Buying a Fiat Punto Petrol

[roman]

my cousin is buying his first car.since he is a new driver so he prefers petrol hatches
over the week we test drove honda brio,swift,indica vista,ford figo and punto.

the conclusions are

brio-great performance,great breaking,great handling,but slightly bumpy and the looks seemed to be odd.the car is lacking space and the rear end did not appeal to us.

swift-solid performance,slightly slower than brio in terms of acceleration,looks are ok but the brakes lacked bite and handling was't great we felt it was too common also

vista-performance was compromised,the car seemed very heavy, overall it was roomy and had good boot space but handling wasn't great like brio we ruled out vista.

figo-great handling,average performance,low ground clearance were it's characteristics but we did not like the ford so we ruled figo

punto-we expected the punto to give sluggish performance on seeing the specs of the fiat petrol engine but it was decent enough,refined and linear though not as quick as brio or swift.the handling was superb,the car's braking was spot on ,the car had a plush ride quality compared to swift.it is better equipped than brio or swift ,the dealer was polite and answered our queries with care overall it was a car that felt good when we stepped in to the cabin.

so we have to choose between punto,swift and brio.in terms of overall driving experience and equipment level we prefer punto.

but to our dismay the petrol punto is hardly selling is it having some hidden issues?when i had a discussion about this with my cousin he looked really worried because we had almost fixed the punto.
i request the forum members to help us because we want to know if we have set our eyes on a 'lemon'?

 

[draneeshpm]

Hi Roman,
There is nothing wrong in Punto petrol,but it will be a headache to resell. If he plans to keep it for more than 5 years just go ahead and buy.
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[roman]

Hi Roman,
There is nothing wrong in Punto petrol,but it will be a headache to resell. If he plans to keep it for more than 5 years just go ahead and buy.
Regards,
Aneesh.

he is not really interested in resale value. but most people say that punto petrol is under powered when i drove it the performance was more than adequate it loses steam only in higher gears compared to brio. overall the car seemed to perform very well in city conditions and cannot be called a slug in the highway.

many of my friends pushes us to go for the swift but we liked the punto a bit more for it's handling and awesome accessories given at that price

is the petrol punto really under powered?is the k series engine more reliable than the 1.2 firing the punto

 

[Ajay Sreedhar]

Congrats man !! Good buy. It was a clash between Brio and punto for me too. But the Brio TD of 20 kms just blew me away. Punto is a beauty too. I dont think its really underpowered. There are many petrol engines that lack power more than the punto. But people generally associate punto with diesel

One query. You mentioned brio lacked the rear space. What do you you refer to? the seating or the boot ? In my view (completely my personal view), its got more legroom at the rear seats than the swift too.

Yes it is more bumpy compared to the punto and swift on uneven roads.

 

[roman]

Congrats man !! Good buy. It was a clash between Brio and punto for me too. But the Brio TD of 20 kms just blew me away. Punto is a beauty too. I dont think its really underpowered. There are many petrol engines that lack power more than the punto. But people generally associate punto with diesel

One query. You mentioned brio lacked the rear space. What do you you refer to? the seating or the boot ? In my view (completely my personal view), its got more legroom at the rear seats than the swift too.

Yes it is more bumpy compared to the punto and swift on uneven roads.

in my opinion the brio is the better performer of the two but the brio has a smaller boot but it's cabin is comfy it losses out to the punto when it comes to the handling and overall dynamics(from my short test drive)the punto is more planted on uneven roads and the fiat offers better equipment.

but there is a strong opinion among my friends that swift is better than punto.

clarifications in this regard will be appreciated

 

[bornfree]

in my opinion the brio is the better performer of the two but the brio has a smaller boot but it's cabin is comfy it losses out to the punto when it comes to the handling and overall dynamics(from my short test drive)the punto is more planted on uneven roads and the fiat offers better equipment.

but there is a strong opinion among my friends that swift is better than punto.

clarifications in this regard will be appreciated

I had a Petrol Punto from 2009 to 2011. It was the base Active variant. I drove it close to 30k kms in less than two years. I took it on the highways quite often and did long distances on it as that time my girlfriend was studying in Pune and I was in Chennai so I used to do this trip very often.

I never felt the Punto to be underpowered and even the car is rock stable even at speeds of 140. The speed masking is very good and the ride is excellent.The car is built like a tank.

