Team-BHP - Palio MJD: My first 7k km report (just before 1st real service)
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Hi All,

I got a Palio 1.3 MJD in June this year and i've just about completed 7k km on the odometer. I know this is an old car and has been discussed to death, but I could not help posting my experiences here. Maybe someone still wants to read about the Palio! :)

I opted for the Palio against the Punto because
1. Cost
2. I dont like the elongated look of the Punto - I think the Palio looks better.
3. I got the Palio immediately as opposed to a month's waiting period for the Punto.

Anyhow after a careful 1000 kms in the city my first trip was to Mysore which was very moderated too, because that was the first long drive for this car. The car feels very solid, stable but the tires to me seem to be really noisy even on the excellent road between Bangalore and Mysore. But the engine is really a pleasure to drive and never seems to be stressed even on slight gradients easily purring along. My next two long drives were to Coimbatore via the Satyamangalam Ghats - I must tell you that this route is a pleasure to drive and going down the 27 hair pin bends of Sathy ghats was an experience to remember. After these the last trip was to Kanyakumari, which was a little boring because the NH7 four laned highway, though exciting at first after an hour or so becomes a little boring. The winding smaller highways are more fun IMHO.

The car has performed very well during these last 4 months and I never felt even the slightest strain after a day long drive. The FE has been steadily improving and its now settled around 690-710km for a full tank of diesel. The car is able to absorb bad patches of road very easily. There is minimal vibration inside when traversing bad stretches of road. The only problem I have so far with the car is that the tire noise sometimes is too loud, perhaps being more prominent than the engine too. I took a friend's advise and inflated the tires with nitrogen, but that did not make any difference whatsoever. Other than that, the car is a pleasure to drive and I would totally recommend the Palio to any one who wants a affordable but yet quite powerful car. I usually dont tread the regions beyond 100kph, just an occasional burst of speed when there is an empty road, but these too have been very smooth with the engine not sounding stressed at all.

Hope this helps anyone who still might be looking to buy the Palio MJD. I really hope that FIAT continues to sell this car for a few years at least lest we start running out of spares which would be a shame.

- Kiran

Nicely put Kiran. Palio is one of the better built cars of the subcontinent. You might want to upgrade the tyres to lower down the noise. Gurus might be able to provide you some suggestions.

Happy & safe driving.
Cheers!

I'm another one who feels the Palio is a better looker than the Punto (only the rear though) :) Congratulations and wishing you a long relationship with your ride !! The MJD is a gem of an engine.

@kirans,

Nice to know that you love your palio than punto!. I think Michinlin XM1+ is a good set of tyres. An upgrade should reduce the noise by a great extent

The Palio has been one of my favorite cars. I almost wrote a cheque for it once, but decided against it and purchased the punto. IMHO, the Palio is a timeless beauty - it never really ages despite being an old model. I always stare at a palio when I see one on the roads.

The new Palio will be launched soon, but I expect Fiat to keep some kind of compatibility so that existing palio spares are not affected.

Do you find the hard clutch a sore in city traffic ? How's the service experience been so far ?

And what's a ownership review without pics ? :)

Great choice @ Kiran, for someone who loves to drive and is looking for a frugal car, the Palio MJD is a dream come true. The icing on the cake is that she is a real looker too.

Cheers and enjoy many miles and years of happy and safe motoring.

Hey Kiran, Nice to know that you are enjoying your Palio MJD. I do agree that the Palio Stile does look slightly better thn the old one.
Btw isn't the service interval 15k Kms on the MJD.
Wish you many miles of cruising!

Congrats Kiran. A tyre change will certainly help reduce the tyre noise. Do check the tyre section and you might find the right one.

I loved the looks of the old Palio and the front of the new one. The rear though is a bit too squarish for my liking. I too feel that the Palio looks more proportionate than the Punto.

How about some pics. Do post in your service exp as well after the 7500 kms service.

Congratulations, Kiran! If you plan to keep the car for 5 years or more then the Palio MJD is the most VFM car around. The driving dynamics and FE of the car are also excellent.

Just ensure in advance that parts to be replaced during free/routine services (like oil filter etc.) are in stock in the service centre. I have had some pretty bad experience in this regard:Frustrati.

Dear Kiran

Congrats...

I too have more or less decided on purchasing the Palio 1.1 SLX.

Just waiting for the new version to come in which I guess should be here soon.

It really warms the heart when someone says good things about a great car.

The review also was good.
What was your experience at the A.S.S?

Kiran, which variant is this? SDX? Even I am among the minority who is of the opinion that the Palio is better looking than the Punto. :)

Palio or Punto, both Italians are good lookers. agree:


Kirans,

How about some pics here. Where you are planning to get it serviced in Bangalore.

Please do share the servicing experience.

Thank You,

This shows the everlasting love towards Palio even after Punto being released in market.
None of these will disappoint when it comes to handling.
Watch out your tires for the running noise. Upgrading to Michelin's will solve the problem.

PICS plzzzzz

Nice to hear that the ownership experience has been a good one.
What is the make of the tyres that you got with the car? A good upgrade would be 14" alloys and slightly fatter rubber. 175/65 or 185/60 might be a good choice.

Thanks guys for the replies. I was asked if I want to change the tyres when I got the car new, but not knowing much about this, I decided against. Now that i've done 7k+ km on them, I thought I might as well go along through their full life before I change them.

And yes, the clutch play is long and the clutch is hard indeed making bumper to bumper traffic a pain (in the knee :) ). But I have unusual office timings so its only rarely that I get stuck in traffic.

I'm hoping to getting it serviced next week, [if the road outside my house ever gets fixed]. Right now its sitting in the parking waiting to got out sooner if not later.

@Gilead: Its a SDE (the middle version).

The service people were very nice the previous time I'd been there for the 1000km service. And after that, I got at least six (maybe more) calls from TATA and[or] FIAT inquiring about service and asking for feedback. And just about a couple of weeks ago I got a call from FIAT asking me how the car was performing and such stuff. So its been really nice so far. And I'm so happy that I went for the Palio.

I'll post some pictures once I can take it out of the parking lot :)


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