Jul 05, 2009 11:26 PM
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Test drove the Fiat Grande Punto today. Great Car!
Killer looks. This car looks absolutely fantastic. Awesome Red and a great dark grey (the only two colours available at the showroom at Moti Nagar, Delhi). The reason I test drove a FIAT (I was a little prejudiced against FIAT initially) was that I did not like the looks of either Swift (fat lady with a very fat behind) or the i20 (from the rear). But I loved this car from the moment I saw it.
The showroom had 2 models on display. A lower model & the highest model - Emotion Pack. Now I had already read a lot of reviews about Punto, as well as checked out their website. So I knew almost everything about the car that the sales man would have told me (and a lot that he wouldn't). So I straight away asked them for a test drive. They told me to wait for some time, for a sales representative to be free, so I utilized the time to have a good look at the models on display.
From the outside, as mentioned, the car is simply the best in this class. Great paint job .. nice headlights ... great broad grin .. and the front grille looks awesome.
From the inside however, it is a different story. The quality of the plastic used is pretty bad. Reminded me of my old Maruti 800 (ok . not that bad!). Finishing is not good. The top model has Auto Climate control which has a seperate LCD screen. So this model has a total of 3 LCD screens (which I like).
I could not make out the colour of the panel lighting in the day light, but I presume it must be orange as the LCDs light up with an orange backlight. The steering is three spokes with a nice grip. Emotion Pack has 8 buttons (yes!) on the steering. Not for the people who don't have time to read the user manual. The dials looked good. The second LCD is placed here and the third is with the integrated Audio System. This LCD screen is quite big (4-5 lines) and provides a lot of information, including the information for Blue&Me (which I'll explain a little later). The Blaupunkt Audio system was ok .. but didn't sound anything out of the world (like in the new Honda City).
The Glove compartment is a little awkwardly placed. The lower model has another compartment above the Glove Compartment that open towards the top. This is replaced by the Air Bag in the top model. The power window buttons are a little out of reach, but no biggie. The indicators and the Wiper controls are opposite to that found in most of the cars in India (though not all) .. i.e. Indicator knob on the left and wipers on the right. This means that you will accidently turn on the wipers a lot many times till you get used to it.
The seats are black and grey .. look ok. The cup holders are too small .. and no place to keep a bottle. The back seat has ok-type space. Not too much .. but not too little either. Even with the front seat pushed back to it's maximum .. you have just about enough leg space at the back. The boot looks big. And it has a boot light too. So that was all I can remember of the interiors now.
So after careful exploration of the interior ( and also exploring Indica Vista (whose interiors are really bad btw) and Linea), we looked around for a person for a test drive. We finally found a guy and he was apologetic and all .. anyways .. so we took a test drive of both Petrol and Diesel variants of the Emotion Pack model.
First, we took the petrol version for a spin. The Test Drive vehicle's A/C had some problem, it was not cooling properly (this should not happen the the Test Drive vehicle at least!). But we took the test drive enjoying the wind from the blower turned all the way to 'hi'. So .. the Ptrol version lacks the spice. It just doesn't have the kick. First gear : nothing .. second gear : nothing .. third & fourth gears : something .. but really .. it is not peppy. The drive was good though. Super awesome suspensions. And was pretty silent too.
Then we test drove the Diesel variant. This one's A/C was working just fine and it was good too. My friend sitting at the back felt comfortable. Now this one shows some power, but only after the third gear onwards. Nothing in first or second. So you can't really speed up and get ahead of the traffic when the red light turns green (like I am used to doing in my Santro). But it shows a lot of power on ths higher gears. And the car has great suspensions .. great for Indian roads. And I think this car should be great for highways too. But I have one grouse .. the diesel variant that I drove had noticable engine noise at higher RPMs (>2500 or so) .. and it increased with speed .. this is the only thing that stops me from going ahead and buying this car. Now I have never driven a Diesel vehicle .. so I don't know if it is supposed to happen or not .. but it certainly perturbs me. It is silent in idling or low RPMs.
Other things I noted: the Outside Rear View Mirros were a bit flimsy to open, not like most Jap cars. The clutch pedal travels a bit more than the average, and it is relatively easier to push .. hence the foot travels a lot. But it is easier to adjust to this. Then on the rear, there is a yellow reverse light on the left and a red one on the right (this is in the bumper). On asking the sales guy there .. he said this was FIAT's style .. in all their cars .. I need to confirm that though. Aside that, it is a great looking car (somehow I cannot stand asymmetry). The Alloy Wheels though, on the top model, are not that best there can be (they are pretty average looking).
So after the Test Drive, I asked the guy to demonstrate the Blue&Me thingy. I was very excited about it because I had read a lot about it on the internet and I had also downloaded the Blue&Me manual to check out what it was. So I had a basic idea of the thing. But the actual thing blew me! After two failed attempts (something to do with the Bluetooth settings in our phones), the agent, me and my friend finally managed to get my cell to communicate with the car (what an awesome sentence that). The car gives you voice instructions (and that!) on what to do and how to connect using the Audio System's speakers. The whole thing is controlled with the buttons on the steering wheel.
So after I connected, it displayed my Bluetooth name (in my phone) on the LCD next to the speed dial. Next the car asked me if I wanted to store my phone book in the car. I chose not to. Then my friend got out of the car and called me. The Car's Audio System played a phone ring tune and on pressing a button on the Steering wheel, I was connected. I could hear my friend on the car's speakers and he could hear me too though I don't know where the mic was.
Othir things possible with this technology are voice dialling (without any voice training), it can read out aloud your sms, you can scroll your phone book on the Car's LCD and dial a number .. I absolutely loved it!! It is awesome .. great for anyone who likes technology and cars !! So all in all .. a great car .. Sorry if the review was too long .. my first time ..
