[geeash]

Overall the trip was very satisfactory and better than what i had expected.

Distance covered : 222 kms

FE chennai to pondicherry : 16.6 kmpl ( from MID given that MID is fairly accurate in linea)
FE pondicherry to chennai : 15.8kmpl both with 100% A/C on
No. of passengers: 2
Max. speed achieved : 120kmph
Route : chennai- Chengelpet- Madhurantakam- Tindivanam-Pondicherry
Time : 3 horurs

Started from chennai at 6pm on saturday. Went to the petrolpump and had a tank full. Checked the tyre pressure and set to 33. Had a bit of traffic till i reached chengelpet after which it was a cruise. Night Driving was a pleasure as Linea had great throw of head lights especially the high beam. The antiglare effect of my front windscreen sunfilm was much evident. So there was not a bit of trouble in cruising. Had a mild flowing instrumental on my ICE as i wanted to analyse the cars performance. A/C was sort of ok as it was evening. Wanted to take my car for higher revs but rational thinking prevailed as it was night and i didnt want to risk as my wife was sitting next to me and the car had not even done the first service. The handling and cruising capability of the car is a delight between 80km to 120km, though did not take the car above 120kmph. We had the seat belts on and i was never uncomfortable. The car felt solid and planted very well even in the curves. Had a couple of sudden breaking due to maniac two wheelers a couple of times and could feel the ABS pulsing through the pedal. And a surprise is that after the couple of sudden breaking, the low speed breaking noise seems to be much reduced.
The NVH is good when compared to a santro but not as good as verna though the engine sound was not at all disturbing at 120kmph. But i still would like to get underchassis done to assess the NVH.
One thing i found out is that, at the 5th gear with speed at 80kmph constant the MID IC fluctuates between 20- 25 kmpl. I think it is the best to drive the car at 80kmph at 5th gear to achieve maximum FE. The donward journey was also very comfortable

Blue and me was a blessing- a true blessing

cons
The drivers hand rest is small and high that even at lowest point i was not able to catch the steering wheel comfortably and simultaneously do the gear shifts.
I feel the car lacks power in 5th gear. In the sense that it take a long press of accelerator and slow response to take the car above any speed higher than 100kmph which my verna easily does. The 0-100 response is satisfactory but 100-120 takes more time although i could not take it past 120. I also feel the at 4th gear when you take the above 60+kmph, the rpm shoots above 2.5-3k. I guess we need to shift to 5th at 60+kmph. In my verna even in 3rd gear at 60kmph the rpm never shoots above 2000. And only at 70+kmph i used to shift to 4th in verna. So a bit of a hiccup there.
Rear small rattling is still there and still i couldnt make out where it is coming from.
Overall a great first experience of highway driving

[aks_karthik]

Great FE for a Petrol car.
Headlight(HighBeam) is not adequate if you travel in rural areas which don't have divider or road marks.
I felt it very badly on my Native trip.
I just adjusted High Beam for my convinence and now i feel better.
Using the FogLamp,you can see the roads very clear even the side roads.
It's a boon for Night driving what i have preferred/done often.
Rattling :
This is the one of the major set back for this car.
I too have some rattlinh issues need to be attended.
Doors and Glove Box are not fitted properly and even we can see a panel gaps.
As we planned,we will go for 3M Underbody treatment.
Might be useful to reduce NVH.
call me in your free time.

[pranava999]

nice write up. yes the braking noise that i used to experience a few times has also reduced considerably after i hard braked twice on my drive to Mysore. Fortunately as of now have had no rattles.

Just an after thought Karthik and Geeash, under the rear seat there are 3 seatbelt hooks, please ensure they are correctly positioned that is extruding between the seat seat and backrest gap. I feel it could be the beltslot or the belt hooks under the rear seat that maybe causing a rattle that you maybe finding hard to trace.

[aks_karthik]

Originally Posted by pranava999

nice write up. yes the braking noise that i used to experience a few times has also reduced considerably after i hard braked twice on my drive to Mysore. Fortunately as of now have had no rattles.

