[asdon]

Originally Posted by amitg79

But they aren't calling this the Punto Sports. Does that still mean that we may get a 1.4T-Jet Punto Sports?

don't increase the confusion, there is nothing called T-Jet Punto sports. Punto Sports will be a VGT Punto(90hp) with bigger alloys and sun/moon roof.

[rageshbhaskar]

Agree with Adson on the point of safe drving. We should not be really shouting on 0-100 , I have had long chases with Palio Diesels on the highways on my GTX, fiat diesels in gear acceleration is so good that on a high way game it catches up after that initial thrust after 80/100 kmp.

Swift furios, a tip for you , probably u may want to consider.

Swift is a great car no doubt, but our roads are not really made for 140 kmp sprints. Not for any small car even punto. I have had once incident with just me and my son in the swift and the car completely skidded from the road on to the side lane on applying brakes. Swift did a 180 complete turn. One of my friend had a similar incident , car damaged completely in an accident and he too told me that the brakes were inneffective at that speed 120 plus which feels very good till 80-100 . I remember a fellow bhpian's thread where he had a terrible accident in skoda , saved his life only because of the airbags and the solid build quality . he was literally on the brakes to stop at 140 , nothing worked.

Imagine a small car !!Just try it. in our land although its a side walled fourlane, trucks do come at you!!!

This is a generic opinion, its same for all small cars , heavier and strong cars would have an edge though

[asdon]

, to all who drove the new Punto, some questions -

1. is there any addition to the my car features?
2. How is the music system?
3. is the headlamp 60/55 or 100/90?
4. is the alloy similar to FGT EP?
5. Someone noticed a punto 90hp with black dial, so imagine, dealer just put a 90HP chrome fitting in the back side of an FGT punto, how can one make out the difference? is it mentioned under the bonet? like they mention Multijet?
6. And the last one, does it have rare AC vent? if not like Linea, like i20, inder the front seat?

[opendro]

Can someone confirm the gear ratio for new Punto VGT second gear... just let us know the speed at 2000 rpm in second gear. I'm still reluctant to believe that FIAT made 20 Kmph per 1000 rpm in second gear, which should be the case if it can do 100 in second gear. Thanks. Will try to drive it in the next couple of days myself.

[Edit:] Just dug out some link. i20 CRDI does 174 max speed. http://www.bsmotoring.com/news/hyund...ssassin/1318/2

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by asdon

[*]And the last one, does it have rare AC vent? if not like Linea, like i20, inder the front seat?[/list]

I think the Punto does have rear AC vents behind the front seat. The manual of my Punto shows them, although I haven't found them till date( one reason could be that my wife hasn't allowed me to remove the plastic covers on the seats yet ) .

[opendro]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

My friend who has a Swift ZXi Petrol, ran his car @ 180 kmph in its stock state of tune!

Forgot to comment on this. Please don't tell me that Swift is faster than SX4. SX4 does max of 175 Kmph. Sorry for the off-topic. But required to put the specs of Punto into perspective. Otherwise, people are just assumptive while bashing Punto.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by opendro

Forgot to comment on this. Please don't tell me that Swift is faster than SX4. SX4 does max of 175 Kmph. Sorry for the off-topic. But required to put the specs of Punto into perspective. Otherwise, people are just assumptive while bashing Punto.

I think he is talking about speedo indicated 180. Even my Swift D does 175 easily on the speedo and this is with 185/70/R14's, so for a petrol Swift 180 is possible.

sanjaymugur--> tuning, people here are teaching "Magneti marelli" how to tune an engine.... wow... SWIFT diesel does not have a magneti marelli ECU, punto has....and all FIAT cars... both petrol & diesel...

Reply--> That's why the Swift DDIS has the best tuned 1.3 engine among all the lot. So much for Magneti Marelli

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

I think the Punto does have rear AC vents behind the front seat. The manual of my Punto shows them, although I haven't found them till date( one reason could be that my wife hasn't allowed me to remove the plastic covers on the seats yet ) .