The only cons were for me the petrol costs were becoming too much covering huge distances quite often.The FE in city would have probably been 9 to 10.5.The ASS was a bit of a pain as it was then with TATA.But now with FIAT having opened their own showrooms and workshops service levels should improve.

I loved the ride and given a chance would surely buy the new vehicles from Fiat when launched in the coming years.

If you like Punto then go in for it.

There are good discounts going in Punto and Punto Petrol and Diesel have close to 85 K discounts available.

All the best in choosing your new ride.

Just a thought - Did you consider the Grand Petrol?

 

[draneeshpm]

but there is a strong opinion among my friends that swift is better than punto.
clarifications in this regard will be appreciated

Hi Roman,
Friends will have many suggestions,but buy a car which suits oneself.Punto is not a bad car by any means.Swift has got excellent driveability and butter smooth gear shifts,where as Punto's gearshift is notchy with relatively long clutch travel.If your cousin is looking for a city drive,the two negatives I pointed out may be an irritant.
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[roman]

Hi Roman,
Friends will have many suggestions,but buy a car which suits oneself.Punto is not a bad car by any means.Swift has got excellent driveability and butter smooth gear shifts,where as Punto's gearshift is notchy with relatively long clutch travel.If your cousin is looking for a city drive,the two negatives I pointed out may be an irritant.
Regards,
Aneesh.

the punto's gear are not as slick as the swift but in my opinion it's not really difficult to slot the gears,the clutch had a longer ply but it will be not be an issue once we drive the car for an hour or so.

the main advantage of the punto was it's superb dynamics and superior ride quality and the feel good factor of the car.

i am interested in knowing the fuel efficiency of the car in city conditions.

 

[Ajay Sreedhar]

in my opinion the brio is the better performer of the two but the brio has a smaller boot but it's cabin is comfy it losses out to the punto when it comes to the handling and overall dynamics(from my short test drive)the punto is more planted on uneven roads and the fiat offers better equipment.

but there is a strong opinion among my friends that swift is better than punto.

clarifications in this regard will be appreciated

Yes boot is drawback for people who want it. Since its your concern no point in going for it.
I personally felt punto to be better than the swift

 

[draneeshpm]

i am interested in knowing the fuel efficiency of the car in city conditions.

Hi Roman,
Punto returns around 12 in City,while Swift gives +1 or 2 in city,not much of a difference.The Punto is dynamically brilliant,but the ergonomics are a mess,I had a tough time finding an ideal seating position.I felt the steering to be a tad closer than I would like.
Regards,
Aneesh.

 

[Raj Krishna]

Pretty succinct analysis Roman. I agree Vista is a heavy car. But heavy cars have a better stability and have a better braking ability. It is much more spacious than all the others in its category. Vista has a turbo charged engine which gives you performance as good as a petrol driven car. I think the maintenance is pretty economical, one because of TASS and second, no mechanic will ever be afraid to lay his hands on it. Comparing with other vehicles in its category it has a strong body which provides better safety to the passengers.

 

[roman]

Pretty succinct analysis Roman. I agree Vista is a heavy car. But heavy cars have a better stability and have a better braking ability. It is much more spacious than all the others in its category. Vista has a turbo charged engine which gives you performance as good as a petrol driven car. I think the maintenance is pretty economical, one because of TASS and second, no mechanic will ever be afraid to lay his hands on it. Comparing with other vehicles in its category it has a strong body which provides better safety to the passengers.

since his daily running is low ,diesel is not an appealing avenue.we limited our choices to petrol.i personally like tata's diesels for their ruggedness and frugal nature. i am using my second safari,but for the new generation the panel gaps,heavy kerb weight,massive body roll e.t.c are intolerable issues.

weight always reduces the braking ability of cars.the lighter they are the sooner they stop.vista has reasonable braking but it's weight is not contributing to it's braking ability

 

[JohnyBoy]

roman, ask your cousin to go for Punto. I am suggesting Punto not because it is the best car in the class. There is no ideal or perfect car. Each has it's own plus and minus.

I am saying 'go for punto' because you liked it more than the other cars you considered. Buying a car, especially the first one is like selecting a girl to get married to or choosing a dish in an expensive restaurant. You want the best, but none looks perfect, you like some qualities of multiple items, but you can choose only one. And after all this tedious process, you may end up liking what your friend selected more than your choice :)

There is no perfect thing. So go with your feeling. Punto.