Fiat Petra

Sturdy vehicle. Hitting Potholes at over a hundred kmph have to date not broken the suspension.I drove from Sambalpur to Mumbai and back with my family within the Petra.

What I prefer. Pretty much enjoyed the drive despite the dangerous roads.Most liked  once you rev over 4000 rev in third gear in mountainous piece of land

Good performance on road.

Good handling

Reasonably priced.

What I don't like.

Poor Service.

Poor Image

Low torsion at low rev. Overall a wonderful automotive, if solely order may offer higher service. The diesel is also a additional economic alternative. Power steering is sweet however I wanted steering was lighter at low speeds

Fiat may have oversubscribed this vehicle in larger range if that they had higher selling and repair, One will seriously contemplate shopping for the hydrocarbon version if one isn't too economy acutely aware,

Good for long drives and a fairly priced comfy family automotive. It may are additional tailored to suit Indian tastes

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Fuel Efficiency: 13.8 KMPL in city & 16.7 KMPL on highway

Service Interval:7500 KM(Needs to replace oil and oil filter)

Max Speed: 160 KMPH

Model: 2005

Features: Airbag, ABS, PW, PS, Steering Adjustments, Defogger, Music System etc etc...

Pros:

1) Decent Power/Torque

2) Fuel Efficient

3) Good Quality Ride

4) Easy to Handle

5) Very Strong  Body

====

My car now clocked 115000kms and I would like to share the problems I faced till now. Maintenance is expensive, but I prefer maintain the same car to buy a new one, as I am really happy with the overall performance of this vehicle.

Till 85000 kms, apart from the regular maintenance(i.e. 15-18K/20000km), I didn’t spend much. After that I faced a lot of electrical problems. The following are the major electrical parts I’ve replaced.

1) AC Compressor: INR 23000 + INR 4000(Service Charge)

2) Alternator parts(Idler, Switch, Regulator, Belt, Cables etc): INR 9000+INR 3000

3) Head Lamp to avoid water leakage: INR 3100/Unit

Replace the oil & oil filter every 5500-6000 kms. This costs around INR 1500. The type of the oil used is 15W-40D. Quantity is 4.5 litres.

Replace diesel filter in every 25000kms(Original costs around INR 2800. Duplicates are plenty coming without sensors and it costs ~1500. Sensor is a detachable part and we can reuse it) Replace timing belt and alternator belt in every 60000kms(~2500/belt)

Replaced the left lower arm at 105000 km(~2500)

I replace the entire set of glow plug even if only one plug fails. Compare to the replacement service cost, plug is cheaper. Usually I change the air filter based on the condition. It costs around INR 700.

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I had a choice between Hyundai Accent CRDi and Fiat Petra when I bought my car 5 years back. I was very impressed when I test drove Fiat. But everyone advised me against buying it for the well known reason of poor service quality for which Fiat was notorious at that time (is it any better now?).

But the car looked really really good - very heavy and sturdy and safe, it was a diesel car which I was looking for (thought that I would drove it a lot), the engine was surprisingly silent for a diesel car and had an awesome range of features (everything electrical including mirrors, alloy wheels, wooden interiors etc.). Plus it was very powerful (1900 CC engine) and yet gave decent milage and was attractively priced. So leaving all concerns about poor service aside, I ended up buying it.

And boy, it did not disappoint me at all. It was and is a powerful and safe machine. But then trouble started around one and half years back when suddenly I started getting a flashing coil symbol on my car's dash board. After looking into the manual to see what it stands for, I realized that a glow plug has fused. Called up Manipal Motors in Bangalore and they assured me it is not a life threatening (I mean car's life) problem and I can drive the car.

But I could not see a blemish in my beautiful car and I rushed to Manipal Motors and got it fixed. By the way I did not tell you that when one glow plug was gone, I saw that the car was taking a long time to start. Even after fixing it, the situation did not improve. It started taking me longer and longer to start the car and one day it simply refused to start. Again called up Manipal Motors and they advised me to replace the battery. I obliged and life was cool for next 6 months.

One fine day again I started seeing flashing coil on the dashboard. Rushed to Manipal. Got one glow plug replaced. And then seeing a glow plug fused bacame a regular affair. I have changed glow plugs almost six times, three of them recently, couple of months back from Prerana Motors. And guess what, the car still have starting trouble. I have to give ignition 4-5 times before I can start my car and all this even after spending 10000 Rs in last couple of years.