Just an after thought Karthik and Geeash, under the rear seat there are 3 seatbelt hooks, please ensure they are correctly positioned that is extruding between the seat seat and backrest gap. I feel it could be the beltslot or the belt hooks under the rear seat that maybe causing a rattle that you maybe finding hard to trace.

Yep pranava,
I have checked those things also.
Already i had a same experience
The rattling comes from Doors only.as some of the clips are broken while installing Sunfilms.
So they needs to be changed.waiting for the clips to come as it's not in stock.
Somewhat the NVH is increased drastically.I don't know whether it's my perception or not.
anyhow planned to check the underbody and engine bay as i said earlier.

[geeash]

The rattling comes from Doors only.as some of the clips are broken while installing Sunfilms.

Yes. You are perfectly right. I also think it comes from doors, left rear door mainly.

[vivekanand005]

[quote=geeash;1274353]Hello everyone. This is my second post in team-bhp. I have become a proud owner of a Flamenco red Emotion Pack Petrol Fiat Linea.


Congratulations Geeash. nice car the vehicle looks gorgeous in red.

[FastLove]

I am surprised at the rattling issues reported. i find the cabin well insulated and noiseless. The lack of power is evident as geeash has rightly pointed. i have done 1300 km uptil now mostly is city. Have gone upto 140 kmh + and find the handling awesome. I find the ground clearance a problem in mumbai as we have very strange speed breakers that are more like "under-body breakers".

[FanaticOnWheels]

Congratulations on your purchase! A great choice, and is surely an attention grabber. Fiat has always made amazing cars, so there is no doubt that your new Linea will give you unparalleled performance and peace of mind. Just hope that the After Sales Service improves for good.

Enjoy your new ride!


PS : I saw a few posts where people where asking if the music system in the Linea can recognize the iPod Touch. The answer is, NO. It recognizes the older iPods (Classic/Nano) as they get recognized as a Mass storage device in Windows. However, the iPod Touch and the iPhone were not designed to be recognized that way. In fact, they are identified as a camera on Windows. Hence, you will not be able to sync it with the current system on the Linea I believe.

[geeash]

Updates:
Car has now completed 2000km. Here are the pics.

Have put up team-bhp sticker on the car. I think my linea is the first with team-bhp sticker in the world.

[VahanPujari]

The drivers hand rest is small and high that even at lowest point i was not able to catch the steering wheel comfortably and simultaneously do the gear shifts.

Ashwin - have you tried pressing a small lever at the bottom front of the driver armrest? Pulling that lever & pressing the armrest moves it further downwards. try it if you've not done it already.

[geeash]

Ashwin - have you tried pressing a small lever at the bottom front of the driver armrest? Pulling that lever & pressing the armrest moves it further downwards. try it if you've not done it already.

I have already done that mate!!. That is why i wrote

even at lowest point i was not able to catch the steering wheel comfortably

It is still uncomfortable even at the lowest point. I think i have to make my forearm grow!!!.

[aks_karthik]

Originally Posted by geeash

I have already done that mate!!. That is why i wrote



It is still uncomfortable even at the lowest point. I think i have to make my forearm grow!!!.

Yep that's the only option for you.
for me.I am very much convenient in last 2 positions.
I used to place it in lowest position and change the gear with wrist twist only.

[geeash]

Have any of you tried this external heated outside mirror thing? Is there any way to test whether this heating works?

[VahanPujari]

Originally Posted by geeash

Have any of you tried this external heated outside mirror thing? Is there any way to test whether this heating works?

Same question came to my mind few days back. I guess, it can be checked by pressing defogger button on central console. have not checked it yet

[geeash]

Have any of you tried this external heated outside mirror thing? Is there any way to test whether this heating works?

Any take on this?

update:
I have changed my driving style after seeing fastlove suggestion. Now i am driving at slowspeeds at a higher gear. There is no engine lugging either. Only thing is that i have to get used to it. Have not checked the FE as of now.

The car is getting dustier than other cars i have had before. This somewhat bugs me as i happen to spend 2 hours in the morning to wipe the car.