Fiat Grande Punto 90HP - Detailed Ownership Review

[cooldhaya]

From reading your posts i can very well say my Verna is the same as your Punto , except for the handling and suspension part! Performance is better than your Punto , quality of plastics almost the same , FE mine is better , maintenance yours must be cheaper and suspension and handling yours the best!


And on your FE challenge in your previous posts , a Verna with 185 section tyres can deliver around 20-22kmpl if driven at 100kmph!

 

[jayadev]

From reading your posts i can very well say my Verna is the same as your Punto , except for the handling and suspension part! Performance is better than your Punto , quality of plastics almost the same , FE mine is better , maintenance yours must be cheaper and suspension and handling yours the best!


And on your FE challenge in your previous posts , a Verna with 185 section tyres can deliver around 20-22kmpl if driven at 100kmph!

that is excellent cooldhaya.how long your verna has been running?
one of the best reason a car remains with an individual for long time is fe. nobody would like to keep greedy ones.

couple of people says i20 delivering 24-25. i wonder how true is it .


in my punto i saw the display showing lot of values so i am not sure and i did not give a standard check .with its consumption display i try to manage it above 20 always. but god knows how accurate these electronics stuffs are, i trust only tank to tank fill!! which i can count on only after running in period which is long 3000 km for punto sigh!!!

 

[RSM]

Regarding A.S.S, Fiat (TATA) maybe cheaper but even their service is not that great. no idea about VW but yes, their spares will definitely be on the higher side.

I think, after recent JD Power survey results, we should not put comments like this. You might have bad experience, but that happens with every manufacturers. Fiat service experience is second only to maruti.

From his requirements, it seems he needs a powerful hatch with good ride & comfort. in diesel, i20 CRDi or punto 90bhp is the obvious choice & in petrol, polo fits the bill.

Completely agree. Since i20 is out of your list, if its diesel Punto, if its petrol Polo 1.6.

And on your FE challenge in your previous posts , a Verna with 185 section tyres can deliver around 20-22kmpl if driven at 100kmph!

Punto will return similar figure if not more.

 

[raj_5004]

I think, after recent JD Power survey results, we should not put comments like this. You might have bad experience, but that happens with every manufacturers. Fiat service experience is second only to maruti.

LOL, Please leave the JD survey aside buddy. I dont trust them for reasons best left unsaid.

As you said, i have had bad experiences with many A.S.S which includes mahindra, maruti, TATA, GM, etc with only toyota being an exception.

So my statement was only considering many ownership reports by owners & not any stupid survey.

 

[cooldhaya]

@ Jayadev Well my Verna 41k kms so far and completed one year with me and i have driven almost 18 k kms with the car. The car is two years old considering the previous owner. And i20's FE which you mentioned can be true if its diesel.


@ RSM I know Punto delivers similar figures but wanted Jayadev to know that there are other fuel-efficient vehicles too! And my car is 20BHP more than Punto and kerb weight must be higher since my car has a boot!

 

[jayadev]

@ Jayadev Well my Verna 41k kms so far and completed one year with me and i have driven almost 18 k kms with the car. The car is two years old considering the previous owner. And i20's FE which you mentioned can be true if its diesel.


@ RSM I know Punto delivers similar figures but wanted Jayadev to know that there are other fuel-efficient vehicles too! And my car is 20BHP more than Punto and kerb weight must be higher since my car has a boot!

congratulation cooldhaya. i respect long term owners of good cars. to be precise i like people who love their cars.

people often claim exaggerated values or false estimations .especially maruthi owners go gaga over fe .one of the guy i met in tasc he said he gets above 30kmpl in his maruthi A-star:suspect:. and my place is not a flat land its full of ghats and hills .same with those old indicas they informed me above 25 in diesel. i think all these things depends upon driving style and aging of a car. a well designed engine will get better and smoother in long term and return benefits proportionally.

