[asdon]

I think its enough to discuss 0-100 timings of Punto with other cars, so all swift/i20/polo owner mutually agree that they can not beat a punto on stability(for FGT & VGT), riding handling, beauty, price & Driver comfort, so they keep talking about 0-100 figures. BTW called KHT motors for a VGT test drive tomorrow, will post my observations.

[MihirC]

From the speed timings its clearly seen that this car has not been tuned to have outright acceleration, instead its having better in gear acceleration than the i20. The drivability will be much better even on busy streets in mumbai.

[amulu10]

i am back after the test drive of the 90hp punto.Ill directly go to the driving part as everything else is the same
1)first of all the car has more turbo lab than the FGT punto, but once u take it to 2000rpm its is definitely a fair bit faster than the fgt !
It is a new engine and still it was noticeably faster to my Run-IN FGT so we can safely assume it will be much faster once you complete 5000km .
2)above 2000rpm it felt jerky to drive in stop go traffic when compared to the FGT.May be it was the better throttle response compared to the FGT or probably because it was new car!
3)The second gear is changed and i absolutely love it! The FGT was irritating to drive with the short 2nd gear but this one is perfect ! ( atleast for city driving)
the first gear is the same!In fact once u slot into 1st and move u don't feel any difference compared to the FGT.Like many have said, the improvement in outright acceleration is nothing great but the in-gear acceleration beyond 2000rpm has improved a lot.If u are a fan of traffic light GPs then stay way!The way it is tuned is different with more emphasis on the drivebilty.
4) One more important thing i noticed was the light steering at low speeds, this is real boon in parking situations.At 70-80 km/hr it felt heavy like the FGT.
5)The plastics have remained the same,i could see some difference in fitting and finish but the quality is the same.
6)Its cost 35k more ex-showroom and 50k on-road? from what i gather there is no major difference except the chrome door handles and the turbo, both of which wont even cost 5k, fiat could have done better with the price. Another lost opportunity to increase sales
Summing it up-
The car is definitely better than the FGT , If u are looking for buying a punto and was put off by the power then the Punto VGT is your answer but if u are ok with a tad lesser power then its better to go for the punto fgt!
PS: the odo was disconnected,i feel bad for the poor soul who is going to end up with this car

[ntrack]

Originally Posted by amulu10

6)Its cost 35k more ex-showroom and 50k on-road? from what i gather there is no major difference except the chrome door handles and the turbo, both of which wont even cost 5k, fiat could have done better with the price. Another lost opportunity to increase sales
Frustrati

5k for a turbo & chrome door handles ?? You gotta be joking. When an engine is changed from FGT to VGT, there are several parts that are replaced/added. The turbocharger, ECU, pistons & a few more. I know someone who works with V.M. Motori (which supplies diesel engines to GM)
Its easier said that its only a turbo change. If it was so simple, Maruti would have already introduced it. Also, Fiat is the only local manufacturer of VGT engines, rest are imported. The cost of the VGT would be around 15-18k to the co. Add to that the margins.
I feel it would make little sense to launch the car below an increase of 25k. But Fiats have always been well priced to say the least!

[amulu10]

Originally Posted by ntrack

5k for a turbo & chrome door handles ?? You gotta be joking. When an engine is changed from FGT to VGT, there are several parts that are replaced/added. The turbocharger, ECU, pistons & a few more. I know someone who works with V.M. Motori (which supplies diesel engines to GM)
Its easier said that its only a turbo change. If it was so simple, Maruti would have already introduced it. Also, Fiat is the only local manufacturer of VGT engines, rest are imported. The cost of the VGT would be around 15-18k to the co. Add to that the margins.
I feel it would make little sense to launch the car below an increase of 25k. But Fiats have always been well priced to say the least!

oops my bad , i actually meant 15k. The reason that Maruthi hasn't introduced the VGT is another reason altogether . Again Fiat is not adding a extra ECU,turbo,Pistons ! If at all they are merely replacing the ones in the FGT with better/different ones.And with fiat's case they already have the VGT engine in Linea so there is no argument about totally new stuff for Punto 90hp alone. Sharing engines reduces the cost a big way.
Little sense to sell it under a increase of 25k you say?With Punto selling the way it is, i would have thought they cut down on their margins for a while!

[download2live]

Originally Posted by amulu10

PS: the odo was disconnected,i feel bad for the poor soul who is going to end up with this car

You should not have taken the test drive. If you noticed it before starting off with the drive that is.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by amulu10

oops my bad , i actually meant 15k. The reason that Maruthi hasn't introduced the VGT is another reason altogether .