I have raised this issue with Fiat and let's see what actions do they take.

I will keep posting...

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I use a Fiat Petra since 2004. It's 1.6 petro.I love the car as a owner as well as adriver. A few cars are as good looking as that at that price.

It's a trouble free experience with fiat petra. Economy, smoothness, elegance, maintenance everything is a class apart. I tried to compare other cars of the similar size, but none could match the satisfaction level.

You try to drive at a higher speed and attempt an overtake, you will know the comfort and easeness at which it serves.

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I Really love this Car in every aspect as its perfect for any type of situation and thats why its my Piece of Heart and I am selling my Piece of Heart, My Car "Fiat Petra 1.9D ELX PS".

Its with Turbo Charged 1.9 Ltr Power Packed Engine, Silver Frost color, Power Stearing, All Power Windows, Crystal Clear Head Lamps & Tail Lamps, Wood Finished Dash Board, 15" 5 Alloy Wheels, New Tube Less Tyres, New Maintenance Free Battery, Manual Climate Control.

Tilt Stearing, Leather Finish Sporty Interiors, Spoiler with Brake Light, DVD Video Player with 7 JBL Subwoofer Speaker System & Blaupunk Amplifier, Electronic Side Rear View Mirror Adjustments, Individual inCabin Pilot Lamps at Rear Seat, Fuel Adulteration Sensor, Most Spacious Boot, Most Reliable Car to Own.

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I had a big crash on Bhilai Highway with my family by a Truck but thank God it was a Fiat Petra thats why we r still alive In my view each & every Car is having similar features but nobody is thinking about the Safety features.

When I bought this Car I was felt proud of my first sedan car & Iwas the only person in Raipur Tata Teleservices Office who owns asedan car .Lots of my Bhilai friends objected for buying this fiat Car.My reply was " kuch log sumo chalate hai main nahi".Fiat has been a pasion of our family .My father first car was Fiat padmini hand gear the brand continues over generation.The aircondtioning is very good , no noice in the cabin , gears are smooth , shocks are very good , tyre wear& tear is less I had driven 35000 kms so far no issues.finaly I am enjoying driving this car with my family

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In Nov 2007, I bought a new car, the Fiat Petra 1.6 ELX(it was manufactured in 2006, I came to know later.

It has 100 BHP engine and very smooth ride.

But still, I am not satisfied with the car. I don't know if the problem is with the car or the dealer.

I bought it from Jay Vijay motors, the only exclusive Fiat dealer in Pune. I took the delivery, and used the car. Absolutely wonderful car, no problems.

After some days, I noticed that the muffler was rusted. I took the car back to the showroom. They took 2 days and replaced it under warranty. Ok cool.

But after I took it back, I have had to give it back 2 times. When I took the car back, I noticed that after some 7-8 kms running, the temp. indicator

goes up to the hot mark. So, you have to stop the car and let it cool off. I complained to the service section of the showroom. They did some replacing

of some sensors/tubes etc and gave it back saying the problem was fixed.

But again, when I drove it, the same problem was there (what did they fix?). Again, gave it back to the service section.

Finally they said that need to replace the ECU and they dont have it. So I need to go to another Fiat dealer(Tata-Fiat) and get it replaced there.

I took my car to Pandit Automobiles.

After many, many days, they got the ECU, after fitting it, told me that it is not the problem!

Now they think that the wiring has some problem!

Now I am beginning to think that buying this car was a mistake, or buying it from this dealer was a mistake.

Although I got it for a discount, it has proved expensive. I have hardly used it for 2 weeks.

Finally got the news today that the problem has been solved(wiring problem). Let' see now.

But, definitely, Pandit Automobiles is better.

Today(24, jan) I took it back from Pandit Automobiles and faced the same overheating problem. Moreover, the in built central locking is no longer working.

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I must tell you about a terrific trip I did recently. This was my first longish drive in my Petra 1.6. I had been planning to do some trip or the other for quite some time. So, when a relative suggested a one day drive to Daman, a return trip of close to 350km, during the long Republic day week-end, I grabbed the opportunity.

We started from Kandivili East where our relatives live, at 8:30 in the morning. Two cars, my Petra and an Indigo diesel.

After about half an hour, having crossed the Dahisar Check naka, I started raising the revs.

There were enough trucks to slow our progress, but in a way, it was a good thing, since I would have gone on and on picking up speed. This car feels rock steady. You can imagine, I had my wife and my mother-in law with me, and while I was constantly ranging between 60 and 120 (slowing for the trucks), they were dozing off every once in a while. Of course, a lot of it was because the road was pretty good, but still, you can not take away from the great car.