all i wish is 20kmpl return in punto and i am happiest man(more the merrier) to be honest i always get confused with those fe things. all i could ever calculate was rough estimation with +/-2 error .
i don't have slightest clue how people calculate fractions like 21.31kmpl.

but it is not difficult to attain above 25 fe with punto.
keeping an eye on the instantaneous consumption meter such figures can be achieved from point A to point B practicly.
i have travelled 15 km of distance with mileage of 27kmpl. thats what it displayed (computerised world huh)!!!!!

but in dialy life its a diferent story if most of the time you are in middle of traffic and ac on there is no mileage thing ,all you want is just drag on to find shelter!!!

 

[RSM]

LOL, Please leave the JD survey aside buddy. I dont trust them for reasons best left unsaid.

As you said, i have had bad experiences with many A.S.S which includes mahindra, maruti, TATA, GM, etc with only toyota being an exception.

So my statement was only considering many ownership reports by owners & not any stupid survey.

I am not sure how can you say its stupid survey, just because you don't think so. It doesn't matter anyway, JD Power's survey is one of the benchmark in industry, one like it or not.
Many ownership can be in some hundred, at max, it doesn't represent any significant quantity. The various surveys on other famous forums shows the percentage is similar for all the manufacturers.
But i agree Tata/Fiat has bad reputation in public and that has to change. Perception always need not be true.

@ RSM I know Punto delivers similar figures but wanted Jayadev to know that there are other fuel-efficient vehicles too! And my car is 20BHP more than Punto and kerb weight must be higher since my car has a boot!

Surprisingly Punto is heavier than Verna (even with boot) by around 20 KG.
Verna - 1173 KG
Punto - 1190 KG

 

[jayadev]

I am not sure how can you say its stupid survey, just because you don't think so. It doesn't matter anyway, JD Power's survey is one of the benchmark in industry, one like it or not.
Many ownership can be in some hundred, at max, it doesn't represent any significant quantity. The various surveys on other famous forums shows the percentage is similar for all the manufacturers.
But i agree Tata/Fiat has bad reputation in public and that has to change. Perception always need not be true.

rsm,
i think industrial rating are like runrates in cricket, good for corporate business but nothing for common man. they may acquire good reputation and share benefits but common man will be on the road.

Surprisingly Punto is heavier than Verna (even with boot) by around 20 KG.
Verna - 1173 KG
Punto - 1190 KG

again punto scores over with additional couple of kilos for better surefoot perfomance and ofcourse including wider tyres benefits

 

[amiti]

Friends, thanks for your valuable suggestions. I did consider polo 1.6 and Fabia 1.6. Both are good cars and top class quality. However here is my take on both,

1. Polo -- A blacklisted dealer by Fiat( has history of changing original parts and damaging good cars) has been awarded the dealership of polo. Trust me, after hearing this I know 50+ people who decided against polo. Same with me. So polo is out of question and they are the only dealer in Pune.

2. Fabia -- Baby skoda has everything I want, again the A.S.S. is too bad, hence this is out of list.

Now waiting for Punto tjet. Will TD punto 90hp again. The mileage figures are attractive, hence I have both punto's on my list.
Not happy with i20 diesel due to high dash and low ground clearance. Doesn't give me the confidence I need.

So for now I think Punto tjet( if launched), punto 90hp, new swift diesel, or any car you guys suggest would be on my list.

 

[jayadev]

amiti,
anytime go for punto t-jet. but god only know how much longer you may have to wait.

punto with t-jet will make rest of the indian hatches ashamed..

 

[cooldhaya]

@ Jayadev Calculating FE even upto fraction is simple. Divide the kms run from the last tank fill till now and then divide by the number of liters you fill now , simple. FE of cars is a never ending debate! Even here we have threads stating Bolero delivers 35.xxkmpl and Manza 46.xxkmpl in marathon runs! But these FE figures are impossible to achieve in normal driving conditions. Your Punto's FE is good enough , nothing to worry about.


