For all the noise, how is Fiat really doing?

If you are using Word, use style: Normal, font: Verdana, font size: 9.  Best is... type here itself - no formatting issues.  But before posting it, select the entire text & copy it so that in case it is lost due to time-out etc., you can paste the same & repost it.

Sure. Let me take care henceforth. Thanks Pankaj.

All the plastics are not bad in Linea. Yes, there are bits of it here and there, not a big problem to me though and not the kind that will break down or rattle. I agree that both i10 and i20 plastics have a solid feel. But then, they are a bit costly cars (compared to their competitions). Recently, one of my colleage got a fully loaded verna CRDI (including airbags, alloys, auto climate, etc) just for 9.2L OTR bangalore. Man! That is 65K cheaper than a fully loaded Linea. Hyundai giving their 110 horses cheaper than a Fiat brand!! That is real competition in the market.

Bala - Pls check, I've asked which car in THIS SEGMENT has absolutely better plastics mentioning ANHC/ SX4/ Verna/ Fiesta clearly as well. ANHC & SX4 plastics are also not high quality. To some extent only Verna & Fiesta. may be, have slightly better plastics than others but yet not upto quality level what it should be in a C Segment car. Why than picking only Linea for it? Quoting your example, if you like i10 plastics better than Linea, you'll surely like it better than ANHC/ SX4 also. So, why Linea only? By the same token my Ford Ikon's plastic quality was impeccable & in 5.5 years with 90,000 kms, not a single plastic part got changed or came out of its casing. But then I understand that Ford Ikon is entry-level sedan & does not have many many more imp things which these higher-end sedans have.

You know what? Check ANHC/ SX4 threads. People say Plastics are not very good - But its ok to live with it considering what the car offers. Same people say Linea Plastics are not very good - What was Fiat thinking on cost-cutting in such an imp area & Fiat should be hanged for dishing out such plastics on a high-end C-segment car.

That's the difference of perception I was talking about

Has Hyundai started giving Airbags in Verna ?

Yes. My friend got it with airbags, alloys, auto climate. ABS was anyway available earilier too. While it is not surprising to see these features being added, what surprised me was the price, i.e. 65K cheaper than a Fiat product. That is quite un-Hyundai, specially for a CRDI. I mean, that is too good for the customers.

Does the Fiat actually cost more than the Verna and Fiesta?  I was not aware of this.

Opendro - This is quite surprising. Airbags was the greatest ommission in Verna & if Hyundai has started offering it, there should have been a campaign. Am not sure if its running one.

Also, for pricing, are you comparing top-end to top-end or lower-end to lower-end variants of both Verna & Linea ?

Is VahanPujari = Amit = same person?

Ok. Guys. Sorry for the confusion. It was my mistake probably while comparing features with my friend. I checked with him again. There is no airbag in the Verna CRDI. He got ABS, auto-climate and alloys at 9.2L. That means, Hyundai is offering at almost the same value as Linea.

@ Steeroid, fiesta is somewhere in between the DZire/Accent/Logan/Manza and Verna/Linea pricewise as well as sizewise (as perceived in the market). Yes, even the famous powerful Fiesta petrol S is slightly cheaper than Linea petrol topend.

When people say that plastics in SX4 (or any other car in this segment) are not good, they do not really mean that they are very bad. Plastics certainly wont come off or rattle or get damaged in any way. Its just the thickness, feel and finish of the plastics that is being talked about. The plastics of cheaper quality do tell that they are "cheap" in nature as compared to the really fine ones. Within the interiors (Dash etc.) its all about the looks, fit and finish of plastic parts. It is not a quality issue as such, in the sense that it will not affect the driving pleasure one bit. On outside, i.e. bumpers etc., I really can not notice any difference with any of the cars. When they get hit, they get damaged. If they do not get hit, they work fine for all cars.

So plastic quality is one of the things you can put in "Good to have" category but not "must have" category. Moreover, its a lot about perceptions and personal choice. I personally do not feel that SX4 plastics are not good as compared to other cars.

When I earier said, that SX4 interiors could be better I meant things like wodden finish on the door arm rests, central pillar, driver arm rest (which doubles up as a storage space). They could have probably added another storage space in the dash itself, Even with the space for airbags. They can add a sunglass holder above the drivers head. But these are just wish lists to make the product even better. I think if SX4 did that (had done one of these in the new avtar), it would have sold far more numbers as the interiors would then give a feeling of a luxury car, which is missing right now.