[VahanPujari]

Few posts on some reasons why regular diesel is recommended by MFRs as below (from some other threads):

Back to HMP I went. This time it was a quick turn-around - half an hour and I was out. Sir, a connection was loose. Five km from the workshop, the engine dies again. Back to the workshop, and I really blow my fuse. GM Services turns up to find out what happened. Fuel pump taken out and replaced - again (free of cost). Tank inspected and found to be really dirty - cleaned for Rs.400, but not to my satisfaction. Why couldn't they check this the first time when I asked? Why was I bluffed to, the second time, about a loose connection?

Went back to my regular mechanic outside and had the tank re-cleaned. Never had the problem again in the last 25k km.

One interesting offshoot of this incident. HMP insisted the muck came from using XtraMile diesel, and that Hyundai recommends normal diesel. I checked with someone in Toyota too, and they recommend normal diesel too.

Premium diesel is KNOWN to cause smoke problems leading to issues with EGR and FIP (?) type issues (please see thread by SS traveller)

The FIP / CRDi is calibrated for normal diesel and "diesel on steroids" could cause unwanted deposition in the engine and on the injectors.

This is what Fiat ASC told me.

This is exactly what the Sales Exec told me at the time of delivery.

"Saar please dont use any premium diesel, the injectors will get clogged!"

[jayakumarkp]

I have mentioned this before,
My uncle who runs an IOC Petrol pump in Kerala himself doesn't recommend premium fuel for the reason that its nothing but addictives added normal diesel/petrol.

There's supposedly two ways of making premium fuels, the proper method would be to get it done right from the refinery. This method is not followed anymore by Oil Companies since its no more cost effective. The second and more followed way is to add additives to normal petrol at the depots. And more appalingly as per my uncle more often or so, its as simple as adding a bucketful of the additive fluid into the tanker lorry compartment!!!! So technically , your premium fuel is born at the compartment of the tanker lorry !!!!!!

[drivingfreak]

Originally Posted by amit

I booked the Punto on June 24, the i20 Crdi wasn't avaliable then. Still the choice was narrowed down to i20 1.2 Kappa and Punto 1.3 Multijet and Italy won this round over Korea.

Congratulations for the car Amit.
Out of curiosity (and also because I chose otherwise) wanted to ask if you considered Getz CRDi as Hyundai was offering it for 4.99L ex-showroom in the same time frame when you booked your car.

[kiren]

Congratulations Amit your car looks Great. How is the drive peppy?

Would you recommend this car to others?

Having let down by Hyundai/sharayu for a getz Crdi I am looking at a Punto now. Will meet Paresh at Fortune - Powai as recommended by you.

Did you get any freebies with the car. What was your OTR? did you get the insurance done by yourself or thru dealer?

Kiran

[amit]

Originally Posted by kiren

Congratulations Amit your car looks Great. How is the drive peppy?

I can give you my initial report since the car has only done about 800kms. First and second gear's are a bit of bother. You will find yourself pushing on the gas pedal a bit more then usual - I frequently take the engine to 2500rpm in second gear to get the momentum. Third gear onwards the car moves really well. But, it's not going to be as fun to drive as a Getz Crdi even after Peteing that's for sure.

Would you recommend this car to others?

I would if it suits their requirements.

Having let down by Hyundai/sharayu for a getz Crdi I am looking at a Punto now. Will meet Paresh at Fortune - Powai as recommended by you.

Can you share with us what went wrong with Sharayu? I ask this because even I had gone to check out the i20 1.2 when I was looking to buy a new car and the response was very lethargic. We were refused a test drive 'because the driver is not avaliable. Please leave your number and we will get in touch with you and arrange a test drive'. Of course, that never happened. At that time I was also told that i20 Crdi would come in December-January even though I pointed out that Punto was in my shortlist. A fellow member here called them twice for a i20 CRDi test drive and they said no test drive cars are avaliable. He has booked a Punto now.

Did you get any freebies with the car. What was your OTR? did you get the insurance done by yourself or thru dealer?

Ganesh idol as a freebie. Didn't help me in any way since I don't like to keep anything on the dashboard. OTR was roughly Rs.7.09 Lakhs Mumbai. Insurance was through Reliance. I saved almost Rs.8,000 against the dealers quote! In case you are looking for finance, let me know through PM. I got a good deal.

if you considered Getz CRDi as Hyundai was offering it for 4.99L ex-showroom in the same time frame when you booked your car.

No I didn't. Reason is that it's an outdated product. Also, I believe the Crdi doesn't come with ABS and Airbags which were a 'must have' in my list.

