[FERRO]

Originally Posted by downsouth

@Steeriod

Great review. The center console with the silver garnish, the Flaminco red colour as well is a let down. I was mighty impressed looking at the brochures, pics etc online but in reality they are not the same.

But one clarification though, if you could Pete a Fiesta or a Verna why not a Linea, is it because of the handling? I am sure inputs from members like you will give more inputs for the Linea owners who would have planned for petefying.

Why would Steeriod Pete a Linea ? I guess he will never buy a Fiat product again in his life due to his bad experience. But it was very positive to see him TD a Fiat product.

Originally Posted by downsouth

@Steeriod

Great review. The center console with the silver garnish, the Flaminco red colour as well is a let down. I was mighty impressed looking at the brochures, pics etc online but in reality they are not the same.

But one clarification though, if you could Pete a Fiesta or a Verna why not a Linea, is it because of the handling? I am sure inputs from members like you will give more inputs for the Linea owners who would have planned for petefying.

I know you directed this question to steer, and he'll probably answer you anyways, but here's mine.

The verna goes fast, but handles poorly- therefore add bilsteins
fiesta handles brilliantly, but lacks accelerataion- therefore add pete's box
The linea will need both the Pete's box and suspension upgrade to be fun.

further more, all the new Gen diesels I have driven show no hesitation to accelerate-push the pedal and go! The acceleration is effortless, except this one, The Linea.

In the linea, the gearing and the weight are bogging down the brilliant engine.
I have not TDed a Pete'd linea yet, but looking at the specs for the box- it doesnt look promising.

OTOH- a Pete'd palio is quite fun to drive.

[downsouth]

Originally Posted by FERRO

Why would Steeriod Pete a Linea ? I guess he will never buy a Fiat product again in his life due to his bad experience. But it was very positive to see him TD a Fiat product.

Maybe not so, with a lot of enthusiasts, the 1.4 T Jet would have made sense cuase of its 120Bhp output.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

I know you directed this question to steer, and he'll probably answer you anyways, but here's mine.

The verna goes fast, but handles poorly- therefore add bilsteins
fiesta handles brilliantly, but lacks accelerataion- therefore add pete's box
The linea will need both the Pete's box and suspension upgrade to be fun.

further more, all the new Gen diesels I have driven show no hesitation to accelerate-push the pedal and go! The acceleration is effortless, except this one, The Linea.

In the linea, the gearing and the weight are bogging down the brilliant engine.
I have not TDed a Pete'd linea yet, but looking at the specs for the box- it doesnt look promising.

Thanks for your input

[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

The verna goes fast, but handles poorly- therefore add bilsteins
fiesta handles brilliantly, but lacks accelerataion- therefore add pete's box

Rippergeo thanks for this info. While i have decent knowledge of Pete's, i am a noob for blisteins. What would it cost and are there any people who have posted ownership reviews here after modding?

[sidgo7]

Eco Drive Available Only In 500 And Bravo{expecting In March 1st Week} In India.i Am Going To Test The Ecodrive On The 500 This Weekend.will Let U Guys Know About The Results

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

Rippergeo thanks for this info. While i have decent knowledge of Pete's, i am a noob for blisteins. What would it cost and are there any people who have posted ownership reviews here after modding?

Sorry about that! Its not bilsteins, I think its H&R, there is a verna in cochin running a modified suspension, have not met the owner yet or TDed it. However, we're way off topic here. will give you more info by PM if you're interested.

[muneemmk]

Originally Posted by FERRO

Why would Steeriod Pete a Linea ? I guess he will never buy a Fiat product again in his life due to his bad experience. But it was very positive to see him TD a Fiat product.

Steer have only one Fiat with him it's 50+ years old and runs like dream , he haven't had any issues so far with the car that I know of, but it's the Tata/Fiat A S S that put him off, sorry for going OT. Oh and ask him about the Alfa Romeo

[roms]

My fingers have just been itching to post a Td Report of the 1.4 FIRE engined Linea. After having test driven the MJD, the TD report of which has been posted on the very first page of this thread, I realised that the Linea MJD just does'nt satisfy the enthusiast in me. Though I have to say that it is a very decent overall package.

