[aravind.anand]

Took a TD of both the 76 PS and the 93 PS variants of the Punto during the last weekend. I was primarily looking at the Punto Dynamic (which had ABS for the diesel alone) and the 90 HP variant too. This TD was to decide between the two, which were separated by a Lakh.
The SE's approach was genuine and professional. At no point of time did he want to push the car to me, he also dint condemn any of the competing vehicles like the previous SE's I've met from other brands.
First we took the 76 PS emotion variant. It was a new vehicle, the 2012 variant, with only 2260 km on the odo. The steering gave me that firm and fun-to-drive feel even at parking speeds. I loved the thud of the door as much as i hated the 'thud' or rather the lack of it, from the OE Music system! The first two gears were good and clutch was light. The previous two diesel cars that I had driven extensively were the Elantra and the Vento, and I thought the Punto's clutch was lighter than both. Ride quality surprised me, despite expecting a superb ride after reading many reviews praising the same. Couldn't test the handling much, but was having a feeling that it would be reassuring and would take corners with ease.
And then came the 90HP variant! This was a badly maintained vehicle. Bad in the baddest sense! Figure this, a TD vehicle that has broken seat height adjuster, glove box is hanging midway, the car squeaks from various places, steer the car and you hear a grinding noise! The SE politely apologized for the condition of the car. As I sat inside, I was surprised by the seats. Seriously, no review I had read thus far mention this - the seats in the 2012 Punto has been made soft and is not nice at all. The firmer, well bolstered seats of the earlier Punto was available only on the Punto 90 now. The car din't feel much different in the first two gears from its lesser powerful counterpart. But third gear was definitely more powerful. The car felt more powerful and also more noisy than the 76 PS engined variant. The other aspects were just the same.
The conclusion from the TD was not clear. The 93 PS engine din't convince me to shell an extra lakh and go for it. In fact, the seats were a much better reason to go for the 90 HP variant! I told the above words after the TDs to the SE and he apologized again and told me he would service the car and keep it ready for me to TD it again over the next weekend. So I would be driving both the cars again during the coming weekend.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by sriramr9

I set the A/c in ACC mode in Lo setting and the Air circulation arrow was a curved one and not the straight one.. with this setting in a hot sun drive without sun film the cooling took long time to make the cabin pleasant.

The A/C in Punto is very powerful.

Try keeping the AC in full auto mode (press the round button on left to switch it on), keep the temp at 16 degrees & not LOW (i keep it at 21 degrees & it chills in no time) & press the re-circulation button since it starts in fresh air mode by default (the lowest button on right).

DO NOT KEEP THE ACC ON "LOW". Keep it at 16-17 degrees if you want but not LOW.

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

TThe car felt more powerful and also more noisy than the 76 PS engined variant. The other aspects were just the same.

Maybe because of the poor condition of the test drive car. The 90 hp is more refined than the 75 hp.

But I am comparing pre-2012 models, dont know if they have done any improvements in the NVH of 2012 models.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Guys, whats the usual procedure for payment followed? Is the invoicing done upfront before PDI, or after PDI?

When I booked my Punto 2 yrs ago, I paid 30K as advance.At the point of paying the advance I knew the VIN ( and hence the vehicle manufacture month) from their software inventory system.

The car which was lying in their stockyard was brought to the showroom and I inspected it,noted the chassis no, gave them the go ahead, and paid the balance amount. The dealer in Bangalore ( Concorde motors ) had no objections to this.

I don't see any reason to pay the full amount upfront before doing a PDI.

[ms001]

^^

I followed the same procedure while booking my punto from prerana bangalore.
I paid 20k upfront as booking amount .
In my car was not in stock.So after a week i got the VIN of the car in transit , then after checking the car physically as it reached the dealer , i paid the rest of the amount.

[raj_5004]

Guys, FIAT has done two upgrades in my car -

1) Rear dead axle replaced
2) Power steering pipe changed

All details mentioned over here.

[asdon]

This question is for all Pre-2012 Active & Dynamic owners, have anyone checked with Fiat Service center if the new integrated music system can be installed in ours cars?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by asdon

This question is for all Pre-2012 Active & Dynamic owners, have anyone checked with Fiat Service center if the new integrated music system can be installed in ours cars?

Why? From the reviews, I don't find the stock system to be great! You could go for aftermarket HU & nice speakers and get better music quality. Please don't fall for the OEM looks.

[asdon]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Why? From the reviews, I don't find the stock system to be great! You could go for aftermarket HU & nice speakers and get better music quality. Please don't fall for the OEM looks.

I am only interested in HU which fits properly in the Dash, speakers and amps I will fit from outside, if at all Fiat provides the HU.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by asdon

I am only interested in HU which fits properly in the Dash, speakers and amps I will fit from outside, if at all Fiat provides the HU.

Abhijit,
Stay away from that stock HU.

Most after market HUs will fit that dash or you will get frames ready made for it.

With all the jazz in my ride, and the moolah that I have spent on it, my setup sounds as good as my wife's Spark which has a Pio HU and a sound setup which costs 1/3 of mine. Definitely not worth the effort.

The only reason I stick around with it is because of the steering controls. Though it does pique me that there should be a way to translate the signals from the steering buttons to the HU readable format.
I have also given a thought to the idea of getting another HU
One for music and the other for B&M

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

The only reason I stick around with it is because of the steering controls.

Most of the good aftermarket HUs which are available now has an IR device which will smoothen & make the steering mounted controls compatible. I believe some HUs ship that along with it or you could buy it for 2K or so. I have seen people using it seamlessly. Please check with some good ICE dealers and you will have the details.

Details: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sound-...tml#post521513

[teky]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Most of the good aftermarket HUs which are available now has an IR device which will smoothen & make the steering mounted controls compatible.

Fiat's don't work with the IR Code, It's all CAN Bus controlled and hence can be expensive than 2k to get it working along with steering mounted controls. Connects2 sell steering interface kit for Fiat which is simple plug & play, you would need to procure the appropriate HU extension lead as well. Even after doing all this you will loose B&M as rhis is a seperate unit all together.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by teky

Fiat's don't work with the IR Code, It's all CAN Bus controlled and hence can be expensive than 2k to get it working along with steering mounted controls. Connects2 sell steering interface kit for Fiat which is simple plug & play, you would need to procure the appropriate HU extension lead as well. Even after doing all this you will loose B&M as rhis is a seperate unit all together.

Thats correct teky, although the HU is crap its worth retaining just for the Blue & Me. The connects2 interface costs around 4K. Nishantgandhi has ordered it and will be installing a JVC 926BT HU to his car.

[scofield]

Guys,
I will tell you my story. I agree that OEM HU given by FIAT is not that great however I would say if you love the Blue and Me then one has to live with it.
So i changed the set up of my ICE but HU is still there and now the sound is really awesome in my car.
I mean the HU is generating enough BASS and TREBLE along with a good surround and now am very happy with it.
Change all the door units, get oblongs behind and get a 4 channel amp and a sub - I am sure all your wishes would be fulfilled.
Yes the warranty is void because if this setup however I am least concerned about the warranty of the HU and other electricals related to it.

[autoweirdo]

Got the sun films for punto.
3M CR35
cost: 4500 (no warranty card, dealer was suggested by friend so took risk)
Location: Indiranagar, Chennai

Additional added door bumpers (not sure what is exact name buts its small fitment to avoid door scratches) - no cost, part of bargain.

For frontwindshield he is quoting Rs 4800 for 3M CR70 and Rs 3600 for Garware (i guess he said icecool make).
Please suggest which one is better.

For speakers JBL i guess model was 609 somthing he is quoting Rs 4500 with 2 yrs warranty. It includes 2 speaker, 2 tweeters and ome kind of box in package (sorry not too good with ICE lingos).
Is this a good deal?

[thenomad]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Got the sun films for punto.
3M CR35
cost: 4500 (no warranty card, dealer was suggested by friend so took risk)
Location: Indiranagar, Chennai
For frontwindshield he is quoting Rs 4800 for 3M CR70

I've been inquiring about sun films for my car and the quote I have got for the wind shield ranges between 6500 - 7500 (CR70) with bill and warranty card for 5 years. This is the standard for all cars irrespective of type or make.

In your deal I would have tread in cautiously as the dealer doesn't provide a warranty card. There are a lot of fakes in the market.

Kindly check if the 3M logo is imprinted on the film in your car. It is semi-transparent and visible on close inspection in sun-light.

3M did not honor the warranty for my brother's car citing it was a fake film and how they inspected was using the above technique.