[driveanddrive]

Just read the Avventura report by Autocar India. It says no bluetooth streaming for Avventura. It is there in the Abarth Punto and not in Avventura Powered by Abarth? That's just silly.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by driveanddrive

Just read the Avventura report by Autocar India. It says no bluetooth streaming for Avventura.

I don't know which car ACI tested, but the official spec sheet mentions otherwise.

[Higgs_Boson_i]

Dear All,

Do we know how many Abarth Punto or Avventura have been booked? I am very curious to know.

These are 2 very capable cars and I am hoping and wishing they do well!!

On a side note: I just read the latest autocar and see that all the 10 top selling cars are from Maruti and Hyundai. Although this is not surprising considering most of the car buyers are somehow under the spell of these 2 manufacturers, it is still amazing to see such stats.
I sincerely hope this scenario changes!

Cheers!!

[sridharj]

Had a short test drive of Abarth Punto today. Here is my experience

The engine is silent with a slight hum sound

Pulls effortlessly even in 3rd gear

All black interior looks classy

The clutch has a very long throw, I find my Punto diesel better

Gears are again rubbery

Interior fit and finish is much better now

The sales guy said it cost around 11. 44 lacs OTR Chennai

Originally Posted by Higgs_Boson_i

Dear All,

Do we know how many Abarth Punto or Avventura have been booked? I am very curious to know.

These are 2 very capable cars and I am hoping and wishing they do well!!

On a side note: I just read the latest autocar and see that all the 10 top selling cars are from Maruti and Hyundai. Although this is not surprising considering most of the car buyers are somehow under the spell of these 2 manufacturers, it is still amazing to see such stats.
I sincerely hope this scenario changes!

Cheers!!

The sales guy from RDC Motors, Chennai said they do not have black color Abarth with them as they are fully booked, but I did not ask about the number of bookings

[PatchyBoy]

Originally Posted by Higgs_Boson_i

Dear All,

Do we know how many Abarth Punto or Avventura have been booked? I am very curious to know.

I heard from a fellow FIAT owner that Aadya in Bangalore has 130 bookings. Not sure if the information is correct. If it is, that would really be a pleasant surprise

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by PatchyBoy

I heard from a fellow FIAT owner that Aadya in Bangalore has 130 bookings. Not sure if the information is correct. If it is, that would really be a pleasant surprise

I have a funny feeling that this is just a bloated/gloated number PatchyBoy

From the article below, it is quite clear that FIAT, VW, NISSAN have completely lost their steam in the Indian market in the recent times:

Link

If Abarth EVO has really got over 100 bookings recently, I would be really glad about the maturity in diversity of Indian Auto market.

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by sridharj

Had a short test drive of Abarth Punto today. Here is my experience
The engine is silent with a slight hum sound
Pulls effortlessly even in 3rd gear
All black interior looks classy
The clutch has a very long throw, I find my Punto diesel better
Gears are again rubbery
Interior fit and finish is much better now
The sales guy said it cost around 11. 44 lacs OTR Chennai

No offence but this is akin to someone test driving a Ferrari and talking about it's interiors and color schemes Please do enlighten us if this in a different league compared to your Punto, performance wise.

[rusticnomad]

Originally Posted by driveanddrive

Just read the Avventura report by Autocar India. It says no bluetooth streaming for Avventura. It is there in the Abarth Punto and not in Avventura Powered by Abarth? That's just silly.

That's why I prefer not to trust any Auto reviewer (no offense meant) and trust my own instincts, specs sheet and how I feel behind the wheels, more than anything else. For example, I have read a lot (many a times most look more of a rehash of one another's piece) about rubbery gear shift in Linea, but I simply don't understand what that means, nor would any chauffeur complain complain.

[hothatchaway]

Test drove the Abarth Punto at Fiat Caffe at IRR. The car is everything that it promised to be, akin to riding a bull at a rodeo. Finally the car has the engine it deserved.

The gearshift is not a slick one as the ones the Japanese churn out, but to me, it complements the heavy but sweet HPS unit. The brakes are, as expected, brutal and gives you the confidence to brake really REALLY late. To me, the biggest draw about the Punto/Linea siblings have always been the suspension. With a bulldozer of an engine, I was egged on by the car to speed up on the bad surface that the Indiranagar direction of IRR has become and the ride quality was like slurping on a mango smoothie on a hot summer day.

Also unchanged was a Fiat dealerships intent to move stock off its premises. Found a couple of fellow enthusiasts and we started yapping with the dealership staff leaving us alone and not pester us with trivial matters like bookings and such. Was not planning to book one right away so was about to leave immediately after the TD but felt obliged to go back inside the showroom to engage in the usual banter on colour choices. Was grateful when we didnt see a smiling sales advisor striding towards us with intent. Perhaps they were sensitive to the fact that people had things to do and places to see on a Saturday afternoon

[prakash_ajp]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Perhaps they were sensitive to the fact that people had things to do and places to see on a Saturday afternoon

Or perhaps, they were tired of seeing people come and take test drives for 'fun' fully knowing they will be buying a Swift or something that like that. I am not trying to defend them as it is their job to try and sell the car. But they are human after all and fatigue sets in after many such experiences. Unfortunately for the potential customers, it results in a bitter experience, like yours.

[blurust]

Everyone is talking about ergonomics here, which I understand is important.
I for one either don't understand ergonomics or maybe I am alone here in thinking ergonomics of punto or linea is excellent.
After driving all the cars in the family for extremely long durations in the city and highway, like Xuv,Getz,I 20 and figo which I personally own, I tend to get knee pains. But pinto and lines has never given me knee pains.
Am I doing something wrong.
Please enlighten me guys.