Is it there for all variants or only for the EP? I don't find the reat AC ducts/vents mentioned in the features list for any variant of the Punto.

[sanjaymugur]

Originally Posted by humyum

Reply--> That's why the Swift DDIS has the best tuned 1.3 engine among all the lot. So much for Magneti Marelli

then why this sir... why is maruti suzuki still trying this to date..

Magneti Marelli, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan and Maruti Suzuki India enter into a joint venture

if there is an apt representation of this joke " World famous in India" then it has to be "swift diesel, the best tuned engine."..with their 15% +ve error in speedo & odo meters.. indian public has to believe what they see with their eyes....don't they..

[pk_del]

Hello All,

Peace please. Lets stick to Punto VGT test drive discussion and lets not bash any other car. Every car has its pros and cons.

I have Punto MJD version which has clocked 13,800 KM and the engine is now in a altogether different avatar.

Sometimes I have doubts whether its the same engine or some one changed the engine after 5000 KM. The engine is now smoother and eager to build up revs. I am not sure if any one of fellow GP owner felt it or not but I do feel that GP should have another gear i.e., 6th gear for over drive. Many times I unconsciously (not sleeping ) try to engage in 6th gear at speeds over 90 KMPH.

Now, coming to the point where GP gets bashed is the quality of plastics: Yes I agree the plastics and the quality of the beadings need to improve. But I can live with it because the car brings a smile on your face every time you drive. I have also mentioned this (plastic issue) to FIAT CEO and he agreed that it needs improvement and I am hopeful that they are working on it.

In my opinion FIAT can not give high quality plastics to the current GP owners at the same price because then the earlier GP owners will feel cheated. May be they will bring a sports version with high quality plastics. Let us give them some benefit of doubt.

One thing I would like to say, GP has the best steering in the market and in my opinion only Ford Ikon can match it. We should thank FIAT that they are at least offering us the HPS and not the EPS.

I request all to take a test drive of a run-in GP and then come back and give your feed back.

-PK

[fireblade007]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

I think the Punto does have rear AC vents behind the front seat. The manual of my Punto shows them, although I haven't found them till date .

Its under the front seats. Just search carefully with your hands.

[gemithomas]

Does Fiat call Punto VGT the Fastest? I thought they claim its the most powerful D Hatch. This is just because 90HP the max on Diesels available right now.

To those who drove the VGT,

- Is there still a lag before the power really comes out
- Apart from the silver handles and the 90HP badge is the black roof standard on all colours?
- Is there anything else available/missing on the 90HP?

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by sandeepmdas

Add 1.5 L and you will end up spending almost 6.5L and void your warranty.

This job will not void your warranty. Well it actually does but Fiat do not check the ECU unless and otherwise a customer reports a fault. So its a deal with your warranty intact. The 1lac job does not include the 50 grand job. Its just a lac in total and a car that will move better than the 1.4L. This can be done for all variants of the Grande Punto. To go along with the ECU re map a after market filter is added for better engine breathing. This is standard procedure.

A friend is getting this done for his Punto 1.2 Active. Will post the results once the car is out. This is a budget job costing 15 grand. Includes a K&N and mild ECU Re map. The ECU mapping will be from the Brazil specification for the Grande Punto. Power output increase will be around 10-12% which should be close to 80Bhp.

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by fireblade007

Its under the front seats. Just search carefully with your hands.

Thanks. I was beginning to think that it was all my imagination .

[TheStig]

I think there are two things Fiat should rectify:

1) Tune their engines properly. If possible get advice from Maruti who seem to have mastered the art of tuning a Multijet.

2) Do something about those gaping gaps in the interior! And improve the quality of the plastics being used.

The interior plastics are what stopped me from buying the Punto. I totally agree with the reviewer and there is no better word than 'atrocious' for the interiors.