[MCR]

Excellent review. I 20 is priced higher, thanks to the new engine (read less volumes and hence hich per piece cost). The Punto is priced well for the features and also the Volumes for the engines and parts (read Bosch Common Rail System) is better.

[vasoo]

I also get "smoked" by "humble" KSRTC buses while driving on my Beemer in Kerala. Reasons include, is as mentioned by amit,

1. I own my car, they dont, it belongs to somebody called "public"
2. I dont race on those roads, they do, because they think they can afford
3. I plan my trips and never rush, they are in hurry, even on scheduled trips

Owning a capable car doesn't mean one has to utilize it always...

[clevermax]

@clevermax -- Your statement is unfair to Amit.

Apologies Amit.

When people say a guy does not know how to extract speed, well there is only one way press the throttle down as far as it goes...

Nope. Using the right gear at the right time, ability to shift gears fast, rev-matching while downshifting, knowing the engine's powerband well... all contributes to how quickly one can gain speed from stand still as well as from a cruising speed. Imagine yourself flooring the accelerator in 5th gear while you are doing 45 Kmph, hoping to overtake a long truck while there is oncoming traffic - you're in for trouble unless you have a very capable engine.

Have you tried to smoke the Indica taxi's and Qualisis and Tavera's?

Oh yes. Countless number of times. Indicabs are somewhat easy, Taveras and Qualises with real good drivers are not really possible with a car like mine. With a car like S10, it's a breeze though. I am very confident about this.

You know why the S10 couldn't match upto them? I own the S10.

Dude..! Does it mean that you never wake her up even if situations demand it, because you own it? In this sense, I must be treating my car very badly because often I redline, start off from signals with tires squealing, use engine breaking and so on. :( I drive her hard at times, but she never complains.. at least it is so for the past 3.5 years. It may be more harmful if one lugs their engine by driving at 20 Kmph in 5th gear.

[royalcruiser]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Dude..! Does it mean that you never wake her up even if situations demand it, because you own it? In this sense, I must be treating my car very badly because often I redline, start off from signals with tires squealing, use engine breaking and so on. :( I drive her hard at times, but she never complains.. at least it is so for the past 3.5 years. It may be more harmful if one lugs their engine by driving at 20 Kmph in 5th gear.

I somehow fail to understand this outburst! Yes, you are right in saying that one does need to wake up a sporty and sheer performance car like the S10, but not at the expense of senselessly risking ruining the car in front of maniacs and uncivilized drivers in Indicabs, Logans, Qualises etc

Having said that, come to think of it, if educated and civilized citizens start driving like them, what difference is there between them and us!

Sorry, but this discussion seems headed totally off topic. The thread was to compare the three new diesel models

[wind_rider]

Originally Posted by sidindica

The final verdict:
Tallying all the parameters, even though the punto has uninspiring engines, they are more than adequate for our average Indian driving conditions. It may not have the best of plastics, but we can easily live with it as long as it does not fail and fall, thats the only drawback of an otherwise brilliant package.
Believe me, if we are responsible drivers, you don't need to spend extra on the I 20 with 6 airbags and sunroof, all of which form no importance to us.

The Punto wins this closely fought battle of the premium diesel hatches.
Now its upto fiat to make improvements on the interior quality, have strict quality control, get its act together and sell it well.

1st: Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 MJD Emotion pack (9 /10)

Great looks, ride and handling with a solid build let down by mediocre engine, poor interior quality and questionable after sales service. But Look at the price and the overall value it offers and all is forgiven.

2nd: Hyundai I20 1.4 Crdi Asta (8.5 /10)

A close second. Grace, pace and space-you want it, you got it. Best fit and finish and engine performance and refinement with decent after sales service. But is grossly overpriced.

3rd: Maruti Ritz VDi ABS (7 /10)

Great package for those on a tight budget, best for peace of mind factor, mileage conscious and city dwellers who drive too much daily. Great ride and handling too. But weedy tyres, highway stability, poor equipment levels and most importantly, poor space and comfort at the rear with tiny boot limits its appeal.


(Disclaimer: this comparison is done keeping in mind the typical Indian car buyer's perception-conservatism rather than from an enthusiasts perspective.
Individual perceptions may vary. Be sure to judge your requirements and take a thorough test drives of any car that you intend to purchase because different people have different requirements.)

Dear SiD,

Thank you very much for this report dude , you deserve a .
It has made my life a lot easier .

[MCR]

Hey wind_rider,
Are you planning to buy Punto in Mysore? I spoke to URS kar Service and the OTR for Emotion Variant is 6.66 lacs.

[visweshkalambur]

First up, great effort Sid and a wonderful comparison.

My two cents on this

When you are talking about ***, I have owned a Maruti Zen, Suzuki swift, sold the swift for a FIAT Palio MJD. I can tell you with utmost confidence that the VST Motors in Chennai has never let me down when it comes to ***. I can call up the service engineers and the mechanics who are more than willing to help me. In fact im in Europe at the moment and called these guys to help with service and they did it promptly. I agree that there are quite a few palio owners who have had tough time with *** till TATA FIAT tie up happened. But, that is history, let us look at what is happening currently. We have had numerous forums in TBHP where we have heard about how FIAT has been responding pretty well and have pulled up their socks in terms of ***. It is much better now. Let us try give some credit to it. From nowhere to where they are is certainly an achievement.
In fact, I have been treated so shabbily by the company owned showroom and service centre at Hyundai, that they made me wait for 2 hours to fit a speaker tray in the rear and goofed it up too. The Maruti company owned service centre could not solve a cold start problem of my Zen for 1 year and i had to sell the car as a result.
Problems exist everywhere, it matters on how much stand you want to take on it. In Chennai, my friend cribs that there is no single Hyundai service centre for his car that does the job properly... now what about that?
Another important factor could be cost of ownership, when it comes to the Punto and i20.
1. i20 is more expensive than Punto
2. Punto has a service interval of 15,000kms between service
3. Punto has the cheapest spare parts wrt to competitors for their diesel
variant.
4. All of us know that FIAT's are built like tanks. It is inevitable that the
Hyundai creeps up with rattles after few years of owning it.

