Apr 26, 2007 07:01 PM
15454 Views
(Updated Apr 26, 2007 07:20 PM)
Every so often we come across a car which is a winner in all aspects. And then there are a few which aim to be winners in atleast a few aspects. There are very few cars which stand out on performance, comfort and other owner pleasures individually. That about defines the pleasure of owning a car.
And then there is the Fiat Adventure. A real stunner which can grab both the eyeballs and your luggage with ample space for 5 and a hundred horses and can make a run for it. Sounds great!?!
Hold your horses. Just like the marketing failure of the Versa inspite of an average design, this car too was a failure due to various reasons.(It was originally launched in 2003) First Fiat did not concentrate enough on the gearbox and provided a turdy 1.9 litre diesel engine(2000cc diesel variant). Rather they just floundered on the engine segment. When the car was initially launched, there were no cars in that category. It would have definitely been a surefire winner if they had just launched it with a little more planning. And now they have introduced the petrol variant at 1600 CC(Just as the Baleno.) And yet, the engine cries out on slopes with sloppy mileages at 13 on highways. (Compared to 15 on the Baleno)
Its much cheaper than the Baleno, but saying that, it does not offer much in features which the Baleno provides. Let me give you a comparative analysis so that you understand why I am referring to the Baleno. For a long time other manufacturers in the segment had to beat the Baleno in order for their product to be a success.Not because Baleno came from Suzuki, but since it offered so much in so less along with the other optional and standard features.
The Baleno is perkier in terms of power while weighing 1.5 tons while the Fiat Adventure is slower in response though being lighter at 1.2 tons. All the horses just ain't enough if there is no good gearbox. The gearbox is the only sucker. Period. Tell me why I have to use the third gear more in city conditions and the second gear for overtaking? If you ever test ride this car, note the huge rpm in the third gear while the fourth and fifth are wasted in cities. Even from a stop go condition, it is the second gear which does the job and then you run into a third gear with this huge reserve. They probably ought to consider the Baleno's gearbox itself considering the huge noticeable difference.
Otherwise, even with a hundred horses, (6 more than the Baleno) the car should still give you better mileage due to a 25% reduced weight somewhere exceeding the Baleno at 15-16 on highways and around 12 in city conditions. Inspite of having twin advantages of being a lighter car and also the same CC, the car fails on both the pickup aspects and the mileage when compared. Besides if they add the CNG kit which has been beautifully integrated in the WagonR in the Adventure, it would make a huge difference to the sales of the car. I am not saying that you need to worry about mileage with a hundred horses. I am just saying it makes better sense with it. what with the huge bootspace.
Besides this, the interior finish is incomplete in some aspects especially if you check the hidden ends/corners.
But then, the car is pure delight. It definitely is a stunner. Imagine a sleek, svelte Urmila(Adventure) and then you can imagine TunTun(Safari) I have spent less than a lakh on the interiors of this car - the complete interiors and also a few notches on the dashboard to make it more functional and exclusive. The tacky dashboard if you have seen the new Estillo resembles it. I even added a freezer box in the boot space which can be opened from the rear seats.
