[vikrantj]

It was sometime in March,2010, that we felt a need for a second car. We already have a Chevy Spark which has done about 23000kms in 2 years. But that was proving to be insufficient since our offices are located in two diffrent corners of Pune and that my company transport does not offer me enough flexibility of travel and space.

So the hunt started.

Main criteria that I looked into were :
1. Must be a sedan. We already have a hatchback. So we needed something bigger to carry man and material in comfort. So sedan it was.
2. I am a sedate driver so I enjoy as much wind in my hair, as 120kmph would afford.So I would prefer a Chevy Aveo over a Ford Fiesta.
3. It was to seat 2 people for most of the time. But had to seat 4 people occasionally so backseat comfort was a factor but not the ultimate deciding factor.
4. Looks are subjective, so should be one which appeals everybody in the family.
5. Must be drivable in the city. Well this was one of the deciding factor.ABS was a must.
6. Can be a diesel or petrol. Looking at the cost of maintaining diesel and petrol cars the gap has surely decreased a lot with diesel car offering service intervals of 15000kms.

Lastly the budget was 8-10Lakhs. The lesser the better since I was taking a loan of 6L and paying the rest from my pocket.

Based on the above criteria we shortlisted two cars Honda City and Fiat Linea.

Honda City : Took the test drive . Very drivable car . Amazing looks and superb fit and finish no doubt. But few things went against it , first was the cost and second was rear seat felt a little claustrophobic (maybe it is just me). But overall a very likable car. They could have thrown in more gizmos at the price they were offering. But in the end it is company'e decision what to put in the car at what price and it is upto the customer whether to buy it or not.

Fiat Linea : Again a very drivable car. Fit and finish are a iffy but really not deal-breaker and loaded to teeth with gizmos and accessories. This all at a price of 1 lakh lesser than Honda City.

We zero-ed onto the Fiat Linea. And based on all above criteria we booked a Linea Emotion 1.3 MJD BS4 in Minimal Grey on 4th May 2010 which was our marriage anniversary from B.U.Bhandari. I am not a big fan of bluetooth so Blue and Me would been another unused accesory in the car and apart from that USB port in E-Pack was in the golve box so again would have been a major irritant.

The on-road price was quoted 8.8L on which I got following discounts :
1. Insurance Free.
2. 58 months road-side assitance free.
3. Extended warranty free.
4. Sunfilm free.
5. Mats and Mud flaps free.
6. Corporate discount of Rs 25000.

All and all the final price was 8.4L on-road.I got the seat covers at 3k from the dealer.The loan from HDFC was breeze since we have a account there so it was matter of getting the car on a auspicious day.

It was 16th May 2010 ,Akshay Tritiya that I finally bought the Linea home. I had done a PDI a day before which sun-film etc were being put in. The inital odo showed 100kms since this car is driven from Ranjangaon to Wakad, Pune which is around 75Kms. I checked a few Manzas and Linea around and they showed approxomately the same distance on odo.

Initial impressions
It is a hugh car (well I graduate from a Spark to Linea). The layout of the car is nice and roomy. The biege and black interiors makes the car look posh from inside. It adds to a mental comfort which travelling. The driver's seat has a very nice position and added to it the hieght adjust and steering adjust make it even more comfy. Back seat legroom is sufficient not as spacious as the Manza but definately not cramped.This was furthur confirmed by my in-laws who sat on the rear seat without any discomfort for close to 500kms i.e from Pune-Aurangabad and back. The features like theater-light are nice touches.

The 1.3L engine is quite sufficient for this car. The 1st and 2nd gears do not do much other than push the car forward, the 3rd and 4th gear make city driving easy. This car can pull from 30kmph in 3rd gear which is sufficient in day-to-day traffic situations. The car behaves extremely well on highways and munches up miles easily.

The ride and suspension are well suited for Indian terrian and offer great comfort. But the star of the show is the handling department. The car is planted at 120 (never tried beyond that). No mention of leaving the road on a curve.Very Very nice handler.

I have driven over 2700kms in the last 20-25 days, one trip to Auragabad (500Kms) and the other to Amaravati (1200kms). Both of the times there were atleast 4 people in the car and boot fully loaded with suitcases , mango baskets etc. The trip meter showed fuel consumption of 18.5kmpl and with a average speed of about 65kmph. We had toched 110-120kmph on empty stretches.

The car has come back from its first servicing yesterday 12th June in under a month. The service advisors were pretty helpful and were not keen on pushing anything other than what is recommended in the service manual.

