[desdemona]

Originally Posted by mav2000

The biggest let down for me were the interiors. The whole black rubber beading on the inside if the car left me cold. Some of the plastics feel extremely cheap to the touch, specially the seat levers.

On the whole, while I enjoyed the drive I really didn't like the interiors at all.

Would be interested to hear what you thought of the layout and design of the new dash,, the new instrument binnacle, the ambient lighting? And the seats?

[mav2000]

The seats are ok, I would not term them the best but they are by no means uncomfortable. The ambient lighting I could not really test as it was broad day light. On the instrument cluster and central music system are, all the gadgets are nice but I didn't really dig the big U shaped center. I kind of prefer the older version, with its straighter looks

[anugrahlall]

The primary reason for me to go with the New Linea was the new plush interiors. The Dashboard at night (especially the ambient orange light across the dash) has been the recipient of a lot of praises from all friends and family. Not a big expert on plastics myself but they do look much better than the previous version to me at least. Again, these are personal opinions.

[puchoo]

Originally Posted by desdemona

Hi.

Doesn't necessarily sound like an issue, the Linea's steering is very feelsome for exactly this reason: it communicates what's going on with the front wheels. Have them check it out at the FASS, but i wouldn't be too worried.

The car looks resplendent in that colour, what with the 3M treatment too! I do feel they should've continued this Oceanic Blue colour in the new Linea. The T-jet, especially, calls for some slightly more racy or expressive colour choices, no?!

Does not sound like an issue to me either , every time i go over a hole or a patch of rough-road the steering moves around a bit , this is a direct representation of whats happening with the front wheels. Hydraulic for you!

Originally Posted by mav2000

The biggest let down for me were the interiors. The whole black rubber beading on the inside if the car left me cold. Some of the plastics feel extremely cheap to the touch, specially the seat levers.

On the whole, while I enjoyed the drive I really didn't like the interiors at all.

The seat levers are bad i completely agree , feel like they might break off if you use too much force but the rest , even on the new Linea were not that bad from what i recall. You are referring to the black beading on the door frames? Personally i prefer the old design as well.

And by calling the gears soft , what exactly does that mean?

[mav2000]

I am used to driving the Cedia so the linea seemed like the right car for me. By gears being soft, they seem a bit mushy to use. Don't know what is the exact technical term for it. On the Cedia the gears slot in just right with a kind of solid feeling. On the linea I feel it's very soft. Yes I am talking about the beading around the door frames. If they had stuck to the interior colors it would have looked a whole lot better. Also some of the plastics had a rough edge to them. Like after the mould process they have not been finished properly. You can see them on the A pillar top for eg.

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by mav2000

I am used to driving the Cedia so the linea seemed like the right car for me. By gears being soft, they seem a bit mushy to use. Don't know what is the exact technical term for it. On the Cedia the gears slot in just right with a kind of solid feeling. On the linea I feel it's very soft. Yes I am talking about the beading around the door frames. If they had stuck to the interior colors it would have looked a whole lot better. Also some of the plastics had a rough edge to them. Like after the mould process they have not been finished properly. You can see them on the A pillar top for eg.

Hi again. The gears are a bit 'rubbery', it is true, but nowhere near 'soft'. What's great about the gear though is that it has to just the right degree of notchiness i.e., each 'gate' is clear and seperate to the other, and a throw that is neither too long nor too short. I have never driven the Cedia, though, so i cannot comment on the comparison .

For a Mitsu owner: the Linea T-Jet's the ONLY car for you man, this side of a Skoda Octavia @ 17 lakhs (your plastic issues here and there notwithstanding)! Well, maybe the Ford Fiesta too, but I'd still say the (earlier and) new T-jet's just great, all-round, all told: from engine to styling to braking and steering.

