Palio 1.6 Sport - . Review on Fiat Palio Stile

I am proud to become a member of “Fiat Palio 1.6 Sport” owner’s club. I have taken a black beauty on the 28th Dec after three months of research and test drives. I am not an expert on automobile, just sharing my own experience for the first time.

I was using my cute little Alto Lx for the last five years and intended to upgrade to one of the premium hatch backs. With a max budget of 5 lakhs, the options I narrowed down were, Getz Prime GVS 1.1, Swift Vxi, Chevy UVA & Palio 1.6 sport.

Getz Prime GVS 1.1: I found it as good vehicle overall and was a shade better than Palio 1.1 with respect to power to weight ratio. But felt that I might find the power wanting while overtaking in the highways.

Swift Vxi: I felt that the car being so common now would be a negative point and I was very apprehensive about the rattling sounds it creates over a period, which I read in many reviews. I felt claustrophobic sitting at the back in the passenger’s seat with the dark interiors and small window and also the infamous "tiny boot" was a big minus as well.

Chevy UVA was definitely my second option overall. Even though just less on BHP compared to Swift, 77 against Swift’s 88, I didn’t feel it to be too underpowered. It is just like a mid size car inside, the interiors were excellent, better mileage than Swift and the most impressive aspect was the minimum requirement of gear shift. Even in the 5th gear the it could be slowed down to about 30 kmph without any knocking effect.

Palio 1.6 Sport is a case of love at first sight. This was the first car I test drove and was blown over by the performance, ride quality, sense of security, space etc. But still, I had tried the other options before deciding to buy the first love. Just couldn’t resist buying it in spite my apprehensions about the low mileage. It was just a case of heart winning over my mind (which compelled me to buy UVA).

The speedometer reading was 84 when I took the car and driven just 125 odd kilometers since then. I feel it is too early to comment on the mileage, but the approximate mileage with 50% a/c is about 9 – 9.5 without revving too much, would like to maintain it around 2000 rpm. at least until the 1st service. I drive about 15 km to office with about 5 km in city and the balance in a ring road with moderate traffic.

I shall update my review periodically as I gain more experience with the car.