Fiat Linea

VIKING · 6th March 2009, 16:31

Hello Everyone,
My Minimal Grey Fiat Linea Multijet Emotion Pack arrived on the evening of February 13th, which also happened to be Friday the 13th

.

The dealer advised restricting top speed to 80km/h for the first 800km. Though this is not specified by the manufacturer, I did try and keep her below 80km/h, 2000rpm for the first 800kms as far as possible.

First impressions.
In the City.
Contrary to my expectations, she does have adequate power for city driving, if you can call it driving in a city like Bangalore. It takes me 45 mins to an hour to cover 12kms from my home to work.
Though the turning radius is quite intimidating on paper, I found it much better than the Palio, especially when trying to slot her between the pillars in the parking lot at my flat. U turns are also not much of an issue, as long as you are aware of the long wheelbase.

On the Highway.
After 6 days of pottering around in the city, it was time to stretch her legs on a drive to my hometown in Kerala. Though I did not push her too much (keeping the 800Km limit in mind), I found she was not lacking in power. Though she is more comfortable in the top 3 gears. Did try a quick climb from 80 to 120km/hr in 5th gear and she performed well. Waiting for my next drive to see what top speed I can achieve on the Coimbatore bypass.

ACC and Blue&Me.
I found the ACC to be quite efficient and useful. Call me dumb, but with my Esteem and Palio, I had to keep fiddling around with the AC controls to maintain comfortable temperatures, as the children were either finding it too cold or too warm.
Blue&Me is impressive. When we crossed Hosur, the music suddenly stopped and a female voice came on saying "You have got a text message, Do you want me to read now?". I said "Yes" and lo and behold she read out the message. The software is able to pronounce Malayalam words (typed in English), quite well. On the whole a very useful feature. Have not tried the USB yet.

Sales and Service.
I got mine from Prerana Motors. I found the pre sales service to be quite good. Though there was a delay of about a week from the promised delivery date, I was kept informed the whole time on the status.

I had to make my first service call for a Blue&Me issue as it was not able to connect to my phone after a few days. I was expecting them to invite me to the service centre to sort this out. Surprise, Surprise, the service guy said he'll come down to my office in Whitefield all the way from their new facility at Hosur Road. Not bad at all considering its FIAT/TATA A.S.S.
Of course they did not have a solution for the Blue&ME problem as 'they have not been trained' on it. Blue&Me being a Microsoft product, I asked them to disconnect the battery for a few minutes in an attempt to reboot the Microsoft box. Once rebooted its working fine now. Thank God Fiat did not use Microsoft software on the ECU.

This is my first post on Team BHP, for that matter any forum. So, please bear with me on this one.

ravibhat · 6th March 2009, 16:42

Congrats on buying Linea, its indeed good sedan. Now all hypes have cooled down and its time to see more and more people buy it

Have a great time and do post pictures and fuel economy with AC usage in city and highway.

Ravi.

ksethuram · 6th March 2009, 16:46

Congrats dude, A great car. Good buy. Please post a few pictures.

ms001 · 6th March 2009, 16:46

WOW another LINEA, congrats,
do post a few pictures.
Happy Driving

sammyboy · 6th March 2009, 16:46

Hey Viking congratulations on the Linea and a great first post. It is one of my favorite cars launched recently. How about some pics bro? For instructions on how to upload pics go through this http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html.

Loved the "reboot" solution of the Blue&me

If MS doesnt work, restart . A lot of tech support guys earn their daily bread through that. God bless MS hee hee

goandude · 6th March 2009, 16:49

Viking, CONGRATULATIONS on your first post and double congrats on your new buy. do keep us updated. When do you do NH4 to Goa?

pulsar56 · 6th March 2009, 17:08

Congratulations Viking.
Awaiting pictures of your Linea and updates on her when you keep munching those miles.

Quote:

Blue&Me being a Microsoft product, I asked them to disconnect the battery for a few minutes in an attempt to reboot the Microsoft box. Once rebooted its working fine now.

