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My family and I had to balance our requirement of a utility vehicle and practicality in Bangalore traffic, and we were excited to discover that the Fiat Adventure fit that bill well. We instantly liked the estate with its high ground clearance, Pirelli tyres and sporty attitude. At around 600K ex-showroom here I believe it delivers enough bang for the buck. If you place safety, comfort, lifestyle and unique road statement over mileage and economy of operation, then I recommend the Adventure. We narrowed our test drives to Ford Fusion and the Adventure before buying. I liked the Fusion for its better start-stop performance and eagerness in the1st-2nd gear region. The Adventure seemed to need more prodding in that region unless you revved enough, but I worry a lot about guzzling so that was out. I liked the Fusion's interiors better although the appointment seemed to be marred by cheap looking surfaces. The Adventure's interiors were a plain disappointment, and so was the instrumentation with all analog readings. We were especially surprised that Fiat would not give any thought to essential utilities like cup holders and gadget pockets for the outdoor utility appeal it tries to generate for the Adventure. We loved the Adventure for its superior ride quality though, as we took a test cruise on a patch of dirt and pockmarks. And I simply adored it when I discovered that the Adventure had plenty of room at the 3rd-4th gear positions. It came into its own with the 5th gear overdrive and reminded me of the stylish Subaru Outback I drove in the US.

In the first week of our ownership we took our Adventure to Coorg on a track that varied from great roads to no-tar off-road tracks in meandering hill sections. I liked how it performed, and managed to average 10kpl throughout, with A/C on about 60% of the time. In Bangalore peak traffic in which nothing seems to move, I was rather unsettled by the steady downward droop of the fuel guage needle and can't say I did better than a 8.5kpl with A/C intermittently on. While I vouch that on long hauls I felt significantly less tired, city drive (of the horrific kind in Bangalore) appeared  somewhat onerous at the controls of a 1.2 ton vehicle. But it did feel good to see some of those belligerent truckers making way for us or to see some heads turn around. The four fog lamps capable of shining into the head of the drivers in the opposite direction came in handy to make them realize that they had to lower their high beams in dense two-way traffic conditions.

The side mount bars and bull-bar, all standard accessories, appear as deterrents to the pesky two and three wheelers that want to squeeze into your blind spots.

That reminds me, the side mirros are not very useful to me; even at maximum swivel I have to crouch to peer into them for a full view while driving. And someone also said that the all-terrain Pirellis need rotation at every 5000Kms due to their special tread. We took our bet on this vehicle knowing that a Fiat never lets you down if you treat it well and hoping Tatas will deliver on their promise of a better after sales service.

To sum up, my family and I are pretty happy with our decision and glad that we found a multi utility vehicle for our lifestyle. We plan to take the vehicle on long drives to better utilize what we perceive are its 'intended uses'. We think it is a great performer and looks and feels great.