Fiat cars are said to be sturdy and nice to drive. I loved to drive the Herald, it was heavy, clung to the road, had power and the gear shifting was a wonderful feel.
But everybody says nowadays Fiat service is awful and so buying a fiat is a mistake. But people here have given good reviews and everyone adviced a Santro when I bought my Matiz.
As FE was not a criteria, the dealer rep suggested the 1.6 Sport as the one to look at.
Red.
Got it last week, delivered at my door step at 8.30 A.M. by the dealer who is 85KM away(Kulathunkal Motors, TVM)
Drove it 200KM the same day. TeamBHP member reviews suggest driving at lower rpm during running in, so kept my foot off, (and I mean it- you have to lift your foot off and keep it elsewhere) the pedal most of the time, though it was difficult.
The drive was nice, though I felt the seat rather low compared to my Matiz.(you cannot bring the Scopio into this conversation)
The steering felt a bit uncomfortable and the tyres squeal on curves at speeds above 60KMs, I guess the alignment needs to be checked at the first service.
I got into a rain and thought I had a rain sensor too(Honest!) because the intermittant position was wiping away like the regular wiper when it started raining. It was omly on my way back, when the quick wipe started getting stuck in it’s postion that I suspected there is something wrong. But not to worry, because nothing is perfect, and I am sure the dealer will sort out the problem along with the tire squeal at the first service next tuesday, ie., day after tomorrow).
Have driven it 1100 Km so far, and am happy with the power, the speeed, etc. Have not pushed it, but the engine is powerful. Regarding build and suspension, I will post here after a couple of months’ use.
Will be using it really rough(on bad roads as I said earlier), and I do a lot od driving too.
There are noises inside, the car is not that silent. The road is felt as light bumps and rumbles, and there are minor rattles inside too. But then that was expected.
I checked the mileage only twice(12.4 and 13, 2) 13.2 this afternoon, on 24 litres. 12.4 on the first day’s ride. Drove between 60 and 100 max speed with A/c. Kept rpm under 2500 as much as possible.
(Model Year is FEB 2008, but no place to put in below)
July16/08 Drove in for First service. Oil change at this juncture is not standard, but requested anyway because again Team BHP know hows say it is good, and what the heck.
July 17/08 I drove around 400 km today and on good and bad roads, in sun and in rain. The wiper stayed ok this time(they said it would take time to check and I said leave it for later).
The car is great on curves, because the squeal has lessened a lot(I still need to check it elsewhere)
and and the spurt is still there. Visibility because of the low seat is a problem, maybe because I am only 5’11".
Otherwise I am still happy(driven 1500KM+ now and FE today was 12.2Km/ltr, and I drive fast)
Aug 11/08 Rishi, thanks for the comment, . I forgot to add more from my experience! Anyway, here I go:)
Covered 2800 Kms now. The bad things first, when I switch on the A/c in climate control, or if the fan is switched on, a funny knock sounds begins and accompanies you all thru, a nuisance really. I the boot they have put a tool kit nicely wrapped but with no specific place where you can store it, so the rattles from the things in that kit is also a nuisance in every pot hole. The driver side door handle has already come loose.
On 7th I drove to Cochin(200Km away), and 25Km out a funny thing happened. The engine started stalling as if without fuel(the gauge showed low but the light was not burning). I had shifted to third to overtake a vehicle and the sudden stall was frightening. Now when I think recall it, the experience was really frightening. Imagine the engine taking a hike when you are just overtaking, at 100KM+.
Shifted to neutral and coasted to the side. The engine revved well in neutral, but again stalled in gear.
Called the 24hr helpline number stuck on the windshield, Got immdiate reply and got the wise advice to check my spark plugs. Wife and kid in the car, 6.30 P.M and all I know about cars is to drive them like heck.
Also got an advice to switch off engine and restart after 10 mts. Worked well. I didn’t wait ten minutes though. Just switched off and started immediately. Did that for around 50Kms. Stall-neutral-off-coast-ignition-spurt-fly! Nice fun on a new car.
Called my brother who has a Petra on the way, he said the ECU may have connections to gear shifts or something and the fuel injections are determined by the gear you are in or some such stuff. and that it may have some problem.
Called my dealer rep too, and he offered to give me numbers of service centers enroute.
After refuelling, the problem arose only twice. Two days in Cochin city no problem, on way back home yesterday(10th), it only threaten to stall if you attempt to go into fast revvs, so drove sedately and kept under 120 KmPH.
The good things. the car really hugs the curves wonderfully. It packs spurts, but you don’t feel convinced, and only repeated looks in the rear view mirror tells you that you are really pulling ahead of the crowd. On bad roads, you don’t have to slow down, because the suspension is not worried by the road condition, so why should you?
More later Rishi.
June 3/2010
I guess two years is a good enough gap to come in and fill in my experiences.
Do I have any regrets so far? No! I am glad I bought this car.
Lots of negative opinions on FIAT etc., seems like make believe to me because I get good service and spares are available too(I have not had any major hassles on maintenance anyway)
The car has done only a little over 28K now, because I also own a Scorpio and use that too.
And last chance if you are looking at owning a new Palio because my brother tells me that PUG has arranged for the last cars in stock to be available at a steal, and offer ends June 30th.
I am not trying to sell Palio’s so don’t misunderstand. just that if are searching for info like I did a couple of years back.don’t wait, go to your dealer and enquire.