@ RSM But still mine is a good 20BHP more than 90HP Punto and still can deliver better FE than Punto!


@ Amiti I don think there are even rumours of Punto T-Jet! So go ahead with Punto 90HP. New Swift diesel though it can perform well it can never handle like Punto!

 

[jayadev]

@ Jayadev Calculating FE even upto fraction is simple. Divide the kms run from the last tank fill till now and then divide by the number of liters you fill now , simple. FE of cars is a never ending debate! Even here we have threads stating Bolero delivers 35.xxkmpl and Manza 46.xxkmpl in marathon runs! But these FE figures are impossible to achieve in normal driving conditions. Your Punto's FE is good enough , nothing to worry about.

no wonder it is same multijet motor. anyway anytime you get only rough figure with possible errors then why on earth there is these kind of debates:-"mine is 20.18kmpl and your is just 20.11- loser" isnt it ridiculous?

@ RSM But still mine is a good 20BHP more than 90HP Punto and still can deliver better FE than Punto!

cooldhaya are you pointing out that hyundai engines are better than fiats multijets? if so we should give a thought or you are very lucky.

@ Amiti I don think there are even rumours of Punto T-Jet! So go ahead with Punto 90HP. New Swift diesel though it can perform well it can never handle like Punto!

i recomend, if amiti can wait he should wait. t- jet is far ahead of present generation engines in indian hatchbacks.
amazingly it is same 1.4l fire engine with TURBO BOOST.
amiti prefers petrol, so rather than messing up with some dated petrol engines why not a new species !!!!

said that i do not mean punto 90hp is any bad. after all it is diesel and it is designed with priority to fuel efficiency .

punto behaves very well for an enthusiast from 3rd gear( that is post 40kmh.)
equally behaves great for a sedate and economy conscious ride below 2100rpm or so.

 

[cooldhaya]

Well yes i din mean to say to avoid Punto T-jet. But when is it launching or is there a Punto T-Jet coming here first? T-Jet engine will have typical turbo lag of all diesel engines too! But still it will surely be worth waiting if at all Fiat has any plans to make a Punto T-Jet!


And by better engine i want to know what you mean? And i din say Hyundai's engines are better , i just said a Verna is more fuel-efficient than your Punto.

 

[amiti]

jayadev, I am going to wait. Today got a call from Fiat Ranjangaon factory. when I asked regarding tjet punto, that guy had no clue. I have asked him to enquire again and update me. Lets wait and watch.

 

[jayadev]

Well yes i din mean to say to avoid Punto T-jet. But when is it launching or is there a Punto T-Jet coming here first? T-Jet engine will have typical turbo lag of all diesel engines too! But still it will surely be worth waiting if at all Fiat has any plans to make a Punto T-Jet!

if fiat wanted to bring those western applauds to india, punto t-jet is the only way.when fiat is talked about, people sometimes think ferrari. in india fiat cars have everything but performance.every modern fiat owner in india are moving with a badge of slouch owner .they are fully disappointed and complaining from head to toe against fiat. the bad plastic quality is well portrayed.

with my own experience punto 90hp and linea t-jet both have exactly same interiors except for seats.
one guy reviewed both car and commented punto 90hp have "atrocious interiors" while t-jet have far improved one (though at different times). in his review he did mention that punto 90hp is nothing of an improvement from previous 75hp punto.
well i very much agree with his enthuasiastic love for fiat he was very much dissapointed with fiat hot hatch thing. but again he regained his lost smiles with the power and refinements of t-jet in linea and i noted altogether different remarks for entire fiat team !!!-positive steps from fiat.

And by better engine i want to know what you mean? And i din say Hyundai's engines are better , i just said a Verna is more fuel-efficient than your Punto.

more power with lesser fuel is what environmentalist in me demands from every car. whole global stuff is looking forward for the same. so cooldhaya definitly your verna should be considered better with relative fe to bhp ratio compared with other engines. i vouch for your verna.