I had the windows rolled up, to keep the car clean. So, we never got to know how cold or hot it was outside, but generally, the insides remained cool and fresh. So, the conditions were perfect for a good drive.

As I drove along, overtaking trucks of all sizes, whenever I would reach one truck overtaking another, I would have to spend agonisingly long waiting for the behemoths to make enough room for me to slip by. At first, I did overtake some from the left, but these guys are so disciplined in their overtaking and letting the faster vehicle by, that I too soon picked up their good manners.

Now, at one point, every time I would have to slow down to overtake trucks, a Getz and a Qualis would come up behind, come up close to my left side, try overtaking the trucks from the left, hoot, and generally spoil the well oiled feel of the moment.

Now, what happens is this. The Qualis comes up close to my left with the Getz following, and starts blinking its right indicator. A truck is in front, slowly overtaking another. Now, as soon as the faster truck gets a few feet ahead of the slower one, the Qualis guy swings across, forcing me to brake a little to avoid contact. And man, am I displeased? So, I decide enough is enough. I have to teach this upstart a lesson.

By now the truck has almost finished overtaking. So, even as the Getz guy tries to follow suit past me, I downshift to 3rd. And the gentle giant (if you can call a 1.6 that) wakes up. And roars. Man, that is music to my ears. And the Getz just shrinks in my rear view. I go from 60 to 120 like that! And in doing that, I realise the Qualis too is behind. I maintain 120-130 for about a minute. By now all the displeasure is forgotten. I have a happy grin pasted on that same old frowning face.

And I was hooked. I made sure I did not maintain 120+ for more than 3-4 minutes at a strech, though it was usually shorter, perforce, with all the trucks. But what I must say, is that this car feels rock steady. And very stiff and sorted. At one point, a fast straight stretch led to a curve which I entered at about 100-110. Into the curve, I realised the curve was not as gentle as I had earlier thought. But still, I did not need to slow down, there was no tyre squeal and the steering felt in full control. In fact, I think I left the curve faster than I entered it.

Also, there was almost no body roll, and my ma-in law actually commented on a nice looking hillock that we were passing just at that moment, which goes to show how comfortable she was even under those circumstances. Till Vapi, except for the toll gates, there was no dense traffic, and I got ample opportunities to listen to the car at 4000-5000 rpm. Then on to Daman and back was without incident. Again on the drive back, it was between me and the Petra and the road. With fewer trucks now, I did some nice speeds.

I did not go beyond 150, since I have stock tyres which though new, I do not want to find their limit the hard way. But even at 150, there was no reduction in the steering feel and the car in general felt as planted and steady as at 120. Of course closer to Bombay, the traffic had to get worse and we got home after 3 and a half hours of driving with headaches from the last hour in bad traffic.

Finally, I must tell all of you who have not listened to a Fiat 1.6 engine, you just must. Its heavenly. Its not shrill, its not too gruff. Its the perfect baritone, a kind of serious I mean business sound without being show-off'ish, if you know what I mean. And of course, its not all thunder without rain. This car can move. Its just great for the highway. Its balanced, it does not roll, it has minimal vibrations.

In a nutshell, it behaves like an executive when you ask it to, and like an athlete as your demand changes. So, finally, if you can for a moment ignore FIAT, for driving, the Petra 1.6 is a great car. Oh, and by the way, I did a tank full at the start and again just back home, and I got an FE of about 15.5 kmpl for the 349km I covered.

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I am a higher middle class person but I have the passion of driving different make cars. when I was in the process of purchasing a new sedan as I got bored of driving Indica. In fact I never had in my mind to go to Fiat as you never see any advertising or aggressive selling offers or at least one should know the addresses of various show rooms in the city. It happened by chance that I went to test drive Ford Make Ikon vehicle and just on the side of the ford showroom, there was Fiat showroom also. Since I was out to test drive all the vehicles of different make of price range between 4.0-5.0 lacs, I thought to have a look in Fiat show room also. I first drove Plio and then Siena and I started feeling difference just at the time I turned the Ignition on I found These cars are definitely not aggressively marketed but it is agggressively strong built and priced. I went to drive almost cars of all the makes available in Delhi but no one could remove the impressions created by Fiat vehicles and finally I ended up by purchasing Fiat Petra. It is going to be more than two years, and it still giving much better feeling and experience in comperision to cars of other make I drove in the past. In my opinion, Fiat cars are so agressively priced that other cars will stand no where near if you compare the cost verses the total features of the machine. But I do not understand marketing philosophy of Fiat India not to advertise at least half aggressively as it is being done by Their competitors. It always gives indication that Fiat is a dying company and may get out of the market any time. In my opinion with a good thought given at corporate level, Fiat cars deserve to be market leader in indian scenario. I am really hirt deeply by observing the totally unimpressive unprofessional marketing style of Fiat India.