Frankly, I did not expect much from the petrol 1.4 as well. There is only so much that a puny 1.4 can do, especially when you consider the weight it needs to lug around, I mean 1240 kilograms is not a joke! And what do the tech specs read? Its a 4 cylinder DOHC motor pumping out just about 88 bhp (90ps) @ 6000 rpm, while the lugging capability or max torque is an uninspiring 115NM @ 4500 rpm. Its alright if you have lesser horses so long as your peak torque arrives reasonably early in life, the NHC for example. But just 115NM @ 4.5K? I really hoped and prayed that an autorikshaw did not overtake me while on the test drive. Now I obviously wont even talk about anything else apart from the engine since much has been said and discussed. Here goes :-

NVH :- The MJD isn't spectacular as far as NVH levels are concerned. But the Linea petrol is. It is astonishingly refined at idle and you really cant make out if the engine is cranked up or not. On the drive, the engine does get a bit noisy above the 3000 rpm mark but that is expected of a small petrol motor. Personally, I loved the engine note, it is very similar to the 1.2 FIRE engine. Apart from that though, the cabin is very well insulated from the outside world and there is absolutely no vibration through the seats,floor, gearbox or steering. Now I have'nt driven the ANHC, but I did get a chance to fire up the engine and check for NVH levels. The engine noise in this car does intrude into the cabin as well at about 3K rpm, but yes its a much more powerful snarl letting you know that it houses a gem of an engine inside. There is this one thing though, as soon as it settles to an idle, there is some amount of vibration felt from through the seats, very similar to the NHC for that matter. You dont realise this unless you do a back to back evaluation of the two cars. We have an NHC in the house and my Palio S10 feels like a diesel in comparison to the NVH levels of the NHC. I can tell you with some conviction that the Petrol Linea is as good, if not better, than the NHC/ANHC.

Driveability & Performance :- I've personally realised that this is the most important factor while buying any car, especially if its going to be driven in the city for most part of its life. The Petrol Linea does not disappoint at all. It is a pretty fast revving motor and can overtake slow moving vehicles easily. So what is says on paper is surprisingly different from its real life performance. The engine is tractable and you can move about in 3rd gear all day. The MJD requires a downshift if you are not on boost, but absolutely no such worries with the petrol. I tried pulling from as low as 30km/h while in the 4th gear and it picked up very decently. It was a short TD due to time constraints so did not get an opportunity to push her much, but getting to 5000rpm is not difficult and you are rewarded with some decent acceleration. The throttle response is instantaneous and its very similar to the response you get from the 1.6 Torque at low revs. It lacks outright grunt, but underpowered? Not by a long shot.

Gearbox/Suspension/Steering :- Everyone knows that the suspension set up is brilliant, but it truly deserves a mention once again. The ride quality is just mindbogglingly great and reminds you of the legendary Opel Astra. It makes my S10's setup feel super stiff in comparison. And the gearbox feels a notch better than the MJD as well and is very smooth. Good fun. The steering feels light and easy to use in the city but gets progressively heavier and communicating once the speeds increase, and it is a delight to hold. Overall, the feel of the drive is fantastic.

What matters to me after a test drive is whether or not the car manages to make me desire for one. The MJD, atleast in its current iteration just does'nt, but the petrol so does. I know its no competition to the more powerful sedans around, but it manages to put a smile across you face. Its a fantastic car at its price levels, one that has features galore, but also a car that one can derive reasonable driving pleasure from. I believe this 90 PS 1.4 FIRE engine in the Grande Punto will make make it a very decent car to drive. But lets all hope they give the Linea and GP some more "FIRE" power under their bellies and we do get the 1.4 turbo petrol and 1.6/1.9MJD pretty soon.

P.S - I was on this particular drive accompanied by team-bhpians rudrah and swami. We had a blast evaluating the Linea and exchanging notes. Swami has booked the petrol Linea Emotion pack and should be on the list of "I bought the Linea too" very shortly. Hoping for a new ownership thread soon buddy. Good luck!

[sandeep108]

Hmmmm.... similar to the i20 and its 'underpowered' 1.2 kappa engine? Thanks for the review. The papers specs and driveability often may differ and ultimately every car is a compromise in some manner or the other.

