Nov 21, 2005 10:26 AM
13736 Views
(Updated Nov 21, 2005 10:33 AM)
I recently purchased a Fiat Petra (ELXPS) from Shaman Automobiles Prabhadevi, Mumbai for an on road price of Rs 5.39 lacs. The salesman was young and new so I myself had to ask him a lot of Q's. Luckily for me I had done my research on the same. I was a little hesitant about the colors, since they had only a Moonshine gray and a pearl white model in the showroom. I wish they would provide the car in brilliant colors like dark olive green, or burgundy red etc. Anyway I settled for the black and am happy with my choice. I have named her Panthera. She certainly attracts a lot of admiring glances. Her interiors could certainly be improved. I put in fake leather covers, and miss conveniences like bottle holders and mug holders.
Since I am used to driving Automatics, I am still learning to drive the manual. But so far what I liked as a passenger was that the drive was smooth, and no noise and like so many people have said, I feel safe inside the car. Right now with Ac on I have put in 710Kms driving to Wada and back and she has given me an avg of 9.4kms/l.
When the car was delivered I was told that she was fresh from the factory and was put together in October( I was concerned since the Fiat plant in Kurla was under water during the monsoon floods). On the second day, I noticed that the plastic portion on the rear door had come loose and the light above the license plates had come loose, I called the dealer and he had it fixed promptly.
I had also written to the marketing head and fiat Mr. Ricky Walter and he also assured me that the problem will be taken care of soon and after sales service will be prompt. Apparently, Fiat will join hands with Tata, they plan to introduce the Fiat Panda in 2006 (as told to me by the dealer).
I like the huge boot space of the car, The ac works fine if you are in the center seat at the back but the air distribution is not so great if you are in the extreme left or the right. Also the seat buckle on the rear seat does not clasp properly.
The dealer gave me a discount of Rs 20,000 and a finance discount of Rs 40,000.
So far I am happy with my Pretty Panthera. I will keep you updated and hope to
read updates from other Petra owners.
Shobha Rao
