Fiat Grande Punto - 1.3 Emotion (Diesel). Review on Fiat Grande Punto

I have been thinking about writing this review for sometime now and glad I am finally doing it.  I bought my Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 Emotion-Diesel in May'11 and clocked 9500Km (all of that within the city - did not make any long drives yet).  This is my first car though I used to drive my dad's Maruti 800.

Things I like:

1)  Mileage - My average fuel consumption is 19.4Kmpl (which I am happy with) as shown in the trip meter - with two people in the car for most of the time, and AC for 30% of the distance.

2)  Safety - The good "thud" sound of the doors when closed, gives a sense of safety.  Moreover the car weighs heavier than all the others in its class.  I had a minor incident with a college bus hitting my Punto just under the headlamp on the driver side, and the car escaped with minor scratches.  I thought had it been a Maruti, definetely the damage would have been more.  Sorry Maruti lovers - pls do not take any offence, I definetely do not mean to defame Maruti, but its just what I felt

3)  I am never tired of driving my Punto and I love to be in the drivers seat.  Sometimes I feel like sat in the cockpit of a aeroplane (especially during nights with all the illuminations), and I turn off the cabin lamps and say "Flight number XXXX is ready for take off, please wear your seat belts" ;).  Its fun to drive this beauty once into 3rd gear.

4)  The rear leg space is better than other cars in its class

5)  The tripmeter which tells you the 'instantaneous mileage', helps in adapting your driving style for efficient fuel consumption

6)  Stability at high speeds - I once touched 120Kmph and still found the car to be very stable

7)  The grill at the front (where the fiat logo is put) looks awesome when compared to the plastic used in other cars in the class

8)  Presence of a dead pedal to rest your foot when off the clutch

9)  In 1st and 2nd gears the car starts moving as you release the clutch even without pressing on the accelerator

I read some reviews saying the stock speakers in Punto are crap.   Personally I too didn't like the speakers initially - however after doing some changes to the settings of the audio, the sound quality is quite good now and I don't see a need to replace them.

Things I thought could have been better:

1)  Though going by the specs Punto has more ground clearance than the Swift, in reality it is not the case.  Punto has got a lower ground clearance - the bottom part of the nose is most vulnerable for hitting something on the road.  The car rubs against the speed breakers with 4 people inside it.

2)  At crawling speeds on uneven roads the drive isn't comfortable

3)  The part of the car above the rear tyres eats into the boot space

4)  You would start feeling hot again within 2 secs after the AC is turned off - I dont know if this is common with every other car

5)  The A-pillar is quite broad and so the view is obstructed to an extent while taking right turns - you need to be careful

6)  The view from the rear mirror is also little restricted - but you will get used to it.

7)  The first gear is too short.   However the car is rearing to go particularly in the 3rd gear

8)  The pickup in the 5th gear is poor.

Comparision with other cars:

Besides Punto, I test drove only Ford Figo.  Figo is another good car that impressed me.  But the reason(s) I chose not to go for Figo are:

1)  Figo started knocking in 5th gear at 40kmph speed - this is not the case with Punto.  Punto can go at 30kmph in 5th gear - however this is not recommended as it will reduce fuel efficiency as indicated in the trip meter

2)  Punto has a stronger body and hence better safety wise

3)  Figo lacked a dead pedal next to the clutch - so not very convenient for long drives

4)  I felt Figo has a lower ground clearance than Punto

I only wished Punto was priced a little lower.  I paid 6.8lac for Diesel Emotion model when a Figo top end model in Diesel would come for 6.3lac.  Though at first I wanted to go for the Emotion Pack model, I later thought spending 7.4lac for a hatchback is a bit costly.

Few lines about the Dealer:

I bought the car from Tejaswi Motors in Madhapur, Hyderabad.  Given its location, the sales executives were very professional.  They provided me with the following facilities:

1)  Brought the car to my work location for test drive

2)  I have taken the test drive twice - 15Km in total

3)  Brought the car to my house so that I could check parking for the car in my apartment

My car was ready within 4 days after I paid the initial advance.  However, they did not offer more dealership discounts, apart from what they originally offered when they gave me the quotation (the discounts were on the accessories for the cars).

I was little worried about the after sales service for Fiat, but still I took the risk and bought the car.  I am pretty pleased with the way the first service was done (after 5000 Km) - I was offered a free pickup of the car from my home/office for servicing.  A few days back I got a call from the Service Center to check if there are any problems after the 1st service - which is good as it shows their intentions to keep their customer happy

Final Verdict:

I am a happy Fiat Grande Punto customer.  And yes I will definitely recommend this car.

Hope you found my review useful and good luck with your car purchase.