Jun 21, 2009 11:07 AM
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Tested Model: Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 Multijet - Emotion Pack
Looks: Exteriors
Designed by the "Car Designer of the Century" Giorgetto Giugaro, Ohh lala.this Italian beauty compells you to go weak on your knees, the beautiful Mini Maserati like front with superbly shaped headlamps greets the onlooker when the car is viewed from the front, as you go on looking the subtle lines can take away your breath. The Grande Punto wears an overall proportionate design and looks particular smashing in RED & BLUE body colours.
The rear of the car lends a mascular look to the car with a broad bumper & the unique tail lamps which are on the top end of the C Pillar gives the car a fresh look that is not yet seen on any other Hatchback in India till date.
Looks: Interiors
As you Step In, you are greeted with the Interiors that you have already seen on the bigger cousin Linea, the difference here is that the Linea's Interiors are a Combination of Black & Beige, here in Punto it is a Combination of Black & Dark Grey, also the Center Console in the Linea has White Dials here they are Black & Grey. Which in my view are kept to lend the car a sporty feeling to compliment the beautiful exteriors. Plastic Quality of some interior parts not upto the mark.
The driver’s seat has height adjustment too, so finding your driving position is only a couple of settings away. The center console is subtly angled toward the driver. On the flip side, the footwell is very cramped and the dead pedal integration is awkward. This definitely takes getting used to and those with a large shoe size will keep rubbing their left foot against the partition.
Interior Space is adequate, not in the leagues of the Indica Vista but it is fairly large cabin in comparison to the Swift. Here one thing I noticed that Driver Seat fully pushed back & there is very little space left for the rear passenger, but that is compensated by a very good & supportive backseat.
Boot Space is quite adequate @280 Litres & you have the facility of 60:40 Split, only grouse is that suspension Towers intrude & eats some of the luggage space.
All the bells & whistles are there in Top End Variant Like, Automatic Climate Control, Integrated MP3 Player, Steering Mounted Controls, BlueNMe & the List goes on and on, I will not go in detail here you can have a look at the brochure for that:)
Performance: Engine
Under the Hood is the "India's National Engine" we can call it, it is the same engine which does duty in the Swift DDis, Swift Dzire, Indica Vista Quadrajet, FIAT Palio Multijet is called for the Duty in the Grande Punto also, but this little Award Winning Engine in the Punto is in a different state of tune, it generates 76 BHP & a peak torque of 197 NM @1750 RPM. During my test drive when I cranked the Engine, at idle it was so Silent as in the Swift DDiS, slot the car in the First Gear and the car start movng smoothly, as the RPM increases towards the mark of 1800 RPM the turbo kicks in, the turbo kick / rush is comparable to swift but here what I felt is that the power delivery of this engine is more linear than swift, as in the swift you can feel the turbo rush @2000 RPM here it is a different story the power is more linear with the tinge of turbo rush. This engine here is tuned for City Driving & Cruising on the highways, the powerband of the Engine is between 1800 to 4000 RPM & the engine performs brilliantly within its power band, if you want to push it further the engne becomes throaty & the Engine sound creeps into the Cabin.
This Little Gem of an Engine which is FIAT tuned Engine, here is meant for effortless driving in the B2B traffic of the City & effortless Highway Cruising, want to mention here that during the test drive we were 5 people in the car 4 friends of mine including me & the driver of the dealership, we took the vehicle on the Ghats of Parsik hills of Navi Mumbai & to my astonishment fully loaded with 5 people AC on at Fan Speed 2, we climbed the ghat in 3rd Gear effortlessly, there was no sign of the engine getting strained or begging for a downshift, the Grande Punto impressed us in this department.
Performance: Transmission / Gearbox
1st & 2nd Gears are too short, from the 3rd Gear onwards the Engine comes into its own, the Gear Shift is accurate & effortless but it does not matches the Shift quality of a Swift. Gearbox feels a bit rubbery. But does its duty well.
Ride & Handling:
At low speeds, you can feel the firmness of the suspension. As the car gathers momentum, the ride quality truly is truly outstanding. On the highway, the Punto should handle the bad roads without any strain on it sweet face. You feel confident and stop slowing down for rough patches. Behaviour is big car like and other words, no other hatchback till date can match, this car loves corners with the chassis exuding its poise.
The steering is perfectly weighted & amongst the best Power Steering units. During the test drive going downhill was the point where the stability / handling characteristics of this car came to its own, there is only one word in my mind which can describe the handling characteristics of this car that is "OUTSTANDING" the composure of the car was exemplary when I threw it around the corners while downhill ride. It will not be an exaggeration if here I say that this car will set a New Benchmark in the Ride Handling department after the Skoda Fabia, the Punto's handling is the best of all Hatchbacks that are currently available in India.
Summing it Up:
+Ves:
* - Stunning design, easily THE most stylish hatchback in India.
Solid build quality & Superb Paint Finish(Specially on the RED MJD which was on Display).
Excellent Fuel Efficiency from the Multijet(19.2 Kmpl) as certified by the ARAI for the car this heavy.
OUTSTANDING Ride & Handling dynamics. It is a new benchmark after Skoda Fabia for the Hatchbacks available in India till date.
Perfectly calibrated & weighted power steering. Just Loved the Contours of the Steering they lend a sporty feeling to the overall fantastic car
60:40 Split Seats for added Luggage space.
Broad 15 Inch tyres.
With all Bells & Whistles the Multijet Emotion+ vairant is a TOTAL VFM.
-Ves
* - Interior Plastic Quality not upto the mark.
Rear seat space is not in the leagues of Indica Vista.
Engine Noise Creeping into the Cabin at Higher RPM's when the Engine is revved hard.
Suspension Towers eat up some of the luggage Space.
All in all this car is an outstanding piece of Automotive Engineering, and this car deserves to succeed. After the success of Linea it should be a Volume Generator for FIAT India, as this car has saved FIAT from going Bankrupt when it was launched in 2005.
Disclaimer: The review is purely based on what I have experienced during my test drive, and I am not an expert - professional automotive journalist, so please excuse me if there are any mistakes.
