Team-BHP - My Grande Punto - In Fox Trot Azure ~~

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunkk (Post 2019942)

First I went to Prerana motors (Sarjapur Road) for seeing the car and taking test drive.

Now for taking the TD, I went to Concorde motors near Dairy Circle.

Yet to post my ownership experience but mine was the other way round. I started with Concorde Motors and seeing the lack of enthusiasm, went to Prerana on Sarjapur Rd.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunkk (Post 2019942)

After shortlist of Punto, when I compared the prices, Prerana quoted about 3K less than Concorde. Also I enquired the finance options with both and Prerana's offer was better.

I did not get a chance to compare the deals but the rate offered from the Prerana finance agent (think Mr Srinivas) were better compared to other banks. Did you take it from HDFC?

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunkk (Post 2019942)

I would still recommend Prerana motors as I was very satisfied with everything till the last minute of delivery. Except this incident which was quite serious, all other things went very smooth with them.

I had other major issues with them during delivery but would still recommend them for the way they handled it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arunkk (Post 2020148)

Now apart from these, I dont understand what people call as plastic "quality". I dont know what kind of tests are performed to assess the quality of plastics, but from a layman point of view, seriously there is nothing wrong I found in Punto's plastics.

+ 1 to that. Everything seems fine in my GP as well (Touch wood!!!). The black interiors might not give a premium feel but I haven't faced any niggling issues so far ( again Touch wood!!)

On the topic of build quality and interior plastics:

I had checked out the Polo and the Punto back to back few days back. I felt that the exterior build quality of Punto was quite better than Polo, (which was inturn better than most of the competition). Not that, I had some good testing mechanism to conclude this, but the thunk of the doors shutting in the Punto (especially the hatch door) felt better than Polo. That same impression of build quality was persistent during test drives(perhaps a psychological effect).

On the interiors and the plastic quality, the plastics in punto really felt cheap. I feel that good quality plastic have a rubbery touch and look as well. The areas of the dash that were meant to have a matte effect in the Polo, indeed looked Matte, whereas in the Punto, the areas that had been given a textured treatment to look matte finished, were still shiny inspite of the rough texture. That looks cheap (as in kid's toys). Also on tapping lightly with finger-nails, the polo interiors were rubbery wheras the punto interiors had the same hard, kid's-toy like feel. My impression was that, the rubberry interiors of the Polo will refrain from rattles for a longer duration.

But, my final impression was that the Punto is a much better car over-all with better build-quality where it really matters.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ancientmariner (Post 2020955)

I did not get a chance to compare the deals but the rate offered from the Prerana finance agent (think Mr Srinivas) were better compared to other banks. Did you take it from HDFC?

I took from Axis bank. The rates offered were same for both.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilkDrive (Post 2021214)

On the topic of build quality and interior plastics:

On the interiors and the plastic quality, the plastics in punto really felt cheap. I feel that good quality plastic have a rubbery touch and look as well. The areas of the dash that were meant to have a matte effect in the Polo, indeed looked Matte, whereas in the Punto, the areas that had been given a textured treatment to look matte finished, were still shiny inspite of the rough texture. That looks cheap (as in kid's toys). Also on tapping lightly with finger-nails, the polo interiors were rubbery wheras the punto interiors had the same hard, kid's-toy like feel. My impression was that, the rubberry interiors of the Polo will refrain from rattles for a longer duration.

Agree to it. This can be figured out when we look carefully and run our fingers through the plastics. In this regard Polo & I20 are better. But I find the same feel & quality in my old Zen and also with my brother's Swift VDI and also in Alto's. I have not seen people criticizing them soo much !

For all those who are reading this and considering Punto as an option, please go and check out yourselves. Everywhere you will find people bashing Punto's plastics & A.S.S. Just go to the showroom and check out the plastics and interiors and if you are ok with it dont care about anything else.
Now A.S.S will depend on your city and the dealers over there. I have got good feedbacks about TASS in bangalore and again there is a lot of subjectivity to it. Even Maruti/Hyundai customers have problems once in a while with the service.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilkDrive (Post 2021214)

But, my final impression was that the Punto is a much better car over-all with better build-quality where it really matters.

Same was my feeling and thats why I went ahead with the purchase. This is after due consideration of all its cons which was easily out weighed by the pros :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan (Post 2020183)

The things that failed & had shoddy workmanship on my friends Punto. The front passenger door lock has never worked since day 1. So the passenger cannot lock the door as he/she steps out. The door has to be shut first and then the driver from inside has to push the door open lever to lock it.

Are you sure it's not the same in other Puntos without central locking(Active variant)?
I think it's a safety feature to prevent anyone locking the doors from outside with the keys still in the ignition slot.

