[i74js]

Fiat clearly lacks inspiration in India. One can see that several manufacturers are using their proven technologies to develop tailor made products for India and have been fairly successful.

With just 2 products to offer to Indian buyers, I can compare Fiat with the Indian economy before the economic liberalization of India in early 90's. They need to open up and experiment with Indian market. If localization is not possible before the demand is established, they should start with CBU import of the products that could fit in the Indian market and see how it sells; let them sell these machines at a loss even after paying import duties (basis the price at which the same car can be produced with reasonable localization) and test the waters.

Unless they open up, it may not work for them and looking at how MSIL is aggressively going ahead with development of its own oil burners, the demand of our national engine can go down or they may have to sell it to MSIL at lower margins, any which way depending upon other manufactures for survival is not a good idea for FIAT.

Punto T-Jet may sound good, but how many of us writing here / sharing observations will get hooked to buying decision on the launch?

Get the footfall FIAT and make it fast with ramped up product portfolio !

Cheers

[hothatchaway]

even though I havent done any empirical research on this, but am willing to bet on the fact that of all the threads in this august forum, the ones on Fiat surely have the highest idle bashing + empty premonition + gratuitous ill will to actual relevant and useful information ratio. While each to his own and some rants may have justified grievances, I wonder what purpose it serves, barring putting off people who may be following these threads as a run up to a purchase.

I am not a fiat owner but will queue up for the tjet, punto or otherwise, god and spare cash willing. I do a lot of reading and a teeny weeny commenting on this forum and there are maybe a couple, if at all, auto makers who currently tick all the right boxes. Fiat may deserve much of the flak that it gets but lets stay true to the topic of the discussion shall we?

[radiacz]

Carwale is reporting a 136 bhp T jet on the punto evo courtesy of a new turbo charger. Is that possible ?? If yes does this mean that other fiat cars will also be equipped with that TJet variant some time this year ?

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by v_safari

With the news of Punto T-Jet with 130+ bhp and TATA planning a new brand and Bolt with 120 bhp, things are only getting interesting and more confusing for me.

Should there be any confusion at all between choosing a high horse power Bolt versus a Punto? I don't think a Bolt can ever drive like a Fiat.

[v_safari]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Should there be any confusion at all between choosing a high horse power Bolt versus a Punto? I don't think a Bolt can ever drive like a Fiat.

You are right Bolt may not drive like a Punto but it is not bad either.
We can expect better suspension setup in both the cars to handle this much power.
I like both the cars. Punto in its current avatar drives better and has better driving dynamics, but the Bolt is all Indian (Purely love for made in India).

Punto T-Jet with a factory lowered suspension setup will be a treat.

[petrolhead_neel]

Originally Posted by i74js

With just 2 products to offer to Indian buyers, I can compare Fiat with the Indian economy before the economic liberalization of India in early 90's.

Cheers

Actually, Fiat sells three cars in India- Linea, Punto (Evo) & Avventura. Four, if you also count the Linea Classic. And if you didn't count the Avventura because you thought that it was just an Indian Punto with plastic cladding, those gauges and and the spare wheel mounted on the hatch--you are wrong Sir. A significant amount of engineering has gone into making the Avventura such has suspension especially tuned for handling bad roads and abuse without compromising on FIAT DNA handling. Please refer to the Team-BHP official review for more details.

That said, you are very right. Fiat needs more products under their belt to sell in India. They have to make their cars appealing to a larger range of customers. I doubt whether any regular Joe will like this 130+ BHP missile.
Cheers,
petrolhead_neel

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Good to see something for the enthusiasts. On paper this looks promising but that was the case even for the Linea T-JET as well as the Punto 90HP MJD.

Someone said better late than never. I would say, too little too late....

I agree with Vid6639 completely.

Fiat are either too skeptical about their history in India to experiment with their current lineup or probably have not yet understood the true potential of the Indian market.

I am sure I would have picked up the Punto T-jet over my GT even if Fiat had introduced this before EVO.

Auto Giants like VW and Honda realized the need for the Indian market amidst their comfortable position in the global market. The former quickly understood the need for Diesel Automatics in India was now and the latter simply re-wrote history by introducing I-Dtech engines.

I am not saying that both these cars are the best thing that happened to Indians, but hey the way I see it, these at least "Happened to Indians".

