[GR8NATIVE]

hi anshuman 15000 already you are a serious mile cruncher... very eagerly awaiting your 15000 k report...

[Amartya]

That's a milestone, congratulations. Did you always log miles at this rate or is it the Punto?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Amartya

That's a milestone, congratulations. Did you always log miles at this rate or is it the Punto?

Thanks, I ve always been logging miles at this pace, one of the reasons why i prefer Diesels.

[aarenes]

Ansuman - how did you manage 21kmpl? What speeds are you driving at.

When I go over the Mumbai - Pune express highway, I have managed 17.6 as my personal best (home to home). I cruise at about 3000rpm range in the 80-120 km/h speeds. I assume if I drive slower, I may hit 21kmpl perhaps in the 60-80km/h range.

[gopikb]

Hi Aarenes, When you drive at speeds exceeding 100km/h, you are bound to see the mileage hovering around 17km/l. But if you drive at 60~80km/h speeds in a highway, then you will be able to hit the 21 km/l even with 100% AC on. This is what I have seen in my Punto and a couple of other fellow Punto owners have reported exactly the same.

In an open 4-lane highway, we tend to floor the pedal and cannot think about riding at 80 km/hr. So it is bound to reduce mileage. I have seen the best mileage in 2 lane national highways where the road condition is good but still you can drive only at 80 km/hr in view of safety reasons and oncoming traffic. I have even hit 23 km/l without A/C on such stretches.

[.anshuman]

I maintain 90-110kph on highways, i accelerate very gently, upshift early and keep braking to minimum. 21kpl is very easily acheivable at these speeds. Its not about what topspeed you maintain, its how you acclerate and usage of right gear.

[EssYouWe]

Very rightly said by Anshuman.

Keeping the vehicle in its usable power band and shifting accordingly are all that is required to end up with great figures. Heck! Trying a mileage run on the 1.4 petrol Punto, I got mileage figures of 18 kmpl (over 20-30 kms).

@.anshuman

I know I keep asking this question again and again... but any plans of going Pete on the Punto, or has the power bounced up enough to keep you happy?

[gopikb]

Anshuman, Thanks for the useful tip. I never quite tried the gentle acceleration to get better mileage on a free highway. I will try it in the next highway drive and see how much difference it makes on my machine

[architect]

Good mileage figures! I somehow never managed great FE earlier, but after around 20,000 km, I found the engine returning better FE figures (maybe I took time getting used to the turbodiesel engine).

From Mandi (via Jogindernagar, Bir, Billing, Kangra) in Himachal to Delhi I managed 22.6 kpl despite all the hill driving! The reason was the lack of good roads and Ambala-Karnal getting 6-laned. I was forced to restrict speeds to 100 kph or below.

When I have driven consistently above 100 kph (Bikaner-Nagaur-Kishangarh-Delhi),I have got 20 kpl with AC.

I think it's all about how you ride the torque wave and how you control your throttle inputs.

[SamtheLeo]

Hey Anshuman Congrats for your car as your the first one I came across who has completed around 15k mark. I have a GP as well & that too red which has done 11k now. When did you buy & where you plan to get it serviced. I bought mine in July 09

[.anshuman]

I just got my car back from first major service at 15000kms last week. Since the Purchase in June09 i have logged close to 16000kms till now. The car is running like a dream with no major issues encountered so far. The only issues i have are broken parcel tray lugs and Squeaking sound from driver's seat.

Over these 15k kms then engine has become a lot more free revving and more refined. It was instantly confirmed when i drove my Friend's 2010 Punto that has done 3k kms.

I am sorry as i dont have fresh photographs to post here, here is pic of My car with my Friend's Punto.


How good is 2010 improved Punto?
After having driven my Friend's 2010 Punto back to back with my car for several days the only improvement i felt is soft touch plastics that are a lot better than the ones in my car.


Service Experience-

Gurgaon has two Tata-Fiat dealerships, the First one and oldest is Dhingra motors and the other one is Abs motors the place where i bought my Punto from. Dhingra motors is a typical Tata dealership with poor sales team and pathetic service station. So the only decent place get a Fiat car serviced is Abs motors, As i got my car's check up service done here i opted to go here again for this 15k service.

