FIAT Grande Punto... The be bold challenge..

FIAT Grande Punto... The be bold challenge..


On 17th Jun FIAT launched their one of the most successful models ever produced in India. Name is Grande, Grande Punto !! The mini Maserati has finally reached India shores after a good 2-3 years wait. FIAT is really banking like anything on this B+ segment Hatch. Though they had to reduce the overall length of this car to get the additional excise benefits the chopping job is impressive. The rear looks a bit out of shape but then its not a deal breaker.

On 20th Jun this car was launched in Pune and I attended this launch party at one of the Pune dealers office. This car has a real attitude guys. The display model was white Emotion pack Punto. At around 6:45pm the car was launched by one of the senior TATA motors chap. Though the slide show they prepared was a bit incorrect the overall effect of this car proved healthy as couple of people booked it on the spot.

Now coming back to the test drive I had on Saturday, following are my observations. It was a very small drive as the required approval from RTO is still pending, thanks to FIAT. On 10th July I will have another test drive and then will update this blog appropriately.

Exteriors
Do I need to say anything else? Just have a look at this pic:



The front is derived from Maserati and headlights are designed as Mercury drops. No doubt this car is a segment leader for the sheer styling. The fat 195/60 tyres add a better stance and pose. Paint job is awesome and everybody is going to be confused while zeroing on the color. The rear windows are typical FIAT and the play is only 60-70%. The rear is somehow a disappointment for me. I guess the chopping job left the rear look confused. The overall stance is a bit low which adds to the great in line stability at high speed.

Interiors

The interiors are similar to Linea. Only change I noticed is that in Linea Beige theme is used while in Punto a black-Grey theme is used. Actually this makes sense as to save costs by sharing as many components as possible. Somehow I feel the quality of the plastics could have been better. Its definitely not in the league of the Honda. Rather I could say after effects of having joint venture with TATAs. The Air conditioning is good and auto climate control is standard on Emotion Pack. The center console is a bit tilted towards driver but not as much as in Palio. Overall good ergonomics. Now one thing I did not like is the rear seat space and rear legroom. I really doubt if the rear bench can accommodate 3 adults with ease for long drives.

Have a look at the below pic for the center console of Punto.



Engine
The Punto is available in 2 petrol and 1 diesel variant. Diesel will lead the sales for obvious reasons. The 2 petrol engines are: 1.2 and 1.4. The 1.2 is available only in the base variant. The base variant starts at 3.99L which I guess is only for bringing the customers to the showrooms. The 1.4 is same as in Linea. It produces 90 BHP. The 1st 2 gears are short, same as in Linea. The 2nd gear specially is as short as being useless. The 3rd gear has packed good torque. Overall in city the car is good to drive but you have to work really hard in the 2nd gear. The fuel efficiency of the petrol seems a concern to me. The car is heavy and with AC all the time would return only in the range of 11 max. On highway it may achieve 13-14. I did not get a chance to drive 1.3 MJD engined Punto so can not really comment on that.

Handling
I would update this space once I get my hands on it on 10th July. As the car was not registered the sales guy said a big NO to spirited driving. Overall the car looked composed to me at 70-80 KMPH. I am sure the stability at high speeds would good too. The high speed stability is inherent to every FIAT. My 1.2 Palio is rock solid in the range of 145 and Punto being running on 195 profile tyres would be more stable than this.

Value for Money
The overall package looks very attractive. I somehow feel that the top end models could have been placed a bit lower. The only concern as usual is Service. I have seen improvement in After sales service since FIAT and TATA came together. Though it is not near to Hyundai/Maruti, still it is good. The top end model comes with auto climate, ABS, airbags and funky Blue and me. The BluenMe is co-developed by FIAT and Microsoft. The system can receive and make calls, read sms, play songs on USB etc. The audio controls are available on steering for easy access.



Chalo guys, I will update the blog once I get to drive it again on 10th July. Till then happy Motoring !!!