IMO Fiat must just address the following:

- Use your own model "Pre facelift Linea T-Jet" as reference and re-design the other cars with respect to gearing.

- Use Swift/Polo as reference and re-work on the Punto's driver ergonomics, at least on the T-jet version.

- I have been reading a lot of positive reviews about Fiat's A.S.S of late, so if not improve the experience, please continue the same good work.

- Most importantly, I would personally like to see Punto T-jet with lot less chrome and unwanted flash all round.

If Punto T-jet does happen, I would probably be the most anxious to know whether my decision of going in for GT TDi was justified or not !!

[Speed Pujari]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

I agree with Vid6639 completely.

If Punto T-jet does happen, I would probably be the most anxious to know whether my decision of going in for GT TDi was justified or not !!

I don't think the new punto T-Jet will put you into dilemma since you have the advantage of DSG. To me, that is more attractive proposition than the TSI engine.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Dialogic cannot help FIAT either in terms of sales. When Dualogic comes people will want the 1.6 diesel. When 1.6 diesel comes, people would want better service. If that also comes - then a newer car than the old Linea or Punto. It's a never ending cycle.
.

On a lighter side and OT, I think they should once again JV with PAL and rechristen the brand to Premier Automobiles Limited . Imagine Linea being called as Padmini.

To launch a niche enthusiast car they should first get the volume product right. Volume will give enthusiasm to the dealerships and once the market gets acquainted with the brand they can do all sort of 137 bhp experiments.
Two of my friends are out for car shopping and they don't know why they don't want to buy a Fiat.
The only way out I see is some sort of big bang which I don't think Punto T-Jet is the one. Remember how a dead brand like ford was revived by Figo?
I know Fiat is already doing this, but they really need better data mining in place.They need to identify and categorize customer segment by geography, perform a demand estimation by geography/segment/product, analyze the marketing channels by region and by customer segment, and analyze the reason behind successes of other brands and adopt a proven operating model.
We think that notion of bad after sales is an issue, but we might be incorrect. Not everyone thinks like an enthusiast.

[Cartman]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_neel

Actually, Fiat sells three cars in India- Linea, Punto (Evo) & Avventura. Four, if you also count the Linea Classic. And if you didn't count the Avventura because you thought that it was just an Indian Punto with plastic cladding, those gauges and and the spare wheel mounted on the hatch--you are wrong Sir. A significant amount of engineering has gone into making the Avventura such has suspension especially tuned for handling bad roads and abuse without compromising on FIAT DNA handling. Please refer to the Team-BHP official review for more details.

Nope, still two cars. Although the engineering gone into the Avventura is commendable, it does not take away from the fact that it really is a Punto on stilts. Just like the Dzire is a Swift with a boot.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Someone said better late than never. I would say, too little too late...

Completely agree. Fiat had a wonderful opportunity when they re-entered the Indian market. The Linea and Punto were brilliant products and the FIAT name had enough traction to pull crowds into the showrooms. However, where FIAT missed is not introducing cheaper more VFM models. For eg: The Panda would've made for a brilliant sub 6 lakh hatchback.


Coming to the 135 BHP rocket, if it got as many sales as the posts on this thread and facebook, I'd be surprised. It's about time the Indian enthusiast put his money where his mouth is.

Cheers!
Cartman

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by Cartman

Completely agree. Fiat had a wonderful opportunity when they re-entered the Indian market. The Linea and Punto were brilliant products and the FIAT name had enough traction to pull crowds into the showrooms. However, where FIAT missed is not introducing cheaper more VFM models. For eg: The Panda would've made for a brilliant sub 6 lakh hatchback.

It would have been a brilliant product, of course, like most Fiat products in India so far. But I doubt it would have competed (in sales figures) with other such cars from Maruti and Hyundai. At the risk of stating the obvious, most Indian public don't care how technically good the product is. I don't know if it was GTO or some other mod who said this, nobody just know what's wrong with Fiat or what will help them revive. For now, Fiat seems to have given up.

But I do agree that just two cars are enough to have in your showroom. Also bemusing is, what it would have taken/cost them to put the damn TJet engine in the Punto like 4 years back.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by Speed Pujari

I don't think the new punto T-Jet will put you into dilemma since you have the advantage of DSG. To me, that is more attractive proposition than the TSI engine.

