The uncrowned Emperor FIAT PALIO STILE. Review on Fiat Palio Stile

Count me in the elite FIAT Palio Club. I became an owner of this beauty on 20th of December 2007 after rigorous study of this Italian beauty compared with other options available in the Market. As happened with most of the Palio owners, I too was bombarded with questions like Why Palio? Dont you know the car has low resale value?, the car does not give decent mileage, spares are costly etc etc...but I stuck to my decision to go ahead with Palio and after looking at the car all those who questioned kept mum and were forced to say What a Car...Its awesome!!!

I know its too early to comment on the car, but I am writing all the points that I feel are necessary for people to go for this product.

Let me start with Dealer

I purchased the car from Wasan Motors, Borivali, Mumbai and was highly impressed with the kind of service offered. I found two people looking after FIAT and rest for TATA products. I had been to Fortune Cars, Powai but the experience I had with them made me think, "Am I a Taxi driver looking for a Taxi". Anyway, I purchased the car in the "Thanks a Million" offer provided by Tata Motors and the discount that I received was pretty good. The financing went through smoothly but I would recommend you first have a good word with the bank that caters to your day-to-day banking need and then bargain hard with the dealer. I did the same thing and mind you, I got loan sanctioned at 2% less of the current market rate.

The car was supposed to be delivered on 18th of December but was delayed by two days due to some transportation issue, but the dealer kept me abreast of the happenings regularly. I purchased the car stereo from the dealer itself and if you have a good bargain power, go ahead, I saved around 1500 from the price they quoted :)

Following are the accessories provided with the car

1. Floor Mats

   
   




2. Teflon Coating

   
   




3. Steering Cover

   
   




4. Reverse Horn

   
   

Now the Car

I have purchased Fiat Palio Stile SLE, Furnace Red color, since my basic requirement was good AC, Power Steering and Fog Lamps and SLE fulfilled my basic expectations and exceeded in most fronts. I have been driving Maruti 800 for about 7-8 years and was able to squeeze the car in the smallest available space due to its dimensions (I am a good driver though), but the same was not possible with this car, initially. After few long drives, I was able to gain confidence and now maneovering this car is not at all a problem, thanks to the responsive power steering and booster brakes. The car might not have the quickets of pickup but once we engage 3rd gear, all the vehicles who have passed due to sheer pickup will soon be seen in your Palio's rear view fighting to match the pace.

Few points that I found mind blowing are

1. Looks, drop dead georgeus

   
   




2. Build Quality and Paint Job

   
   




3. AC, chills within seconds

   
   




4. Power Steering

   
   




5. Brakes, Some people have found an issue with braking but I found none.

   
   




6. Excellent handling at high speeds

   
   




7. Interiors look good in beige.

   
   




8. Comfortable seating position for driver as well as passengers. Five people can travel comfortably.

   
   




9. Boot Space is sufficient for long trips.

   
   




10. No road or engine noise inside the cabin.

    
    




11. Tubeless tyres add to the comfort as well as safety.

    
    




12. Good illumination at night.

    
    

and above all, fearful autos and bikers once they see a Palio.

Few things that I disliked

1. Plastic quality is not upto the mark.

   
   




2. SLE model does not have plastic cover to the holes on the boot door, which need to be purchased as an additional accessory.

   
   




3. Pickup in AC, though it is compensated one we engage 3rd gear onwards.

   
   

I have not calculated mileage as of now but will keep updating this review as I grow up with this beauty.

Last week I had travelled to Mumbai-Shirdi-Shani Shingnapur and back a distance of approx 600 kms, fully loaded with 5 people and luggage. The car returned me a mileage of 20 kmpl that too without first service and lots of traffic on the way with AC used intermittently. The car was steady at high and very high speeds and the occupants were totally unaware of the uneven roads that were found in some places.