[cupper]

Originally Posted by roms

My fingers have just been itching to post a Td Report of the 1.4 FIRE engined Linea. After having test driven the MJD, the TD report of which has been posted on the very first page of this thread, I realised that the Linea MJD just does'nt satisfy the enthusiast in me. Though I have to say that it is a very decent overall package.

Frankly, I did not expect much from the petrol 1.4 as well. There is only so much that a puny 1.4 can do, especially when you consider the weight it needs to lug around, I mean 1240 kilograms is not a joke! And what do the tech specs read? Its a 4 cylinder DOHC motor pumping out just about 88 bhp (90ps) @ 6000 rpm, while the lugging capability or max torque is an uninspiring 115NM @ 4500 rpm. Its alright if you have lesser horses so long as your peak torque arrives reasonably early in life, the NHC for example. But just 115NM @ 4.5K? I really hoped and prayed that an autorikshaw did not overtake me while on the test drive. Now I obviously wont even talk about anything else apart from the engine since much has been said and discussed. Here goes :-

NVH :- The MJD isn't spectacular as far as NVH levels are concerned. But the Linea petrol is. It is astonishingly refined at idle and you really cant make out if the engine is cranked up or not. On the drive, the engine does get a bit noisy above the 3000 rpm mark but that is expected of a small petrol motor. Personally, I loved the engine note, it is very similar to the 1.2 FIRE engine. Apart from that though, the cabin is very well insulated from the outside world and there is absolutely no vibration through the seats,floor, gearbox or steering. Now I have'nt driven the ANHC, but I did get a chance to fire up the engine and check for NVH levels. The engine noise in this car does intrude into the cabin as well at about 3K rpm, but yes its a much more powerful snarl letting you know that it houses a gem of an engine inside. There is this one thing though, as soon as it settles to an idle, there is some amount of vibration felt from through the seats, very similar to the NHC for that matter. You dont realise this unless you do a back to back evaluation of the two cars. We have an NHC in the house and my Palio S10 feels like a diesel in comparison to the NVH levels of the NHC. I can tell you with some conviction that the Petrol Linea is as good, if not better, than the NHC/ANHC.

Driveability & Performance :- I've personally realised that this is the most important factor while buying any car, especially if its going to be driven in the city for most part of its life. The Petrol Linea does not disappoint at all. It is a pretty fast revving motor and can overtake slow moving vehicles easily. So what is says on paper is surprisingly different from its real life performance. The engine is tractable and you can move about in 3rd gear all day. The MJD requires a downshift if you are not on boost, but absolutely no such worries with the petrol. I tried pulling from as low as 30km/h while in the 4th gear and it picked up very decently. It was a short TD due to time constraints so did not get an opportunity to push her much, but getting to 5000rpm is not difficult and you are rewarded with some decent acceleration. The throttle response is instantaneous and its very similar to the response you get from the 1.6 Torque at low revs. It lacks outright grunt, but underpowered? Not by a long shot.

Gearbox/Suspension/Steering :- Everyone knows that the suspension set up is brilliant, but it truly deserves a mention once again. The ride quality is just mindbogglingly great and reminds you of the legendary Opel Astra. It makes my S10's setup feel super stiff in comparison. And the gearbox feels a notch better than the MJD as well and is very smooth. Good fun. The steering feels light and easy to use in the city but gets progressively heavier and communicating once the speeds increase, and it is a delight to hold. Overall, the feel of the drive is fantastic.

What matters to me after a test drive is whether or not the car manages to make me desire for one. The MJD, atleast in its current iteration just does'nt, but the petrol so does. I know its no competition to the more powerful sedans around, but it manages to put a smile across you face. Its a fantastic car at its price levels, one that has features galore, but also a car that one can derive reasonable driving pleasure from. I believe this 90 PS 1.4 FIRE engine in the Grande Punto will make make it a very decent car to drive. But lets all hope they give the Linea and GP some more "FIRE" power under their bellies and we do get the 1.4 turbo petrol and 1.6/1.9MJD pretty soon.

P.S - I was on this particular drive accompanied by team-bhpians rudrah and swami. We had a blast evaluating the Linea and exchanging notes. Swami has booked the petrol Linea Emotion pack and should be on the list of "I bought the Linea too" very shortly. Hoping for a new ownership thread soon buddy. Good luck!

