[Klub Class]

Congratulations Hemanth for choosing this Italian Hatch. Trust me, Fiat Punto looks awesome in Bossa Nova White. And it's no wonder that BNW is the most popular color among Fiat Punto & Fiat Linea.

I have heard from some that Punto 1.2 and Punto 1.4 gives similar mileage figures.So, it will be useful if you post the mileage figures after you crunch a couple of miles.

Do keep us updated. Drive safe. Happy motoring.

Amith

[karan1609]

Nice ride dude! I especially loved the background where it faces the camera with the hill behind it. Did you use special filters to enhance the colors?
I too would love to own a Punto some day . I just upgraded from a M800 Dx to an Astar Lxi. Wow! I am loving it. Next upgrade would be a Punto (Red), Beat (Red) or i-20 (Red). Congrats once again!

[hemanth.anand]

Its now three days after I bought my car.

29th September.: I took the delivery of my Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 Emotion at 3 pm.
The feeling when I shut the door with a nice "thud" and when turned the key on....no words to express my emotion.
I actually did a double check if the engine was really on. It was that silent. this was where the first small but good feature of Punto came into picture. The "double crank prevention system"-the key didn't turn and then I was sure that the engine was actually on.

Since it was the day when Ayodhya judgment was to be passed, there were some riots expected. So headed straight to the fuel station and filled up 5 liters of petrol in Indian oil using the showroom voucher. Since I always use shell fuel, I didn't fill anymore. In the fuel station while a few girls in a car beside me were glaring at my new car (probably they were jealous ), I noticed the second good feature-the fuel lid is on the drivers side. Since My earlier car was a 800, I like this very much since the cap is visible in the driver side ORVM if by chance it is left open.
Once I reached home, I went through the manual and found many nice features. Unfortunately i was not allowed to take it out because of the possible communal riots.

It was the best gift that me and my wife could get on our anniversary the next day.

01st October: It was our anniversary and as I got up in the morning(around 6am) I wished my wife and the next thing I did was take my camera and went to my car and took pictures of her inside out. Now my wife will remember this for the rest of our life .My office was closed and my wife was not in a position to apply for a leave in her office (I felt that it was good that it happened that way or else I would be in a difficult position. I took my car to drop my wife to her office.

The road to her office from our home has many small roads. I knew that Punto's turning radius was high and I was looking forward to how it performs. Trust me, I didn't feel that at all. It went so smoothly and the way it swallowed all the potholes, humps was just amazing. I was slowing down as per my instincts in my 800 and the difference was so exciting.
I also tried out all the menu options like the consumption, range, travel time, avg speed everything. All the information were so easily accessible. I will not mention the figures just now since they are still stabilizing. Then I went straight to Shell station and had the car's tank full and took a Ferrari model. Since there was 5 liters already I could fill 40 liters. Then it was turn to show my beautiful new girl to all my relatives and I roamed around the whole of south Bangalore for that. For my in-laws i gave a surprise since we had not told them about the booking. they were really happy seeing thing this car and they appreciated its beauty and when I gave them a ride they were really happy and were praising its back seat comfort and roominess

In the evening I picked up my wife from her office and we went to a restaurant in Forum mall for our anniversary dinner. It was so easy to park this car in the parking lot. This is where my wife always reminds me to lock the car because many a times I have forgotten to press the button on the keyless entry. I told her to relax since Punto automatically locks after the doors are closed and the key is taken out. Very useful for people like me who forget to lock.
Also there are many pockets on the central console that we could easily keep the mobile phones of varied sizes. The cup holders are slightly small in diameter I felt.

