This is my first review ever on car!
In 2011, I felt the need to own a car as I am a frequent traveler from Bangalore to Chennai. I was more focused on a petrol car as I began my TD’s on petrol cars. First, I had the chance to TD a Punto petrol car. After being seated inside the car and turned on the ignition, I was repeatedly asking the sales rep. whether the engine is ON since I could not hear any noise inside the cabin. I was very much impressed with the NVH levels(I could not tell whether the NVH level will continue to be low at higher RPM).
After having test driven the petrol car, I was more curious to know about Punto. On looking at the price brochure, I could make out there is a one Lakh difference between petrol and diesel variant after taking into account of RT and other taxes. Hence I had a big question whether it is justified to go for a diesel variant because I am will not be taking my car to office everyday except for the lone traveling to Chennai, hence the possibility of a break-even with a diesel car may happen only after five years. Hence my pursuit of a petrol car continued which obviously meant I will now be looking for other brand of cars but not Punto(attributed to its poor mileage).
Opinions here are purely subjective:
I went to Maruti. Same SWIFT(running in huge numbers on Indian roads in Blore and Chennai), of course the revamped oncoming SWIFT(waiting period running into half a year let alone the sales reps giving a damn to the customers as they are having their booking orders overflowing), RITZ(odd rear end design), ESTILO(touted as baby Innova!), A-star(not many I could find on the roads and not many favorable reviews as well). Next, I stopped at a Hyundai dealer. Test drove i10 and definitely the car is good with its pick up and performance for a city driving. Interiors are good and so are the exteriors. Dealer is ready to give a flat discount of 35k. But it could be attributed to rising petrol prices(combined with the factor that i10 will give a poor mileage as per the owners feedback), the falling sales of petrol cars in the Indian market. It might have saved a good amount of money initially, but I may have to burn my pockets frequently at the petrol pumps. Hence the decision swung in favor of a diesel car. So I tried enquiring on i20 diesel and there is big gap in price running into almost a Lakh difference between the base variant of Punto diesel and base variant of i20 diesel, hence the chance of a break-even in my case can happen after 10 years! IF i20 and punto active diesel had cost the same price, I would have certainly gone for the former, given its Hyundai badge.
Chevy Beat - a strict NO as I don’t like its design and moreover I want to upgrade to a hatchback on the lines of a premium segment
VW Pol diesel - expensive tag and A.S.S. still very nascent
Vista - Not considered
Micra - If it’s for my wife, then probably it could have been selected
So eventually, I went for Punto diesel 1.3 at Prerana Motors(Lalbagh Road). They offered me cash discount of 25k. Hence the OTR price of car was exactly 6 L in Blore. Now the choice is to go for the right color and it can make a big difference to the way the car will look like.
White - NO - maintenance is high and a very common color
Black - YES - a promising color looks exquisite on Punto and gels well with the black OVRM’s and door handles(mine is a base model after all) but that can’t be the reason for selection
Silver – just a very common Indian color
Grey – doesn’t suit Punto in any way!
Premium Blue color – I am little afraid how the car will look like in few years
Premium Tuscan Wine color – After seeing it on a Linea, I could not take my eyes off. Paid 5k for the premium color to the dealer.
GP was delivered only after three weeks. I didn’t ask for a PDI since I am not really aware of such procedures. Few months later, I deciphered the VIN and identified that it is a three months old car.
The delivery date was adhered to by the dealer and the process was very smooth. The car looked to be clean however I was surprised to find that the front grille of the car is not the usual chrome but black(it was really an eye-sore I could say). On the very first day of the delivery, I and my wife took my car to Salem(which is 200 kms away from Blore). I revved(since I was not really aware of the run-in) and touched the maximum speed of 140 kmph and the car was still stable.
Ride and Handling – Very good and especially at the corners and curves. One can easily cover 200 odd kms without any pit stop.
Suspension – Can take pot holes easily. But over speed breakers, it produces a thump sound.
Steering wheel – meaty and very nice to handle.
NVH level – is higher at good speed of 120 kmph and above.
Fuel efficiency – 13-14 kmpl and 17-19 kmpl in city and highways respectively with AC being ‘ON’ throughout.
Gears – Changing gears is little rubbery
Clutch – The throw on the clutch is too long and I also feel FIAT has gone a little wrong in ergonomics Power –Very less pick up on the first gear. Second gear is also sluggish unless you push the gear into third slot and so on. Hence for in-city driving Punto may not be an appropriate car
Interiors – Plastics are shiny. I guess, you know what I mean!. AC vents are completely outdated!. Opening the dashboard will generate a plastic noise which might be a good indicator of the cheap plastic. Cabin is little claustrophobic as it is completely black with little grey. To make it more airy, I went for a beige seat covers. Orange color back light is nothing to complain about and all other indicators are appropriate to this type of car.
Door handle/Knob – I just have to say about it. Yes. My wife had asked several times whether it will break if she tries opening the door with the door handle. A strange but a relevant question. Definitely needs a replacement in few years.
Plastic near windshield – What sort of plastic you(FIAT) have provided there!. There is a plastic running near the end of the windshield and beginning of the bonnet. The kind of plastic that is used there is worse than a plastic that you can find on a pencil box. What additional cost of the material FIAT might have incurred had it gone for extra metal with the windshield washer placed on it? The plastic was initially black but grey now!
Turning Radius – Very long. Sometimes you earn the wrath of few motorists but still you can learn to mitigate it. If you feel, there is no U-turn possible, simply don’t attempt it.
Exteriors – It just looks that it is carved with much thinking and a flare for designing. No other hatchback can match it when it comes to exteriors.
WAIT a minute. How could I have gone for a car which as equal number of PROS and CONS? While buying a car(at least in India), we have to make certain decisions with heart over mind. In the end, I am satisfied with my car and I may recommend it to others. However it is for others to see it for themselves the purpose, usage and utility before landing on any vehicle.
Hence own a car you feel that is appropriate for your family and love it.