Divya Sharan (DS) messaged me and said I was late to the tbhp party, late I might be - but here I am none the less.
Firstly, awesome write up for the initial ownership report - and dare I say - amazing pictures!! (yours and mine both :P)
You've covered all the pertinent points comprehensively and the hidden features section was an absolute pleasure to read.
Being DS's friend I was sort of "in" on the journey where DS became Bellissa's owner and I want to share a few moments with you all from my perspective. (By the way I love the name Bellissa and somehow for me it just comes naturally to refer to this particular Punto Evo by this name.)
An interesting point of this ownership report is the "alternatives considered" part - a Ninja 650 !! Fact is that I had no clue DS was going for a car. I knew that something big was coming up, we had discussed the pros and cons of Ninja 650 and the troubles (niggles?) that an existing owner we knew had faced. I also knew he was test riding alternate 600cc bikes.
Then DS dropped the bombshell that an Italian Beauty was coming home!! There was no way to contain my enthusiasm and I told all my friends that DS was buying a Ducati Scrambler or any one of the Benelli 600 trio. Congratulated him and told him that I was super happy 'coz this was the only way I was ever gonna be able to ride any of these bikes. Fact is my heart was set on the awesome Scrambler and I kept on asking DS whether it was the scrambler, but he was tight lipped about it - which made me positive it was gonna be a Scrambler. Somewhere deep down I was wondering who the hell will I tour with, me having the humble Honda 150cc that I have. But in between all of this, DS did not even tell me the exact date of delivery - he just said "this week".
Imagine my utter shock and disbelief when he messages me the photo of the Fiat logo surrounded by that smooth Red..!!
To say that I was utterly flabbergasted beyond reasoning would be the understatement of this century!! In fact I was in denial for a few minutes - as my dreams of riding a yellow Scrambler dissolved into thin air, the shock subsided and was quicky replaced with a feeling of elation 'coz for me this simply opened another avenue of adventures. Que dreams of the two of us driving in convoy on epic roads he with his Bellissa and me in a convenient rental.
So - enough about me - on to the Punto Evo.
Lot has been said about the handling prowess of the Punto platform and my thoughts are already quoted in the text by DS.
Enough has also been said about the rubbery gear shifts. For me this part of the drive experience is more frustrating than disappointing. Somehow I believe that the issue is not with the gear box but with gear linkages and rubber bushes which come in all modern cars. A simple mod (which is quite popular globally for many many different cars) where the rubber bushes of the linkages are replaced by metal washers should may be solve the issue. This will still not address the issue of long throw of the gear stick - but here's the thing - I like long throws!! It gives the whole business of changing gears some purpose! People seem to be crazy about short throw shifters and I have seen short throws which are so super short that going from first to second seems like toggling an old school lights/fan switch - where is the fun in that? Or maybe the real question is - how often do you professionally autocross/track/drag race? The only real life effect I see in the ghats and that is a point I concede.
Ergonomics - again call it Italian character or quirk - but things should have been better. The clutch pedal travel is l-o-n-g but the clutch bite point is high up, that is a bad combo already. What is not ok is the fact that at full press of the clutch pedal, your feet hit the steering column! And you can feel the column turn if you are taking a turn while changing gears! To press the clutch all the way in you bring your seat forward, now the steering is too close for comfort! Is it a matter of getting used to? Absolutely. Scorpio has weird ergos as well, doesn't change the fact that I love it either way and have done a 762km day solo in it.
Build quality, suffice to say I had no clue what "thud" people were going on and on about till I felt it in Bellissa. Now the SX4's door feels tinny
Interior quality - it gives a feeling of richness, right from the leather which covers the gap in the steering column to the damped switch gear of the AC/ICE console. Fiat has not tried to intentionally cheap out on things and that makes the end consumer a satisfied person. Interior fabric feel hard wearing as well, especially the dash board fabric.
Engine - 1.4 FIRE. Is 90hp under-powered? I don't think so, but more is never enough. That said the power delivery of the 90hp petrol vs diesel is poles apart and that changes the complete personality. Punto is heavy and with 4 passengers on board clearing Bangalore speed breakers is definitely a 1st gear affair. But with 2 passengers and on the open highway I felt the acceleration second gear onward to be quite adequate. 1.4 FIRE is a rev happy engine but the cherry on top is the uber smooth way in which the needle climbs that tach. The feeling of increase in torque as the rpms climb is rewarding in itself. That is something you will never get in a diesel. In most modern diesels with small turbos which spool quickly and have restrictive catcons to beat emission norms, only disappointment lurks on the flipside of 4500 rpms.
This is getting longer than expected. Will let pictures do the talking here on out:
Paint quality - I present to you the brand new facelifted Honda Amaze - pictures taken from screenshot of Autocar review on youtube:
Seriously Honda? That level of orange peel? Why bother with paint + clear - let the cars roll out with just a coat of primer if you can't care less!
Now the paint surface on Bellissa, the quality is superlative and that reflection is stunning!
Oh did I forget to mention we had another italian beauty accompanying us on this photoshoot?
A few words on the wheel well gap - The suspension is well damped and is independently excellent for highway use, but no amount of excellent damping can cater to the indian road craters, only ground clearance and extra suspesion travel can tackle them. That said the car deserves to be lowered by atleast an inch and a half minimum. Still the stance on the move is not affected as can be seen in the panning shot in DS's post.
Thoughts on chrome delete mod done DIY by DS - I was of the opinion that he should have left the center chrome on both front and back bumpers stay, but I take back my words completely. The red and black theme is amazing and chrome does not deserve its place on Bellissa.
Front
Rear
I had my doubts on how the carbon fibre film will take wear and tear of daily usage but I feel it will last quite a while. Enjoy a macro of the surface on the door handles:
Finally just some random shots to end my contribution to this party! And none are HDR so there's that!