[Newpunter]

I'm using an external host to upload my pics as there seems to be some problem with uploading pics on T-BHP right now. Mods, please remove if this violates the rules.

Waiting for Breakfast at Mayura after Bellur Cross :



My Punto had already accumulated a lot of dirt by then


My Punto posing near the Hoysaleshwara Temple in Halebidu


Near the Jain Temple in Halebidu


Near the Hirekolale Lake Chikmagalur






On the way to Muthodi

[oxyzen]

Excellent pics.
The car surely is a head turner.

BTW how is the service of Fiat in Gurgaon. Is there any Fiat only service centre?

[anekho]

Just saw this thread now.

Excellent pics and updates, Newpunter!

I think I've found my favourite colour for the Punto

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Excellent pics.
The car surely is a head turner.

BTW how is the service of Fiat in Gurgaon. Is there any Fiat only service centre?

Thanks. I'm here in Gurgaon only temporarily. I don't have any idea about the Fiat service centres in Bangalore. My Punto is back home in Bangalore, parked at a friend's place :( . I won't be seeing my Punto till July at the least. This is also the reason for the lack of any updates on this thread lately.

Originally Posted by anekho

Just saw this thread now.

Excellent pics and updates, Newpunter!

I think I've found my favourite colour for the Punto

Thanks. Black is a great color and looks awesome on the Punto. However, the maintenance is a nightmare. I didn't believe others when they told this to me before buying the car and I learnt it the hard way . That said, if i were to buy the Punto today, I would still buy it in black, as the color totally rocks on the Punto ( or any other car ).

[Newpunter]

I am finally back in Bangalore now after short stints in Gurgaon and Germany. The first thing I did once I returned was to take my Punto on a really long road trip. I had been planning this road trip for a long long time. Here are the details of the trip :

Total distance : 2345 Kms
Average Mileage ( as shown on MID ) : 13 Kmpl.

Route Details: Bangalore- Hyderabad - Suryapet - Khammam - Bhadrachalam.
Bhadrachalam - Tadepalligudem - Razole.
Razole - Vijayawada - Nellore - Nayudupeta - Tirupati - Chittoor - Kolar - Bangalore.

This was the first trip that I actually pushed my Punto to the max. All this while, the maximum speed that I had done was a little more than 120 kmph. On my Bangalore-Hyderabad trip, I touched 140 Kmph when the road was clear and the visibility was good with no traffic in sight. This route is completely awesome and you can consistently maintain a speed of 100-120 kmph. The Punto handled like a champ and the braking was very good.
Then, on my way to Bhadrachalam from Hyderabad, I got a chance to get onto the ORR at around 6 AM in the morning. The road was awesome to say the least, there was zero traffic and I really pushed my Punto without even realising it. I checked the Speedo and it was crossing 160 Kmph. I didn't push it further and continued driving at around 120 kmph, but it was really amazing that the Punto reached this speed on the puny 1.2 engine.
On my return trip, I took the Vijayawada route and the total trip took around 15 hours including breaks for breakfast and lunch. I didn't feel any tiredness after the trip and didn't have any neck pain or back pain like in my earlier trips. On the whole, I think the Punto is meant for road trips like this. It is not the best car to drive in the city, but on the highways, i wouldn't want to be in any other car.

In other updates, I also got my 2nd servicing done. I had done only 5000 kms by then( it is at nearly 8K kms now ) , but it was already a year since I bought it, so I got it serviced at KHT Motors. The total bill came to around 4151 Rs. I didn't have any major complaints, but I got the front wiper blade changed, which increased the bill.

Back home, I was trying to clean the rear windscreen and when I pulled the wiper a bit hard, it broke :O . My father put it back in place after using some adhesive, but I intend to get it changed. Also, air was leaking from the front tyre when we got air filled at Shell just before starting the above trip. The guy put a cap on it, and it is ok for now, but I intend to get it repaired on my next visit to the service center.
Haven't taken a lot of pics, but will post a few when I get home.

[Newpunter]

Time to give one final update to this thread. After more than 7 years of owning my Punto, I decided to exchange it and get a new car.
My Punto had served me very well during this time and it was a very emotional moment for both me and my wife when we let her go. I didn't have any major issues with the car during these 7 years and it had served me faithfully.

But lately, the mileage had dropped due to the horrible traffic I encounter daily. I had recently got the clutch plate changed, so the car was still a dream to drive, but I was tired of holding down the clutch for most of my daily commute and wanted to get an automatic. Besides, the servicing cost was increasing every year and I thought that this would be a good time to sell off the car, before it started having reliability issues.

So I finally decided on getting a Rapid DSG top end and exchanged my Punto with the dealer, after they offered 2 lakhs (including the exchange bonus) for it.

I am very sad to see it go and I will miss it forever. If Fiat had a Linea Automatic or any automatic vehicle within my budget, I would have bought a Fiat again. My Punto experience has been very good and I hope Fiat gets to launch a few more vehicles in India on the back of the successful Compass launch.

That said, here is a pic of my new car and I hope I can start an ownership thread soon, after i get a few miles on it.

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

So I finally decided on getting a Rapid DSG top end and exchanged my Punto with the dealer, after they offered 2 lakhs (including the exchange bonus) for it.

That said, here is a pic of my new car and I hope I can start an ownership thread soon, after i get a few miles on it.

Attachment 1689545

Very nice picture. Look forward to your ownership review.

The Rapid in DSG guise and diesel is surely going to be more than a worthy replacement for the Punto

[gopikb]

Congrats Newpunter on your new ride. Wish you many more years of happy ownership with your new vehicle.
I can connect very well with your feelings when you left your old Punto go. I was among the very first people who had bought the Punto when it was launched in 2009. Eight years down the line and 80000 kms on the odo, it still behaves very much the same as it did in 2009. We still donot have mental readiness to let it go given the innumerable trips that it had taken us and brought us back home safely. I am planning to use it a couple more years before giving it a thought to change.

[Newpunter]

Thanks Gopikb and bhpfaninblr. My Punto served me very well and I already miss it a lot, although I am enjoying my new ride as well :-) .
Lately, I have been wishing for more power from 1.2 engine and had to always switch off the A/C whenever I needed to overtake. But the engine was still very smooth and the suspension was fantastic.
The car still looked great on my last day with it. The looks of the original Punto are timeless and it has aged so well. I hope Fiat releases more such vehicles with better engines in the future. I hope to be back with Fiat some time in the future.