There were twp minor irritants. First was rear-left door refused to open from outside when unlocked. This was taken care of in first servicing. They changed the lock assembly inside. Second was the glove-box door opened on every occasion when declerating or going on bumps etc. This also seems to be taken car of the servicing again by tweaking the lock assembly.

So all and all a happy owner of the Linea Emotion.

Here are some pictures.

[extreme_torque]

Nice looking car there but I still feel you should have gone for the Emotion pack simply because for the money asked over and above the Emotion variant, its more than worth it.

Congrats on the purchase. Goes without saying she is a beauty.

[FiatMyLife]

Wow! Congrats on the Linea and have a Fiatful life.

I plan to buy a Petrol Linea soon as I feel that extra bucks for Diesel isn't worth for my requirement.

[NutsNBolts]

Congrats Vikrant. Choosing the diesel was right option for the way you are munching miles. Wishing you many more happy miles.

[Amartya]

Vikrant, cogratulations on your choice, the Linea is a fantastic car. Minimal grey is a very nice colour as well, it looks like an executive sedan.

How was the booking and delivery experience at B.U.B.?

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Lastly the budget was 8-10Lakhs. The lesser the better since I was taking a loan of 6L and paying the rest from my pocket.

I am not a big fan of bluetooth so Blue and Me would been another unused accesory in the car and apart from that USB port in E-Pack was in the golve box so again would have been a major irritant.

Congrats Vikrant, perfect choice

If your budget was 8-10lakhs then why not Emotion Pack?
Blue & Me with USB Port and Steering Mounted Audio, Blue & Me Controls is not the only thing you get for the price difference of about 55K. You get Alloys, Dual front Airbags and Front seat belts pretensioners and load limiters. Alloys it self will cost around 40K and you get rest of the stuff including airbags for 15k!!!

[finneyp]

Congrats, Great choice!

Enjoy the Italian beauty & Admiration too!

[mnhegde]

Congrats Vikrant, Nice purchase! Truly a Beauty, looks great in the color. Discounts offered are good. Keep updating the thread with ownership experiences. Wishing You many many Happy miles with this Beauty.

Enjoy! Drive Safe .

[carfanatic007]

Congrats, it looks good, hopefully TATA A.S.S serves well

[nkrishnap]

Congrats on the Linea. Again the same question, why not the emotion pack which is even more value than emotion itself.

By the way, not to hurt your sentiments, I somehow feel the seat covers are going well with the interior theme.

[vikrantj]

First of all thank you one and all for your wishes. And my sentiments are not at all hurt when you guys asked "Why not E-Pack ?". This shows genuine concern for a fellow-BHPian.

Now the main question was why Emotion and not E-pack. Well there were two things . First I was on a real tight budget. In fact before I went in for Emotion I had mailed Fiat regarding Dynamic-Pack. Apparently it suited my budget well and it catered to all my requirement, but unfortunately that is out of prod since Jan so the next best thing was Emotion. Secondly I travel through bad road atleast once a month so my heart would be in my mouth on every bump thinking of those alloys. And seriously I prefer the most necessary equipment in the car rather than good-to-have features which one rarely uses. Airbags, understandably are important but I had to cut a compromise somewhere. The diffrence of 60k over and above Emotion was not affordable at this stage.

Now about experience at BuB. It has quite good so far. As for the sales experience they have delivered what they promised and on-time with required quality. They make statements like "Anti-Braking systems" but thats forgivable.

After-sales and services also have nothing to complain of. They were courteous and willing to help. And mainly not pushing for somethings which are not required at first service (hyundai guys will what I mean. I had a Santro and I had to push everything back). The car after service was delivered cleanly-washed, the tyres looked clean. The dash was polished and the two hiccups I had pointed out taken of.

@nkrishnap : I am confused, do you think the covers go well with interiors or not ?

--Vikrant

[neoonwheels]

Congrats Vikrant and welcome to the FIAT family. She is a looker for sure.

[Palio_2005]

Congrats Vikrant and welcome to Fiat family. I hope that you can join us in one of the Fiat meets in Pune. I too am on a lookout for a Linea MJD E. Current toss up between Manza A+ and Linea MD-E. VFM over indulgence Enjoy your ride.

[bansal98]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

I am not a big fan of bluetooth so Blue and Me would been another unused accesory in the car and apart from that USB port in E-Pack was in the golve box so again would have been a major irritant.

It's actually a very good thing that the USB port is in the glove box. I connect my iPod to the HU in my car and I have to keep it in the handbrake area. So I have a cord dangling there which my little daughter keeps playing with. And then there is also the risk of theft. I personally would have preferred the USB port in the glove box only.

[Autocop]

Many congrats Vikrant for becoming a proud owner of the italian beauty!

Enjoy your drive and admiration that goes along!