Well, this is my first review on MouthShut, though I have been reading reviews for a long time now. It was in fact the reviews at MS which played a major role in my family opting for a petra, after considering indigo, corsa, getzand even esteem!
The petra just completed 6 months with us, and here’s what I have to say: the car simply rocks! And here are the reasons why:
-after having owned a M800 for >8yrs, it finally feels great to zip ahead of almost all the cars on the road, even big ones like corolla and octavia at times. besides, the performance is great even with AC on and 4 adults in it. combine it with a mileage of >=10 with AC on 85% of the time.
-the engine is AWESOME!! it is one of the quietest and most refined, and not just in its class.
-i think that after sales service is an issue blown out of proportion. we’ve had 2 services till now, and the staff at the service centre was great- very couteous and professional. besides, a few friends/cousins of mine have had fiat cars (siena/palio/petra) for much longer times, and have had no trouble whatsoever. this is even more so as the prices of spares have come down quite a lot.
-the car feels so secure! compare it to maruti and hyundai cars, and they seem so fragile.
-great AC
-and hey, the car looks nice. at least compared to the dated esteem(how long is maruti gonna stretch it!!), and also indigo.
but the car definetly has the following cons:
-second gear is a bit short, or the third a bit tall, esp with the AC on. but this is not a major issue.
-interiors are dated, and a car like petra should have at least an MP3 CD changer as a std. fitment.
-DONT BUY IT if you plan to resell it soon. the resale value is bad, because people simply percieve fiat to be bad, which is sad, but cant be changed.
Finally, petra is the best choice in its class because:
-great pricing, although there was a recent news of opel further lowering the corsa’s price.
-dont buy the esteem unless the only thing you want is a mruti car. after driving the petra, i’ve realised that the car is underpowered, and space is too low.
-indigo is a good car, but low mileage and low engine refinement are major issues.
-getz is way overpriced. go for swift instead, but then u’ll be buying a car with the same engine that esteem has :(
I hope people, w/o blindly believing in notions, look at the specs that the petra provides, and combine that with its price, and they’ll realise that it is the most sensible choice in its segment today.