Reviews - CarWale.com Forum

Any feedback for FIAT Punto Dynamic 1.4 Petrol

Vaibhav — 2009-11-20

I saw many reviews for Punto MJD but I dont see any ownership review for Punto Dynamic 1.4 Petrol. Any feedback??

Buying process - Ritz ZXi

Anand Chakraborty — 2009-11-19

I had a budget of around 5 lacs when I went to purchase a car. I was driving a WagonR before, and I was very happy with the car and Maruti's service. So obviously at the back of my mind I had this thought that if I bought a Maruti again, I couldn't go wrong and that it would be a safe bet, but I still wanted to try out and see all the other cars from other manufacturers, before I made up my mind.

I went about it by making a list. I zeroed down on Fiat's Grand Punto (Diesel), Tata's Indica Vista (Diesel), Maruti Suzuki's Swift (Petrol) & Ritz (Petrol) and Hyundai's i10 & i20 (Diesel), Honda's Jazz & Skoda's Fabia (Diesel).

Now, I have this habit of always going for the best...by which I mean, going for the top-of-the-line. I therefore soon realised that the top-of-the-line Punto, Jazz, Fabia & i20 were over my budget (next time I guess;)). Now I had to decide between the i10, Swift, Ritz, and the Indica Vista.

One of my acquaintances recently bought an i10 Magna (with the Kappa engine) so I "test drove" his car. I was left impressed with the car's overall design, build quality, engine refinement and the space it offered.

Next I test drove the Swift and the Ritz. Here I liked the Ritz more because of its "huge" cheerful cabin, overall design of the car (was never a big fan of Swift's design) and the K-series engine's refinement and performance. I have to make a special mention here of the Ritz's crisp gearbox, which bowled me over with its small, slick and precise throws!

Finally it was Tata's turn, but alas, my uncle being an owner of a Tata Indica V2 - was very disappointed with his car and its quality and he never lost an opportunity to tell everyone about it, made me change my mind about buying a Tata car at the last moment.

After weighing all the pros and cons of all the contestants in my mind I finally went in for a Ritz ZXI. I chose the Ritz over the i10 because of its bigger size, more features and because it came across as better value for money. I never considered the diesel versions of the Swift and Ritz because: a) my running is not enough to pay a premium for a diesel engine, over and above a petrol and b) the diesel variants were missing a lot of features, especially safety features like airbags (which I wanted).

Now I am a proud owner of a Blue (Blaze) Ritz ZXI and I am very happy with my purchase. The Ritz delivers all that I thought it would and I recommend it to all, who can live with its looks (rear, which I like!!!), because it has no other flaws! :P

Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 MIVEC tested by CarWale

Charles — 2009-11-19

We drive our second Mitsubishi, and it also shares its genes with the Lancer: Mitsubishi Outlander 2.4 MIVEC

My Grande Punto MJD Diesel Emotion Pack

Anshum — 2009-11-18

So finally after a lot of discussions with my folks, on the forum and with friends, I decided on the Italian beauty. I booked her on 12th November 2009 and got delivery on 15th November 2009. Pretty quick, eh. Well the dealer luckily had it in stock.

On the Delivery day, I had gone with my dad and uncle. The car was being cleaned and mud flaps and mats which were the freebies were being put. Mats are nice, mud flaps are useless and still throws dirt all over the front doors incase the car moves in water, even slowly.

The car had done 26km when the keys were handed to me. I checked everything I could and was in order. The sales manager of the showroom, ABS Motors Gurgaon was with us all throughout the process and explained everyhting related to the car, paired my phone with the HU and did all the documentation.

So in about an hour, we were ready to go. Given a pack of sweets and the gate pass, we were off. The dealership was amazing in customer friendliness and gave us a nice reception, quite contrary to the FIAT image, many have in their mind.

For now, enjoy the pics I managed to click. Will post some more over the weekend and a initial review!

Feast your eyes guys!!!

THE VARIANT

THE ALLOYS

ALL GLORY

SEXY BACK..AHAN AHAN!

AND YET AGAIN...

CUTE NOSE TOO

THE MJD DIESEL HEART

THE MANUFACTURER

FIAT Grande Punto MJD a VFM

Vivek Singh — 2009-11-15

Dear Friends,

A lot about FIAT GP is discussed in various threads. A lot of Pros and cons of GP is shared. I had bought my punto on 28 Sep 09 ( PUNTo MJD RED) and till now I have driven this car upto 2300 KM.

