Team-BHP - A thin line between genius and insanity - Fiat Grande Punto 90HP

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Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe (Post 2768161)

No Fiat advertisement or media write up has ever gotten me so interested in the brand as this review has. That's an awesome job, mate!

Please make sure you keep the thread alive. I'm the latest one to get hooked to your thread. And if I ever end up getting myself a Punto, this thread can claim the spark that ignited the fire!

Thank you. If my daily run was a bit lesser - and if a petrol car would have sufficed - I would have made the same choice you did - Honda Jazz. At the new prices - its just too good to be true. Unfortunately - my daily travel to office and back itself takes around 40+ kms.

My other car is a silver, KL-02 registered, '04 WagonR VXi with around 85k on the odo. I got it from true value as well, as the 3rd owner. :D Parents are using it now though!

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Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 2768287)

Fantastic review CrAzY dRiVeR. I waited until the weekend to thread this fully in one-go. Not often we get to see reviews like this. Many times, the love for the car influence the perspectives and words penned, but not in this case. Good going indeed! :)

The Punto is a handsome hatchback, but it looked even better in your writeup. Thanks for the well-placed pictures.

Thank you.

After FIAT's recent decision to move away from TATA, are you still considering Linea in that shortlist of your's? I myself am unsure if it was a good or a bad move, but I'm happy FIATs have 15k service intervals - and I have another 9k+ kms to go before the next service comes up.

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Originally Posted by crazybiker46 (Post 2768310)

and glad to see my humble review is also featured in the thread

Your job is not done yet. :D

The ICE upgrade plan that we had discussed, is back. Most probably by end- June. I'll confirm once the leave plan is approved. Will retain the HU and 'blue & me' and need to plan a system around it. The stock speakers cheated - They still sound nice, but crackling at higher volumes - and it seems to be getting worse - week by week, specially the ones at the front. Not sure if the rear ones need to be replaced.

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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 2768378)

After FIAT's recent decision to move away from TATA, are you still considering Linea in that shortlist of your's? I myself am unsure if it was a good or a bad move, but I'm happy FIATs have 15k service intervals - and I have another 9k+ kms to go before the next service comes up.

Definitely yes! For me, the car comes first. No. of dealerships/ASC across the nation is not a big criterion. One competent ASC in the vicinity is good enough. It’s best to enjoy the car rather than pre-empt a breakdown and end up in a compromise.

Take your case… Booked the Swift initially, and ended up in the alternate camp :)

I feel these long service intervals of the euro cars are a real boon – less planned visits to the service centre.

Guys, I'm trying my best to read through the ICE threads. Need to plan a system within a budget of around 40k (50k max if unavoidable).

Is it worth to retain the HU for the steering mounted controls and blue&me? I like the stock look of the dash (with the company HU) as well.

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Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 2768407)

Got a mail from TATA - FIAT about the opening of new service centers. A 'letter of assurance' that the existing centers will provide service till a smooth transition takes place. Nice initiative from FIAT.

I hope everything will be smooth by the time you are ready for your purchase. :thumbs up

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Originally Posted by DRIV3R (Post 2768723)

It is available in the Figo AFAIK.

BTW, will update you on the voice control for folder change, soon. :thumbs up

Waiting... :D

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Originally Posted by PremjitS (Post 2773617)

A damn good ownership report :thumbs up.

You took your own sweet time to compile this, but the end result was worth it. It's evident that you have been Punto'ed!!

I haven't faced any rattles so far in my 2012 version Dynamic. So not sure if this is endemic of the new cars or just a bad batch.

Thank you.

Its not just a batch. I posted about the same in the TD thread - and it seems a lot of people are facing the same problem. It starts as a small sound like small stones rolling inside the door pad assembly. You are really lucky if your car is good so far! Enjoy.

Congratulations on purchasing this beauty and thanks for your detailed and thoroughly engaging ownership report.

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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 2768378)

If my daily run was a bit lesser - and if a petrol car would have sufficed - I would have made the same choice you did - Honda Jazz. At the new prices - its just too good to be true.

Are you sure about this? I test drove the 2012 Punto yesterday and was just blown away by the ride quality and its ability to glide over potholes and over-sized speed breakers (I am not advocating that we should ignore speed breakers, but we just tested this at the salesperson's insistence).

The cabin was super silent too, in stark contrast to a friend's Figo that we drove to the dealership in. We did not test it at > 60 kph though.

I have received news of allotment of a Jazz (I had booked 8 months ago) but I am now unsure about which way to go!

Jazz vs Punto may be an apples and oranges comparison, but even from the point of view of practicality / versatility (the Jazz's USP), each has its own unique strengths.
Jazz: Unbeatable space for occupants and luggage, All round visibility (Covers every application: Transport 5 people in good comfort, shopping, moving stuff, airport and railway station runs)
Punto: High GC + Superb suspension setup, ACC (Offers the ability to drive comfortably on any road condition one can normally expect to encounter)

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The stock speakers cheated - They still sound nice, but crackling at higher volumes - and it seems to be getting worse - week by week, specially the ones at the front. Not sure if the rear ones need to be replaced.