In addition to all the above points, we are talking about a target audience for these cars in the age group of 22 yrs to 35 yrs mostly. These are mostly people who could vary from enthusiasts to usual sedate driving with bursts of pushing the vehicle and considerable highway driving. In this case, what would be an important consideration is the driving dynamics of the car. I bet, there is no argument that no car in this segment can come any closer to the handling that Punto gives. While i20 can have a better motor and has a more linear torque delivery, Punto has better cornering and a brilliant steering. With all that power i20 gives, in a highway drive, try taking a C curve without removing your foot from the accelerator, the steering would think different from what you would want to do unlike in a Punto or any fiat car for that matter.

We are looking at a price difference of Rs. 80,000 between a Punto and an i20. Pete the Punto for Rs. 30,000 and pocket the balance Rs. 50,000 or pay 5 emi's with it and save on the service window of 15,000 kms and cheaper spares.
How does the equation look now?
Sorry for the long post, but i thought these parameters are important too....

[krreddy]

Originally Posted by visweshkalambur

First up, great effort Sid and a wonderful comparison.

My two cents on this

Sorry for the long post, but i thought these parameters are important too....

You do bring up some valid points, but the i20's gear box is far better than the Punto's.

Even though the i20's engine is a gem, i still like the dynamics of the FIAT's MJD. The MJD is more responsive (would've been better if it had 90 BHP), less wobbly and more importantly has that wicked grunt.


Note from Team BHP Support
Please do not quote a large post completely .

[FanaticOnWheels]

A brilliant comparison. It was a fair and an unbiased review. The Punto deserves the limelight. It's an excellently engineered vehicle. For starters, the Palio was the vehicle which redefined hatchbacks in India. Now the Punto is redefining safety standards of hatchbacks. The features that the Punto offers for a price that's lower than the i20's base model are out of this world.

Now there is this occasional rant about Fiat's service. Our Palio, has not been serviced for over 3 years now. Yes, and because my dad works in another city, and it's only me who takes the car around. It's given absolutely no problems so far. In it's total lifecycle, it's broken down once, which was immediately attended to by Fiat's roadside assistance and resolved in about half an hour. That was pretty much the only problem we faced.

Of course, not all cars might be so lucky. Service is an issue, and I hope Fiat does better for the rest of the Fiat owners.

For the record, I feel Fiat should open up it's own showrooms in select cities atleast. I caught a glimpse of a Linea in a showroom, and boy, I literally drooled on the spot. Wonder how they would look in a showroom that has only Lineas and Puntos

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by visweshkalambur

All of us know that FIAT's are built like tanks. It is inevitable that the
Hyundai creeps up with rattles after few years of owning it.

Hyundai Accent. 5 years. Driven on bad roads. No creeks/rattles.

Originally Posted by visweshkalambur

With all that power i20 gives, in a highway drive, try taking a C curve without removing your foot from the accelerator,

I have driven the my i20 pretty quick in corners.... not just highway C curves.

There is no question the Punto is better in this contest. But the i20 is no slouch in corners. Its not dangerous either.. the issue has been blown way out of proportion.

P.s. It would be interesting to see a Peted Punto vs a stock i20!!

Originally Posted by FanaticOnWheels

Our Palio, has not been serviced for over 3 years now.

What!!

Please dont do this to the poor car. Even if the car is not running too many kms, the periodic oil/filter change is a must.

[visweshkalambur]

[quote=AbhiJ;1548064]I have driven the my i20 pretty quick in corners.... not just highway C curves.

There is no question the Punto is better in this contest. But the i20 is no slouch in corners. Its not dangerous either.. the issue has been blown way out of proportion.

P.s. It would be interesting to see a Peted Punto vs a stock i20!!

I am talking about speeds of 100kmph, I guess it is the weight of the car (Punto) that gives it more grip.

Also, in my opinion, the electronic power steering has it s due share in terms of the steering thinking otherwise. I have felt the steering push me back and refusing to go with the turn in the speed with my Swift which has EPS.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by visweshkalambur

Also, in my opinion, the electronic power steering has it s due share in terms of the steering thinking otherwise.

In the i20, part of the blame has to go to the suspension.

The suspension is too soft for sharp cornering...

[visweshkalambur]

Has any one compared the in gear timings for Punto and i20? I remember having read in one of the forums that the Linea ingear timings is pretty good...
Can someone throw any light on this?

[sharanramesh]

Great comparison Sid.

[arnabchak]

Sid!!

Brilliant piece of comparison

Honestly, this comparison tops all the other comparisions I have come across at noted Auto journals by high profile auto journalists.

The Punto coming up on tops is a great sign and indicated that Fiat is finally waking up.
The poor plastics and the QC notwithstanding, GP is a great package.