Let us forget about what other says about FIAt imagie in India, about cons of GP. This thread is to unite all the GP lovers and users to share all their good experience, Pics and lovable memories with GP.

To start with I'll share my lovely moments, As said , I got my first car on 28th Sep. I went for a trip to Bhimashankar for Darshan. Infact I had taken my mother. That day it was raining heavily, I hasitated whether to go r not, but atlast decided to go , we were three , me my brother and my mom. My car was just 10 days younger. I heavy downpour car responded amazingly. I was driving at 110 KMPH and ABS really supported at every step. At every peak of Bhimashankar MJD roars and moved swiftly. In just first 500 KMS GP gave me a milegae of 18KMPL. We started at 10Am and reached back home at 5P.M. Cannot express my feeling after reaching home. I am Pround to be Indian and a GPian.

FIAT's Moto ....... SELL IT & FORGET IT

Sachin Thakkar — 2009-11-13

I purchased a Punto DI Emotion on 19-07. After driving for 8 days I felt a drag towards left and contacted the dealer on 26-07. I was told to go to the work shop. On 27-7 2009, my vehicle was test driven by the staff at the work shop & was told that there was no problems in it. At the time of 1st Free servicing on 10-8 2009 told the service advisor at the work shop about the same. I was told that there was no problem in the vehicle. After driving 5500 Kms in total I noticed that the tyres were completely weared & went to the Showroom on 26-8. On 31-8 vehicle was picked up from my home for repairs. On 4-9 it was returned with all 4 tyres been changed at no cost by the dealer & was told that the Engineers from FIAT have thoroughly inspected the vehicle & the fault is been rectified & they have test driven the vehicle. After driving 500 Kms the problem still there, it was still dragging, I informed about this, they asked me to drive for another 1000–1500 Kms then come for inspection. Following the suggestion I drove the vehicle for 1800 Kms in total after the tyres changed, went for inspection on 21-9 The wheel alignment was thoroughly checked at 3 different location. They found it alright,so they said they have limited expertise in this case & the vehicle needs to be sent to FIAT plant at Ranjangaon Pune.

On 1-10 vehicle was sent to the FIAT Plant at Ranjangaon. I received my vehicle on 9-10 & was told that the problem is been taken care of. I was feeling the same drag even after the repair at the FIAT Plant, I informed about this on the very same day. I was told to drive the vehicle for 1000–1500 Kms, then it would be inspected. After driving about 1500 Kms I showed them the vehicle. They inspected the vehicle & found the problem still very much there. I was asked to bring the vehicle for Inspection on 31-10-09. On 30-10-09 they called me and told me that the inspection is been reschedule to 3-11 2009, I hesitantly agreed for the same. On 3-11-09 I went for a meeting with Customer Care (?) team of FIAT.

Diesel car or CNG car -- for 600 - 700 kms run per month

Aabhishek — 2009-11-11

I need your suggestions, what shd be the ideal choice - Diesel or CNG...when one's monthly run is 600-700 kms per month.

1) There is one option that one purchase a petrol car and get a decent CNG kit fitted or company fitted one.

2) Another option is to purchase a diesel car itself.

Which option wud be better?

Abhishek

Indigo Manza Quadrajet

Steeroid — 2009-11-11

Here's a review of the Manza by my friend - it was originally posted by him on gearheads.in, I have his express permisson to reproduce it here. Its beautifully written (which is why I asked for permission to put it up here - I had to share it!), and straight from the heart from a person who is a self-confessed disbeliever of Tata products:

TATA INDIGO MANZA TEST-DRIVEN, by rippergeo

Went to Concorde for the 3rd time, before I got the TD, that too after some serious yelling.
I was hungry and had just battled around 20kms of NH47byepass hell in a LPG Wagon R.

Saying that I was in a bad mood was an understatement. Just before I entered the showroom, I recieved a call from Tata Indicom saying that I had exceeded the download limit on my "unlimited" broadband plan.

Anyways, I was actually feeling sorry for the car i was planning to review. The car didnt seem to have a chance in hell to do well in my eyes. I actually considered coming back later when i had a better chance to give it a fair review.

Not necessary. The Car asked for no quarters. It was absolutely delightful.

Well, the cat is out of the bag. You know, I'm seriously seriously impressed. Read on to find out why it impressed me.

Basic Facts
This car is HUUUUGE

It is comfortable

It is amazing VFM- 6.24 on road for the base version qaudrajet. Power steering, power windows in front and AC as standard.

