Fiat's Grande Punto now Launched!

so its a clear thing that swift is anyway better than punto when performance is concidered?

Styling wise Punto is a great bet.

Test drive report of Grande Punto- this is by me and my dad.

We drove both the 1.4L Petrol and the 1.3 JTD engines. Both variants Emotion Pack.

Space and interiors-

The interiors are almost a complete rip-off from the Linea but that is a very good thing. But I think it has lost a few features like My car etc.
Space and support on the front seats are really good and nothing to complain about.
The rear seats are great, just like i20's, if not better, legroom is very fine for a hatchback of this size.
The boot space is huge, has to be 300+ liters.
Interior quality and features make this a pleasant place to be in.

PUNTO FIRE FIRE!!!!!!

Ok, this is not as good as expected.
The acceleration is horrible, very very sluggish, and it needs revs to wake up.
But performance is very good.
Steering and handling are pin-sharp, superb.
The ride and refinement are great, really good.
It really needs some tuning boxes and chips to perform.
But still there is this sporty feeling to it, which is nice.
The car reaches hundred in like 14.5 secs, so it ain't really great for a 90 ps hatchback.
Road presence is superb, many people were staring at me and my father while driving.

PUNTO JTD

Wow!
Multijet saves the day!
Performance like the Swift.
Refinement could be better.
Ride very soft and nice.
The steering, as usual is pin-sharp and handling is superb.
The engine has a li'l turbo lag at 1900 rpm but it really isn't a problem.
The diesel is slow, but for a diesel it's okay.


Pick of the lot- 1.3L JTD.

Overall rating- 9/10
Superb hatchback, especially in Diesel.

This review says diesel is better. Now i'm confused

you dint mention how the 1.4petrol performs?

napster wrote:you dint mention how the 1.4petrol performs?

i see that he has mentioned 1.4 petrol and 1.3 diesel.
nice review sparsh. i wasnt expecting 1.4 to be sluggish.

here is the price bifarcation for goa punto 1.2 l petrol
ex showroom price : 401653/-
insurance : 14561/-
road tax : 22092/-
extended warranty : 5000/-
total on road price : 4,43306/-
Cheers the car is within my budget :drive2:

the diesel is the pick of the lot, which is really easy to drive in the city and you don't really feel slow.
Fire is fun but the acceleration is sluggish, just like Linea,It lacks the outright Punch of a petrol,

can you share the prices quoted for all engines, which would be really useful, as mahesh shared, 1.2 petrol is around 4.5/- on road for Goa which i suppose is very attractive price, what i want to look is the price for 1.3MLTJ

I am absolutely sure that Swift will anyday be a better performer than that of the Punto. But Sparsh's review suggests that the diesel isn't as bad as mentioned above.

dcargod wrote:I am absolutely sure that Swift will anyday be a better performer than that of the Punto. But Sparsh's review suggests that the diesel isn't as bad as mentioned above.

Even the review by abhijit said the diesel is the better performer of the two(as said by tester).

IMO, the GP Multijet will take around 15.5 seconds to hit 0-100 and in-gear timings should be around 13 from 20-80 in 3rd gear and nearly 16 seconds from 40-100 in 4th gear. Such performance can't be called bad though.

Fist should have provided with 90PS VGT. Hope they do this in the future at least.

IMO, all hatchbacks getting this engine should get the 90bhp VGT version and the sedans should get the 1.6lt Multijet version.

:agree: That's right. Both Linea and GP needs powerful engines. And in the case of Linea, a bigger engine is must, Hope Fiat bring the 1.6l soon.

Crazy cat wrote::agree: That's right. Both Linea and GP needs powerful engines. And in the case of Linea, a bigger engine is must, Hope Fiat bring the 1.6l soon.

Fiat does have plans to bring the 1.6lt Multijet engine for the Linea by the beginning of next year, according to the news in the ACI magazine.

Fiat's Grande Punto Driven
Fiat's Grande Punto hatch has been waiting in the wings for its chance to grab the spot light. Its got a tough job to do in the increasingly competitive B+ segment. We took a quick look to see if the Grande Punto will blaze a trail in India, just as it did in Europe in 2005.

AT FIRST SIGHT
When we got sight of the Grande Punto, well, we just couldn’t take our eyes off it. The Punto is just plain stunning. The long nose wouldn’t be out of place on a Maserati and the compact rear with those angled, high-mounted lights gives the Fiat hatch a sporty look. And if you think the photographs look good, just wait till you see it in the flesh.

