[rupinder]

sumit one more factor is
a.c. of punto is better than that of i20

but the stereo of i20 is better than punto's

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by rupinder

sumit one more factor is
a.c. of punto is better than that of i20

but the stereo of i20 is better than punto's

Its a known fact that cellphones have better speakers than the punto

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Hi

You should have stopped by while passing.

I am very satisfied with Joshi's A.S.S.
They are actually much better than HIND in after sales.
The salesperson who handled me at Joshi was probably the culprit. On the other hand, Negi is quite a cooperative guy.

You are right. I was recently at Joshi, and there was this blue punto there (which has been discontinued) which was a EURO-III model. They were offering 20k off on that particular car + the regular FIAT package.

But they do try to sell off Euro-III models to uninformed customers, actually everyone does.

FIAT's (Joshi's) service is pretty good. So far, I haven't any problem in either availability of parts or their technical know-how.
That being said, Maruti is the benchmark in terms of aftersales, Hyundai comes pretty close to maruti (I own a Verna as well).
FIAT is not as good as maruti or hyundai, but I am satisfied.

I will lay down a few points for you regarding i20 KAPPA and Punto 1.4 FIRE.

i20 Kappa

Positives:
1. Hyundai A.S.S
2. Good resale
3. Very nice Interiors
4. Good quality plastics all around
5. Bigger boot than Punto
6. Good gearbox

Negatives:
1. Poor handling
2. Same engine as i10, sluggish performance
3. Interior color scheme (personal choice)
4. Punto looks much better (again, personal choice)
5. Punto has better suspension

Punto:

Positives:
1. Best handling in a hatch
2. 90 BHP, great for highways. City performance would be at par with i20.
3. Best looking hatch in the country
4. Awesome suspension, the car just glides over bad roads
5. More features/gadgets than i20 (e-Pack vs Asta)
6. Solid built (metal parts; doors etc)

Negatives:
1. Long clutch.
2. A little rubbery gearshift.
3. FIAT/TATA A.S.S
4. Resale would not be that good
5. Bad plastic quality
6. Interiors not as good as i20, but I like the color scheme better than i20

FIAT's engines open up quite a bit after 5-10k kms (I know its true in every car's case, but FIAT engines open up more when compared). My punto has covered more than 5k kms now. It feels a completely different car now.

Being neutral, if I were to buy a car today, I would still pick Punto.

It all depends on your priorities, weigh in the points I have mentioned and decide whats more important for you, and go with your choice.

Both are good cars!!!

Thanks. Yes both are very good cars.
I found that i20 offers some more functional features like USB/AUX with better stock ICE which is quite important in a car. Also, when using USB, you may change tracks from HU as well as steering(In Punto, only steering controls work with USB). I prefer stock ICE of Punto and i20 because of their looks. Upgrading either will spoil the looks.
That is the second most important factor that brought i20 into the picture after A.S.S. issues.

Handling around corners, highway performance and 0-100 is not important for me at all. Punto does have a much better AC.
GTO is right. "Indians love chrome". Just see the i20 gear knob with chrome ring around it at the base in the new Uber Cool i20. And the inner door handles and everything looks so good.
In the end it is just a personal choice. But the points mentioned above do give a good summary.

Anyways, sorry for hijacking your thread as this may turn into another Punto vs i20 thread now.

There is a separate thread for Punto vs i20. We may continue it over there.
I'm a Fiat fanboy as well though i've never owned one. My parents are just sticking with the Punto idea I gave 2 months back. Even my brother is more inclined towards the Punto because of exterior looks. Guess i need to change the Avatar pic soon. Thanks.

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by rupinder

sumit one more factor is
a.c. of punto is better than that of i20

I have heard about it, but I haven't tried i20's a/c extensively. That's why did not include it in my points.

Akshay is right, Punto's speaker upgrade is a must.

@PaddleShifter

Do let us know what you decide in the end.
Let me know if you have any other queries!!!

[PaddleShifter]

Yes sure. Will post it when the decision is made and wish to start a thread similar to yours sometime soon.

P.S.- If someone wants to buy a Punto from Joshi, then BS-IV models have a waiting period of about 2 weeks. Ready delivery is for BS-III models only for which he didn't even mention 20k discount. But i guess it's business strategy so can't complain much. Hope this helps tricity residents planning to buy from Joshi Auto zone.

[better4worse]

Sumit, I got myself a brand new Kenwood x8016BT ( same as x994) for a pretty good price. But the trouble is, after haing spent 7 yrs with Pioneer, I kinda miss the brightness in sound and overall surround effect. I am just running my HU on rear pioneer coax. It seems as if kenny's lack the punch, maybe its a case of tuning it properly. Can you help me with the settings ?

I want a one setting where its as bright as it would be on Pioneer, can I do that ?

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by better4worse

Sumit, I got myself a brand new Kenwood x8016BT ( same as x994) for a pretty good price. But the trouble is, after haing spent 7 yrs with Pioneer, I kinda miss the brightness in sound and overall surround effect. I am just running my HU on rear pioneer coax. It seems as if kenny's lack the punch, maybe its a case of tuning it properly. Can you help me with the settings ?