That is not why I'm impressed.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class E350 Avantgarde tested by CarWale

Charles — 2009-11-11

Our experience of the E350 (W212). Mercedes-Benz E-Class E350 Avantgarde

Mitsubishi Cedia New Sports tested by CarWale

Charles — 2009-11-11

The Mitsubishi Cedia Sports driven by CarWale. Mitsubishi Cedia New Sports

Some drawbacks in Maruti Ritz - Fresh reviews required....

U Harish Kumar — 2009-11-10

My dearest Maruti Suzuki Ritz owners,

Correct me - if I am wrong......read along.....

Now that Ritz is 6 months old since its launch. I require fresh reviews from the buyers of Ritz. I have made enough studies of M.S.Ritz till date about its pros and cons. Lets keep the Positives apart - because everybody likes the positive aspects of every thing in life. I have taken some pains to list out a few great negatives about Ritz. They are :

1) The rear view mirrors are not quite helpful. There seems to be "blind spot" and one cannot get a good view of the rear.

2) The leg room for the back seat is very negligible. In fact it is too cramped. Usually, in our country, the husband drives the car, wife sits next to husband, and elderly parents sits behind. Now, what happens is that the rear seat not only lacks proper leg room but also cannot retreat back, doesnt have enough cushioning, doest have head rest. It is an insult to the elders.

3) Maruti has just fooled all the people by claiming that it gives 17 km per litre of petrol. It hardly gives 12 Kmpl.

4) There are a lot of complaints from various buyers that it wobbles at speeds of 100 kmph. The car cries to speed through and take a lead when it is really required.

5) The gear shifts are not smooth enough. It is a bit hard.

6) No doubt, it is a revolutionary design, but, the hatchback design of the Ritz is not very pleasing to look. It has still not got down too well with many people. It could have been designed slightly better, more gentler, less of inner curve-which would have given more boot space. In other terms, the angle of "boomrang" should have been reduced. The acute angle of the boomrang design gives Ritz an awkward look.

7) Difficult to take reverse and park the vehicle because of the excessive hatchback design.

8) Pricing is too high - could have been atleast Rs.25,000 to Rs.35,000 lesser.

9) The plastics used in the dashboard and interiors are of low quality. They are really not nice and not very user-friendly. Just okay.

10) The positioning of the tachometer is awkwardly placed. It looks like a dirtly mole sticking out in the face.

11) The handle knob is of very poor quality. It is not neat and tough and well designed but too delicate.

Overall, I would say that Maruti Ritz has to grow - Grow above all these negative aspects. Only then, it can win the hearts of the people - let alone competing with other players – posted by U.Harish Kumar, Bangalore.

Cheverolet Aveo 1.4LT MY09

Rajesh — 2009-11-09

hi there all the car Freaks,

this is Rajesh from shimla had been looking for a car since the last Year or so.i thank carwale .com for the unbiased advice and information on their forums . was able to finalise my car and finances in september and got delivery of my car on 16 october 2009 has driven around 1050 Kms and it has given me a KPL of 14 without AC and 12 with AC hope to extend it by a mile after my 2nd service.very happy with the interoirs, AC, ride is comfortable too,all in all a wonderful vehicle to own.The dealer was kind and courteous to give huge discount and was able to get the vehicle for around 6.8 on road with all the goodies .will keep updating as and when i come after long drive. any queries are welcome.

regards

rajesh

Thanks to Carwale, Have taken delivery of i20 Magna

Sanchit Rastogi — 2009-11-08

Thanks to the members of carwale for guiding me to take the delivery of i20 magna Silky Beige colour on 1st nov'09. Till date I have driven @300 km and very happy with the performance & total package of the car. I was bit confused to choose between Ritz, Swift & i20, finally went for i20 after getting lot of informations & suggestions from carwale members.

Thanks to you all & if any suggestion or information required from my side, it is always welcome.

My black beauty - i10 Sportz

Neo — 2009-11-06

Hi guys,

Finally, my black beauty came home on 19th Oct.. Yess its Stone Black i10 Sportz. Odo reads 1295+ till date, I have calculated mileage 3-4 times.

On day first I did tank full right after taking delivery and rest the trip meter to 0, next time when I full the tank trip meter was at 342km and it drank 26.5 litres so here I got approx 12.9kmpl... I reset trip meter again. Fuel gauge was on its half-way so I thought its thirsty but it drank 16.5litres only trip meter was at 292 (so here I got some improved mileage of 17.5 approx)... again I reset the trip meter by thinking I might have made some wrong calculations. and went on a long trip about 300+km (one-way).. Tank full with 19.5 litres it ran about 318.. its really 16kmpl... and guess what, while returning I had to fill 16.4litres to full the tank and it ran about 322km(I got 19kmpl mileage)...

