90 Italian Horses in Bosso Nova White - Punto 90hp

[raj_5004]

Presenting Fiat Punto with 90 HP & Variable Geometry Turbine... India's most powerful hatchback… blah blah blah!!

Anyways, I dont care a damn as this is my ownership report! For those who like to keep it short & prefer compact reports, please stay away... The following is a story! It's more of a biography, just that it covers only 3 months of my life.

The story has many characters-

1) Main lead : raj_5004 (thats me!)
2) Main lead's best friends : Naveen & Aditya
3) Main Lead's GF : Fiat Punto
4) Punto's "sautans" : i20 & polo
5) Side actors : Swift, Micra & Figo

The saga starts in -

November:

I am living a peaceful life. I am having fun, enjoying with friends, hanging out… driving my scorpio – which I love to do! I have no idea what is about to come though…

December comes:

I am on the hunt for a new job. Sent my resumes to various organizations. Got a call from Navnit motors that I was appointed in their Land Rover division… Hurrayyy! I was very delighted but at the same time, due to some reasons, I could not take my scorpio to my workplace. I needed a “cheaper” car. So the decision was made to buy a new car!
By December end, I was asked to join LR on 3rd Jan. In the meanwhile, I started my research on cars. Many hours where spent on the web, Google, etc. In my anxiety, someone who got bugged the most was my dear friend & fellow TAI'n Aditya (Renegade) & Naveen! Initially I decided I would buy a second hand hatch. I strictly wanted a diesel car only. I was searching the web for used Swifts, i20s or Puntos. When I could not find a good bargain anywhere, I decided to buy a new hatch. But in the lower end, all I liked was the santro & swift. The santro was not available in diesel & swift diesel had a huge waiting period. Also, it on-road price was more than 6 lakhs. That was no longer “cheap”! All this while, Aditya was of GREAT help, thanks buddy… (I call him “the GOOGLE boy”! ask him anything, he comes with an answer in 5 minutes flat – courtesy google!)

January arrives:

Here comes New Year & I join LR. I am yet to decide on a car. Lots of hours were spent it front of the computer. Finally, the following diesel hatchbacks were considered-

1) i20 – Looks good but a little too curvy for my taste. Has good performance but is notorious for it’s turbo lag. Moreover, the 8.5 lakhs price tag put me off. I was wondering what would I be paying for?
2) Polo – Again a hefty price tag & no features on offer. I was not too impressed with it’s looks either.
3) Punto – I love the way this car looks. But performance was lethargic & A.S.S. is a suspect.

Looks was my top priority, so the micra & figo were not even considered. Finally, the Polo was also removed from the list. I dint find anything “exciting” about the car. Time was running out, I had to make a decision fast. I quickly registered myself for a test drive for the Punto & i20 diesel. I got a sms from fiat & Hyundai that I would be receiving a call soon.

Next day, since I got no reply from either of them, I visited Fortune motors (Thane) & test drove the punto 75 hp. As expected, after driving the scorpio, the fiat felt painfully slow in comparison. But I was amazed by the refinement, the build & the ride quality of the car. The steering felt amazing & the car looked hot! It could do with better interiors though.

The next day, a FIAT rep called me to arrange for a TD but I told him that I am already done with it. Till now, the Hyundai guys dint turn up. So I called them on the number provided in the SMS & they assured me they will arrange a i20 CRDi soon. Two days passed by & I got a call from a Hyundai dealer that they can bring a i20 petrol!!! When I told them that I was looking for a diesel, they bluntly replied that i20 CRDi is NOT available for test drive… I asked them that how they expect me to book a car without driving it to which they replied that I have to decide after driving the petrol… GREAT!

In the meanwhile, I called my friend Naveen. He owns a Punto for almost a year now. We talked about the car, its pros & cons & issues. He was very frank with me & his most commonly used phrase was “Let me be honest with you, ……”! Thanks a lot buddy, you eased off some of the apprehensions I had with FIAT.

Meanwhile, I visited Galaxy motors (mulund) & took a TD of the punto 90 hp. It was marginally better than the 75 hp but frankly, I was still disappointed with the performance. The Fiat guys were very courteous & helpful… I was still waiting for Hyundai’s reply. I had driven a friend’s i20 petrol & frankly, though I like it’s interiors, I was not much impressed with its ride & steering feel. Somewhere in the back of mind, I did think that if this is the way Hyundai treats it’s potential customers, God knows how they will treat me during service. I did a search on the web & I found that both cars have their own issues. While the punto seems to more reliable that i20, the Fiat A.S.S. is a pain. On the other hand, i20 does have its own issues like ACC problems & sterring rattle. Also, I did read horror stories about Hyundai’s A.S.S., so in the end, both the cars were neck to neck on every parameter. So the final decision was to be made based on the pricing. The top end i20 was a cool 40,000 more than the punto 90hp. This gap would further increase with the discount offered on the Punto. Also, Hyundai strictly said that the waiting period on i20 is 6 weeks. Fiat assured delivery within 2 weeks. (I wanted a 2011 made car only).

