I bought the car - Palio Sports - 1.6 Black - on 9th November after long study of the car for nearly 7 months. I had taken test ride of stile 1.1 in April 07 at BU Bhandari, Pune. I have been a member of Palio Users Group (PUG) for last 7 months.
My previous car was a maruti Zen which I drove for 6 years.
Exterior: Exterior looks good - from front. However I feel the earlier model had better looks than the new one. Now the car looks a little bulky in the rear. The car has little extra clearence and marginally bigger than previous model.
Color & Paint : 1.6 is available in 3 colors - Formula Red, Carbon Black and Magnesium Grey. I choose black over red. The red color of new model is definitely different from red color of earlier model. Also I think paint quality of stile is generally bad compared to previous model. I got paint protection before delivery.
Interior : Interior is really bad. Its mainly about plastic quality. It looks bad. AC panel looks ok.
Within 5 days, while adjusting the mirror, the inner part of right mirror broke down.
Space : There is lot of space - quite comfortable on the paseenger seats.
Engine : 1.6 Engine has some real power. It gives power on demand and with a mild touch on acelerator. Most of the times I have been driving between 1500-2000 rpm.
Clutch : Clutch is a little too long and that makes it difficult to change gears.
Brake : Brake is supposed to be hard on Palios. When I took test ride - I felt it a little too hard. However on my car it is comfortable and doesnt bite hard.
AC : AC is quite powerful and you can feel chill (on hands) within 60 seconds.
Indicators : Indicators dont show up whether its left or right indicator - just blinks.
Doors : Overall body is very strong and doors give the famous Fiat ’thud’. Door opens in 3 stages. 1, middle and Max. A good idea - but badly implemented. The door has a jerky motion between these stops. And one must be careful while opening near a wall or building columns!
Steering : Steering wheel is comfortable to hold(enough thickness). Power steering works predictably and gives feedback. Turning radius is somewhat larger - 5.1 m. But thats what one would expect on this small-big car.
Suspension: This probably is the best part. You dont feel potholes. If someone is planning to buy any other car in this range (getz, swift, uva), take test ride of palio and other cars on the same road.
Mileage : I have driven mainly on outskirts of Pune (not on highway) - without heavy traffic. With 50% time AC on, it has given me 12.5 kmpl for first 1000 kms.
Dealer Experince: The salesman was quite friendly and helpful. There was no pre delivery Inspection on the day of delivery because of rush.
1st Servicing: Not very happy with 1st Servicing. There was some rattling sound - which has been reduced after servicing. The inner part of mirror could not be replaced as it was not available. This would never happen at a maruti dealer.
Overall, I like the car. You feel much safer.
The suspension and engine is the difference between palio and other cars.