[khoj]

Well, the Cedia's gear gate does come equipped with something called "gear slot key guides" or similar and what it does is that it sort of guides the stick to the next gear with authority. It is indeed a very reassuring and positive shift. The Linea's shift is without any such benefit but then again is not bad. Does feel soft and I appreciate it as one needs to work the tiny 1.4 litre engine a whole lot mrs than the 2.0 litre block of the Cedia which is almost like an automatic in the 3rd gear be it crawling at 10 or flying at 110 odd clicks.

Having said that the T Jet+ is a drag race star. It gives one ample opportunities to see the other guy stare in disbelief as the Jet takes off from stand still and leaves others coughing around in its dusty wake.

Also the Jet is far more compliant on our potholed roads and takes a whole lot more luggage too. Cedia comes back with a better driving position geometry and the FIAT with better support from its OEM.

Lots of give and take but yes the two vehicles can satisfy the car nut in all of us to a very large extent and are definitely great stable mates.

Originally Posted by mav2000

I am used to driving the Cedia so the linea seemed like the right car for me. By gears being soft, they seem a bit mushy to use. Don't know what is the exact technical term for it. On the Cedia the gears slot in just right with a kind of solid feeling. On the linea I feel it's very soft. Yes I am talking about the beading around the door frames. If they had stuck to the interior colors it would have looked a whole lot better. Also some of the plastics had a rough edge to them. Like after the mould process they have not been finished properly. You can see them on the A pillar top for eg.

[TheTeacher]

Did a one day trip: Bangalore - Mysore early in the morning, and back in the afternoon.

I took the hwy going, and took a lesser used rural road (yeah, it was a bad idea, but I wanted to try it once since many here praise it).

The hwy route is about 140 kms, and has about an equal # of speed breakers (you understand now why I wanted to try the other route on the way back). I missed the first speed breaker, and went over it at 20 - 30 km despite braking hard at the last minute. Further, some key towns along the way have a 30 kmph speed limit that is fairly strictly enforced. Net, I drove sedately, which is tough for me, but then I had woken up at 3:30 am to leave at 5:30 and was not exactly brimming with energy. Spped was steady around 80, dropping sometimes to 70 or 60, and rising sometimes to 90. No rapid acceleration. It is a 2+2 lane divided hwy and had sparse traffic, and was a comfortable drive.

When I reached Mysore I was pleasantly shocked. Here's what the trip meter had to say:
Distance: 140.3
Avg kmpl: 14.2
Avg Spd: 59
Time: 2:22

For about half the way back, the road was bad. It was also rural, so lots of bike, lorry and bus traffic, besides the ox cart now and then. It is a 1+1 lane undivided road, and a single two-wheeler in my lane or the opposite meant I could not overtake even a two-wheeler and had to slow down. Though speeds were similar, it also meant rapid acceleration to move ahead when the opportunity presented itself.
So the stats are a bit worse:
Distance: 149
Avg kmpl: 12.4
Avg Spd: 48
Time: 3:06

I have a little over 7k on the ODO now. I'm very pleased with these stats, and hope that with a little more on the ODO, things will improve.

[deathwalkr]

Sigh. Gave the booking amount to the salesman. Fell sick. Recovered after two days. Get a frantic call from him saying saar, that model is no longer available!

So again had to go back to my father and try to convince him why a 8.6lakh tjet is better than a 9.1L honda city. In the end he left it to my choice but trust me getting to that end was not very easy.

Was i a victim of a classic bait and switch? Who knows. All i know is i want to be riding that jet singing cheap trick's mighty wings

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Sigh. Gave the booking amount to the salesman. Fell sick. Recovered after two days. Get a frantic call from him saying saar, that model is no longer available!

So again had to go back to my father and try to convince him why a 8.6lakh tjet is better than a 9.1L honda city. In the end he left it to my choice but trust me getting to that end was not very easy.

Was i a victim of a classic bait and switch? Who knows. All i know is i want to be riding that jet singing cheap trick's mighty wings

Does that mean you are upgrading to a Dynamic?