Finally, the decision was made to go for a white coloured Punto. We opted for the 90 hp punto as it costed just 30k more than the 75 hp one.


To be continued... (No popcorn in the break please!)

[Guru]

Nice write-up so far. Keep em coming.

You from Thane?

[Godfather]

Nice thread.

which division of LR do you work for?

[Gilead]

Nice write up! And welcome to GearHeads.

Presenting Fiat Punto with 90 HP & Variable Geometry Turbine... India's most powerful hatchback… blah blah blah!!

That would be the i20 1.4L Gamma AT, not the Punto 90HP.

[raj_5004]

You from Thane?

No. Hiranandani, Powai.

Nice thread.

which division of LR do you work for?

I used to work in LR. Now I am into my own business.

Nice write up! And welcome to GearHeads.

That would be the i20 1.4L Gamma AT, not the Punto 90HP.

If you see the figures, Punto is 93 hp whereas i20 is 90 hp. Maybe thats why FIAT CALLS punto the most powerful hatchback. But i20 is much faster!



Anyways, interval over - story continues :

11/1/11 : Visited Wasan motors (chembur) as they offered the car at the lowest price. Booked the car for Rs. 7.75 lakhs. Freebies are floor mats only, as requested by me. Paid the token amount & was promised delivery by 27th Jan. Optional accessories purchased are scuff/sill plates (Rs. 350/-) & reverse sensor (Rs. 5000/-).

14/1/11 : Did some research about window tints & zeroed in on 3M RE 35 or V Kool. Called the V Kool dealer & got quotations for K37 & T35. He told me he would send samples of the film in a day or two.

15/1/11 : The first thing I wanted on my car was alloys. Again internet was of great help. Called up Bombay tyres, Tyrex & Premji’s tyre plus to ask if they have 98 PCD alloys for punto. Bombay tyres said no.

16/1/11 : It was a Sunday, the only day when I get time. Visited Premji’s tyre plus & met Mr. Mark. He is a great guy & very knowledgeable. He has a great setup in thane, one of the best tyre dealers in town. He showed me some great designs in Konigs & Enkei, but sadly all were 100 PCD which he said is a direct fit for Punto. Somehow, I was unwilling to compromise on safety & put 100 PCD alloys. Even here, Aditya joined me! The same day, we went to Tyrex. He had 98 PCD alloys from 69 Racing wheels, it’s a Taiwanese make. I felt the design was quite average. Also, he dint have a display piece, he could only show a photo.

22/1/11 : It was a Saturday, the sales executive messaged me the engine number & chassis number of my car. He called me to inform me that the car is in transit & will be offloaded that day evening or Sunday morning. I was overjoyed on hearing this & told him that I would do the PDI myself. Since Sunday is closed, plans for PDI were made on Monday.

Meanwhile, I was still confused about alloys & called up Saifee tyres. I knew he has HR alloys in 98 PCD but I was not too keen on their design. On the phone, Jitubhai told me he has "XXX" alloys in stock. (Alloy make & model kept as suspense in purpose!) I jumped in joy & rushed to his shop. The alloys planted a big smile on my face. They looked great & most importantly, THEY WERE 98 PCD! I wanted just this! I promised him I would pay the advance for the wheels on Monday morning & asked him to “book” the alloys for me!


To be continued... (I think I would be breaking Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's record of writing looooong stories!)

[Godfather]

(I think I would be breaking Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's record of writing looooong stories!)

stop adding these lines, it makes it difficult to like and lol at the same time

[Gilead]

If you see the figures, Punto is 93 hp whereas i20 is 90 hp. Maybe thats why FIAT CALLS punto the most powerful hatchback. But i20 is much faster!

I was talking about the 100 BHP i20 petrol which comes only in AT. But yeah, the i20 CRDi feels faster than the Punto 90. You get a much better kick but everything else about the i20 sucks. I felt the gear ratios in the Punto are lousy.

[raj_5004]

Since pictures are more important, I would upload the pics first, will continue the story after that!

[Godfather]

aah.. nice rims..

you dont need to blank out your number plates, no member of GH will come behind you flashing lights and honking mad only to nearly scare you to death to say HI and drive off.

[Guru]

Nice alloys indeed.

Man, look at the stance of that thing!