1.I have been observing the growth of Indian Automobile industry since last ten years and against this backdrop I am going to analyse the performance of this car. We have to give it to Fiat for building tough and sturdy cars . The only place they failed was in marketing them appropriately and in providing after sales service . We Indians have misplaced sense of patriotism when it comes to choosing our cars .
We tend to patronise Indian products even though they may be of far poor quality (No wonder TATA’s marketing team realising the mass hype and this Pop patriotism named their first hatchback as INDica , which obviously clicked for the company) . The best example is that of TATA Sierra , TATA Sumo and TATA Indica , which in their initial introductory periods gave a lot of trouble to their customers.
2 By far Indian companies tend to take the Indian consumers for granted .They have been in here for ages and know the exact psyche of the Indian consumer .Due to their overreaching presence here they tend to manipulate the market to suit their interests. Take for example case of Punto itself vis-a-vis other Indian cars in same category. This car was tested for crash tests and every single component was tested for failure under demanding conditions.
In Europe they literally rip the car apart and go back to drawing room for fresh design(at considerable cost to the company) , in case it fails to meet desired quality standards . Now contrast this with our homegrown Indian companies. Force Motors introduced TRAX initially with extremely poor breaking efficiency .They released this half baked product in the market with the only USP of low cost . Their funda is simple "We make the car/vehicle which can cramm in maximum number of people and you test it live for us on roads at your cost , In case many people lose life in accidents then we may alter the design a bit keeping the cost constraints in mind ". Force too realised their folly when their vehicles met with numerous accidents and scores of people lost their lives.In short Indian companies tend to use Indians as Guinea Pigs to test their products, because they are confident that their overreaching service network and low cost will keep the customer tied to them .
3. But thankfully the system is changing for better now. Thanks to the introduction of Japanese , American and European companies these companies are now forced to adopt new technology , focus on R&D and adopt customer approach or face dwindling marketshare .
4. Now a few words on the Punto .I had the the opportunity of testing the car on numerous occassions in different places . Being a dieselhead myself I focused on this car only . Everytime I test drove it I focused on dirrerent aspect of cars performance . I will list out each of these one by one .
(a) Ride and handling . The car has exceptional handling . It stays planted on the road at almost any speeds . It tends to gobble up potholes giving a smooth ride. The steering is well weighted and gives precise response without straining you . Didn’t find such balance in any other car .
(b) Looks Definitely a head turner . All the colours available along this car are gorgious . They give you feeling of driving of exclusive vehicle.
(c) Fuel efficiency . The multijet engine in the car is very refined and gives a good milage. The milage that few of my friends were getting is 20-21 in highways and 17-18 in city driving conditions.
(d) Features . The feature set in this car is most impressive . And all the features are quiet user friendly . The features are designed to improve your driving pleasure and are absolutely functional , expect the glass holders which I found to be slightly small.
(e) Impressive service interval . The only car in country in this segment to boast of service interval of 15, 000 kms and oil change interval of 30000 kms.
(f) Boot space . The car boasts of ample boot space unlike any other car in this segment which can be increased with spilt folding seat option .
(g) Pick-up and performance in city driving . The car is meant for easy commuting with minimum gear shifts in city conditions which it does very well . The pick-up is comparable to best of the lot in third and subsequent gears .
5. Is it worth a try ? Absolutely it is .. forget about the fiats earlier versions . This time they have a winner on thier hands . Besides they are focused about ensuring easy availablity of their cheap spares and providing quality after sales service. The Fiat management is leaving no stones unturned in this direction . Personally I would go for it overlooking the vast service network of Maruti dealers for the following reasons.
(a) Maruti is a household name almost as common as potato which you find everywhere. Purchasing a Fiat gives it a exclusivity a niche segment and coupled with the looks of the car you are sure to get looks of admiration from many a people.
(b) Fiat management seems has understood the Indian market now and they are making efforts in the right direction this time around . I would prefer to patronise such underdog which shows keenness to adapt and respond to consumer sentiment rather than go with the established brand which charges extra premium for their brand value.