I was greeted very well by all the security guards at the ASC at arrival, the service advisor who received my car noted down all the issues and explained the whole procedure very well. I asked him about the engine oil they use for Fiat cars there, i was escorted to the spare parts room and offered two choices. Selenia manufactured by Petronas retailing at Rs.650 per litre and Mobil retailing for Rs.1075 per litre, i asked them to use Selenia as it is recommended in Owners manual. I was promised the car's delivery by 1600hrs.

I reached at the ASC again at 1630hrs. I was happy to see my car ready at the delivery bay. I had to find the service advisor personally to get the billing done. In the mean time i decided to check the car for the work done. Surprisingly all of the issue i reported were not taken care of , The drivers seat still had the squeaking sound, the parcel tray hooks were still unfixed and the car was not cleaned properly. I reported the issues to the service manager and she go the parcel tray fixed but the mechanic asked for 3-4 hours time to fix the seat, i told them to fix it some day later. Later i found the Alignment and wheel balancing was not done because the mechanic who takes care of this out on leave. I paid Rs.4200 for the service and got my car delivered 2 hours later than promised with issues still pending.

The next day the spring in the cars key failed since we had to drop my friend's 2010 Punto for check up service i went along with him. My friend just bought a Punto for himself, His car has a very tight steering which does not self center properly, the blower is noisy and rear suspension makes squeaking sounds. The service advisor promised to take care of all the problems and promised delivery at 1600hrs.

We called the the service advisor at 1600hrs to check the status and he asked for another half an hour. We reached the ASC at 1700hrs to find the car still in the workshop with rear suspension removed. The car was ready at 1900hrs with all the reported issues not solved. The service advisor said since they did not have rear shock absorbers and blower motor in stock the issue could not be fixed, we were not informed about the status of parts ordered(or not). Regarding the steering issue they had no valid explanation. At the time of billing we rated them poor in the feedback form, worried of this the female Service manager(who just like service advisor did not know much about cars) got in action and offered to fix the car in a day, we agreed.

To our shock when the car was delivered a day later the issues were still unsolved , My friend was totally annoyed said he will take the car to Fiat dealer in his home town instead.

Now my about my Car's stuck Key Spring, The service advisor did know what to do? I approached the Service Manager, She called a mechanic and asked him to spray some chemical in they key and fix it. 20 minutes later the mechanic comes back with the unfixed key with oil dripping out of it. I strongly insisted for a new key under warranty, they person who handles warranty department out on leave. The next day the warranty guy approved the warranty, now the new key will arrive from Italy in 1.5-2 months. Now i have to use the spare key which does not have remote buttons, So now i have have to manage without remote locking.


Issues Reported and Solution Provided(My car)

1.Squeaking sound at times from the Driver seat; Unfixed.
2.Parcel tray hooks and lugs broked; Fixed at second complaint.
3.Dried Up platics near wipers; No solution available.

Issues Reported and Solution provided(Friend's Car)
1.Noisy Rear suspension; Unfixed as parts not available.
2.Noisy Blower motor; Unfixed as part not available.
3.Stiff steering wheel which does not self centre; Unfixed despite repeated attempts.


Service Cost:

Engine Oil Selenia Synthetic :Rs.2311
Fuel Filter: Rs.765
Air Filter: Rs.224
Oil Filter: Rs.302
Tie Rod: Rs.136
Clip: Rs.86
VAT@12.5%: Rs.478

Total Cost: Rs.4,304.

Overall Service experience: POOR
Overall Performance of the car: Excellent

[sdp1975]

Good to know that the car is performing well. My service experience in Bangalore has been better off than yours, although I have noticed that the SAs choose to ignore some of the problems ( probably the ones that are not easy to fix or would take time ) and say that they have been fixed. So these days I don't take their word for it.

How is the performance after the engine oil + filter change , do you find the car smoother ?

No performance mod yet ?

[krreddy]

I too had that same rear squeaky noise, and Malik Cars here in Hyderabad replaced the rear suspension (shock absorber) and another part (which i can't recall). They also took care of some rattling noise coming from the front left door.

Overall i was very satisfied with Malik Cars. The cleaning guys here at Malik cars are far better than Mahavir Motors (where we used to service our Octavia at).

[kpzen]

Nice review. The parts are relatively well priced except for the Engine oil.
Which Mobil Engine oil did they offer @ 1075 per litre ?

[janitha]

@.anshuman Please elaborate the issue with key. I didn't understand what the problem exactly is.