Hi,
I am not a Techno writer, but I do love to read reviews. But then, this time, I thought I need to put in afew of my thoughts as well. Coming to the topic...
The Palio is quite well known to the indians, the one car that looks small on the outside, but quite big on its interiors. The Palio belongs to to the world car 178 series and traditional to what people look for in a fiat, it was built to a class which not many could achieve (atleast in india). Though a tout heavier, its one of the safest car in India in its segment and can stand out as a prominent rival to many of those on the higher segments as well. The design now might feel like a little outdated on the interiors, but it really makes you feel that quality that has gone into it.
Speaking about its variants. It did come to india with a bang, but then it didn’t create those ’’stir’s ’’ which guys like maruti could do. One thing was the price and the other the service and one more point that added later to it was those speculative decisions from those who spear headed fiat india during that point of time.
The variants that fiat brought in were the palio 1.6, palio 1.2 and the palio 1.9 D. Later on due to poor fuel average problems, they plonked the market with an updated version of 1.2 named the ’1.2 nv’.
Basically, the fiat palio has quite a rounded design, which though outdated, still makes those heads turn when one flashes past them. The overall dimensions are comparable to quite a few upper segment cars. The construction is quite solid and well built. Close the door and you know what I am really speaking about. Its made with an intention to last and it would. The doors have those staged openings, where you don’t need to have your hands against your door to stop it from closing on you. These are something that all palio’s share.
Then out of the lot is the Palio D. Its a sublime performer. Its pretty quick, but don’t expect it to be race winner. Have some short gear changes and quickly come to the fifth cog and its a breeze. It doesn’t really care about those pot holes and kerbs. The accelerator pedal is not a mech one, but has a potentiometer that does the trick. The plaio D is good for long drives and though a tad heavy , being a diesel it does keep you in the economy zone as well. It gives you a good average when compared to cars of the same category. It does give you an average of about 12 in the city and 17 on the highways. Pretty decent, right??
The palio D has three options, EL, ELX, and the ELX SP. The ELX SP is the top end one and its one small car that offers you with ABS and air bags. The ELX is the topend version minus those airbags and the ABS. It has all those gooddies that many even in the upper segment don’t offer. The quality is top class and the elx version comes with a mock wood trim. The steering wheel is light and responsive. The gear shifting is pretty smooth and should be as it employs those costly cable shift mechanism. The seats are quite comfy and you have good headroom and leg room, unless you are way ahead of those in the 6ft range. The engine is quite smooth and extremely reliable.
The diesel engine is basically a naturally aspirated one that churns out close to 63 bhp and 120Nm of torque. The same engine is used world wide and has the potential to develop bhp figures in and around 100 bhp with those turbo’s adding those extra horses into it. The engine size is 1900 cc , the same thats on the skoda octavia, but derated for India. Fiat shouldn’t have done that. You could have had a fabulous diesel fire breathing monster in India. But then, this engine is a gem as well. the torque levels are pretty high and those apt gears propel the helluva 1140 kg’s to admirable speeds in no time. The top speed is something close to 154kmph, is quite decent for a diesel. The diesel has pretty good ride on the highways and so on the city as well, but you can feel those bumps in the city, as the diesel version runs on slightly stiffer suspension. The diesels run on 165/80 tyres and are quite the best ones for the car. Being quite heavy, makes this car quite safe and sturdy on the highways at high speeds. But I do think, thats the brakes needed to be spruced up a bit to have that extra stopping power. It lacks that bite, everyone looks for. It does sometimes make you a little nervous when applying brakes at high speeds on highways. But for normal driving, the brakes are quite fine.
In the entire totality its one of the finest cars you have in india. Though a tad costly , its worth that. Drive one and you know it. Try it and you would never stay away from it.
Now that The tata’s have joined hands with Fiat, the service should improve and so that issue too should be solved, to make those fiats more endearing to most of them.