[sunsetorange]

Originally Posted by blurust

Everyone is talking about ergonomics here, which I understand is important.
I for one either don't understand ergonomics or maybe I am alone here in thinking ergonomics of punto or linea is excellent.
After driving all the cars in the family for extremely long durations in the city and highway, like Xuv,Getz,I 20 and figo which I personally own, I tend to get knee pains. But pinto and lines has never given me knee pains.
Am I doing something wrong.
Please enlighten me guys.

Naah , you're just built different.
Jokes apart, ergonomically no single car can suit everyone.

[Annibaddh]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Punto Abarth 2015

Attachment 1430688

Likes

• A strong turbo charged motor under the hood
• All round disc brakes with top-notch braking ability
• Lowered Ground Clearance
• Stiff suspension setup without too much impact on the ride quality
• Handling improved further with the lower stance and rear stabilizer bar
• Still a looker with all the red stickers on the car
• Gorgeous Scorpion Claw alloys
• A sub 10 Lakh rupee sticker price
• ICE update - Bluetooth Streaming now available
• Solid Build quality

Loathes

• Rubbery Shifts, though improves over extended usage. A slick shifting box would have enhanced the pleasure of driving.
• Finding the ergonomically optimum seating position is still a challenge at the first instance.
• Misses out on the Gizmos like auto folding mirrors, reverse camera, auto headlamps and wipers which the market loves
• Apollo tyres give up much before the mechanical grip gives up around a corner. An upgrade to better rubber is necessity.
• Little or no sporty exhaust note

PS: Thanks to Fiat and Aadya motors for providing the vehicle and co-ordinating for the review.
PPS Thanks to Crazy Driver accompanying me for the review.

Great review mate. I actually don't begrudge some of the shortcomings like auto-folding ORVMS, wipers etc. And even the rubber perhaps, if all of it helped FIAT keep the price at this magical number. I guess, the 40 odd grand saved on taxes on the sub 10 lakh price point (which the consumers would have to shell out) should help upgrade to better rubber and then some.

But FIAT's troubles in India remain. The sales team's apathy (sign of a heavily demotivated team? Wonder when was the last time they made some incentive) is going to kill another stellar product.

Here's what greets a potential customer for the Abarth Punto:

Registered online for a TD with the Gurgaon dealer. Duly received a call (I guess that kind of thing is tracked and any misses result in a whopping!). The rep collected the details and asked me to come over. I clarified if:

1. I could TD the car: Yes
2. Could they bring the car home (about 10-15 mins drive from the showroom): No

Reached the showroom around 5:30 PM, nobody was expecting me to be there (I was also the only customer). Walked in to be greeted by a sepulchral empty showroom devoid of any hint that anything happy could happen there! :O Just the atmosphere is enough to make you rethink. Saw the car, liked what I saw.

But then, when I asked for the TD, they mentioned they had only the one display car. After fussing about for about 10 mins, they said, sir you'd not be able to TD it well anyway given the traffic. Could you do it tomorrow. A little perturbed, I agreed with their logic but refused to come again the next day and instead asked if the car could be brought over the next day for an onsite TD. This time they agreed! (Why couldn't you in the first place! Duh!!) Requested for a time slot of Noon, they instead said if they could do it first thing, when the showroom opened, to reduce the downtime of the only display car they had. Again agreed with their logic and set a time for 10:30.

Here we are. It's past noon. Not a hint of the car or the rep. Or even a call. Or a missed call. Or text. You know where this is going right... Sigh!

[blurust]

Originally Posted by Annibaddh

Great review mate. I actually don't begrudge some of the shortcomings like auto-folding ORVMS, wipers etc.

Dear Annibaddh

Don't let this sour experience bog you down.
Honestly I have stopped bothering myself with how good the dealership experience is unless they are extremely rude and not interested at all. Definitely not for test drives. I keeping calling them like a madman if I want a test drive.
Although hyundai, Toyota and Honda have given me such experiences before, where most of the people love to shop. So now if I am buying a car that I really like, I just buy it, thinking that particular product suits me, whoever produced it considering I am not gonna live twice.
I test drove punto Abarth and I can say one thing..all this time I had one question in mind..what will be the best upgrade after my figo (which I bought just so that I can joy its magnificent handling, ride and that steering) Acar that speaks to you, a car that has some soul.
And Now I know.
I am trying really hard to get this baby in my parking and will do it in a couple of months.

[rusticnomad]

Originally Posted by blurust

Everyone is talking about ergonomics here, which I understand is important.
I for one either don't understand ergonomics or maybe I am alone here in thinking ergonomics of punto or linea is excellent.
After driving all the cars in the family for extremely long durations in the city and highway, like Xuv,Getz,I 20 and figo which I personally own, I tend to get knee pains. But pinto and lines has never given me knee pains.
Am I doing something wrong.
Please enlighten me guys.

As a T-Jet and Figo owner, I find no issues even switching from one to another -- ergonomics, driving position, clutch travel, or rubbery shifts, just a like a real pilot finds no issues whether he is given a Gnat or a Sukhoi to fly. I have even driven M800 on 900 km/day run, but I hated driving a i10 for 10 km run even in city because of video-game-like steering feel.

If it comes to fault finding, anyone can easily find fault with any vehicle -- including a 10 million car -- if one gets down to finding shortcomings. No car is perfect.