[geeash]

I have not changed karthik. readying up the finance. but punto and linea alloys are different and not the same. so it is of no use . i love the linea alloys more than puntos. will mostly change it on monday

[geeash]

Post 5k update: My car completed 3 months as of yesterday so i thought i will write a small update.

The External beauty:
The admiration is guaranteed. Even after 6 month from launch i find people in the signals drooling and looking at the car as if it is some imported car. I have even had many coming near me and knocking on the window and asking me about the car. I guess the honeymoon period is still not over.I have had a couple of scratches involving the clearcoat on the boot and the bonnet and one small scratch in my front and back right side bumper ( i dont know how it happened) due to the unskilled work of my car cleaner man. Have given him a reprimand and now i am assisting him and supervising the cleaning job. I have taken sunday as my thorough car wash day and i wax the car too every week

Performance:
There is a remarkable change in the way the car slots up ahead now. Earlier i used to drive up conservatively so i used to find the car a little sluggish. Now after the first service the car is a lot freed up. and especially after the oil goof up the car is surging ahead with good clearence ahead of other cars especially at the pick up department. The lower torque between 1k RPM to 2k RPM has improved leaps and bounds.
I wonder what magic has been cast now.

FE:
The car is kind of settled with kind of 10.5-12.5 kmpl in weekdays traffic. Now the FE is never dropping below 10.5 kmpl range. I have had two tank fulls recently giving me consistently 12.8kmpl in weekday B to B traffic. Weekends is altogather a different matter as i am getting 13+ especially on a sunday lazy drive around city in non peak hours.

I have found out that the more aggressive you drive the car the more FE it gives. Guys try that out in your cars as well. Especially keep your average speed in MID at a constant 22-23 km to get 12+

Gear Slotting:
I have had difficulties in engaging the reverse gear a couple of times now though havent tried to assess it more ( or rather i dont know how to go about it). There is also a very small play in the gear knob which is noticible now. I have not had difficulties in engaging gears when driving.

Handling :
This is the real fantastic part. I was already good. And now it has become very good (due to nitrogen in my tyres- my own theory). The abilty to devour up huge pot holes even without a slightest jerk has amazed me and others who have travelled in my car. The suspension is also improving from rawness. The tyre noise has comedown with nitrogen thingy.

Blue and me:
This is definitely a boon for me. And i make it a point that i show case it when ever someone other than regulars get inside my car. What an amazing technology that integrates communication with car. Truely wonderful. If only i had saved up some money to buy a SE phone.

I have bought myself a 4GB kingston USB flash drive which i keep updating for songs ( last update was michael jackson songs). I havent tried updating the blue and me with it though the 5.4 version has been released last week.

I havent even taken the plastic covers on the seats and the sun visor.

Reverse parking sensors :
I has been a worthy addition and i am able to free up my mind while reversing

The other side of the story :
There are a few niggles till present like
1. Seat coming down issue. I have had no replies from fiat for this
2. Right rear seat belt not clipping on. I havent talked about it to the A.S.S
3. Alloy wheel issue: Hopefully ill fix it on the coming week
4. The inside rear view mirror i feel is not adequate to cover or show the entire rear view. I have upgraded the IRVM with the ones that came with reverse sensor but still i find it inadequate mainly because of the huge rear glass length. Still have to take time to get used to it.
5. Dead pedal inclination- Still i have not been comfy with the dead pedal as i have to keep the foot at 60 degrees inclanation. Fiat has to reduce the inclanation and do away with it.
6. ACC is not powerful in scorching temparature. The cooling goes off as soon as the A/C is shut off. And it is not becoming as cooler as it used to be in my dad's verna with occasional suffocation episodes. Theside vents are not as powerful as the central vents in front.I will check the A/C next time.
7. No bottle holder and spaces to hold a few small things. Even the dashboard gloebox becomes full with small items as it also houses the USB.

The rest all are spot on

[VahanPujari]

good review, Ashwin

I think oil goof up seems to have actually helped freeing up your car

[jaisha8]

Originally Posted by sridharp77

@ geessh,

You mentioned that you have N82. Were you able to download the phonebook into blue & me. I have N95 and i am having problems with downloading the phonebook. It pairs with blue & me but when i choose to download the phonebook it says i have to choose the options from the phone to copy the phonebook. Then i tried to synchronize the phonebook from the phone with blue & me , as soon as i do that the connections gets disconnected.

sridharp, I also have N95 and face the same problem as yours. I m able to pair the B&M but when I press OK for downloading phonebook, the B&M gets disconnected. I m able to download from other phones like Motorola, other models of Nokia but with N95 it is not accepting..