Nicely written test drive report roms! Coincidentally, I also happened to test drive Linea (both Petrol and Diesel) today at Fortune Motors at Powai.
I am not a driving expert and am planning to buy my first car so my observations might not be fully correct. Nevertheless, here are my views:

Looks, features, boot space are simply awesome! It was a very short test drive - 10 mins each. I didn't find the car (even diesel) sluggish. Though it felt much better in Petrol. In fact, I tried changing from 2nd to 5th directly at 30kmph and the car handled it without any problem at all. Turning radius was quite good for the car of its size.

Some things which annoyed me include engine noise for diesel engine especially when you are outside. Interior for that matter is well insulated. Also, petrol got noisy at high rpms but wasn't very irritating. Head space could have been better but not a problem for a guy of my height (5 ft 7'')

Overall, I found Linea Petrol Emotion Pk very good VFM. It costs 8.1 lakhs on road in Mumbai. My opinion could be biased because Diesel Emotion Pk is 9.35 on road in Mumbai and thats not in my budget. I was initially planning to go for Swift and then have over streched my budget to 8 lakhs for Linea........

I got very inclined for Petrol Linea and then the salesperson told me that Fiat's MJD is far more superior than FIRE. That comment left me very confused whether to go for Petrol or not. I cant afford Diesel Emotion Pk right now and I dont want to go for lower variants because I need Alloys and prefer air bags. My drive would be mainly to office and back (25 kms) on weekdays and some long drives (300 kms) once in a month.

Could you please suggest whether going for Linea Petrol be a good option or do you think the engine is dated and not good? In that case, I might have to go back to Swift.

[musicvj]

Originally Posted by cupper

My drive would be mainly to office and back (25 kms) on weekdays and some long drives (300 kms) once in a month.

Could you please suggest whether going for Linea Petrol be a good option or do you think the engine is dated and not good? In that case, I might have to go back to Swift.

Looking at your monthly run km, I would say Petrol is well suited for you.

IMHO anything <2k km/month, Petrol won't bite your wallet.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by musicvj

IMHO anything <2k km/month, Petrol won't bite your wallet.

Until you sell the car 3 - 5 years later, and the petrols resale really does come back & bite you! Call it an assumption that's ahead of time, but I bet that the Linea petrol 1.4 will suffer from terrible resale. Most models that have competent (read = fuel-efficient) diesels and lacklustre petrols have seen the latter bomb in the used marketplace.

[roms]

Originally Posted by cupper

I got very inclined for Petrol Linea and then the salesperson told me that Fiat's MJD is far more superior than FIRE. That comment left me very confused whether to go for Petrol or not. I cant afford Diesel Emotion Pk right now and I dont want to go for lower variants because I need Alloys and prefer air bags. My drive would be mainly to office and back (25 kms) on weekdays and some long drives (300 kms) once in a month.

Could you please suggest whether going for Linea Petrol be a good option or do you think the engine is dated and not good? In that case, I might have to go back to Swift.

Ofcourse the MJD is a fantastic motor, but if you really want to enjoy its benefits, buy the Swift D or the Swift DeZire. That does not mean that the FIRE engine is a dated motor, that same 1.4 L engine also becomes the base for that fantastic turbocharged 1.4 T-Jet 120bhp & 150bhp engine which all of us here are hoping Fiat would bring in.

For the usage you are looking at, the petol motor makes the most sense, unless you do care a lot about resale values. If you are planning to keep your car for about 5 years or more, go in for the petrol.

[Silver Knight]

Linea looks like a very matured elegant sedan.
But the question, who has the real guts to sign the cheque?
Fiat is repeating the same old mistakes. And the TV ad is the real testimonial

The small kid very well know if he dont pull away his father who is drooling over the new Linea things will not end up all well.

To put it: Even a toddler knows nothing much has changed in the Fiat backyard.

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by Silver Knight

But the question, who has the real guts to sign the cheque?

More than 2000 people had the guts to sign the cheque. Its selling as per Fiats plans. Though i know a lot of prospective Linea buyers willing to wait few months to see how Tata/Fiat improve their A.S.S. Since its a great package i think after few months sales would improve.

Originally Posted by Silver Knight

The small kid very well know if he dont pull away his father who is drooling over the new Linea things will not end up all well.

Good one.