Checked out the Punto at Fortune, Nerul yesterday alongwith 3 other bhpians. Display car was a red Punto Emotion pack MJD and TD car was a silver mjd emotion. My views:
- Car looks bloody fantastic! It has a very sporty and purposeful stance about it.
- Inside and out the car looks very young and youthful. We checked out the i20 before the Punto and the hyundai looks like a car a family guy would choose. The interiors are sober and executiveish. Punto, on the other hand, is a car someone single and dating or a recently married guy who is still single at heart will buy
.
- I have never seen a Fiat with such amazing paint finish. What gloss! The colours are so deep and rich. I found the paint finish better then Linea. I read somewhere that the Punto would come painted in Fiat's new paint booth at Ranjangaon. If that's true then Fiat has a top notch paint booth at their plant.
- I liked the interiors. Again, they felt very young and sporty. I didnt' find anything flimsy. Plastics are okay.
- I am almost 5' 10" and I really pity the person that will have to sit behind me. This is where the Jap's excel. They understand the market requirements. In Europe, most people live alone or as a couple which results in the rear seat being rarely used in these type of cars. They probably need a bigger boot to carry stuff on their summer weekend getaway's. None of these things happen in India. Maybe Fiat could have reduced the cargo area and increase the rear room.
- Hatch has suspension intruding into the space. Also, initial impressions felt that the hatch is a bit high up for loading stuff. But, 60:40 split seats are good.
- Rear mounted stop lamp is cheap stuff. Also, the nozzle for rear wiper spray is built into the lamp. If either of them conks off, would we have to change the whole lamp? Salesguy said there is a separate unit inside for the nozzle and the two are separate parts. I hope he is right.
Coming to the short test drive.
- 5 of us with A/C on, we took the car up the Parsik hill in Belapur and with a new engine, the Punto scampered up the hill all the way in third gear. It never felt like it was running out of breath or requiring down shifts.
- Gear shifts are long and felt a big spongy but would reserve that judgement till I drive it longer.
- Suspension is typical Fiat. I don't know how they do it but the car feels so planted and soaks up bumps so well that it's unbelieveable. I guess the suspension is a bit soft since it's not a performance car but I felt that the ride quality is better then in my S10.
- Since the drive up and down the hill was full of twisties we got a sampling of the handling of the car and it was such a joy! Again, the car felt so sure and stable. Minimal body roll. Great stuff. On the way down, fellow bhpian Sanjeev pushed it a bit and the little Punto took it all so well almost telling him 'That's it? That's all you got?" It's going to be a fun car to drive and it shows that the chassis is designed to take more powerful engines.
- Steering felt great. Sharp and was set up just perfectly. Again, typical Fiat. In my books, Fiat comes second after Ford in steering set up. I don't know if Punto will manage to push Fiat ahead of Ford in this area.
Some other points:
- Smart cost cutting is visible. Check out wheel wells of the Linea and then the Punto's for example. Also, antenna in EU Punto is at the back like in the Linea but for India they moved it to the front like in the Palio. Not sure if it gives cost savings though.
- No red spot lights like in the Linea.
- No arm rest.
- Seats felt comfortable.
- Steering felt a bit high even at it's lowest setting. Also, it adjusts only for rake and not reach.
- What impressed me was the sales guy. He was all excited and 'showy' about the car. He was all smiles and his enthusiasm and excitement was almost addictive! He was proud of his new product and that's just the way to go for Fiat. Get more like him in your dealerships, Fiat. And it was clear that he had recieved very good training about the car. Of course, kudos to him since he absored the training well instead of taking the oppurtunity to just enjoy at a 5 star hotel
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