[coolboy007]

Anshuman,

Agree FIAT is not the best when it comes to spare part bussiness but you need to be a very incompetent dealer and incompetent company to not stock something as simple as a Pollen filter and for FIAT to not send it.

You would be shocked but when i took my Linea to ABS In Dec or Jan for a CSS change and enquired about pollen filter- the SA there didnt even know about any pollen filter. Theres a guy from Haryana who said that.

Techno had part in stock when i went last month, why dont you give a call to Techno and ask them about availability - vis-a-vis compare with ABS for a few parts.

Only saving grace - service is once a year and you need to get these parts changed once a year. Try going 20-30 kms extra and have piece of mind bro.

[.anshuman]

Posting some random pictures from my cellphone.



^^ At our farms in Dabwali.




^^ This car is a Kids favorite, my nephews in my car.


^^ One of the rare occasions where the boot and rear seats were used.

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Posting some random pictures from my cellphone.


Attachment 358191
^^ At our farms in Dabwali.

Attachment 358192

Attachment 358193
^^ This car is a Kids favorite, my nephews in my car.

Attachment 358194
^^ One of the rare occasions where the boot and rear seats were used.

your nephews are sweeeeeeeet!! That white car is the 2007 elantra right?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by sidindica

That white car is the 2007 elantra right?

That's my 2006 end Elantra CRDi.

[deetjohn]

Hi .anshuman,

It's a very good report on the GP you got here.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The Punto with excellent high speed stability feels like doing 80kph at 100kph but the only thing that reminds me of the actual speed is engine note which feels like i am driving in 4th gear since i am used to more relaxed ratios in my Elantra. The gearing is all fine but one additional gear would take it the relaxed highway cruising in the league of much more expensive car.

I found the engine note really bothersome on the highway in my brother's GP which has done close to 5K.

Now that your car has clocked more than 15K KMs, has the engine note subsided while maintaining 100+ Kph on the highways?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Hi .anshuman,

It's a very good report on the GP you got here.

Thank you Sir

I found the engine note really bothersome on the highway in my brother's GP which has done close to 5K.

Now that your car has clocked more than 15K KMs, has the engine note subsided while maintaining 100+ Kph on the highways?

My car has actually crossed 21k kms already. I have observed the Engine has become a lot smoother with time, now the engine is absolutely silent till ~2500 Rpm, after 2500 RPM it starts to get boomy.

The good part about the boomy sound of the Engine is it sounds very sporty, Engine clatter is entirely absent from the cabin unlike Swift and Fiesta.

After a back to back TD with Figo i observed the Engine and cabin noise is a lot less in Punto. My Friend was looking for a diesel hatcback, he does not know much about cars, we went for the TD together he had the same observations.

I hope the upcoming Punto Sport will have taller gear ratios, especially the the first two gears.

[spindoc]

Anshuman, lovely pics there. The red Punto is one hell of a looker!

Can you tell me your opinion of the rear seats - ergonomics, leg and head room (as you are the right person to compare with the Figo, Swift and the i20)? There was a space of 3 weeks between my TDs of the Figo and the Punto and I felt that the Punto was considerably less roomy at the rear than the Figo. On most other parameters, it is the Punto that works for me (including the plastics).

[deetjohn]

Thanks for info .anshuman

I am afraid the Punto sport will be well out of my budget. If only Fiat upgrade the entire range with the awesome Linea engine.

I am looking for a car and was leaning on to the Figo after the TD. But the wafer thin bumpers with the close proximity condenser/ radiator are a huge scare.

Also, the reported low FE is a concern too. Maybe it will get better as the Figos run more.

I love the GP, but the following things are pitting the Ford back in contention.

• Like you said the gears are too short except the 3rd.
• The steering doesn't come all the way down to my liking and I am not able to achieve a good driving position.
• I feel the seat-belt buckles are way too close to the seat. I know, I am being picky here.

