You can't ask for more

Exterior

It's a masterpiece! View it from any angle, you can't resist to admire it. Looks best in Quick Silver, Ferrari Red or Carbon Black along with alloy wheels and rear spoiler. The best part is that it's a pretty old design but still carries itself well, without an "inferiority complex". It still can be rated as a better design than many of the new cars coming up these days.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

It has got almost everything imaginable that a car in its segment and price could have. It is very spacious; I cannot remember one time when a person who was sitting in a Palio for the first time didn't use the phrase "Wow! It is quite a spacious car!", and then follows their wandering eyes admiring the beauty of the interiors. Comparing to the market that we have in 2010, it may be a little "out-dated" design, but it never is a shame because it is one of the best in its class from the era that it belongs to.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

I have done 70,000+ kms with my car since I bought it in July 2004 and I would say that I have enjoyed every bit of it. It has been a pleasure owning this car. Whether it be the regular city driving, the highways or the 10,500+ feet highs of the Himalayas, the Palio "has been doing exactly what it's supposed to do when out on the roads!".

If you do not know how to handle to car's powerful engine then you might as well get a fuel economy of 6 - 7 litres in severe traffic conditions. But if you know exactly how to use the clutch and the accelerator together, then it won't ever fall below 9 - 10 (yes, even 10 is pretty low, but if you know the traffic in Gurgaon, that's still pretty decent). In normal (city) driving conditions it comes to around 12 - 13.5. On the highways it's normally 14 - 15+ if you are treating it well.

The gearbox is pretty smooth, however, the clutch sometimes feels like a drag (yeap, when stuck in a traffic jam and never being able to go beyond 2nd gear!).

Ride Quality & Handling

Ride and handling is just amazing! It gives you an amazing stability, and when on the highway, you'd feel in "safe hands". If any of you are familiar with the DND (Delhi Noida Direct) Flyway, I have done 80 kms/h (at past-midnight, when the traffic is minimal; still staying in limits :D) at the 2nd exit (the one that does almost 360 degrees) on the Noida side. I felt like I could still go more, but I just didn't want to push my luck with the unexpected, unaware traffic! PS: Please do not attempt this unless you are a well-trained driver; and especially not with your tall-boys or other unstable cars. I am an expert and experienced driver.

Final Words

Like many others have been saying: Drive it to believe it. Or even better: Own it and fall in love with it. 😇 You would be thankful you bought it, if you did (this is not true with Palio Stile 1.1 though; I don't really know the car but I wasn't impressed with the half-hearted single test-drive that I took), and you would never regret it!

I'm thankful to my brother's friend who advised us "It never costs to test-drive it! Please just go and have a look, don't buy it if you don't like it!", when he heard that we had "almost" finalized another car, which today I consider as a piece of crap! The Palio was finalized the moment we sat in it and I drove out of the showroom for the test-drive...

Areas of improvement  

The clutch is a bit too hard; enough to ruin the fun when in heavy traffic conditions. The suspension could have been quieter, however, it is amazing with the work that it has been designed to do. Service centers need to be better (not infrastructure or manpower wise) but their attitude towards serving the customers. But I am guessing it is the case with almost every company's service centers (I don't really know because I have just been to Maruti and Hyundai besides Tata-Fiat and they were not any better either).

 

Good looks, spacious, handling, power, stability, reliabilityDeserves better service providers, spares a little too dear, hard clutch, noisy suspension