Caution: This is not a technical review. in fact, this is more of an experience.
People can have the Model T in any colour-so long as it's black.
-Henry Ford
I have been thinking of buying a car for almost 4-5 years now. every year, in Nov or Dec, I used to start thinking about buying a car in April next year, using the bonus I would get as a down payment. And without fail, every year, by March end, I would spend the bonus money on something or the other, bidding a sad farewell to my dreams of buying a car. Of course there were other hitches to these plans, the biggest one being me never having learnt to drive, and my dislike of being driven around by a driver. Anyway, this year, by August end I had made up my mind that I was going to buy a hatch back or a mid size sedan, come what may.
But then, buying a car, specially for poor salaried me, was easier said than done. There was a lot of research involved, reading reviews on the net, undergoing driving lessons early in the morning(aaaaaaarrrrrrrghhhhhhhhh, I hate to wake up early morning), and badgering my auto savvy friends to accompany me every weekend to some dealer or the other for test drives. Somehow I was quite sure that I never wanted a Swift or a Santro or an i10, so concentrated on Jazz, i20, UVA, and to some extent AVEO, which met my budget of 6-6.5 Lakhs.
Jazz - I liked the car, it was as spacious as a plane(no kidding), the showroom people were friendly and ready for a test drive, but was majorly overpriced at 7.5 lakhs for the top variant. No-go.
i20 - When I went to the showroom at Moti Nagar, I was majorly turned off by the attitude of the sales people, who refused to let us take a test drive. All they has available was a top variant petrol, which was being readied for a customer, and the sales staff very graciously allowed us to sit in the car to get a feel of the inside. As it is I didnt like the interiors all that much, and combined with the snobbish attitude of the staff, it was again a thumbs down.
UVA/AVEO - Both wonderful cars, with a good sales and support network, the only grouse was that they sported an old technology. However, I was seriously considering UVA top variant but again I was slightly unhappy with the 1.2 engine, which I knew was underpowered as a good friend of mine has been driving the same for 2 years now. However, it was adequate for city driving. and so the search went on.
One fine Saturday, we spotted a Tata showroom, with the brand new FIAT logo(in red, as compared to the old blue). Now, approx. 5 years ago, again in one of my(failed) car buying missions, I had taken a test drive of a Palio, and had come away impressed with the interiors of the car. However, I was somehow not too inclined towards the Punto. I honestly dont have a clue why, but in my mind, I equalled it with the Spark(Mt Work at work I presume:o)) Anyways, my friend convinced me to at least go take a look at it at least, and convinced that I wont like it any which way, I went inside the showroom, nose high up in the air. As soon as I entered, I encountered a white Punto, emotion pack, with lines so flowing and liquid, it brought a swan to my mind. Was it time for me to eat crow? We went up to the showroom, and were met by polite and eager to please staff, who willingly took us for a test drive in the 1.4 petrol. The interiors were roomy, spacious, and I was actually floored with the features offered, Automatic climate control, Airbags, Alloy wheels, Blue&Me etc. The 1.4 emotion pack would have been mine for 6 lakhs on road, all expenses included. But I was still not convinced about the color, somehow white, even though it was beautiful, looked too tame to suit me. I looked at the other colors, but again, that click wasnt there. Then I asked for the black, and was told by the sales manager that they had a black emotion pack standing in their warehouse, which was at the outskirts of the city. He agreed to drive us over so we could look at it, and make up our minds. One hour later, the guard was opening the doors of the warehouse for us, and I saw approx 50 odd Punto cars, all various colors, and right in front of me was a black Punto, and somehow it brought to my mind the image of a bull, surrounded by tame animals, all itching to break out in a mad run, and I heard that click in my head. This was my car.
Anyways, we came back, and while paying the advance, the dealer told me that the black color wasnt available in 1.4 Petrol, but there was a black in MJD 1.3 emotion pack variant, and what with free insurance and other discounts, it woud cost me 30 K more than the petrol variant. We went for a test drive in the MJD emotion pack(I think it was quite smart of the dealership to offer emotion pack for test drive, as it drives home the point quite effectively). The engine, as most of you would be knowing has already been tested with the Swift, but again, I was surprised by how refined and silent it was for a diesel. The vibration was almost non-existant, and the cabin was silent. Also, my monthly running would be minimum 1200km once I started going taking the car to office, so diesel seemed quite feasible. So, paid the advance amount, and took the delivery of the car on 29th Oct.
After approx 1.5 months, and 800 odd km(s), I am as happy as the day I got her, if not happier.(By the way, the day I got the car, I also met one of my favorite MSians.:o)) The interiors are nice and sporty since they are a dual shade of black and grey and not the oh so common beige. The steering is absolutely smooth, precise and responsive. The steering mounted controls are fun to play with, and if you are a gizmo freak like me, you would hate to get out of this car. The gear shift was a bit stiff in the beginning, but has become quite smooth now, and again, it could be me being a new driver, rather than anything being wrong/stiff with it. What absolutely stunned me are the responsive breaks, the car simply gets stuck to the road the minute you press them. Makes you feel quite safe, specially in the chaotic Delhi traffic. The automatic climate control is awesome. What I like about it is that you can actually reduce the blower speed to minimum, so you actually get to feel the air conditioning, rather than a blast of cold air, which happens with the manual air conditioning. The rear space does seem a bit cramped when compared to the front seats, but no one in my family is taller than 5'10", so that shouldnt be a problem. My one grouse is the turning radius, there are times when I get stuck taking a U-turn on a busy road, but then I guess I wil get used to it in time. The mileage is approx 14-15 in city and 18 on highway, both with full A/c on. And the killer looks, make me smile everytime I look at my car:o)
All in all, I am glad that I got a Punto, and I am sure the journey is going to be smooth and uphill here onwards.