2nd October: I took my beauty to the NICE road for a photo shootout and she is a perfect model. i fell in love over and over again every time I saw her looks. Since it was brand new, I didn't want to go fast. I felt that I was driving at 50kmph but when I saw the cluster it was actually double that speed It was so easy for her to cruise at that speed. I was just flattened.
My Bro-in-law drove the car here and i got some time to see the other parts of the interior. Here I didn't like one thing I must admit. The door locks from the inside is similar to ford fiesta that i have seen and this for me makes no sense-it locks when pressed inwards. The whole concept of door locks are neglected in these types i feel. The ones on swift is more better I feel. the locks should always be separate I would say. However one thing about these locks are they lock immediately when the speed touches 20kmph. A really good thought out feature.

At the end of the day my car finished 120 kms already.

3rd october: we had some parties to attend on this day and wherever we went My car was the show stopper everywhere. The wives of my friends would have cursed my car since they were ignored by their husbands. I couldn't help smiling within myself I found out on this day that when any door is not closed, on the main cluster it shows which door is not closed and also a tell-tale light flashes indicating the same. This is apart from the cabin lights being on(when it is in the door position). Today my car finished 200kms.
Things that i figured out:
1. The 60:40 splitting-I knew that it was 60:40 splittable, but finding the lever was slightly difficult and once I saw the manual I found it and it was so easy to do that. Another best thing in this was the seat could be folded two times. for added space. While folding, the seatbelts obstruct a bit.
2. The rear windows will come down approximately 80% only-I wish they could come down fully.
3. 'Follow me home' headlamps: The time for which the headlamps could be left on was also configurable. I disabled it since it makes little sense for Indian conditions.
4. The cluster is straight out of the european punto- The cruise control tell tale is disabled.

4th october: I brought the car to office today and it just grabbed the attention of everybody. Mine is the first 1.2GPE in our office and all the praises were showered on her. The way she just cruised on the elevated road enroute to my office was simply awesome.

Now my car has done 250kms in the city and below are the things that I liked and didn't like:
+ Plastic quality has improved a lot compared to the 2009 Punto-I compared it with my colleagues 1.3 emotion.
+ All small and useful information is displayed in the cluster and easily accesible through the button on the right stalk.
+ When there is an emergency braking, the emrgency indicators turn on automatically. Though I didn't try this out
+ The seating is very comfortable for 5 members.
+ 60:40 split of rear seats and double folding possible.
+ When front wipers are on and reverse gear is engaged, the rear wipers switch on automatically.
+ Points where the jack need to be placed is pointed out by a small embossing mark.
+ One wipe after the main wiping action is finished to remove any dripping water drops
+ The stock music player is decent


- The door locks on the inside makes no sense. When it is locked and you pull it, the door opens!
- Follow me home head lamps make less sense for Indian conditions- It is underpowered compared to its competitors and I felt this.
- Cooling takes time especially at the rear (This is not a factor in 1.4 since it has rear AC vents).
- I could feel a very small reduction in power when AC was switched on
- No seat height adjuster considering that 1.3 Emotion variant has this one
- The A-pillar is sufficiently large and the visibility while turning is slightly less and I had to bend many time to see.
- The absence of even Auxillary input to the music player and the absence of a remote control for the player.

More pictures of the car interiors and exteriors attached below

[shk 8896]

Nice car
Nice color
Nice key chain
Classy & Elegant logos
Nice title
Nice Pictures
But missing those alloys ...
Iam loving it

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

I have heard from some that Punto 1.2 and Punto 1.4 gives similar mileage figures.So, it will be useful if you post the mileage figures after you crunch a couple of miles.

Do keep us updated. Drive safe. Happy motoring.

Amith

Thanks Amith, i'll surely post my mileages after some miles. If what you have told is right, that's slightly disappointing for 1.2 owners like me. But anyways, even if it is different it won't be more than 2kms.

Originally Posted by karan1609

Nice ride dude! I especially loved the background where it faces the camera with the hill behind it. Did you use special filters to enhance the colors?

Congrats for your recent upgrade.
No special filters were used. It was a standard Nikon D90 with kit lens.