The sound quality from the stock speakers in the demo car (75hp Emotion) was quite poor. The bass was quite weak (we tried mutiple EQ settings) and the speakers crackled with an increase in volume. It was no match for the stock speakers on the Figo.

One question: Is the double-folding rear (40%) seat a new inclusion in the 2012 Punto or was it there in the earlier models too?

Sorry if this is :OT.

@spindoc:
I have been driving Jazz, Punto and couple of other cars during last few months and here are my impressions:

Jazz is a master of versatility, but the road bumps and potholes filters more into the cabin than in Punto and Vista. Jazz offers better visibility, lot more options to carry luggage, nicer dash and plastics, but loses out to Punto when it comes to ride comfort (filtering out of bumps and potholes), and when the needle climbs into triple digit zone, Jazz never gives me confidence like Punto gives. I feel the breaks of Punto are better confidence inspiring than that of Jazz.

@CD: Thanks for putting a very through ownership report. now this is one of my 'must check daily' threads on TBhp.

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Originally Posted by spindoc (Post 2775752)

Did you take a TD of the petrol/ diesel Punto?

If it were to be a petrol - I would not have gone the Punto way for sure. Would have been a tough fight between Swift ZXi / Jazz X. Creamy high revving petrol engines with agility to match. Again, with just 2 persons using the car - my main consideration was how much I liked the drive.

Double folding rear seats were included in the earlier versions as well.

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Originally Posted by theexperthand (Post 2776112)

True.

Speaking of which - Following the discussions in the TD thread - I tried reducing the tyre pressure to 30 PSI on nitrogen (From 32 PSI recommended on the door sticker) and the difference is surprising.

Next time - I'm going to reduce it to 29 PSI. :thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I test drove the 75hp MJD E variant - while I do not require a diesel, the price difference between the Jazz X and the Punto 75hp E is not huge and so I thought I'd take a look at it. I have not had a chance to test drive the Jazz at all, although I booked it a long while ago and was allotted a car last week (I have deferred the purchase).

My question was whether you would have still chosen the Jazz, now that you have the benefit of hindsight, having experienced the Punto's ride quality and superb ground clearance. I guess you have answered it in your post.

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Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 2768378)

The ICE upgrade plan that we had discussed, is back. Most probably by end- June. I'll confirm once the leave plan is approved. Will retain the HU and 'blue & me' and need to plan a system around it. The stock speakers cheated - They still sound nice, but crackling at higher volumes - and it seems to be getting worse - week by week, specially the ones at the front. Not sure if the rear ones need to be replaced.

I would strongly suggest you to throw away both front and rear speakers. Both are pathetic indeed. I still have them lying in my home, not sure what to do about them. As my car didn't have blue and me, I upgraded HU as well. If I did with the steering controls, probably I would have kept the stock one.

But I must add this, I initially just changed all the 4 speakers, and kept using the stock HU, and later when I replaced that with Pioneer, I understood how weak the OEM HU was. And with the AMP and the SUB added in my car, I stopped listening to music at home. lol:

The car completed 29100+ after the Ooty trip and the time is nearing for the service. I hope the service quality doesn't drop after the recent announcement of the separation of TATA and Fiat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 2780473)

Speaking of which - Following the discussions in the TD thread - I tried reducing the tyre pressure to 30 PSI on nitrogen (From 32 PSI recommended on the door sticker) and the difference is surprising.

Next time - I'm going to reduce it to 29 PSI. :thumbs up

Have gone with 29 PSI too....let's see how it feels. Even I felt that the TD car had a better ride quality. Since the TD car was an Emotion variant with 15" rubber on alloys, do to the alloys help in any way with the ride?

Sunfilm ban is getting enforced in Chennai on Monday. Will be getting the dark tints (result of a goof-up at the dealership) removed today. She would also be getting new headlamps (Osram Nightbreaker most probably, dont want to play with the electricals yet).

Quote:

Originally Posted by spindoc (Post 2780686)

My question was whether you would have still chosen the Jazz, now that you have the benefit of hindsight, having experienced the Punto's ride quality and superb ground clearance. I guess you have answered it in your post.

The heart v/s mind debate? Mind would have told Jazz. Heart would have told Swift petrol.

BUT if its a question of diesel Punto v/s Honda Jazz - I'd pick the diesel. Its still fun (A tuning box or a remap can sort out the power later on) while the fuel bills can bring a huge smile on those long drives as well.

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Originally Posted by punto_ (Post 2781546)

Would lose out on steering controls + blue&me. Hence thinking of trying something like Audison Connection SLI to connect the HU with the 4 channel amplifier.