V. K. Kanaujia

Working as

Sr. General Manager

DLF Power Limited.

Gurgaon

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Wanted to buy a used car for performance & reliability. Short listed cars are Baleno1.6, Ikon1.6, Accent1.6, Old Honda City(OHC 1.5/VTEC)

& Petra1.6 with less than 25000kms on its Odo. Finding these used cars in Chennai is not a problem. Checked out some of the used car dealers/brokers/owners. Individual owners are always better than other two. Worst case go with dealers. I'm not comfortable with brokers. Test driven all of them.

Here are my parameters

Looks

Fuel Economy

Performance

Engine & gear shift

A/C

Safety

Maintenance

Baleno's performance/FE/Engine/AC are good but has oddball looking. I do not like the low slung bonnet. I do not feel safe enough & Interiors are not great either. The A/C is remarkable. Heard it gives around 14km/lr. That is Reasonable. But its expensive to maintain

Ikon1.6

What a terrific performance. Looks small when compared with Baleno. A/C is effective. Poor gear shift. Safety & Interiors very average. Heard it gives around 12km/lr. That is also Reasonable. But its expensive to maintain

Accent1.6

I do not like its performance & its rubbery gear shift. Looks bigger than Ikon from outside. A/C is effective. Poor gear shift. Safety & Interiors very average. Heard it gives around 12km/lr. That is also Reasonable. But not expensive to maintain

OHC/VTEC

It has killer performance & very good gear shift. Looks small compared to others. A/C is effective. Interiors very average. Felt insecure. Heard it gives around 15km/lr. That is very good. But its very expensive to maintain

Petra(Siena1.6)

Love at first sight. The car looks big. The Audi like headlights are pure seductive. It has excellent performance & gear shift. Looks rock solid and built like a tank. A/C is superb. My family felt totally safe inside the bulletproof tank. Heard it gives around 14km/lr. That is very good. Its not expensive to maintain and after TATA's taking over, all the service related issues are sorted out. Remedy for those have back pain. Finally my feeling was it is a proper blend of all the goodies from Baleno, Ikon, Accent & OHC VTEC.

Before deciding checked out as many places possible. I’ve not seen any major negative comments on Petra other than few service related niggling. As I mentioned earlier, Since TATA dealers are servicing, have not seen/heard any service problems.

I remember reading some where in one of the leading Indian auto magazine mentioning that the Siena 1.6 ELX performance figures are comparable with Old Honda City. In my experience, Yes its TRUE.

It has been more than a month now. I'm absolutely happy about the car/tank. Overtaking with full A/C is a child's play. Driving in Chennai traffic with 25km/hr in 3rd gear is absolute delight. I've seen many people in other cars looking and praising the Italian beauty, As if they had missed the opportunity.

Overall I would recommend Petra as an all-rounder.

Again the above is purely my personal review. So no offence please …

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Update 19th June 2007

As I am using this vehicle for quite some time (read almost 2 years), I felt it is better to write small update on this.

Fiat Petra Rocks.. no doubt about it and I still stick to it. I had to replace clutch assembly (5K minus in my pocket) because of strictly my bad driving with stick shift (earlier I was driving automatics). Now I am pretty comfortable to operate. That 5K is my mistake and not vehicle's fault. In between, I had driver to take me around and at that time fuel efficiency is used to be between 10 and 11. Now a days I am driving and I am ticking minimum 12+ (city driving, AC on). So fuel wise also I do not have any worries. Recently read articles say that Fiat stopped producing Petra and I am puzzled little bit but not panicked. AC still needs be faster. Only thing I repented was I paid extra for rear spoiler and automatic windows. I think GL version should have been sufficient for needs.

After coming back from USA, every car looked small for me in India as compared to my beautiful Toyota Camry. More over, I was used to automatics instead of gear / clutch mechanism. It took some time for me to venture in to buying a car.