I want a one setting where its as bright as it would be on Pioneer, can I do that ?

Try these:

SupremeFX - ON
Bass Boost - Level 2
Try different settings for equalizer

Why dont you try tuning your amp. I think the speakers could be the culprit. Kennys can be pretty bright too.

Get components in the front and you will have the proper surround effect.

[better4worse]

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Try these:

SupremeFX - ON
Bass Boost - Level 2
Try different settings for equalizer

Why dont you try tuning your amp. I think the speakers could be the culprit. Kennys can be pretty bright too.

Get components in the front and you will have the proper surround effect.

Thanks for the tips, it does sound better but not quite the way I'd want it to be. I think this is going to take some effort on my part!

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by better4worse

Thanks for the tips, it does sound better but not quite the way I'd want it to be. I think this is going to take some effort on my part!

Did you try changing the equalizers?
Also, add components at the front, that will give you a better sound stage.

[better4worse]

Originally Posted by SumitBahl

Did you try changing the equalizers?
Also, add components at the front, that will give you a better sound stage.

I tried the stuff that u suggested and I am running the HU without the Amp, think ill stop trying to fix it till I can get the front comps done. Whats surprising me is the fact that same 'coax in a box' sound better in the rear of my Wagon R with standard modes on a nearly 5 yr old Pioneer cassette player? The thump is much sweeter and sound is richer or should I say brighter. I was told that kenny's are neutral sounding while Pioneer's tend to sound a bit rich/brighter on the whole. Maybe thats the difference. Could it be case of sound travel variation between a Wagon R and a Punto, not sure though !

I find the remote to be okay-ish, not as much fun, it takes some effort to hold on it with the gear, would have loved the controls on the steering itself.

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by better4worse

I tried the stuff that u suggested and I am running the HU without the Amp, think ill stop trying to fix it till I can get the front comps done. Whats surprising me is the fact that same 'coax in a box' sound better in the rear of my Wagon R with standard modes on a nearly 5 yr old Pioneer cassette player? The thump is much sweeter and sound is richer or should I say brighter. I was told that kenny's are neutral sounding while Pioneer's tend to sound a bit rich/brighter on the whole. Maybe thats the difference. Could it be case of sound travel variation between a Wagon R and a Punto, not sure though !

I find the remote to be okay-ish, not as much fun, it takes some effort to hold on it with the gear, would have loved the controls on the steering itself.

You will able to control it much better with an amplifier.
Compos wont run without amp. Choose a good amp and you will get the kind of sound you like.
I myself was using pioneer all along, after you listen to kenwood for 6 months, you wont be able to go back to pioneer.

[SumitBahl]

Recently bought PATRIOT XPORTER 32GB pen drive.

Its pretty fast. A little slower than my previous 4GB drive, but still fast for its size.
Read/Write speeds of 32MBPS.

It comes with all weather and shock proof rubberized casing and is pretty rugged.

Not to mention the mammoth space it has to offer. Now I can carry most of the songs I have on my PC with me in my car.

Drive offers 29.7GB space after format. I currently am using around 20GB and getting the same speed in reading.

[Schoudhury]

WOW , 32 gb ,thats a lot of space .
How much did you pay for the same ?
Do face any issues , like some folders copied from the PC , doesn't play from the pen drive in the HU.I also have a 8gb pen drive and have seen some folders doesn't play in the HU while they plauy fine in the PC.
Not sure if you also faced similar issues or not .
Anyways ,enjoy your ride with lots of music to company you.
Cheers

[SumitBahl]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

WOW , 32 gb ,thats a lot of space .
How much did you pay for the same ?
Do face any issues , like some folders copied from the PC , doesn't play from the pen drive in the HU.I also have a 8gb pen drive and have seen some folders doesn't play in the HU while they plauy fine in the PC.
Not sure if you also faced similar issues or not .
Anyways ,enjoy your ride with lots of music to company you.
Cheers

Yup, that's a lot of space. Now I dont have to pick the songs to carry with me. I have copied everything I listen to in the pen drive.

I bought it from the US, costed me around Rs. 2400.
I haven't faced any problem with playing any files. I have copied somewhere around 20GB of files in the drive, each and every folder/file plays file.

[SumitBahl]

Last week I went ahead and got my door handles painted.
Dismantling and installing the handles back is not an easy job.

I didn't want to get them painted from the dealership, as I don't like their workmanship when it comes to painting.
I am very satisfied with the work of a local painter/workshop that I frequent (Baboo Painter, Indl. Area, Chd).

So I got phone number of a mechanic who works at dealership.

He told me that he will remove the door handles for me on Sunday, I can get them painted at my convenience and he would fit them back in any weekday after he is free from his job.

I got them removed on Sunday, they were painted on Monday and fitted that very evening. Removing the handles were pretty easy. All 4 were removed in 45 minutes.
Fitting them back was a task. Took good 2.5 hrs.
Had to fit them back with flash light on of my blackberry.

I also de-badged the rear of my Punto.

The FIAT mechanic was paid Rs. 250 and paint was done for Rs. 900. Total damages - Rs. 1150

Here are some WIP pictures: