[Chitta Pradhan]

When is the face lifted Punto coming? Can any one who has driven both Punto & Linea compare the cars as regards the ride quality & handling.

[desdemona]

The facelift is coming next month sometime. And word is that the T-jet will not come on it, though it ostensibly will on the Avventura, which'll come in September-October.

I've driven the Punto Emotion diesel a few times, and own a brand new as well as an older Linea. They felt similar in the ride-handling balance, which is to say taut, flat and comfy even at speed.

I haven't driven the Punto with the higher, quasi-SUV ground clearance, but can report from the new Linea that the ride-handling balance is perfectly intact, and that is creditable to Fiat India, though that is a function of just how on-the-limit one pushes the car. Both cars are by far the best-in-class on this criteria, as everyone knows.

Note though that the Linea Emotion comes with 205 mm wide, 16 inchers, am not sure about the new Punto Emotion, which is of course smaller and lighter.

[AbhishekE]

@desdemona

The Punto Emotion comes with 195/60 R15.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

LOL What you are missing in the Punto pic is that the entire weight of the tree is on the lower thick branch resting on the road. In the case of the Ritz, entire weight of the trunk is resting on the car. Had it been a Punto, it would have suffered the same fate. Punto uses the same gauge of sheet steel, and has the same B/C-pillar construction (where the impact was) and roof reinforcement, as the Ritz.

I do not disagree, but I am sure the build quality and safety of Fiat is better-two personal experiences ...1. My Linea - one Xylo rear ended my car in a red light, that too at considerable speed (My car was already stopped and I was resting my leg firmly on brake pedal but with the Xylo impact there was a bang and the car moved about two feet...later on examination, I found that the rear bumper had a small dent...decided not to repair. 2. Punto - the owner is my son, blinded by oncoming vehicle head light, missed a turn and had a head on collision with a tree. The air bags deployed and he walked our of the car only with minor wrist injury. Car was a wreck and had to be averaged. Thank God he bought a second hand Punto and not a new Suzuki. Had it been a Suzuki, he may not have survived...

[sidindica]

Joins the debadged club. Extreme heat has been taking a toll on the car's FE, but the airconditioning remains superb.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by alavandar

I do not disagree, but I am sure the build quality and safety of Fiat is better-two personal experiences ...

Sure, but you can be a bit more objective.

Originally Posted by alavandar

... 1. My Linea - one Xylo rear ended my car ... the car moved about two feet ... the rear bumper had a small dent...decided not to repair. ...

That only proves the bumpers of both cars flexed and retained shape, despite a significant energy transfer. If the Xylo's bumper was more rigid, it would have cracked your bumper, and vice-versa. It doesn't prove anything about Linea's design and construction quality, nor that of the Xylo.

Originally Posted by alavandar

... 2. Punto - the owner is my son, ... head on collision with a tree. The air bags deployed and he walked our of the car only with minor wrist injury. Car was a wreck and had to be averaged. ...

Averaged? Didn't understand. You mean car was 'totaled' and had to be junked?

Likewise to the Linea case. In this case it was the airbags and crumple zones which protected driver. It is the same with Suzuki cars, or GM, or Hyundai, or Ford etc. - WITH airbags. Crumple zones are there in all cars today, airbags are not. A more 'traditional' thinker would say the design is bad because the car got totaled - irrational, but that is how it is.

Perhaps you can advise your son NOT to look at oncoming vehicles, instead look at the near-side kerb while driving - a safer driving method.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Sure, but you can be a bit more objective.

1. That only proves the bumpers of both cars flexed and retained shape, despite a significant energy transfer. If the Xylo's bumper was more rigid, it would have cracked your bumper, and vice-versa. It doesn't prove anything about Linea's design and construction quality, nor that of the Xylo.

2. Averaged? Didn't understand. You mean car was 'totaled' and had to be junked?

3. Likewise to the Linea case. In this case it was the airbags and crumple zones which protected driver. It is the same with Suzuki cars, or GM, or Hyundai, or Ford etc. - WITH airbags. Crumple zones are there in all cars today, airbags are not. A more 'traditional' thinker would say the design is bad because the car got totaled - irrational, but that is how it is.

4. Perhaps you can advise your son NOT to look at oncoming vehicles, instead look at the near-side kerb while driving - a safer driving method.

Hi
1. Regarding my Linea getting rear ended:- Xylo had a stainless steel pipe fabricated bumper protector and two protruding pipes made impact on the Linea rear bumper in two places and dented the bumper. It was me who who had the experience and tried to put it across as best as I can. I humbly state what I observed and am not out to prove anything
2. Following points regarding my son's Punto accident:-The repair cost to the car was estimated to be more than the insurance. My son preferred to settle for the insurance amount.
3. The car, was not a total loss and had only frontal damage and engine parts. Insurance was for some 3 lakhs and repair estimate to bring to good shape was more than that. So he rather settled to take the money as negotiated and not for repairs. Averaging is a term used in shipping. May be I did not use the correct word.
4. Regarding crumple zones, air bags etc.: I do not want to add anything since you have a lot of knowledge on the subject.
5. Regarding your advise:-My son is 30 years old, is a good driver and has a mind of hid own. And perhaps advising without knowing the circumstances can be avoided by you.

This thread is about Punto. I still state because it was a Punto he was driving, my son is still alive.

[Travelling_Monk]

Recently, I had been experiencing a creaking sound from the front RHS suspension of my Punto. Subsequently, I took my car to a FIAT A.S.S in Hyderabad where they diagnosed it to be a fault in the suspension and needed replacement. I was shocked to hear such kind of problem in a car has been driven for only 16k and that too quite sedately. I took a sigh of relief, when the service representative assured me that everything will be taken care of, since the car is still in warranty period. But in the back of my mind, I was wondering if such kind of problems arise all of a sudden after the warranty expires.

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by Travelling_Monk

I was shocked to hear such kind of problem in a car has been driven for only 16k and that too quite sedately. I took a sigh of relief, when the service representative assured me that everything will be taken care of, since the car is still in warranty period. But in the back of my mind, I was wondering if such kind of problems arise all of a sudden after the warranty expires.

Hi. Such an issue can happen for a variety of reasons, given our roads (potholes and bumps of different sizes and shapes), tyres that are unbalanced in the air pressure they're filled with, etc. This is a FWD drive car, whose front suspension also bears the extra load of the engine, and so sometimes if one hits a particularly nasty pothole in a particular way, damage can result. Not a big deal, don't worry.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

1.Sure, but you can be a bit more objective.
......./....

2. Perhaps you can advise your son NOT to look at oncoming vehicles, instead look at the near-side kerb while driving - a safer driving method.

I thank DerAtte for his observations. We also happen to exchange couple of mails and thank him for that. I thought I will elaborate further regarding how the accident took place.


1. The accident happened in a state high way, near Mumbai, unlit and bad road conditions and the oncoming vehicle was an ST bus driving around the turn, reckless heading into my son's car (Fiat Punto). To avoid, he veered to left, missed the turn and hit a tree. Guess the speed could be 40 to 50. This is a second hand high end Punto, petrol version. He was wearing seat belt and the air bags also got deployed on impact (You may be aware in a Skoda there was a case where the air bags did't open on impact-as reported in this forum, in one of the threads.) He was dazed for some time and then he called up on mobile his friends for help. His friends were were not far off and arrived soon.
4. Car frontal was damaged, engine sub-assemblies were damaged but the cabin was intact, doors could be opened. He was not entangled and could just walk out of the car. He had a right hand - knuckle sprain injury and a swollen nose because by instinct he put the right hand before his face when the air bag got deployed.
5. I have watched the crash tests of many cars on the BBC and other channels and am aware what kind of injuries incurred to the dummies during crash tests.
6 I am also aware at least in two cases on Coimbatore Palghat highway where precious young lives were last on different brand cars .
7. Now, you may appreciate that my faith on a Fiat may not be a misplaced one.

[tud]

My 2011 Punto has clocked 27000 kms in Chennai. All was well till this summer, my AC's efficiency came down during the day.
In the mornings and evenings the AC is a chiller. In the afternoons when the car has been standing under direct sun, the AC never works. I sweat badly inside the car than walking outside. Also I hear the noise of AC unit, switching on and off in a 5 secs cycle. If this doesnt happen, then I can feel the loss of power every 5 secs when I'm driving. I had my car shown to the authorized service centre here. After connecting the car to their laptop, they diagnosed a faulty fan and changed it under warranty. The fan noise has gone down but AC is still bad during the day.
What could be wrong, I'm taking the car this weekend to the service centre, your hands on experience with any incident like this will help me much.

[sidindica]

Open the windows down for 5 minutes and let the hot air go out. Also, turn on the recirculation mode for AC air circulation. My punto's AC has been cooling superbly even at 47 degrees in Delhi. And thats on factory tinted windows. Its done 36500 kms.

[ms001]

Originally Posted by tud

My 2011 Punto has clocked 27000 kms in Chennai. All was well till this summer, my AC's efficiency came down during the day.
In the mornings and evenings the AC is a chiller. In the afternoons when the car has been standing under direct sun, the AC never works. I sweat badly inside the car than walking outside. Also I hear the noise of AC unit, switching on and off in a 5 secs cycle. If this doesnt happen, then I can feel the loss of power every 5 secs when I'm driving. I had my car shown to the authorized service centre here. After connecting the car to their laptop, they diagnosed a faulty fan and changed it under warranty. The fan noise has gone down but AC is still bad during the day.
What could be wrong, I'm taking the car this weekend to the service centre, your hands on experience with any incident like this will help me much.

Check for AC relay failure and gas leakage .Those 2 are the usual suspects for AC bad performance .

[tud]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Open the windows down for 5 minutes and let the hot air go out. Also, turn on the recirculation mode for AC air circulation. My punto's AC has been cooling superbly even at 47 degrees in Delhi. And thats on factory tinted windows. Its done 36500 kms.

Hi, tried this. it doesnt help much. I'm intrigued by the constant AC switching on and off sound from under the bonnet and also the power loss while driving. All this only when I take out the car in the afternoons.

The car when standing under the sun all day - the AC still works superbly when I take out the car around 6 or 7 pm.

Originally Posted by ms001

Check for AC relay failure and gas leakage .Those 2 are the usual suspects for AC bad performance .

Okay. Will check on these. But any idea why this particular problem occurs only when the car is under the sun and it is still hot outside when I take the car. The relay failure or gas leakage should have its impact in the mornings and evenings right? Terribly confused.

[mrohit17]

My 5 year old punto suffered the same problem. Condensor was the culprit. Apparently it had got partially choked resulting in drop in performance. High pressure then cutting off the compressor intermittently. For a quick relief take a mug of water and splash it in the radiator while the fan is running during afternoons. It will give instant relief for next 15 minutes. I took my car to a local car a/c mechanic, Who did a better job than AuthSS at cheaper cost. I believe a choked radiator would result in same situation too.