A long pending update from my side.
Its been little over 4 months after my purchase. Clocked about 5300kms and included many long drives. During these 4 months, I went onsite for 2 months and car was not used at all.

Long drives done are
Bangalore <-> Hoggenackal
Bangalore <-> Trivandrum
Trivandrum <-> Cherai (Cochin)
Trivandrum <-> Ponmudi
Bangalore <-> Yercaud

Overall impression is that I am very much satisfied with the car. Will also explain some minor niggles faced.

My impressions

- Understood the meaning of ride & handling first time with this car
- Sturdy build quality
- Dont feel like repeating it but again SUPERB high speed stability
- Feels like a sedan from inside. Difficult to park too compared to other hatches due to its size.
- Heavy steering perfect for highway drives and gives good control in city too but ladies may not like it. Single handed maneuvering is difficult.
- Bigger nose which is not only a problem in taking U turns but also scrapes at many places
- Interior Glove box fixing is very poor and came off twice.
- ACC works like a charm
- Rear visibility is poor and should get parking sensors
- Seats feel bit hard. Looking for good seat covers now.
- Went through some extremely bad roads and under-belly got scraped many times where an alto coming along with us went without any issues.
- Getting FE of around 14-15kmpl in city drives with AC off mostly
- Highway FE of 21kmpl when driven around 80-90 km/hr with AC off
- Highway FE came down to 16kmpl with spirited driving > 120km/hr with AC

Major issues faced

- After 2 months of non-usage, I came back to see that AC is not working. Took to service centre (Prerana, Hosur road) and got it fixed the same day. But the issue cropped up again after a long drive. Another visit to the service center and this time the issue was fixed properly.

- A small accident in Bangalore, a Tata Sumo cab hit the rear bumper. Bumper got cracks at 2 places and some dent on the boot. Very much satisfied with the service I got this time. Completely hassle-free insurance claim & repair and car was given back in 3 days time.

Overall I am loving every moment spent with my car. Last but not the least I am yet to come across another Punto with FTA colour in Bangalore. I am quite liking the uniqueness :)

Man, I think all Punto owners think alike. I own a white GP MJD myself and most of my impressions of this car are the same as yours. The glovebox coming off, hard seats, front bumper scraping, superb highway ride, great suspension, etc., etc.:D :D

I have the emotion variant and I have changed the seat covers with a little bit more padding. Now, I feel comfortable. You can change the seat covers and please add some padding according to your comfort. This should fix the seat problem.

Have you been able to find a solution for the glovebox issue? Please let me know if you do.

Hi.. I am a bit late but Congratulations Arun :D
The car looks really good in FTA no doubt..
Actually I wanna buy a new hatchback and I have only one option i.e. Punto and no other car.. However I cant understand one thing and that is even when GP's ground clearance is 171 mm how is it scraping its underbelly so much?? I have sold off my Swift D and its GC is 170 MM.. And I don't even remember when was the last time its underbelly got scraped.. So under what conditions exactly have you scraped the under belly of the car???

Quote:

Originally Posted by psbali (Post 2177165)

Punto does not scrape its underbelly. Swift on the other hand, does. I have driven a swift and a swift dzire (swift with a boot :)) and both of them used scrape their underbelly at speed humps. The problem with Punto is its elongated nose, the bumper. You have to be careful while coming down or going up an incline. I think this scraping can be avoided by just slowing down. Even with a swift, you can reduce it to some extent by slowing down to almost 0 and taking the speed hump on first gear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopikb (Post 2177013)

I get highway fuel efficiency of 21km/l when driven around 80-90 km/hr even with AC on. With AC off, I have got upto 24km/l with similar driving style. This could be subjective as it depends on how frequently we had to slow down and move because of traffic.

Thats indeed some wonderful FE you are getting. My friend is not even getting as much as mine in city drives.

Quote:

Originally Posted by praz (Post 2177070)

I have the emotion variant and I have changed the seat covers with a little bit more padding. Now, I feel comfortable. You can change the seat covers and please add some padding according to your comfort. This should fix the seat problem.

Have you been able to find a solution for the glovebox issue? Please let me know if you do.

Yeah I am going to get some good seat covers. Looking for good options in leather with padding. Glovebox is presently OK after fixing it during last service centre visit. I am using it with utmost care now without loading it fully.

Quote:

Originally Posted by psbali (Post 2177165)

Thanks psbali. Most of the scrapings happen because of its long nose as i mentioned which projects too much after the front wheels. I can see many scratches under my front bumper. Also due to its good suspension you have to be careful while going over humps.