Maruti Suzuki cars with FGT 75hp multijet engine provide better performance than Tata Fiat cars with VGT 90 hp engine (thanks to the Palio derived Fiat gearbox), so if they do not have VGT version ready for production they have no reason to be worried.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Maruti Suzuki cars with FGT 75hp multijet engine provide better performance than Tata Fiat cars with VGT 90 hp engine (thanks to the Palio derived Fiat gearbox), so if they do not have VGT version ready for production they have no reason to be worried.

Please stop comparing Maruti Suzuki cars with Fiat-Tata cars, The reason maruti does not introduce VGT engine, may be because they don't have the licence to use it. without driving a VGT Punto, just to put swift in a higher position, don't say MSL cars have better performance. I am not talking about 0-100 timings, driving is not only that limited.The word Performance has a wide meaning, one of the reason fiat still lagging behind the sales figures may be due to the marketing.One of my die-hard punto fan friend ended up buying an i20 because, one of his school mate who works in Tata Motors said "there are issues with spares and services for Fiat cars", another of my friend who drives a Tata car, will not buy a fiat because he thinks "Fiat ka koi bharosa nehi, kab India se gayeb ho jaye", there are n number of justification within indians not to buy a fiat car, but still Fiat sales figues are improving, not sure is Maruti had to go through this kind of negetive minds what would have been their sales. One of the reason we Indians love to buy poor quality maruti cars because we are scared, as Maruti say you will find a maruti service station in Ladak too, but my question is why should one be scared that his car will break down?Why do you have to go to service station every 5000kms? With Fiat cars this fear factor is gone. They build cars which will stand tall and deliver. Sorry for the off topic discussion, but this thread way to soon goes on comparing Fiat with MSL, which is not the reason for this thread creation.

[samyakmodi]

@ everyone who has any link in fiat

any idea whether they would be launching the punto sport or not?
if they plan to do it, then how long will it take for it to hit the roads?

i think this is the only car i have waited for so eagerly to buy.

[ntrack]

Originally Posted by amulu10

Again Fiat is not adding a extra ECU,turbo,Pistons ! If at all they are merely replacing the ones in the FGT with better/different ones.And with fiat's case they already have the VGT engine in Linea so there is no argument about totally new stuff for Punto 90hp alone. Sharing engines reduces the cost a big way.
Little sense to sell it under a increase of 25k you say?With Punto selling the way it is, i would have thought they cut down on their margins for a while!

Every replacement to a higher spec adds cost. Even if they have a VGT in Linea, plonking it in Punto has a cost attached to it. Nothing comes free.

You mean to say that dropping prices & negating margins will sell more cars - that's not true. Its the overall brand appeal that'll do that. Fiat sells very well in cities where people relate to Fiat - eg. Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Cochin, Chennai etc. Its even doing decent nos in Chandigarh.

A universal appeal of Fiat will ensure higher nos rather that selling well only in pockets. That will eventually happen.

[amit_mechengg]

any idea why GTO is not yet posting the test drive report ? whats holding him now?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by amit_mechengg

any idea why GTO is not yet posting the test drive report ? whats holding him now?

Maybe he hasnt driven it yet? Im sure he will post it as soon as he drives it, IF he drives it.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

@ everyone who has any link in fiat

any idea whether they would be launching the punto sport or not?
if they plan to do it, then how long will it take for it to hit the roads?

i think this is the only car i have waited for so eagerly to buy.

My BIL had a chance to chat with a Fiat official at Concorde Motors Cochin today. He put this question to the Fiat official who said that the Punto Sports version (with sunroof etc) in unlikely to be launched, atleast not any time soon. Main issue is pricing.

[ankit_chd]

Originally Posted by ntrack

Every replacement to a higher spec adds cost. Even if they have a VGT in Linea, plonking it in Punto has a cost attached to it. Nothing comes free.

You mean to say that dropping prices & negating margins will sell more cars - that's not true. Its the overall brand appeal that'll do that. Fiat sells very well in cities where people relate to Fiat - eg. Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Cochin, Chennai etc. Its even doing decent nos in Chandigarh.

A universal appeal of Fiat will ensure higher nos rather that selling well only in pockets. That will eventually happen.

Very well said brother . Its raining Punto's in Chandigarh.

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by ankit_chd

Very well said brother . Its raining Punto's in Chandigarh.

I think you guys are right. Depends a lot on the city, basically how automobile oriented a city is in general. For example, in Calcutta one can spot quite a few Linea's but the number of Punto's that I've seen is barely a handful.