Actually bro, I have the Bigger, Better (non-DSG) GT sibling, the GT TDi.

I am not complaining about my decision and I would be the first to admit that this is one of the best thing that ever happened to me. During my "Car-Shopping" times, only the waiting period was the biggest reason for me to pick up the TDI over the TSi. Also, my inclination towards Manual gearbox tilted my decision in favor of the oil burner.

However, there was one constant that never changed during my car hunt...

THE NEED FOR A TRUE DRIVER's CAR !!

So with the above thought, I would have shut my eyes and picked up the Punto T-Jet, had it been available, though my annual usage is more than 18K kms.

Hell, I would have not bothered to look elsewhere even if FIAT had hinted the launch of a Punto T-Jet back then.

[Speed Pujari]

Originally Posted by Cartman

.... However, where FIAT missed is not introducing cheaper more VFM models. For eg: The Panda would've made for a brilliant sub 6 lakh hatchback.

I have similar thoughts. Having driven Panda multiair in the narrow lanes of Italy I must say it is THE car for Indian roads. At slow speeds it a cakewalk like i10 and at high speeds it is the typical Fiat. A high GC by design (unlike customized Punto and Linea for India), an AWD option and hybrid steering. If they package this with right pricing (which I am sure they will get wrong) then even a staunch maruti/hyundai fanboy will have to think thrice. This is niche in real sense.

This is my review about Fiat Panda. Mods apology for hijacking.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3253071

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Actually bro, I have the Bigger, Better (non-DSG) GT sibling, the GT TDi.

I am not complaining about my decision and I would be the first to admit that this is one of the best thing that ever happened to me. During my "Car-Shopping" times, only the waiting period was the biggest reason for me to pick up the TDI over the TSi. Also, my inclination towards Manual gearbox tilted my decision in favor of the oil burner.

However, there was one constant that never changed during my car hunt...

THE NEED FOR A TRUE DRIVER's CAR !!

So with the above thought, I would have shut my eyes and picked up the Punto T-Jet, had it been available, though my annual usage is more than 18K kms.

Hell, I would have not bothered to look elsewhere even if FIAT had hinted the launch of a Punto T-Jet back then.

Well I have similar yet opposite thought. When GT-TDi was launched I felt like giving away my T-Jet.

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Hell, I would have not bothered to look elsewhere even if FIAT had hinted the launch of a Punto T-Jet back then.

Don't worry, by the time Fiat makes up its mind and finally the car hits the showrooms, it might be time to find replacement for your TDI!

[trinity0114]

Either the Fiat management(both India & HQ) are not serious about the Indian market or are totally out of sync with the ground realities. Rather than wasting their time by launching cars like the Linea classic & Avventura, they would have been much better off by launching cars like the Panda after their split with Tata Motors. Panda would have given their new showrooms the right start & with clever marketing could have turned out to be a volume seller. Further for brand building they have the Viaggio, Freemont, 500 L Living which can give their brand the much needed visibility & shake off the negative perception if they decide to bring these to India. Their global line-up is impressive from an Indian point of view & with good & sustained marketing Fiat can revive themselves here.

They have been improving their ASS for quite some time, I was at the local Fiat dealer few weeks back looking for the driver side power window switch for my Palio & to my surprise it was available. But without new/fresh products their efforts of improving & investing in dealership network is pointless.

T-Jet in the Punto is tempting & sales or no sales, T-Jet Punto would be a brilliant car & a real Hot hatch.

[DragonHawk]

Like Fiat`s marque, its strategy is a unique one. Fiat brand itself is not a mass market player in any of the international market as it was once and perhaps will never be a one and this is evident by the strategy being followed by its Indian subsidiary. Unlike other mass market players like MSL or Hyundai, Fiat is not going after them by introducing new cars in the pseudo segments. Instead Fiat is trying to increase its emphasis on brand discipline by introducing a hot hatch here, by far I feel this is welcome move by Fiat.

Talking about the engine, just a brief look at the available engine options in UK market this one closely matches to 1.4 Multiair16v which infact is ain`t the one powering Abarth Punto. Even though bhp figures are not clear, one way or the other some of us are pretty much excited for sure and mind you this can`t be termed as just another option in the market.