That's the simplest solution for any MS Product and good that you thought about it!

nehamit · 6th March 2009, 17:11

Dear Viking,
Hey, Congrats. I am also enjoying my HipHop Black E+ MJD. I too ahve problem with blue&me voice recognition as its unable to interpret '2' and '7' properly. Today Fiat guy tried his best to solve the problem, probably I'll have to 'reboot' it!
What's FE? I have not yet done takfull to tankfull FE calculation, but mine is being driven in pure city traffic, the worst in World(!!) Ahmedabad traffic and trip meter showing 12-13Km/l.
Please post detail review of your ownership to this latest beauty in Indian Automobile sector.

thiyags22 · 6th March 2009, 17:16

Congrats and take care of her. Post the pics pls

djay99 · 6th March 2009, 17:21

Congrats Viking. Thats a wonderful car you bought. Enjoy the drive.

VIKING · 6th March 2009, 17:22

Hello,
Thank you all. Please find a few pics as requested.

narayan · 6th March 2009, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by VIKING

Blue&Me is impressive. When we crossed Hosur, the music suddenly stopped and a female voice came on saying "You have got a text message, Do you want me to read now?". I said "Yes" and lo and behold she read out the message. The software is able to pronounce Malayalam words (typed in English), quite well. .

congrats Viking on your new car..

but that message reading thing can be a bit embarrassing if its one of those forwards and your family is around

shantyrocks · 6th March 2009, 17:25

congratz viking!
you made a good choice with the linea.
a damn good review too!
how about sharing some pics with us

aks_karthik · 6th March 2009, 17:26

Many Congrats.
I am also waiting for the same car Minimum Grey Linea MJD Emotion Pack.
Still the car is not coming to the dealer yard,in transit.
will be getting the car on or before March 10.
post some pictures.

VIKING · 6th March 2009, 17:27

Narayan,
Thank you. Yeah, Luckily have not had one like that till date. Of course there is the option of telling her not to read it out.

Karthik,
Thank you. I am sure you'll find it worth the wait.

Dear nehamit,
Thank you. I also have'nt done a tank to tank in the city yet. Still 3/4th tank to go. But on my onward trip to Kerala, the Trip meter showed an average of 23.6kmpl. So, taking off 4, I think it returned around 19-20 kmpl. But then I did not exceed 82kmph on that drive and changed gears exactly at 2000rpm.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