THE INSIDE STORY
The Punto’s interiors aren’t as spacious as you’d expect them to be, especially for a four-metre-long car. While the long nose and distinct two-box silhouette really do look, it does take up a lot of usable space.
The front seats are large, there is plenty of headroom too, and seat travel is good.
Get into the back seat, especially behind a six-foot-tall driver, and legroom is in short supply. One could think the Grande Punto’s wheelbase, which is considerably shorter than the Linea’s (both Fiats share the same platform) is to blame.
The steering wheel is great to hold and even the gear lever has a sporty feel. However, when you take a closer look, the quality of certain plastics is quite disappointing. The Grande Punto is short on storage space as well. It has shallow cupholders and small door pockets. The car, however, does have a largish boot that measures 280 litres, plenty of space for a car in this class. The boot itself though is narrow, due to the intrusion of the suspension towers and the high loading lip may be a bit of a challenge. You do get split seats for added flexibility.

BEHIND THE WHEEL
The Grande Punto certainly impresses. Nothing seems to faze it at all. And the key to its terrific poise, especially over rough roads, are the large 195/60 R15 tyres, coupled with the stiff chassis and absorbent suspension with a perfect spring and damper set up. The Punto’s suspension has been raised a bit, which means there is a little body roll, but that doesn’t detract much from the driving experience. The superbly weighted and accurate hydraulic steering (the best on any hatch) gives you an almost rally-car-like feel. What’s also special is the flat and consistent manner in which the suspension works. There’s none of the nose-heaviness or heaving that plagues most front-wheel-drive hatchbacks. And, at highway speeds, nothing comes close to the Punto.

POWER STRUGGLE
Fiat has chosen to launch the Grande Punto with a string of three motors. There will be two petrols — a 1.2 and a 1.4 — and the famous 1.3 Multijet diesel.
First, the Multi-jet. In traffic and on part-throttle, the diesel Punto with its relatively short gearing and light clutch is quite a breeze to drive.
However, the instant you want to make urgent progress, the diesel Grande Punto lacks sparkle. The initial turbo-lag, a characteristic of this engine we now so well know, is very much there but even after the turbo starts spinning the strong tug or spike in the powerband is missing.
The 1.4 petrol, identical to the Linea’s, is more enthusiastic and smoother-running. This twin-cam 16-valve motor makes 89bhp, decent for its 1368cc capacity but lacks outright punch and low speed torque. And what torque it has comes in late, only at 4500rpm. But again, like the diesel, this car is decent for normal city driving and it’s quite responsive on a part-throttle.

A SIP OR TWO
Fiat has understood the importance of fuel economy the hard way after the first Palios, and the latest Fiats have all proved to be pretty frugal; the Grande Puntos are no exception. The diesel Punto gives a terrific 13.7kpl in the city and 17.5kpl on the highway. The 1.4 returned 10.2kpl in the city and 14.6kpl on the highway, really good for such a heavy car. Again, these are just preliminary figures and once the engines run-in, the efficiency should improve further.
SUM UP

The Grande Punto is the car that saved Fiat’s hide. It took the European car market by storm as soon as it was launched in 2005 and gave Fiat a platform from which to launch its recovery. It looks superb, is solidly built and comes with class-topping ride and handling. Performance, fuel efficiency and refinement are not the class best and even the interiors left us disappointed. The Grande Punto makes up with the value it offers. With the base 1.4 version starting at around Rs 5 lakh (we haven’t driven the even cheaper 1.2) and the fully-loaded diesel not exceeding Rs 6 lakh, it may not be the cheapest hatch around it is a lot of car per car and pretty good value for money.

GRANDE PUNTO SPECIFICATIONS

Engine
Fuel option Petrol Diesel
No. of cylinders 4 4
Engine cc 1368 1248
Max power 89 bhp @ 6000rpm 75 bhp @ 4000rpm
Max torque 11.7 kgm @ 4500rpm 20.08 kgm @ 2000rpm

Transmission 5 speed manual

Performance
KPH Time (sec) Time (sec)
0-20Km 1.23 1.41
0-40 3.52 3.75
0-60 6.28 6.79
0-80 10.51 11.16
0-100 16.58 17.84
0-120
26.14 27.29

in gear acceleration
20-80 3rd
14.11 12.57
40-100 4th 19.53 15.22

Dimensions in mm
Overall length 3985mm
Overall width 1687mm
Overall height 1495mm


Sourcs: www.autocarindia.com

Performance is very bad. Fiat should be ashamed of this and learn something from newbie Maruti. GP badly needs 1.3l mjd with VGT from Linea.

hmm..performance leaves things to be desired. wasnt expected from a 1.4
@CC maruti is no newbie. they have the japanese with them.

I'm talking about the dissapointing performance of 1.3 mjd in Punto. The same 1.3 in Swift performs performs better, even for Suzuki this is the first engine.

Crazy cat wrote:I'm talking about the dissapointing performance of 1.3 mjd in Punto. The same 1.3 in Swift performs performs better, even for Suzuki this is the first engine.

Absolutely true. Suzuki has done wonders with one shot, but Fiat can't do with multiple shots. Shame on them.

Please continue further discussions on Grande Punto on its Test Drive thread.
http://www.theautomotiveindiaforums.com/car-and-bike-reviews-f9/fiat-grande-punto-test-driven-t1002.htm#15947


Thread Closed.