However, I was told and expecting around 10-12 in city and 14-16 on highway as the highway was heavily loaded by travels buses, trucks.. I went on the Pune-Solapur highway on Sunday, I hardly drove it in the 5th gear on highway :-( there was really heavy traffic on the highway. We were 4 people in the car with litle luggage.. never faced any problem while over-taking so far (may be I might haven't drive that much fast due to new car and sticked with 70-80kmph max speed), I found it fine. have to check with fully loaded.

Anyways, my first servicing is due now. as per manual the first servicing should be done between 1200-1500km. I will book my 1st servicing and will udpate the performance/mileage again.

let me know if any suggestions/experience with your i10...? Also, please let me know any precaution or special care to be taken after 1st servicing..

Thanks

Fiat Linea 1.4 FIRE Emotion Pack

VahanPujari — 2009-11-02

It all started last year. In fact, sine 2007 when my 2003 Ford Ikon completed 4 years. However, since last 2 years that humble car which had wonderful Steering (HPS), Ride & Handling, Maneuvering abilities delayed my car upgrade for the stadards it set.

Come 2009 & I decided enough is enough. Ikon had served me well for 5.5 years for over-90,000 kms with a spotless ownership experience but its time to move on. So, the shortlisting process starts. The cars in radar were ANHC, Verna, SX4. Fiesta was not considered as - 1) Wanted to try something other than Ford, something even better (if found), 2) Did not like Fiesta dated looks, 3) old platform. (However, if not found anything better, it would have been Fiesta for sure coz of my earlier Ford exp)

While I had driven all 3 cars earlier but detailed TD's were necessary. Did 2 TD's for each car:

SX4 felt heavy in driving. Ride & Handling leaves a lot to desire. EPS steering is very light & without feedback. Maneuvering abilities are strictly limited. However, its a VFM package & I always respect it for the new equipments it brought (like Steering Mounted controls) in India in this seg.

Very good power coupled with very light EPS steering coupled with abscence of Airbags & worse Ride & Handling makes Verna a Dangerous proposition. Also,its looks were dated to me.

Since 2006-07, whenever I thought of upgrade, it was always Honda City. Did 2 TD's of ANHC. ANHC was good. But thats not enough. Its not that great that it should be with a premium tag attached. I found nothing great while driving it. Equipment levels are even lower/ lesser than a DZire. No Alloys, No Climate Control & abscence of many many other equipments in a "premium" sedan costing Rs. 2 Lacs more than its counterparts. Naah.

Never considered a certain car called Fiat Linea (Perception, may be).During my telecon discussion with my friend at Ahmedabad, he suggested me to have a look at it. And I always give highest weightage to his words when it comes to Automobiles. So, in comes & enters Fiat Linea in the fray. And how !! First looks & I instantly fell in love. That Masserati like nose, Audi like grill, curvacious design. Awsome. Again TD'ed it twice & liked it immediately. Class-leading Ride & Handling, HPS steering with excellent feedback, Maneuvering abilities, stability, Excellent Brakes, Linear Power delivery, Typical Italion Petrol Engin growl. Wow!

Bought 1.4 FIRE (Petrol) Emotion Pack Flamenco Red Linea in Apr'09. 6 months & 10,000 kms on ODO approaching. During the course of the thread, I'll try to share my experiences & my dates with this Red Hot beauty with FIRE . Till then drool over some pics of the beauty:

First week with my Punto

Nitin — 2009-11-01

This is going to be a long posting. So allow me to divide it in to two major parts -

1] First Look / Impression

2] Actual Experience

First Look / Impression

I got my Punto on 24/10/2009. Within 4 hours I was on my way to my native place. Since this is my first car, and the drive was long ( > 300km) I arranged a driver. Before we started I asked him not to drive her too fast or with very high rpm and he followed it religiously.

We took NH3, thanks to the new 4 lane and thanks to GP, the journey was super smooth. My driver did noticed the difference and he was very happy to drive Punto. The color, the finishing, the design, tail lamps every thing was so atractive, I noticed admiration, praise on the face of many onlookers. - be it at Petrol Pump, or by pedestrians or even the fellow carwalas, travelling that time.