The research: After exhaustive research based on online reviews, brand, price, safety and considering personal and family preferences, I narrowed down to two vehicles. Hyundai Getz and Fiat Petra. I was very much aware that they belong to two different segments, but chose them in their segments. Of course I can afford only one. Apart of major web sites, folks from TeamBHP (https://teambhp.com), Fiat users club (https://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/FiatClubIndia/) helped a lot in deciding the vehicle. Test drove Getz and liked it but wife considered it as normal hatchback though it is big in that segment. The other car left for test drive is Petra. Anuroop at Hyderabad was dealer for Fiat and visited the showroom. It took couple days for them to arrange for test drive. Once I drove it, I was flat at its smooth ride. I could not compare it with earlier test drives of Getz, Accent, and Swift. After couple of discussions, got some goodies from Anuroop along with free installation of music system with some price reduction, which I used it for buying Sony MP3 player and seat covers from G-sport.

The vehicle: It is Fiat Petra 1.6 ELX model. It has 1596 cc, DOHC powerful engine which is more than enough for city traffic and feast for highways. I went with top end model ELX instead of EL model which does not have power windows in Bharat Stage III model. ELX version has all major features that are desired by an owner in the areas of • Convenience (power steering, power windows, motorized adjustment for rear view mirrors, central locking, remote boot opener, remote fuel lid opener, seat adjustments (not height), steering height adjustment, rear seat folding) • Comfort and other functions (Air conditioner, anti submarine seats, front and rear ashtray, vanity mirror, digital clock, cigarette lighter, roof lights with timers, reading lamps and pre wired for 6 speakers) • Safety and Security (energy absorbing steering wheel, collapsible steering column, fire prevention system, child locking for rear windows, side impact bar in the doors, seat belts for all 5 passengers) • Exterior (body colored bumpers, tinted glass, stone guard, alloy wheels, rear spoiler) For more specification details visit https://fiat-india.com

The Drive:The best I could felt after my first Camry. One can really enjoy driving this babe in city as well as highways. Almost silent engine noise when you close the glass doors. Slight push on accelerator makes the 1.6 engine gallop. Seat positions are little high as compared to other cars make one feel good control on the vehicle and you feel stable at higher speeds also. Very good suspension system and smooth gear shift. Overall one can’t take another car for ride if they experience the power of the engine.

The Comfort:It has enough leg room for driver as well as rear passengers and one will not feel tired for long drives also. It has decent air conditioner to make your ride comfortable. Rear seats are also positioned at higher level and which give a more solid seating feeling. Center locking and child locking are definitely added advantage for me with kids. Reading lamps for rear seats in the corner helped me in couple of situations to do my work with out disturbing other family members. The boot / trunk / dickey is huge as compared to other vehicles and easily accommodates enough luggage for long drives.

Fuel efficiency:If you are very particular about this, do not look this vehicle. It gives 10 kmpl in city and about 14 kmpl (not thoroughly tested though!) on long drives. I would have saved Rs 4,368/- (@ 11kmpl), Rs 8,016/- (@ 12 kmpl) based on my usage of 200 km per week (or 10,400 km per year) at Rs. 50/- per litre of petrol. I am not expecting more than 12 kmpl from any other competitor vehicle with 1.6 engines. It may cost me more as compared to other vehicles, but the satisfaction of driving this vehicle is price less. (Yes, :-) I use master card at IOC bunk for eXtra Premium petrol).

After sales and service:Fiat’s service network question popped in to my mind also during research. But, if we buy a good product, why should one worry about service anticipating problems down the road? (This is totally my opinion, I might be wrong), But other side of me warned considering regular service it needs for keeping the vehicle in good condition along with the price we pay for the vehicle. Limited service network instead of no service at all made me to take risk (again love with the car). So far I have gone through 2 services at Anuroop, since vehicle was bought and no issues at all. Recently Tata’s network started selling FIAT vehicles and providing service also. I am no longer worried about this.

Pros and Cons:Let me put my wish list instead of cons :-) first. Interior fabric should have been better quality; faster AC; lower turning radius (some times U-turns need extra space); power windows in EL model (I would have saved more money instead of going for ELX model as most of them or cosmetic enhancements). Coming to Pros: Fiats brand, solid build, stable drive, looks and most important point is value for the money.

Final Say:Strongly recommended for those who like driving, comfort, who prefer safety over price and for those who consider “Do I get equal or more than what I pay?’. Not recommended for fuel conscious personnel.