Also, I'm not entirely sure but you could perhaps explore the possibility of laying your hands on an old stock version of the 2013 Linea T-Jet. Those might be going for killer discounts now if there are any stocks leftover. If luck is on your side, you might even end up paying lesser for an old T-Jet Emotion as compared to a facelifted T-Jet Dynamic.

[deathwalkr]

Karthik, my friend, i did book the pre facelift edition only with the 1 lakh discount :( That was the prime factor i used in convincing my father to go for this.

Sadly now only the emtotion version of the pre-facelift is available and even though it is still a good buy, i didnt want to risk it again so ended up booking the new tjet active.

[puchoo]

There you go!! , So nothing wrong with the car persay , stretch it's legs and you are getting what most others are as well.

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

Did a one day trip: Bangalore - Mysore early in the morning, and back in the afternoon.

I took the hwy going, and took a lesser used rural road (yeah, it was a bad idea, but I wanted to try it once since many here praise it).

The hwy route is about 140 kms, and has about an equal # of speed breakers (you understand now why I wanted to try the other route on the way back). I missed the first speed breaker, and went over it at 20 - 30 km despite braking hard at the last minute. Further, some key towns along the way have a 30 kmph speed limit that is fairly strictly enforced. Net, I drove sedately, which is tough for me, but then I had woken up at 3:30 am to leave at 5:30 and was not exactly brimming with energy. Spped was steady around 80, dropping sometimes to 70 or 60, and rising sometimes to 90. No rapid acceleration. It is a 2+2 lane divided hwy and had sparse traffic, and was a comfortable drive.

When I reached Mysore I was pleasantly shocked. Here's what the trip meter had to say:
Distance: 140.3
Avg kmpl: 14.2
Avg Spd: 59
Time: 2:22

For about half the way back, the road was bad. It was also rural, so lots of bike, lorry and bus traffic, besides the ox cart now and then. It is a 1+1 lane undivided road, and a single two-wheeler in my lane or the opposite meant I could not overtake even a two-wheeler and had to slow down. Though speeds were similar, it also meant rapid acceleration to move ahead when the opportunity presented itself.
So the stats are a bit worse:
Distance: 149
Avg kmpl: 12.4
Avg Spd: 48
Time: 3:06

I have a little over 7k on the ODO now. I'm very pleased with these stats, and hope that with a little more on the ODO, things will improve.

[TheTeacher]

Yes, thanks Puchoo! I forgot to mention two things:

1) A/C was on throughout, initially set to 24C, then 23C then 22C

2) If it weren't for those 150 odd darned speed breakers (come to a complete stop, 1st gear, then pick up speed to 80, repeat in about a km), I reckon the average kmpl would have been around 16.

Pretty darned good, eh?

[desdemona]

Hi.

The t-jet is basically the turbo-charged version of the 1.4 Fire petrol engine, I believe, albeit with 16 valves rather than 8. Would you believe that i once got 18+ kpl on a Delhi-Chandigarh trip on my 2010 1.4 Fire Linea?, albeit in winter. So no, fuel efficiency is not a problem with these fiat petrols. Neither is refinement: my new t-jet feels even more hushed (at decent revs only!) than the Fire engine.

I bet, Teacher, that this engine with the DDCT you've expressed a desire for, returns much better mileage figures than the 10-16 kpl everyone seems to get easily on the current manual. Of course, all else is never equal: how to drive the T-jet demurely at all, ha?!

I was thinking about it, and I agree with you now: Fiat must bring that dual-clutch over for the Indian T-jet (Linea/Punto/Avventura).

[Ricci]

Do any of you T-Jet owners find any steering wheel vibration at idle ? I do, and it's not bothersome - when I have my hands on the wheel, I can't feel it but with hands off, I can see the steering wheel vibrate.

Next task - headlight upgrade. I have the Osram Nighbreaker in mind, however wanted to check if anyone has installed higher wattage bulbs - if yes, with or without wiring+relay+ceramic-holder kit ?