[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Nice review.

The 90 HP version was not driven, is it?

The 90 HP was not available for the detailed test drive when the review was done and the one that is available with KHT has some issues . Awaiting the test drive vehicle from Vecto to do a detailed test drive to see if the final drive ratio changes are applicable to 90 HP as well.

[sandeepmohan]

The interiors are a massive step up on the Evo. I love the dashboard texture on the Evo Sport. The Grande Punto interiors were very low grade in quality as well as finish.

I've asked this before and want to confirm. Can you browse and playback content from the usb drive using the head unit controls or is it again stuck with just the steering mounted controls combined Blue N Me?

Audio quality?

The material used to wrap the steering and the stitching sure look better.

Nice work on the leather cover for the gear stick. This used to be cheap rexine sorta material stuck with velcro.

I like the variant make up for the petrol, especially if one opts for the top spec, you get a loaded car and a more powerful engine.

Prefer the matte chrome internal door release handles over the shiny one's in my car.

Do the rear tail lamps have led units inside them?

Gotto hand it to Fiat for giving us the best set of factory alloys.

Cruise (atleast on the diesel), auto everything (as the review suggests) would have been nice to have.

Now if you can do a diesel sport, why not a petrol sport.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

The 90 HP was not available for the detailed test drive when the review was done and the one that is available with KHT has some issues . Awaiting the test drive vehicle from Vecto to do a detailed test drive to see if the final drive ratio changes are applicable to 90 HP as well.

In terms of ride, how does it handle road undulations at high (>100km) speeds? Does the suspension iron that out or is there a wavy effect?

Also, I guess city drivability may not be as good in the 90hp as the 75hp one

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I've asked this before and want to confirm. Can you browse and playback content from the usb drive using the head unit controls or is it again stuck with just the steering mounted controls combined Blue N Me?

Did not check this as we missed carrying the pen drive. Will check this when I get a chance.

Audio quality?

Definitely better than the earlier output. The one on the Evo sounded better than the sub standard output with the pre facelift.

Do the rear tail lamps have led units inside them?

Only the tail lights are LED, more like a tube type. The rest of the bulbs are regular ones.

Gotto hand it to Fiat for giving us the best set of factory alloys.

The 15 inch alloys are brilliant.

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

In terms of ride, how does it handle road undulations at high (>100km) speeds? Does the suspension iron that out or is there a wavy effect?

Also, I guess city drivability may not be as good in the 90hp as the 75hp one

The ride and handling has not changed from the pre facelift as there is no change to the suspension set up. The ride is quite nice as the speeds increase and the wavy effect is non existent.

Even with the prefacelift, the 75 HP had better driveability in city due to lesser turbo lag compared to the 90 HP.

[Wildy]

An excellent review of New Punto Evo. My interest on this Italian Beauty grown a little more after reading this one. Thanks very much for that.

[swiftnfurious]

Thank You so much! The pics are lovely and exhaustive! Though I prefer the new looks, I have to accept that the old Punto's design is timeless! Only if they could make the gearshift + clutch + new engine options! I guess I'll have to wait to own one. I never liked the interiors of the old Punto and that's taken care of and how.

Hope Fiat listens to our rant for solid engines and brings it soon.

[Pam81]

Your review is awesome. Thanks a lot for very fine pictures.

Lots of chrome, it occurs to me that Punto went little overboard in chrome garnishing the fog lamp pocket silhouette. Though the quality is very good, it's bit overdone IMHO.

In the front door pad, driver's right side arm rest is curving down toward front while many cars have the upward curvature. Not sure which one is good for ergonomics.

That's a whopping price delta of INR 1,40,000/= between dynamic and emotion variants of petrol. Is this price delta justifiable for 1.4L FIRE motor, HVAC, Airbags and some bells & whistles? All competitors have a gradual price spread between petrol variants.

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Power to weight ratio

Attachment 1275088

I think the Elite i20 is still 90 PS and not 100 PS for the 1.4L CRDi motor.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Pam81

That's a whopping price delta of INR 1,40,000/= between dynamic and emotion variants of petrol. Is this price delta justifiable for 1.4L FIRE motor, HVAC, Airbags and some bells & whistles? All competitors have a gradual price spread between petrol variants.

.

I believe none of the other hatchbacks have a higher capacity (considering the tax slab) motor for the top- end. One other example is the i20 AT which had a huge premium over the equivalent petrol version.

A small turbo motor like the 1.2 TSi, or the 1.2 Revotron even could have come in very handy for FIAT here.

[SR71-Blackbird]

Originally Posted by Pam81

That's a whopping price delta of INR 1,40,000/= between dynamic and emotion variants of petrol. Is this price delta justifiable for 1.4L FIRE motor, HVAC, Airbags and some bells & whistles? All competitors have a gradual price spread between petrol variants.