Originally Posted by shk 8896

Nice car
Nice color
Nice key chain
Classy & Elegant logos
Nice title
Nice Pictures
But missing those alloys ...
Iam loving it

Thanks for your "nice" comments
BTW, These "nice" pictures were taken on the "NICE" road in Bengaluru.
Alloys will come up soon. in the coming months.


One general question- In the website it states that the emotion variant has seat height adjuster(with no "conditions" Star mark). My 1.2 emotion doesn't have the seat height adjuster. My colleagues diesel emotion has teh seat height adjuster. Does anybody have an answer for this? is this the same on all 2010 1.2 emotions?

[nkrishnap]

The 1.2 emotion version does not come with the seat height adjuster and probably the ABS as well. Though not sure on the ABS.

Some more features are missing from the 1.4 or the 1.3 emotion versions as compared to 1.2 Liter Emotion

[Newpunter]

The height adjustment is only present for the 1.3 and 1.4 Emotions, not for the 1.2 Emotion. Same with ABS and EBD. They are present only in the 1.3 and 1.4. I think FIAT should have kept the features same for all the Emotion variants , but i guess it was part of keeping the costs low. All in all, I think the 1.2 Emotion is great VFM , for the features, comfort and handling that it offers.

Regarding the mileage, I get around 10.4 KM/L in Bangalore traffic. This saturday, when i went on a trip to Lepakshi, I got around 14.3 overall and 15.4 on the highway. My Punto has done only 1200 Kms till now, so i guess this figure will improve.

By the way, when did they start giving JK Tyres with the 1.2 Emotion? Mine came with Bridgestones.

[parimal_g]

@hemanth.anand,
Congrats for your great purchase and belated wishes for your wedding anniversary , Hey you got the Best looking hatch, and great photos, the blue sky,niCE road, combination looks awesome. Is Bangalore Road TAX Is highest in country? Do let us know about the Pickup, in gear acceleration, how comfortable is driving in traffic, and always use that instant consumption tool, a very useful to improve the driving.
All the best, for your future TATA-FIAT relation and yes they have improved a lot.

Drive Safe.

[Pri2]

Congrats Hemanth ! You have made the right decision by buying the Punto. I love this colour and BTW I too have a Bossa Nova White Punto MJD.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

This is where my wife always reminds me to lock the car because many a times I have forgotten to press the button on the keyless entry. I told her to relax since Punto automatically locks after the doors are closed and the key is taken out. Very useful for people like me who forget to lock.

Hey, you may leave your car open in that case. Punto does not auto locks after the key is taken out so that there are no chances of forgetting the key inside.
The doors have to be locked from the foldable key. :-)
You'll have to lock it with the keyless entry remote.

Edit- There are rear AC vents in your 1.2 as well. Check below both the front seats and you will find them.
Also, you can get Aux-in cable for around Rs200-400 and play music via your phone/iPod/iPhone etc. Contact your nearby Blaupunkt dealer.

[arpanjha]

Nice review Hemanth.
I will take my beauty out for a drive soon, but not before this weekend as we have some important things at home. I will be posting reviews too, soon. The pictures u hav put are really good. Enjoy her to the fullest and keep posting about her.

There are rear ac vents below the front seats. They are present in my 1.2 Active as well. I am getting an average FE of around 9 km/l in city driving. I am desperately hoping that this improves.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The 1.2 emotion version does not come with the seat height adjuster and probably the ABS as well. Though not sure on the ABS.

Some more features are missing from the 1.4 or the 1.3 emotion versions as compared to 1.2 Liter Emotion

This was what T thought when I bought my punto. but after buying, when i went through the fiat website again, I saw that for emotion they have mentioned that there is seat height adjustment. Thats when i started to wonder. attached below is the screenshot from the website

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Regarding the mileage, I get around 10.4 KM/L in Bangalore traffic. This saturday, when i went on a trip to Lepakshi, I got around 14.3 overall and 15.4 on the highway. My Punto has done only 1200 Kms till now, so i guess this figure will improve.

