Nov 02, 2006 05:58 PM
28766 Views
Hi, I am pleased to write this review after using my beloved Italian -Gas Turbine inspired power packed hatchback for the last three years. It has now clocked 24,000 kms. (Last one year I was traveling between cities on my work , not used the car much)
When I was contemplating to buy the Small car in Sep ,2003 I had the options like Santro Xing , Tata Indica V2 and ofcourse Maruti ALTO, ZEN .
To be honest, I didn't compare the Palio with Indica, Alto VX1.1, Zen. It deserves more than that I compared that with IKON 1.3 Exi , Flair, and Corsa Sail.
When I test drove the Palio Petrol , I felt it is hep car for the trendy younger generation ( by the way I was getting married then in my late twenties). And I also travel 30-40Kms per day , and when I calculated the running cost with petrol variant , it will be more. ( in Karnataka fuel cost is more ) Then I decided to look into the Diesel variant of it.
All my colleagues ,friends were cautioning me that Palio Diesel is not a good car , will have all troubles like any other diesel cars, will face problem in servicing because of bad dealer networks ,Fiat may report bankrupcy etc...
But still , I went and test drove the car , ( I insisted to get me a new car , they gave me a one with 8 Km clocked ) . Actually for the Test Drive , I had taken my friend also with me. When I hard pressed the acc pedal ( I had the feeling that for Diesel cars , it lacks power ,have to press hard), it zipped and almost it was going to bank another one parked inside . Then I realized Palio Diesel is diesel driven IC engine that had been inspired by the Gas Turbine thrust technology . My friend was taken back on the initial thrust itself. (He commented that Test Drive is the session where you get a nice car and a good looking female of the Dealer firm to have a joy ride )
I don't want to write about its inertior, looks and all, because most of the people have acknowledged that is class apart.
On comfort it is the best in class , I had self driven the car in OOty Hills ( Mysore, Mudumalai, Masinagudi route) , sea shores of Tiruchendur , Kanniya Kumari , and the fertile paddy fields in Tanjore , Trichy District , every where the drive was pleasure . So on a scale of 5 , I give 4.5 for ride comfort.
Reliability means to me a life saving incident on the road. On enroute to Ooty from Mysore , my friend was driving the car , myself and my wife were at the back , one more friend was in the front.
In one of the sharp curves , my friend mis judged the parked lorry , and we were at 100-110 Kms speed , in that sharp curve at that speed , if it is some other car , it would have either banked the lorry and would have toppled , but the Italian legend stopped at 5 mts gap as if nothing had happened . My friend who was driving (He has IKON 1.6 Nxt ) was taken into surprise.
For reliability and stability, I would rate 5 out of 5.
Experinces on Service with Sundaram Motors had been pleasant throughout till the dealership changed to Tata Motors dealers. The quality and workmanship was very good, all these also comes up with a little bit high cost. Yes Sundaram Motors is expensive in Servicing.
Believe it or not , the maintenance cost are moderate only when compared with traditional Diesel cars. Each time Service cost will be around Rs 1800-Rs 2500.
On Fuel consumption, when I took the car for first long drive ( Blr- Kanniya kumari) , by then it was hardly done about 300Kms , it gave me 21 Kms per ltr without A/c . After 24,000 kms now it is giving 16-17 Kms on Highway with A/c, and 12-13 Kms inside the City with A/c.
Last but not the least; Palio Diesel is the car which gives you feeling of Big Car, Value for Money, Low cost of ownership and still elegant in its style and look.