Reliance is a pain to deal with. They put the variant as GP Emotion and engine c.c. as 1368. They corrected that through an endorsement copy but now I notice that place of registeration is mentioned as Navi Mumbai whereas the correct place is Mumbai. Will it cause any problems? Next year I am switching insurance companies.

[kiren]

Please refer to post 32 regarding my experience with Hyundai & Sharayu.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1409705

I presently drive a Indica turbo & donot have any serious complaints regarding Tata Service. My Uno experience also was not bad. But my experience with Hyundai has made me think again. I donot understand why people complain about Tata Fiat.

Kiran

[amit]

The first milestone is achieved. 1000kms is done.

The engine is beginning to free up and I can feel it revving more freely now. Yesterday, on the Palm Beach road, I maintained a consistant 100kmph for the first time and it felt awesome. The high speed stability is in a league of it's own in this segment at least. In fact, the Punto's ride and handling combo has made me want to test drive the Fabia since it was supposed to have the best ride quality until the Punto came in. (ACI comments. They also maintain that at low speeds the Fabia still has the edge.) Also, kept the engine going at about 2500-2600rpm for some time.

It's the first and second gear's that are a bit of a getting used to situation. I frequently find myself revving right upto 2500rpm in second to get the momentum, it's not lethargic but I would personally prefer a better get up and go - maybe Pete's will solve it?

Another situation I have noticed. Driving smoothly, traffic slows down and I go from 2000rpmX5th gear to 1000-1200rpmX4th. Then traffic begins to open up. I tap on the pedal and the revvs take time to build up. GTX / S10 owners will know what I am talking about. By the then the Civic behind me with it's revvy IVTEC motor is all spooled up and is starting to flash it's headlights at me. Once 1800rpm comes, the Punto moves ahead fast, you dont' feel the sudden whoosh though, it does it very silently and stealthily. Solution is to work the gears. Maybe drop down to third to keep pace with the traffic. Idea is to get the revs to stay at 1700rpm and up and the Punto moves well. Without doubt the Punto isnt' as fun to drive as the S10 (As if we didn't know that even without driving the Punto? ). With the S10 you could be in any gear at any rpm and the car would lunge ahead with a tap on the accelarator. I don't know if it's typical of diesel's or what but the Punto's revs take some time to spool up specially if you are not in the correct gear so lazy driver's please do keep that in mind specially when you going to make that overtaking manuvoure on a single lane highway.

Is the car underpowered? To some extent but surely not as bad as it's being made out to be. It can easily keep up with the traffic and no one has honked, flashed (except that Civic ) or shown me the middle finger till now.

Ride, handling and steering are awesome. A lot has been written but it just doesn't feel enough. The more you say the more you still have to say about them. I don't know what Fiat did but they surely have worked magic there. Also, not only does the suspension gobble up bad roads easily but more importantly it does it very silently. There is absolutely no thrashing and crashing that happens. SX4, are you listening?

Steering wheel feels a bit high set even at it's lowest setting.

I have pushed the car a bit since I crossed 1000kms. Enough of pampering. It needs to see some high speeds and high revs slowly. Mileage has dropped from 19.5 to 19.0kmpl.

No rattles anywhere.

Nothing has fallen off or broken off.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by amit

steering are awesome.

Specially the contours of the steering. It's lovely to hold.

Originally Posted by amit

There is absolutely no thrashing and crashing that happens. SX4, are you listening?

Something I noticed recently in a SwiftD recently with 195 - 14 tyres. While the ride was acceptable, I could hear the suspension taking a beating.

Originally Posted by amit

Steering wheel feels a bit high set even at it's lowest setting.

Played around with the seat height setting?

Originally Posted by amit

Mileage has dropped from 19.5 to 19.0kmpl.

Wonderful ! This is with AC? What's your daily commute road conditions and average speeds like?

[amit]

Originally Posted by shuvc

Specially the contours of the steering. It's lovely to hold.

That too although I meant the steering feel.

Played around with the seat height setting?

I prefer to have my seats at the lowest setting. Apart from my height (almost 5' 10') another reason is I prefer a low seating position.

Wonderful ! This is with AC? What's your daily commute road conditions and average speeds like?

Yes with ACC always on. Daily commute is Chembur-MIDC Vashi-Kharghar-Chembur. Total distance is roughly 70kms. It's about 60% highway. I am not pushing the car too much as it's still in it's running in stage so even highway driving is peppered with me trying to constantly vary the revs. Still speeds vary from 40-50kmph in city areas to about 60-80kmph on highway. Short burst of 100kmph was done just yesterday.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by amit

I prefer to have my seats at the lowest setting. Apart from my height (almost 5' 10') another reason is I prefer a low seating position.