This price difference is due to our tax structure. Any car with a petrol engine with displacement more than 1.2L doesn't qualify as a small car and is charged a higher excise duty.
So a large part of the INR 1,40,000 would be for the additional tax rather than for the additional features!

[gsurya]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I believe none of the other hatchbacks have a higher capacity (considering the tax slab) motor for the top- end. One other example is the i20 AT which had a huge premium over the equivalent petrol version.

Etios Cross & Elite i20 also have higher capacity petrol engine options with similar large price difference over the 1.2 rated petrol engine variant.

[vibbs]

Kudos to the wonderful review!!

The attention to detail is great. As mentioned before, the only things I would want from the exteriors of this facelift is the wonderful tail lamps and the ORVM indicators. Rest everything the pre-facelift is better for me. Different story altogether though on the insides. The interiors do look a step up.

I for one never expected to see a bigger engine on the Punto. If at all they bring one to india, it believe it would be on the Aventurra. That would be the only differentiator for it except for the psuedo SUV stance.

That said, yes the Chassis begs for more power. I also feel a lot of time on the 0-100s are lost due to the long shifts and that 1 km long clutch travel. They also kill the fun. Just by taking care of these two points Fiat could ve done well.


It is disappointing to see that there are not any bottle holders to speak of. 500 ml bottle holders just dont make the cut in my opinion. There should be some practicalities too. I believe the ergonomics for the driver remains unchanged. One gets used to it over time but at the first go, it might be a deal breaker for many a test drivers.

All in all a decent facelift, but Fiat could have done better.

[ghodlur]

Hows the under thigh support in the Evo. Looking at the pics of the driver seat, its flat so I assume that there isnt any improvement in this aspect in the Evo. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

I can see that the dead pedal hasnt changed form the previous one, still the pedals are unevenly placed.

[gr8guyme]

I have booked my Punto Evo 1.3 MJD Dynamic and taking delivery tomorrow. This will be my first diesel car having already owned 2 petrol cars previously (Getz and the 800). I really like the quiet interiors, seemed like petrol car to me. This I am saying after test driving Etios Liva, Renault Pulse, Nissan Micra, and Swift. I will be posting my initial ownership review after taking delivery of my car. Really excited!

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by Pam81

That's a whopping price delta of INR 1,40,000/= between dynamic and emotion variants of petrol. Is this price delta justifiable for 1.4L FIRE motor, HVAC, Airbags and some bells & whistles? All competitors have a gradual price spread between petrol variants.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I believe none of the other hatchbacks have a higher capacity (considering the tax slab) motor for the top- end. One other example is the i20 AT which had a huge premium over the equivalent petrol version.

Originally Posted by SR71-Blackbird

This price difference is due to our tax structure. Any car with a petrol engine with displacement more than 1.2L doesn't qualify as a small car and is charged a higher excise duty.
So a large part of the INR 1,40,000 would be for the additional tax rather than for the additional features!

The cost difference can be attributed to the below factors.

1. Higher Tax structure for engine above 1200cc
2. ABS
3. Airbags
4. Blue n ME and steering controls
5. Alloy Wheels with bigger tyres
6. Rear Defogger
7. Rear Wiper
8. Rear AC Vents
9. Automatic Climate Control
10. Fog lamps
11. Of course the bigger engine

Originally Posted by gsurya

Etios Cross & Elite i20 also have higher capacity petrol engine options with similar large price difference over the 1.2 rated petrol engine variant.

Etios Cross and Elite i20 have features quite similar to the lower engined variants, however on the Punto the list of additional things on the top end variant is listed above.

No doubt, Fiat is missing the 1.2 Turbo charged petrol to make a compelling case in the segment and this is where the VW has an ace up its sleeve.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Hows the under thigh support in the Evo. Looking at the pics of the driver seat, its flat so I assume that there isnt any improvement in this aspect in the Evo. Pls correct me if I am wrong.

I can see that the dead pedal hasnt changed form the previous one, still the pedals are unevenly placed.

The changes are pertaining to the seat texture and the seats are now softer than the outgoing version. The under thigh support for taller people is not satisfactory. Also the seats give you that sinking into it feel, due to it being softer.

Originally Posted by gr8guyme

I have booked my Punto Evo 1.3 MJD Dynamic and taking delivery tomorrow. This will be my first diesel car having already owned 2 petrol cars previously (Getz and the 800). I really like the quiet interiors, seemed like petrol car to me. This I am saying after test driving Etios Liva, Renault Pulse, Nissan Micra, and Swift. I will be posting my initial ownership review after taking delivery of my car. Really excited!

Congrats on the Punto Evo.

[jessie007]

The Dynamic variant loses out on the practical 60:40 split folding option for the rear seats. This in addition to removal of the rear wiper and defogger, are big exclusions.