6th March 2009, 16:31	#1
VIKING Newbie Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 23 Thanked: 0 Times	Fiat Linea Hello Everyone, My Minimal Grey Fiat Linea Multijet Emotion Pack arrived on the evening of February 13th, which also happened to be Friday the 13th . The dealer advised restricting top speed to 80km/h for the first 800km. Though this is not specified by the manufacturer, I did try and keep her below 80km/h, 2000rpm for the first 800kms as far as possible. First impressions. In the City. Contrary to my expectations, she does have adequate power for city driving, if you can call it driving in a city like Bangalore. It takes me 45 mins to an hour to cover 12kms from my home to work. Though the turning radius is quite intimidating on paper, I found it much better than the Palio, especially when trying to slot her between the pillars in the parking lot at my flat. U turns are also not much of an issue, as long as you are aware of the long wheelbase. On the Highway. After 6 days of pottering around in the city, it was time to stretch her legs on a drive to my hometown in Kerala. Though I did not push her too much (keeping the 800Km limit in mind), I found she was not lacking in power. Though she is more comfortable in the top 3 gears. Did try a quick climb from 80 to 120km/hr in 5th gear and she performed well. Waiting for my next drive to see what top speed I can achieve on the Coimbatore bypass. ACC and Blue&Me. I found the ACC to be quite efficient and useful. Call me dumb, but with my Esteem and Palio, I had to keep fiddling around with the AC controls to maintain comfortable temperatures, as the children were either finding it too cold or too warm. Blue&Me is impressive. When we crossed Hosur, the music suddenly stopped and a female voice came on saying "You have got a text message, Do you want me to read now?". I said "Yes" and lo and behold she read out the message. The software is able to pronounce Malayalam words (typed in English), quite well. On the whole a very useful feature. Have not tried the USB yet. Sales and Service. I got mine from Prerana Motors. I found the pre sales service to be quite good. Though there was a delay of about a week from the promised delivery date, I was kept informed the whole time on the status. I had to make my first service call for a Blue&Me issue as it was not able to connect to my phone after a few days. I was expecting them to invite me to the service centre to sort this out. Surprise, Surprise, the service guy said he'll come down to my office in Whitefield all the way from their new facility at Hosur Road. Not bad at all considering its FIAT/TATA A.S.S. Of course they did not have a solution for the Blue&ME problem as 'they have not been trained' on it. Blue&Me being a Microsoft product, I asked them to disconnect the battery for a few minutes in an attempt to reboot the Microsoft box. Once rebooted its working fine now. Thank God Fiat did not use Microsoft software on the ECU. This is my first post on Team BHP, for that matter any forum. So, please bear with me on this one.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 16:42	#2
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Congrats on buying Linea, its indeed good sedan. Now all hypes have cooled down and its time to see more and more people buy it Have a great time and do post pictures and fuel economy with AC usage in city and highway. Ravi.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 16:46	#3
ksethuram BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Chennai , London (now) Posts: 233 Thanked: Once	Congrats dude, A great car. Good buy. Please post a few pictures.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 16:46	#4
ms001 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 1,005 Thanked: 169 Times	WOW another LINEA, congrats, do post a few pictures. Happy Driving
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 16:46	#5
sammyboy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Ggn/Dehradun Posts: 1,842 Thanked: 523 Times View My Garage	Hey Viking congratulations on the Linea and a great first post. It is one of my favorite cars launched recently. How about some pics bro? For instructions on how to upload pics go through this http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/announ...-team-bhp.html. Loved the "reboot" solution of the Blue&me If MS doesnt work, restart . A lot of tech support guys earn their daily bread through that. God bless MS hee hee
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 16:49	#6
goandude Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Mysuru Posts: 1,766 Thanked: 1,289 Times	Viking, CONGRATULATIONS on your first post and double congrats on your new buy. do keep us updated. When do you do NH4 to Goa?
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:11	#8
nehamit BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ahmedabad Posts: 121 Thanked: 3 Times	Dear Viking, Hey, Congrats. I am also enjoying my HipHop Black E+ MJD. I too ahve problem with blue&me voice recognition as its unable to interpret '2' and '7' properly. Today Fiat guy tried his best to solve the problem, probably I'll have to 'reboot' it! What's FE? I have not yet done takfull to tankfull FE calculation, but mine is being driven in pure city traffic, the worst in World(!!) Ahmedabad traffic and trip meter showing 12-13Km/l. Please post detail review of your ownership to this latest beauty in Indian Automobile sector.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:16	#9
thiyags22 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Madras / Bangalore Posts: 149 Thanked: 19 Times	Congrats and take care of her. Post the pics pls
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:21	#10
djay99 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 1,476 Thanked: 547 Times View My Garage	Congrats Viking. Thats a wonderful car you bought. Enjoy the drive.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:22	#11
VIKING Newbie Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 23 Thanked: 0 Times	Hello, Thank you all. Please find a few pics as requested. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:25	#13
shantyrocks BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: thane Posts: 742 Thanked: 6 Times	congratz viking! you made a good choice with the linea. a damn good review too! how about sharing some pics with us
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:26	#14
aks_karthik Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,947 Thanked: 341 Times View My Garage	Many Congrats. I am also waiting for the same car Minimum Grey Linea MJD Emotion Pack. Still the car is not coming to the dealer yard,in transit. will be getting the car on or before March 10. post some pictures.
	() Thanks

6th March 2009, 17:27	#15
VIKING Newbie Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 23 Thanked: 0 Times	Narayan, Thank you. Yeah, Luckily have not had one like that till date. Of course there is the option of telling her not to read it out. Karthik, Thank you. I am sure you'll find it worth the wait. Dear nehamit, Thank you. I also have'nt done a tank to tank in the city yet. Still 3/4th tank to go. But on my onward trip to Kerala, the Trip meter showed an average of 23.6kmpl. So, taking off 4, I think it returned around 19-20 kmpl. But then I did not exceed 82kmph on that drive and changed gears exactly at 2000rpm. Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts. Last edited by Technocrat : 6th March 2009 at 17:40. Reason: see note in post
	() Thanks