Hmm. That preference could be the issue. Am 6'2". Even then, I felt I was sitting too low below the dash/steering, with the seat at the lowest setting. (I too love low seating - one of the reasons I love my Baleno).

I then raised the seat somewhat and the driving position became pretty comfortable. So, I'd say the steering height adjust is ok, as long as one adjusts both the steering as well as the seat.

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by amit

Another situation I have noticed. Driving smoothly, traffic slows down and I go from 2000rpmX5th gear to 1000-1200rpmX4th. Then traffic begins to open up. I tap on the pedal and the revvs take time to build up. GTX / S10 owners will know what I am talking about.

Originally Posted by amit

With the S10 you could be in any gear at any rpm and the car would lunge ahead with a tap on the accelarator. I don't know if it's typical of diesel's or what but the Punto's revs take some time to spool up specially if you are not in the correct gear so lazy driver's please do keep that in mind specially when you going to make that overtaking manuvoure on a single lane highway.

A bit contradictory regarding the S10, right Amit?

I do not remember who remarked that overtaking was a breeze in a Punto, but it is far from that. In fact, overtaking in a Punto involves spotting an opportunity, submitting an application, waiting it to get approved and then executing it, providing the opportunity exists still. With the Swift D, it was almost as if the car knew what you wanted and got the job done and dusted before you could say BLIMEY !!

I have encountered the situation you mentioned with the Civic, where my Punto revs drop and then the Indica taxi behind thinks I am a no-gooder driving slow in the fast lane. He honks, but cannot catchup with the Punto once I get the Punto alive. Lotsa taxi-wallahs think the Punto is slow and can be bullied into submission.

[harry10]

@Amit- Nice update.
Is the mileage figure of 19kmpl obtained from tank full method?

Also how is the wiper quality and do you find the headlights fine or it requires a more powerful bulb?

[amit]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

A bit contradictory regarding the S10, right Amit?

Messed up the timing of the words. What I was trying to say was that unlike the GTX / S10, the Punto's revs take time to get up to their peak range and hence it feels totally unlike the 'ever ready to lunge' GTX / S10.

Is the mileage figure of 19kmpl obtained from tank full method?

It surely can. Car is on second tank of diesel. First tank full gave me 18.xxkmpl so things should only get better now.

Also how is the wiper quality and do you find the headlights fine or it requires a more powerful bulb?

Wipers are brilliant! Even if I work them with few drops on the windscreen they wipe with no noise and the windscreen is squeaky clean. Rear wiper is same.

I feel headlights are fine. I just noticed today that they were set at 3 by default. I have set it back to 0. Let's see how the night time driving is today. A special word for the fog lights. Switch them on and it feels like it's day time. The whole road gets lit up brightly. Real good quality fogs the Punto's got.

[donzerus]

How's the performance of the AC/ACC ? Does it chill fast and good ?

[amit]

With the display showing 1208kms, the Punto got it's first Mumbai-Pune expressway run yesterday. Journey was from Chembur to Tony da dhaba, Lonavala and back.

- Didn't do high speeds as the car is still in running in phase. Drove it at about 70-90kmph with a short burst at 110kmph.

- Stability is bloody impressive. Feels like a mature big car.

- Over 2000rpm, there is a constant drone of the diesel. Engine noise levels rise very easily post 2K rpm. Still road and wind noise is well suppressed.

- MID is now showing 20.2kmpl. Car is on second tank full of diesel. Drove back from the CCD outlet on the expressway food plaza to Vashi without ACC. Rest of journey ACC was constantly on.

- Handling was class! On the twisties the turn in was very stable and sure. Much better then even S10. SX4 was simply blown away.

- Just after the toll plaza going towards Lonavala, the ghat starts. The car scampered up the first uphill section in fifth gear with ACC on with absolutely no huffing or puffing. Even in S10, I had to downshift to fourth but I guess that's characterstic of diesel's.

- I started the journey with the fuel gauge showing about half tank of diesel. I finished with the gauge showing 1/3rd diesel still left! Gotta love the diesels!

How's the performance of the AC/ACC ? Does it chill fast and good ?

ACC works very well and chills quite easily. Do note that by default, it starts in fresh air mode so if you don't switch it to recirulate, you may feel that it's taking time to cool the interiors.