Here are some of the snaps: -

Fiat Palio Stile Diesel ownership experience

Tushar — 2009-10-31

Hello Diesel Car lovers and seekers,

Palio style SDX is my first car and now the odometer shows 35000 after registration in April 2008. My ownership experience has been a mix of ups and downs. The car was bought by me keeping in mind the fact that I will loose out on resale value as Fiat cars have acomparatively poor resale value owing to:

1. Not many buyers aware about the technology

2. Poor service experience in the past

3. People want to buy most selling cars thus mitigating risk of non availablity of spares

However most of these issues have been addresses post Tata-Fiat service agreement.

First I would like to highlight the reasons as to why one should buy this car:

1. The top end version offers features at the same cost as bottom end version of Swift. Both cars have same powermills inside them. Hence excellent Value for money car.

2.Best safety and built quality in its class of vehicles. Excellent car for family.

3. Excellent driving and handling on highways. You feel as though you are sitting inside an armoured vehicle. Very secure feeling even on wet roads and hair pin bends.

4. Fantastic mielage on highways. I get about 20 with full AC

5. Excellent looks makes the car stand out in the traffic and lots of heads turn

6. Gear shift is very smooth and best in class.

7. Breaking is excellent and offers confidence to drive at high speeds.

8. Extreamly responsive turbo charger. Very useful on overtaking and leading the traffic.

Now lets look at some cons about the car:

1. Comparatively poor resale value. One should think of long term owevership to get complete returns on the investment in the car

2. Availablity of spares in certain places in the country still remains an issue.

3. Clutch is comparatively harder and city driving in bumper to bumper traffic is relatively exhausting

4. Comparatively bigger turning radius requires little longer for the driver to get adjusted...especially while parking in a tighter slots.

Baring these few cons my ownership experince of SDX has been enriching and I feel I have taken a right decision by buying this car. The car has been a excellent companion on long routes and ghat sections. The torque and turbo charger adds to the driving pleasures.

I am sure most of the multijet owners would have had a similar ownership experience.

I hope this post helps the diesel car seekers take an informed decision.

What do I feel after 8000 kms? (Grand Punto 1.3 Emotion)

Grandeur — 2009-10-29

Actually it is more than 8500 km now. After driving Indica V2 LSi for more than 5 years, it was time for me to look out for a new car for myself. I started looking out for options and with keeping Punto as my first priorityJ. After lot of research and reviews I could not get off Punto on my mind and gifted myself the Red Italian head turner on August 6^th 2009 and till date as on 29^th Oct 09, I have completed around 8500+ KMs on it.

Here I’m sharing my experience so far on it with all of you.

Driving Comfort: On completing 3700 Km (Navi Mumbai > A’bad > Jaipur > Agra > Delhi > Jaipur > A’bad and back to Navi Mumbai) in a stretch on Punto, I think I can justify my comments towards driving comfort on Punto.

I’m 5’11” and after driving Indica for almost 6 years, I could for sure right away feel the driving comfort on Punto. I was more confident and very relax throughout my journey. I was really impressed and happy to adjust my sitting posture as per my comfort in between my journey, which is really required when you drive a vehicle for longer duration. Although neck support is not that effective, but I guess that’s the case with all cars. I used pillow as per my comfort.

On Road Performance: After completing 8500 KM and after driven it on Expressway, Highways, city roads and even on deep interiors of Rajasthan where there is no roads at all, the ride quality and handling on higher speed and on sluggish bumpy roads is balanced and brilliant.

I have taken it till 145 Km/Hr and I was not losing my confidence until my wife asked me slow downJ. I don’t deny about it’s the initial lag, but that’s fine with me. I was here to drive it on Indian roads, not in drag race. Cross 2500 RPM and you’ll feel your back pushing towards seat, there you’ll feel the actual power of engine.

The engine can be heard in the cabin on higher speed, but only when your music system is off. Well, I take it this way, when I speed up and hear the engine sound it feels to me like my car is saying …yes I can do it, I can run well and faster. ;) LoL

ABS is a boon to such car, which tempts you not to take off your feet from accelerator especially on Express/Highways like NH8. Fortunately I got to experience it only once when a street dog came on road from nowhere and I had to hit the brakes, the car didn’t lose its grip on road and came to halt very softly.

Fuel Consumption: 3550KMs / 175 Ltrs = 20.2 KMPL (Approx). I guess quite an impressive figure, with an average speed of 110-120 km/hr. I guess, I need not to write on it.

PART ONE ENDS

Carwale's First Drive Review of the Indigo Manza

Rachit Hirani — 2009-10-28

Our first drive review of the Manza.

Tata Indigo Manza (First Drive)

Skoda Laura 2009 tested by CarWale

Charles — 2009-10-28

The Skoda Laura Road-Tested by CarWale Skoda Laura