From Chill to Mist After 12 wonderful years and 1,84,000 km, I parted with my 2010 Ford Figo petrol Zxi- Metallic Chill and replaced it with Punch AMT Accomplished - Tropical Mist
The vehicle was trouble free till about a year back, when multiple issues started showing up, First was AC compressor failure, then change of bearing, gear shift lever cable (it took 15 days to get the correct spare), AC water leakage in cabin and finally oil leakage from engine which resulted in a major engine repair (took 5 weeks to get the car back).
Till then, I had spent pittance on this wonderful car. First tyre change at 65K, next at 135K and then the front tyres at 175K. All the parts are stock and no major overhaul till now.
The well calibrated HPS, excellent ergonomics and driving comfort made it a pleasure to drive in spite of the slightly under powered but eager duratec 1.2l petrol engine.
Best in class AC, wonderful music system, electrically adjustable OVRMs, RVM with antiglare features, theater style dimming cabin lamps were all VFM features which many of the cars of that time didn't have. It is one of the finest hatch backs to have been made and no wonder there are quite a few old generation Figo's still on road
Having decided to replace, the requirements were clear. Budget of 10 lacs max, AT and petrol.
Vehicles considered Amaze CVT. - The top variant was above my budget and the S variant didn't have touch screen display. Also the poor mileage reported was a deal breaker Ignis. Somehow the vehicle didn't connect with me. Didn't consider Baleno Punch: I read about the under powered engine and the head nodding AMT and I was skeptical when I took the TD. The TD changed my opinion and decided on the vehicle without having a look at other options Buying and dealership experience:
I walked in to Lakshmi TATA showroom in Ekkatuthangal to check out the Altroz. The car looked fabulous but decided against due the following reasons.
1. DCT - Not sure of its reliability after 4-5 years and cost of service and repairs
2. Turbo petrol - Same reasons as above
I was looking at NA petrol when he SA suggested that I have TD in Punch. I booked for TD and the SA brought the vehicle to my house the next day. Took the TD without much to look forward but the TD changed my opinion
1. Excellent feed back from the steering. As good as the Figo
2. Very comfortable driving position and the bonnet line visibility
3. Chiller AC
4. Excellent sound quality of the Harmon music system
5. It was my first time with AMT and I found no jerks or head nods. In Eco mode it felt sluggish but in city mode the pickup was OK.
The choice was between Adventure Rythm pack and Accomplished. Decided to go for Accomplished since it had cruise control, height adjustable driver seat and PEPS for 40K extra
Booking was done in the second week of October and quoted delivery was first week of December. It was fine with me since the monsoon rains would be over by then. But within a week the SA called and said the vehicle as been allotted and I could take delivery by End of October. Took delivery on 3rd November. The experience from booking to delivery was smooth and full marks to the dealer.
I have driven 2200 kms till now and first service has been done. The following are the observations.
1. First service was done at 1600 kms. Opted for 3M under body coating which costed about Rs.1900/- Consumable for first service came to around Rs.400/- The vehicle was picked up for service from my house and I picked it up after service. The service experience good
2. The vehicle feels much peppier now (is it due to the engine settling after run in period or some ECU update, I am not sure). In city mode the engine revs up to 3000rpm before shifting
3. I get around14~15kmpl on mixed runs (city + free runs) and I got 20kmpl during a drive of 380 kms to Thiruvannamalai and back.
4. Gear shift is smooth (I am a light footed driver) but a few mild jerks are noticed sometimes when the vehicle decelerates and shifts from 2 to 1 gear.
5. I noticed this when using cruise control. If you set cruise control at say 90km, slow down and again press the restart, the acceleration is very fast and reaches the set speed very quickly. When I first did this I was startled by the acceleration. This could be used as work around when you had to do tight overtakes. Set the cruise control to higher speed than your normal driving speed. When you need to overtake, press the restart cruise button the steering wheel and zoom ahead. Come back to your driving speed by tapping on the A or B pedal
6. Except for trying it out, I didn't feel the need to use manual mode.
7. Vehicle easily reaches 100kmph and I didn't feel the lack of power. Beyond that I am not sure
If you are planning to buy AMT, do a longish test drive and ensure it suits your driving style.
Enjoying the car and will the thread updated periodically
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