exist. Also I feel the turbo does not actually kick at 2000 as at 1500 it is ready to go.

Well I am 5'4" so cannot comment on the shoe obstruction part but being a mechanical engineer can say one thing, if you like good cars get used to this the distance is less to reduce the responce time, but all do not understand.

The car is good if not great but scores above the swift as per how many days will you rally. Plastics may look cheap but still are sturdy not poor like the VDI of my friend's whose door handle from inside feels like will break everytime I hold it to open the door. All in all it does not have the jazz but is sturdy, comfortable and has great braking.

Still I would say these comments might seem that I finally own one, but as a fact would like to say one thing, if you really know how to drive , drive a car for long accross different surfaces and different conditions and then make a decision and please dont buy a car if you do not get the TD and if the sales guy weeps give him a fifly to fill add on fuel but drive till you know you have actually driven it.

Till now am enjoying the car will update you of the service or A S S once have experienced it.

[devarshi84]

did a test drive and hell its slow...... But its silent too. While Noise has been supressed, the vibrations crawl into the car everywhere.

The car was badly fitted and the quality of the inner door handles was pathetic. the edges so rough, they can cut into the skin.

I still enjoyed driving the palio multijet, not sure if I will put my money on it.


The gearbox was strictly average. It needed some effort to be slotted but I never had a mismatch. certainly a level below the old palio boxes.

Build quality will give swifts a swift blush and send then running away for cover.

Fiat could've done a much better job than this and the car looks rushed to the market.

[architect]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

Fiat could've done a much better job than this and the car looks rushed to the market.

That, Sir, is the most appropriate conclusion I have ever heard. The car looks rushed to the market. They should have spent more time on it and made it better. But maybe Fiat has other plans and wanted to launch the car early to time it well before the Linea and the GP?

[Rahulkool]

How come all test drive cars given to magazines by FIAT have alloys and rear spoiler, in Top gear and Overdrive the model SDX has Alloys and rear spoiler :-/

[jerish666]

Originally Posted by architect

That, Sir, is the most appropriate conclusion I have ever heard. The car looks rushed to the market. They should have spent more time on it and made it better. But maybe Fiat has other plans and wanted to launch the car early to time it well before the Linea and the GP?

What i heard is Linea will be coming on June and punto will be on early 2009.God knows how the Linea and punto will be launched here.

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by jerish666

What i heard is Linea will be coming on June and punto will be on early 2009.God knows how the Linea and punto will be launched here.

It is actually, 'God knows when ...'



And secondly, 'God knows who will buy them'. I do not have high hopes about the pricing. Fiat can do a Hyundai and end all its chances.