[aks_karthik]

Aswin,
Good Review.
Are you sure,After filling Nitrogen gas in tyres,you feel a difference in handling and Tyre nosie part.
Let me tell so that i also go and fill Nitrogen gas tomorrow and enjoy the ride.
Today i am going to fill Shell Diesel for the first time in my car.

[geeash]

Are you sure,After filling Nitrogen gas in tyres,you feel a difference in handling and Tyre nosie part

Yes definitely.I feel the difference in handling and also 50-60% of the noise is down now. I really dont know the theory behind it. But It really feels good now. Just ask manmachine too. He has also filled up NOS in tyre

[Sunilrj]

Originally Posted by geeash

Yes definitely.I feel the difference in handling and also 50-60% of the noise is down now. I really dont know the theory behind it. But It really feels good now. Just ask manmachine too. He has also filled up NOS in tyre

Even i have Filled in Nitrogen in my Tyres and the feel is exceptional I have kept the pressure at 33psi and have changed my noisy stock Goodyear GT3 with Michellin Primacy LC 195/60/15. so No tyre Noise. Better Handly and a better cushioned Drive!

[trrk]

Hi,

I hope you have seen the following:

http://www.fiat.com/FIAT_ITALIA/tech...95/start_E.htm

Blue&Me compatible phones.... - The FIAT Forum

Hope this helps.

[geeash]

Have someone tried updating blue and me to 5.4 version?

info Blue&Me Update soon?! - Page 5 - The FIAT Forum

more info

Bing Translator - Translate a webpage

[coolboy007]

Nice review geeash. Good work, agree with all the points, only issue with Fire engine is minimum torque below 1500 RPM, car refuses to move. Hope it improves.

Blu n Me update, nah, dont think anyone will try it. Whose Linea will become trial n error? If i mess up with it, dont think TASS will be able to correct it.

[geeash]

Bing Translator - Translate a webpage

Have a look. it says now even apple ipod will play

May be we should try in dealership demo car and then in our car.

It is good to see fiat updating these. It augurs well. hope we get a ecodrive too soon

[VahanPujari]

May be we should try in dealership demo car and then in our car.

I had downloaded most of the softwares related to B&M from that forum. But not yet tried it as many on that forum faces issues about language settings - from other language to English. And most of these sites / softwares are in non-english so do not want to take a chance. Need to first ascertain that it works fine else B&M in its current status is alright, do not want to mess around.

Ashwin - that link of Bing translator does not show anything when I tried several times

[StarVegabond]

Regarding Updating B&M software i suggest following

1. contact FIAT India whether they would support the B&M upgrades available on the FIAT forum
2. check the ownershipmanual regarding the software warrantee policy of FIAT in India.
3. Check with the dealer whether they would try out the upgrades on the test drive cars. this could work in a place where several Linea owners (& members of this forum) exists from a single dealership, Chennai could be a place to try this out.

[geeash]

The bling page says this

Keep updated on your device Blue & me (tm)

You can do so immediately, quickly and easily, because Blue & me (tm) is prepared to be easily updated and therefore compatible with pluggable - mobile and media player - latest devices.

Software version 5.4 update

If you have a mobile phone, an iPod or iPhone last generation, download the free upgrade software 5.4 to increase compatibility with these devices.

First, verify that the l your phone is compatible with the new update by consulting accessible lists here below.
If your Blue & me (tm) works correctly with phones that you have connected and you don't need to listen to music stored on iPod or iPhone, you should not proceed with the software update.

Displays lists of compatible phones upgrading software to version 5.4: List of compatible mobile phones List of phones for functions standing facilities
Then select the menu left your Blue & me (tm) and proceed with downloading.

You remember that if you're using the eco:drive application on your car you need to reinstall it after you upgrade the Blue software & me (tm) .

If you have a new generation iPod, or an iPhone, recalled that these devices are not more configurable as disks.
To listen to car through Blue & me (tm) , your music stored on these devices, you can buy at your Concessionnary from the catalog of Lineaccessori a specific adapter, which along with 5.4 software version makes them fully compatible to Blue & me (tm) .

Discover how it works

it is a translation of a fiat page in italian which is here
Fiat / Blue&Me

[geeash]

faces issues about language settings - from other language to English

The members in fiat forum say that there is no alteration in the language. If the lady in present blue and me speaks in english , it speaks the same even after update. Looks like a few are getting some errors. But for others the update has gone well. Any idea how to find out the present version of the blue and me?.