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I had seen the palio diesel version & loved it since its launch. when buying a car this time I wanted to go in for a fiat vehicle as usual. After a lot of study (by which I came 2 bout the specs of many cars) & also taking the test drive of few popular cars I decided to go in for the Fiat PetraD (even though had many thoughts I took the risk of buying)

Today I am a proud owner of the great lookin & ultimate performin vehicle which is distinct from other cars in its class since the last 6 months.

If you want to c it perform take it to the full xtent & even at the speeds of 150 this chic is coooool to handle(forget bout the milage @ this speed. U'll get around 12-13kmpl) & having a diesel engine it shoots out like a petrol one & u will have to think again on whether u r drivin a pertol or diesel car.

If you wanna c its milage ride it at bout 2000-2500rpm & it'll return an unbelivable 20kmpl with AC!!!(it was really hard for even me to belive this figure & I had to test for 4-5 times to confirm myself. Even my dealer dint belive it initially) but u can check it urself.

But it is very hard for any1 to ride this beauty so slowly(coz 80-90 speed is a tough thing for at least a person like me who loves to be always in the speed zone.

Regardin the space, i'd like to have my honeymoon in this car

For conclusion If u are thinkin of buyin a vehicle just c a trial of how this hot babe performs before going to any ...

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Sturdy vehicle.

Hitting Potholes at over 100 kmph have so far not damaged the suspension.

In 2004 December, I drove from Sambalpur to Mumbai and back with my family in the Petra.

What I like. Very much enjoyed the drive despite the bad roads.

Most liked when you rev over 4000 rpm in 3rd gear in mountainous terrain

Good performance on highway.

Good handling

Reasonably priced.

What I do not like.

Poor Service.

Poor Image

Low torque at low rpm.

Overall an excellent car, if only Fiat could give better service.

The diesel may be a more economic choice.

Power steering is good but I wished isteering was lighter at low speeds

Fiat could have sold this vehicle in larger number if they had better marketing and service,

One can seriously consider buying the Petrol version if one is not too economy conscious,

Good for long drives and a reasonably priced comfortable family car. It could have been more customised to suit Indian tastes (like Indigo).

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We hve purchased Petra Petrol version in mar,2005. Intially everybody told us that it not worth it...becoz fiat lacks after sales service due to few service centres. But after gone to see & compare technical specification of others cars like Hyundai Gls, Ford Ikon, WaganR, Maruti Zen, Esteem we found that in price range of 5.00 Lacs (approx) this car competes all other cars. The technical secification you are getting in this car is really appealing.

We know taht this car is seen rare on roads......so it gives us exclusiveness to its owner. Driving the Petra is really a great experience who drives it first time. The power of the car is easily compare to some rally racing cars. When you accelerate the power the car sounds like some rally racing car & the sound is superb. When you drive, it really gives you driving pleasure whether to drive fast or slow.......its power is amazing....

Inside you wont hear the sound....its so quite really.....

The overall outer body is so strong & the metal sheet used is so heavy that it wont get damaged in case of an accident. Just lift the bonnet & you will feel the real weight.

Inside you get good leg room in front as well as rear seat....... It can easily accomodate 3 persons on rear side.

The boot is quite big & accomodate all your big bag & baggages too...

The AC is superb....it can cool your car immediately within 2 minutes..... It has both option of Cold & hot..... In winter its so cosy inside becoz of this that u wont feel the outside whether at all.

The down side is average....its just 11 km/hr. To improve some average just drive shift 5 gear after 3rd gear.

Right now, we are not having any prob with this wonderful, solid, sturdy, elegant car except routine checkup during service.

Friends before buying car in 5.00Lac segment just try it once & feel the power, grace, & space of this wonderful car.

Forget what people say abt the company...Fiat is still in india & will remian there forever becoz they gave us solid cars for indian roads not those korean car manufactures whose cars are very delicate for indian rough roads.

Test drive it once & experience it.

Safe driving....

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I recently purchased a Fiat Petra (ELXPS) from Shaman Automobiles Prabhadevi, Mumbai for an on road price of Rs 5.39 lacs. The salesman was young and new so I myself had to ask him a lot of Q's. Luckily for me I had done my research on the same. I was a little hesitant about the colors, since they had only a Moonshine gray and a pearl white model in the showroom. I wish they would provide the car in brilliant colors like dark olive green, or burgundy red etc. Anyway I settled for the black and am happy with my choice. I have named her Panthera. She certainly attracts a lot of admiring glances. Her interiors could certainly be improved. I put in fake leather covers, and miss conveniences like bottle holders and mug holders.

