Sep 28, 2010 02:52 AM
21656 Views
(Updated Mar 10, 2011 06:51 PM)
Dear All, Thanks for giving a patient readings and exchanging views. As on date ie. 11/03/2011 the car has done 18500 km. The low utilization of late is due to my prolonged absence from home. The car was standstill for four months. My son started it twice or thrice but did nor drive it around. However, once I am back, started driving it. I did not face low battery, low tyre air pressure or ineffective AC, creaky brakes/power windows or any such thing despite the long disuse. My experience so far is, it is an excellent car balancing performance, comfort, economy and sturdiness at a bargain price. Too bad that the sales volume does not reflect the true value of the car. Will add to my review as I put on more kilometers on the odo. Now, you may please read on for my experience till 16000 km. Best regards, R Alavandar
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I purchased my black Fiat Linea Emotion pack MJD in end Sep 2009 and have done 16000 km plus till date. I had been doing some city driving (Chennai) and many long distances including ghat sections. As against the general impression that the car is under powered, I found it very versatile and with great pulling power up hills even when fully loaded.
During up hill drives I did not find any requirement to downshift for lack of power. On open highways when conditions are safe I usually cruise at 120 to 130 kph and on really open stretches I had gone upto 170 kph many times without any problem. Just to experiment, on open high way bi-passes I used to tackle the turns between 120 to 140 kph. On all occasions the car behaved absolutely good with firm road grip, feels safe and really instills confidence. The steering is excellent and the car goes where you want it to go at all speeds . The braking power and ABS are good. A friend of mine who owns an ANHC accompanied me many times both on long drives and city commuting. He was thoroughly impressed with Linea. Admiration Guaranteed indeed. Interior space and comfort level are very good. On fuel efficiency, on long drive with my style of driving I could get 16 to 17 kpl.
Now the flip sides:-
After 15000 km servicing, the car developed vibrations at speeds above 110/120 kpm and was really annoying. This issue was resolved by re-doing the wheel alignment and wheel balancing. Any way, after that I did not go on a long drive yet to test it all the way upto 170 kph.
Within city I find the climat control is a bit ineffective and we have to set it all the way to Low to feel ok..
The dashboard is ergonomic and smoothly blends. But when we drive against sunlight, I observed that the dash reflects the heat radiations and make you feel warmer.
In 16000 kms I had twice experienced the ABS not functioning warning. First time, Stanes Coimbatore resolved it withing 30 minutes. On second time, this happened post 15000 km servicing at ECR Concorde. Took couple of visits to Concorde (ECR and then Ambattur) to resolve this. (for Fiat servicing/ defect resolution, if you are in Chennai, avoid ECR Concorde. Ambattur Concorde is better).
In case your ABS is not working, do not drive at high speeds or do not apply brakes suddenly. Sudden braking causes rear wheel to lock (when ABS is not working).
As the ground clearance is only 160 mm you have to get used to driving skillfully in pot holed roads without scraping the bottom. I am adept now. You may find that at the slowest speed the bottom scraps on nasty speed breakers but at a slightly higher speed it does not.
Do not try any electrical add on without consulting Fiat. If you damage the ECU, you may land up with a 45000/- bill.
Do not be a hero to drive through deep stagnant waters. Too many electronics and sensors and any water ingress may cause malfunctioning. Otherwise driving through heavy rains and moderate water logged roads are no problem (Even the accelerator pedal does not have mechanical cables and has a rotary variable resister.)
In a nut shell- It is an excellent and reliable car. Matching no-nonsense service support is required to keep it that way. Tata service support is not perfect but are definitely making efforts. Of late, spares are also not an issue.