By the way, when did they start giving JK Tyres with the 1.2 Emotion? Mine came with Bridgestones.

12 is an acceptable mileage for me in city conditions. and 14-15 on the highway and i'll be really happy.
I would have been happy with bridgestones. Not sure when they switched over to JK tyres.

Originally Posted by parimal_g

@hemanth.anand,
Congrats for your great purchase and belated wishes for your wedding anniversary , Hey you got the Best looking hatch, and great photos, the blue sky,niCE road, combination looks awesome. Is Bangalore Road TAX Is highest in country? Do let us know about the Pickup, in gear acceleration, how comfortable is driving in traffic, and always use that instant consumption tool, a very useful to improve the driving.
All the best, for your future TATA-FIAT relation and yes they have improved a lot.

Drive Safe.

Thanks for your wishes,
Karnataka road tax is the highest in the country as far as i know.
look at what arpanjha has paid as taxes for his 1.2 active(34k) in kolkata and for the same 1.2 active tax is 63k in karnataka.
my 1.2 emotion wsa taxed 71k.

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

Hey, you may leave your car open in that case. Punto does not auto locks after the key is taken out so that there are no chances of forgetting the key inside.
The doors have to be locked from the foldable key. :-)
You'll have to lock it with the keyless entry remote.

Edit- There are rear AC vents in your 1.2 as well. Check below both the front seats and you will find them.
Also, you can get Aux-in cable for around Rs200-400 and play music via your phone/iPod/iPhone etc. Contact your nearby Blaupunkt dealer.

my car actually locked after i had removed the key and closed the doors. will confirm once more today evening.

Thanks for showing me the rear AC vents.

Will check about the aux-in cable.

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Nice review Hemanth.
I will take my beauty out for a drive soon, but not before this weekend as we have some important things at home. I will be posting reviews too, soon. The pictures u hav put are really good. Enjoy her to the fullest and keep posting about her.

There are rear ac vents below the front seats. They are present in my 1.2 Active as well. I am getting an average FE of around 9 km/l in city driving. I am desperately hoping that this improves.

When i took the delivery, the average consumption displayed was 6.9kmpl. but after i filled my tank to the fullest and considerable running, it is now showing 9kmpl and also the range which was earlier 360kms at full tank is now 400 at 75% fuel


And another 2 strange niggle that i faced yesterday:
When i sat in my car early in the morning at around 7 am, i saw my dash full of dots...it was something like oil drops fallen all over the dash. I thought i'll enquire this later and went to my office.
while on my way to office one more problem which seemed much bigger...the AC was not cooling the car at all.

In the afternoon, I talked to the executive and regarding the dots, he told that the polish will turn like that and he told just to wipe it with a paper and it'll be solved. when i went to the car to do that, those dots had vanished completely. I felt that this vanished because of the car was in the sun in my company's parking lot. Have anyone got any experience/info regarding this?

And then while heading home in the evening, the AC was working too good. I was really surprised.

Is this car self-healing?

[motor spirit]

Hi Hemanth ,
Congrats on Your Punto Buy. I Wish happy Miles ahead . The Above discussion was on the seat Height adjuster . However the screen shot in the above post speaks about the height adjsutable seat belts

[hemanth.anand]

My mistake,

Thanks for pointing that out. I "carefully" checked the fiat website again and it has specified that 1.2 has not got the seat height adjuster.

sorry guys

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

...
+ When there is an emergency braking, the emergency indicators turn on automatically. Though I didn't try this out
.
.
.
.
- Cooling takes time especially at the rear (This is not a factor in 1.4 since it has rear AC vents).
.
.
.

Do the indicators flash on hard braking? Ford advertises this feature for the FIGO, didn't know the Punto's got it. Another case of FIAT not advertising what it needs to ??

I think all versions of the Punto have the rear (under the seat) AC vents. Do check and see, and of course the blower needs to be set to blow towards the foot well or foot well/ face for them to work