Since I am used to driving Automatics, I am still learning to drive the manual. But so far what I liked as a passenger was that the drive was smooth, and no noise and like so many people have said, I feel safe inside the car. Right now with Ac on I have put in 710Kms driving to Wada and back and she has given me an avg of 9.4kms/l.

When the car was delivered I was told that she was fresh from the factory and was put together in October( I was concerned since the Fiat plant in Kurla was under water during the monsoon floods). On the second day, I noticed that the plastic portion on the rear door had come loose and the light above the license plates had come loose, I called the dealer and he had it fixed promptly.

I had also written to the marketing head and fiat Mr. Ricky Walter and he also assured me that the problem will be taken care of soon and after sales service will be prompt. Apparently, Fiat will join hands with Tata, they plan to introduce the Fiat Panda in 2006 (as told to me by the dealer).

I like the huge boot space of the car, The ac works fine if you are in the center seat at the back but the air distribution is not so great if you are in the extreme left or the right. Also the seat buckle on the rear seat does not clasp properly.

The dealer gave me a discount of Rs 20,000 and a finance discount of Rs 40,000.

So far I am happy with my Pretty Panthera. I will keep you updated and hope to

read updates from other Petra owners.

Shobha Rao

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When I decided to buy a car, I had my budget fixed i.e. between 5 to 7 lacs. So options really I had that time was Indigo, Ikon, Accent and City.

With very poor marketting strategy, I was even not aware that Petra from Fiat is launched in the market (not even single advertise). I just happened to visit Fiat showroom for Palio and came to know that Fiat has just launched revamped Siena called 'Petra'.

While in europe, I had driven quite a few cars like Honda accord, Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna, Fiat Punto etc...

Here in Pune, I took test drives for Indigo, Ikon, Accent and Petra. Honda city was my first choice but because the budget I ruled that out. Petra really passed my test in terms of the smoothness of the gearbox (buttersmooth), the pickup it delivered with 1.6 Petrol and the most importantly the feeling of being secured in the car. The car is very sturdy if one looks at the overall structure of tha car in fact one can see it's bonnet is very heavy. I even had browsed through various car magazines to verify whether my views were right.

I do not have any complain about mileage, I could fetch 11kml in city and about 15kml on highways, so pretty happy with it considering 1600cc power. My hometown is about 200kms from Pune, many times it happens that I start in early morning and join the office as fresh as I haven't travelled at all, front area is very specious and so comfortable for the driver.

On maintenance, it has already crossed 18000, and haven't seen the garage (touchwood) except for the free servings that dearler offers. This car has seen Nagpur 3 times and it does regular visits to Kolhapur and sometimes to Surat.

From weaknesses point of view, I would say it has very poor rear view. You can not see for a long distance specially when you need to reverse park. Fiat can also look at improving the interiors to make it attractive.

So I'm a happy customer of Fiat and hope to have continued the hassle-free handling of my Petra.

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I bought my petra petrol 1.6 in jan 05. I love the build quality, quietness and zip. My primary preferences were: safety, build quality (quietness, price of course, space ,..). I preferred it over accent, baleno, esteem and ikon. Accent rear leg room was less, I did not have good experience with ford's reliability having driven a mercury for 3 yrs. in US. At medium height I had difficulty getting in to Esteem.

Overall I think its an excellent car with a few desirable improvements: I would love it to be a few inches wider and longer. After driving about 5000+ K.Ms I get a mileage of 12-13 (with A/C on and good amount of luggage in the boot) on highways. A few more kilometers/ litre would be great. My daily commute is hardly anything, 1 K.M to office, so I get only abt 7-8 K.Ms/ litre when I do not drive much else where. I hope its because of the short trips. Dont know whether it really makes sense to check mileage for this kindaa short trips. I reach the destination before the engine gets warm. The large turn diameter at times does not feel great, even though its acceptable. Its more than Honda city, Baleno, ... I am hoping the ride quality will improve further if I go for wider tyres, not sure whether mileage will get affected. Do I need to change the wheel rims for it. I bought alloys already, may have to think a little if I have to replace them.

The fuse box along with electric connections dropped down a couple of times, fiat dealer came over and fixed it. I love to hear I need to go for oil changes only once in 6 months.