Apart from that, I don't have a problem with the car. I can live with all the other shortcomings.

I took a long TD of the GP some time back along with my wife and we both had the feeling the engine was really strained. To be fair, the demo GP was brand new. So we opted to wait for the Figo even though we both loved the way it looks.

Then recently, we got a chance to live with my brother' Punto (done 5K) for 5 consecutive days and the Punto grew on us both. Maybe, as they say, it's the Fiat thing.

I was just checking the price with a local dealer here today and they have hiked it up by 6~8k. They attributed it to the BS4 upgrade.

Wasn't the GP MJD BS4 already?

[spindoc]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Thanks for info .anshuman
I am looking for a car and was leaning on to the Figo after the TD. But the wafer thin bumpers with the close proximity condenser/ radiator are a huge scare.

That is exactly my feeling too. Especially given the Figo's relatively short length, there is more than enough room to get meatier, better designed bumpers in place. Why they chose not to definitely beats me.

I was just checking the price with a local dealer here today and they have hiked it up by 6~8k. They attributed it to the BS4 upgrade.

Wasn't the GP MJD BS4 already?

I posed the same question to the sales exec and he candidly told me there is no reason except that they want to cash in on the BS4 hype!

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by spindoc

Can you tell me your opinion of the rear seats - ergonomics, leg and head room (as you are the right person to compare with the Figo, Swift and the i20)? There was a space of 3 weeks between my TDs of the Figo and the Punto and I felt that the Punto was considerably less roomy at the rear than the Figo. On most other parameters, it is the Punto that works for me (including the plastics).

Amongst Punto, Swift, i20 and Figo, the Figo has the most space for backseat occupants. The only problem with Figo's rear seat is the lack of adjustable headrests, the fixed headrest falls too short for taller people. The other problem is lack of rear power windows, i know rear power windows are not that frequently used but it feels very cheap to have those manual lever even on the top end variant.

Swift, Punto and Polo are tight on rear seat space. Last week i used the Punto's rear seat, my Friend who must be 5'10" was driving and i could sit quite comfortably. If both the driver and rear passenger are above 6', it get very uncomfortable.

i20 is slightly better with back seat comfort but still not good enough for 6 footers sitting front and back.

Though its not fair to compare the Figo and Punto due to the huge price difference, i found the Figo's interiors too basic. Everything inside the car screams COST CUTTING. Another thing i did not like in Figo was engine and road noise, the Fiesta with the same engine feels much more refined and silent.

Figo without a doubt is a very good car for the price it is offered at. I absolutely loved the quick and light yet direct steering along with very agile handling. The ride is good too but crashes into deeper potholes, maybe due to low travel.

[spindoc]

@.anshuman, Thanks for sharing your opinions / observations.

The Figo seemed to offer better leg / shoulder / elbow room and also seemed to be better for the third (rear seat middle) passenger, owing to lesser intrusion by the transmission tunnel.

The Figo felt easier to drive for me, though there was no scope for testing the top-end in the TD (where the Punto apparently scores much better). I don't have enough experience to judge in-city driveability / manoeuvrability - the Punto seemed to work fine for me too.

Even after close inspection, I did not feel the plastics were low rent in the Punto ('10 model), except for a few small parts.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

I am afraid the Punto sport will be well out of my budget. If only Fiat upgrade the entire range with the awesome Linea engine.

I am looking for a car and was leaning on to the Figo after the TD. But the wafer thin bumpers with the close proximity condenser/ radiator are a huge scare.

Also, the reported low FE is a concern too. Maybe it will get better as the Figos run more.

I love the GP, but the following things are pitting the Ford back in contention.

• Like you said the gears are too short except the 3rd.
• The steering doesn't come all the way down to my liking and I am not able to achieve a good driving position.
• I feel the seat-belt buckles are way too close to the seat. I know, I am being picky here.

Apart from that, I don't have a problem with the car. I can live with all the other shortcomings.


