I drive a Hyundai Verna CRDI VGT which in my opinion is one of the best cars I have owned and driven. My wife bought herself the new Fiat Palio 1.6 Sport Formula red. Matter of couple of months we managed to exchange cars.
This is why and how things changed:
1) The Fiat is an MUV on the road. Can say that with confidence as I once owned a Scorpio and I used to take it everywhere except into my house. The Fiat is like a tank interms of high speed handling, road holding, control, road clearance etc . It is a front wheel drive which can go pretty much anywhere an MUV goes.
2) Its phenomenally powerful on the highway making overtaking so easy. You can just manage to surprise some of the bigger cars of the likes of the Ford Fiesta 1.6 or sometime the Baleno. My personal best is 180 KMPH but I have managed to 190 kmph but I soon realized that I was on a mild slop. Yes! anger on the throttle does have its repercussions on your pocket. She is a Guzzler at those speeds.The most fascinating is how she feels at those speeds. She is rock solid.
3) Styling is great from the front, but I think Fiat could have done better on the rear. Having said that the brake lights are well placed that cars 3 rows behind can see you brake and that on the highway makes a big difference.
4) The car has done 15k on the odo and all that I have incurred on maintenance cost is just on the filters and the oil.
5) The interiors of the car are very basic, a strategy which is followed across all models coming out of the Fiat plant any where in the world. Have you looked at the interior of a Ferrari. It is very Basic. Clearly the focus has been on the engine and the drive or ride Quality.
6) She gives you a decent 11 to 12(stretch) in the city and 15 on the highway when you drive at 80kmph, show your anger on her and she gives you 9 and 11 resp.
7) She is great **VALUE FOR MONEY.
Those were the good things. Now for some things which takes the charm away. Well thankfully, its not the car but the service staff.
1)Bunch of Jokers who should have been handling trucks and buses and not this baby. Trust me its the culture and the training thats gone into there service staff that differentiates a Hyundai service staff to a tata service staff. But Fiat has responded to these concerns. I believe Fiat wants to start their own service centre in Bangalore. Sure the other cities will also have these coming up.
2) The front seat recliner tests your patience and for a person not so strong on the wrist, watch out! We’ve gone back in time! The car does not have a lever system which ensure you recline almost instantly.
Overall my view is if you can hold your tongue when you meet up with the service staff and wait for the Fiat fully owned service station to open up, go for it.
By the way , the Verna still is a better car than the fiat, but its the fun of driving the fiat which is infectious.
Thanks!