My trip experience

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Drove to my home town in coastal A.P from Hyderabad a few times. The peak speeds were like 120-130 KMPH. The car is very stable and quiet at that speeds. Mileage varied between 11.5 and 13 KMPL. I always drive with A/C on. Lower mileage was due to the short periods when the car was stopped with engine and A/C turned on, and fan speed at 3. I felt a lil loss of power when the fan is set to speeds more than 3.

May be wider tyres would help breaking improve. At times I felt the stopping distance was a little longer than I'd like it to be.

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HI, the fiat petra is absolutely the fiat sienna relaunched with ''minor'' changes. this is just foolin customers, isnt it!! on the pro side, the sienna itself was an amazing car to drive so is the petra. but again!! FIAT is a name thats difficult in INDIA. The Petra is difficult to maintain and returns a very ok average. by difficult I mean its costly to maintain as the spares are costly and their service charges and other things at the service station are costly tooo!!! Thats why the palio being a good car still failed. FIAT is a name not many in India like to relate to!! these guys have a tough task in hands. For the petra, The looks are Quite OLD and BORING and if they continue to change names of the same vehicles and relaunching them, I doubt they'll ever succeed!!! No wonder why most of the FIAT models have failed in India!

So Tata holds a upper hand as the car is home made and hence the maintainance is VERY VERY LESS compared to the petra!

Fiat will have to do sumthin to review its hold!!!!!

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Title

Review : Hi Guys! Bought the Fiat Petra recently. Is just around 500Km and 2 weeks old now. Thunder Black - Had a look at it in the Showroom and fell in love with it. Black has CLASS and looks great. Was really looking for a Palio, but thought the Petra was a good deal. Am generally happy with the car. Good looks (Makes a few heads turn!), great power, good handling, great boot space (Especially if you have small kids and want to pack off for a holiday with their unending luggage), good value for money. The dashboard displays look good in the day, and look great at night. A nice mix of green and red. A/C's quite effective. Great sound insulation when the windows are up.(Can hear only the music of my stereo humming on the inside) BUT, BUT, needs a lot of improvement. Door handles on the inside are stiff, rear view mirrors on the doors should be wider angled for a better view. They need to be more adjustable from the inside (If you are more than 6 feet tall, one needs to bend to the side to get a view of the cars behind, since the mirrrors cannot be adjusted to your eyesight at that height) Cabin light switches- again too hard and make funny noises when you turn them on or off. An option for a CD/MP3 player is not available, since the stereo is in-bulit and with its oval shape cannot be perfectly fitted with a alternative CD system. Space on the back seat is a little less than you would expect with a mid-sized car, (but hey, if you're a family of 4 with your wife besides you and the kids on the back, who needs better space on the back seat Besides I'd rather have a larger boot space than better space at the back for now.) The suspension I think is stiff (you can hear, not necessarily feel the bumps on the road) but I hope it gets softer as time goes by. The engine too, I would have liked it to be more silent; Makes a little more noise than it should. To sum up, a good car, especially if you are a small family looking for a big car. Can be a great car, if Fiat gives a little thought to small intricacies in the interior - more consumer friendly features and better quality and smoother cabin features if you please! We'll be seeing more Petra's on the road then. Am satisfied with my buy atleast for now. A great feeling especially on the highways. Giving me an averge of 11 on long rides now, and I guess it'll improve after the servicings. The service and spares issue - well let's wait for a few months for now, and I'll let you know!

Pros :

Cons:

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Bad experiences:

• I left it in the Chennai sun for a month while I was abroad, and when I came back it did not start. Called up the 24-hr guarantee support, they replaced a relay on which some moisture had condensed. Must be a substandard part.

  
  




• Once I forgot to press the unlock button and pulled the door handle sharply, the hinge gave way almost breaking away the plastic handle from the metalic body. Again plastic quality must have been bad. I dont know how much it will cost as a part of the hinge is still intact so havent yet replaced it.

  
  




• Third gear doesnt go below 25kmph, so have to change to 2nd gear in very heavy traffic and jams. Brings down the efficiency in city driving to 10 kmpl.

  
  




• Havent seen too many of these on the road. People still think Fiat is Premier Padmini!!

  
  

Good experiences:

• The extra power helps, I easily zoom ahead of the rest of the traffic as soon as the traffic lights go green.

  
  




• Glides like an aircraft on highways. Drove at 70-120kmph between 2-3.5k rpm from Chennai to Pondicherry and back, got a fuel average of 16kmpl with AC.

  
  




• The AC is cool and the trunk is huge. Rides well on potholes and feels safe and sturdy.

  
  

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