Then recently, we got a chance to live with my brother' Punto (done 5K) for 5 consecutive days and the Punto grew on us both. Maybe, as they say, it's the Fiat thing.

Punto Sport:
Instead of trying to sell us a separate Punto Sport Fiat should provide the VGT equipped engine in Emotion and Emotion pack variants. They already know Punto is not selling in huge numbers, they need volumes, a more expensive Sport variant may not find many takers.

I have one more concern with upcoming Sport variant, Fiat might introduce bigger rims in this variant and they spoil the brilliant ride.

Regarding your concern with Figo FE:
The Ford Figo comes with the proven Tcdi engine from the Fiesta, its a very fuel efficient engine, it has a very good ARAI certified FE figure too.

FE depends on the driving style, Everybody has different driving style and they use their cars in different conditions.

Punto Ergonomics:
Punto does have some ergonomic issues, Firstly the pedals are placed very high and have very long travel. Then the steering is set too high, the only place its possible to be used is at the lowest possible setting.

The steering is more of an issue if you have a habit of keeping the seat at the lowest level, with the seat height raised it does not pose much of a problem.

The pedals are not much of a concern once you get used to it.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by spindoc

@.anshuman, Thanks for sharing your opinions / observations.

The Figo seemed to offer better leg / shoulder / elbow room and also seemed to be better for the third (rear seat middle) passenger, owing to lesser intrusion by the transmission tunnel.

The Figo felt easier to drive for me, though there was no scope for testing the top-end in the TD (where the Punto apparently scores much better). I don't have enough experience to judge in-city driveability / manoeuvrability - the Punto seemed to work fine for me too.

Even after close inspection, I did not feel the plastics were low rent in the Punto ('10 model), except for a few small parts.

The Figo clearly scores better when it comes to rear seat space, due to the flatter rear seat it scores better when it comes for third rear passenger comfort.

But Tata Indica Vista is the segment leader when it comes to rear seat space, the Figo is not even close. Overall comfort levels are very good in Vista with nice Tata trademark huge seats, very good ride and loads of space.

The Punto '10 has improved plastics. My friend bought a new Punto and the matt finish soft feel plastic material is much better than my Punto.

[better4worse]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Punto Ergonomics:
Punto does have some ergonomic issues, Firstly the pedals are placed very high and have very long travel. Then the steering is set too high, the only place its possible to be used is at the lowest possible setting.

The steering is more of an issue if you have a habit of keeping the seat at the lowest level, with the seat height raised it does not pose much of a problem.

The pedals are not much of a concern once you get used to it.

I'd have to agree...while Pedals that go deep, esp clutch wasn't so much of a problem. But the steering wheel, I usually end up with tired shoulders even with it set in the lowest position. Unfortunately 'Active' doesn't have seat height adjuster, frankly even if it did. I wouldn't have used it...I'd hate if my head was to get any nearer to the roof.

Anshuman... I am right now in mumbai and look to be back in Del by month end, lets hook up for a drive on the NH8, I wanna check out the old Punto and see the NVH reduction you guys have achieved post solid engine run in. You know I have been thinking about it....How about we have all NCR Punto owners meet, I know a couple of them from the forum.What say...?

-B4W

[spindoc]

Thanks for your inputs, anshuman.

While the Vista is miles ahead of the competition in terms of seating space, the boot space and the quality (and color) of the plastics is a letdown for me.

I also found the (2010) Punto better than the Vista in quality of plastics.

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The Figo clearly scores better when it comes to rear seat space, due to the flatter rear seat it scores better when it comes for third rear passenger comfort.

But Tata Indica Vista is the segment leader when it comes to rear seat space, the Figo is not even close. Overall comfort levels are very good in Vista with nice Tata trademark huge seats, very good ride and loads of space.

The Punto '10 has improved plastics. My friend bought a new Punto and the matt finish soft feel plastic material is much better than my Punto.