My Two Beauties: Hyundai Verna and Fiat Linea


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Hello enthusiast,

I have seen reviews of various cars on TAI before buying my Verna in 2011, specially Akash's official review and nick's ownership review of Fluidic Verna.
also TAI was at my help while considering Linea in 2013.

I would like to compare these two beauties, seems comparing actresses Deepika and Katrina [:)]

Both cars have diesel engines
Verna - 1.6 CRDI SX 128 HP
Linea - 1.3 Multijet Emotion 93 HP

Buying Experience - Verna now at 28000 km

in 2011 i was in search for a diesel sedan around 10 lakhs, ABS and airbags as must features. at that time Linea was the most good looking sedan with those Italian looks, even if there was news / rumers / experiences about the bad aftersales in the JV with Tata motors, i was willing to own a Linea. taken test drive of it liked it and want to book the car was ready with cheque book at showroom,but at that time fiat was not giving 5th alloy wheel, i wanted it desperately and i had asked for one in and as discount, my simple thinking was i am buying a 10 lakhs car and company should provide 5th alloy.
deal was broken as Fiat sales have not accepted my demand of 5th alloy wheel.

then maruti have launched SX4 diesel, with the same engine and at same price 10 lakhs on road and they were providing 5th alloy :)

took the test drive of SX4 diesel and took some time to decide on booking, one day called SA that i am coming with cheque book for booking SX4 ZDI, here comes a twist in the tale - SA told me that maruti have stoped bookings of all other diesel cars for new swift launch, he was not able to answer when they will open bookings for SX4 diesel, i was very disappointed.

on the same day i was at one of my friends place for some personal work and told him the tragedy of SX4 booking. he told me that just last week hyundai have launched fluidic verna, i was thinking that this car will be more expensive than my budget but he insisted me to visit hyundai showroom nearby his home, we went to the showroom and was very impressed with the looks and interiors of the car, and doubled the impression by seeing the engine specifications and claimed mileage 23.5 mkpl, thought this will be very expensive than Linea and SX4, then came the pricelist, Verna was just 70K more in price along with so many features more.test drive vehicle was not avaialble at that showroom, so went to another showroom, took test drive and booked verna with 50K as booking amount waiting period told at the time of booking was 6 months.

when I went to the dealership after 5.5 months, it was all shocking they did not know about when the car will be delivered.
there were many arguments between me and dealership, many complaints to Hyundai, then finally got my Verna after 7 Months.
I have booked Silver color and i end up with White due to all this fiasco of Queue managment by Hyundai.
do not want to go into the details for this... those were very painfull days.

Finally got delivery on 24 Feb 2012.

Buying Experience - Linea now at 5000 km

with in 1.5 years we were in search for the Car/SUV having follwoing criteria.

It should be a diesel engined car

Good ground clearence
Good fuel economy
Good build quality compare to Verna(delicate car) as it would be going to be used very ruff and tuff.
ABS and Airbags are must.

my father wanted to have a occesional 7-8 seater SUV/MPV
we have even conisdered Maruti Ertiga, I have test driven it 2 times does not like it in any aspect, no offence to owners.
our use was going to be 1 or 2/3 persons in it at 90 % of the time so I convinced my father and brother

that we will go for 5 seater SUV or a sedan fulfilling above all criteria.
we have shortlisted below two cars according to our needs. both are fully loaded with bells and whistles.

Ford Ecosport (Titanium)

pros -
200 mm ground clearence
around 20 kmpl fuel economy
half SUV and half car
build quality is good, compared to hyundai and honda cars.
cons -
4 seater only
1 year waiting period
10.5 lakhs on road price for titanium may cross 11 lakhs in 1 year.
half boot space than Linea

Linea (Emotion)

pros -
185 mm ground clearence
around 20 kmpl fuel economy
best build quality
interiors are improved as compared to 2011
fiat has moved away from Tata and they have 2 dealers and service centres in pune
national diesel engine- so no worries on this front
1 lakh discount on Linea so on road price is 9.8 lakhs
500 L boot space

cons-
hope of a good after sales service

Finally my brother decided on these two by taking test drives, his take was-
Ecosport - 11 lakhs, after 1 year, does not look like a 10 lakhs + car
Linea - 9.8 lakhs, now, Linea looks like status car.

however i have to use my negotiation skills to the fullest to take 1 lakh discount without any exchange car from Fiat.
I have booked Linea and took delivery on 10 August 2013.

Comparison between the beauties

Looks -
I like both the cars they are stunning in looks department, I like Linea a bit more than Verna, may be due to curves of Linea.
my wife likes Verna more than Linea.

Build Quality -
here Linea is the winner, heads down. it takes almost double power push to close a door of Linea than Verna.

Ride and Handling -
Linea is more comfortable on broken roads thanks to the great suspension
Verna is having soft suspension feels bouncy when compared to Linea.

I am not the expert in these areas as many official reviewer's have thrown light on handling of both the cars.
Steering of Verna feels super light when compared to Linea who's steering feels bit heavy as compared to Verna.

Head lights –
Both high and low beams of Linea are more powerful and give better visibility on highways than Verna.

Seats & Belts –
Both have similar seating comfort at front and rear, material of seat belt for verna is harder and linea is softer , no marks on body specially on shoulders if I drive Linea for long drives

Engine –
Verna does not need accelerator for normal driving car simply moves forward at 40 kmph in 4th gear and 30 kmph in 3rd gear, not a case in Linea accelerator needed at every point other than deceleration.

There is need to shift to 2nd gear if speed comes around or below 20 kmph in 3rd gear, Linea pulls from 15 kmph in 3rd gear without engine knocking.
Plenty of power available in verna without touching accelerator, car leaps forward on release of clutch, In Linea power is available only with the help of accelerator. I will stop here as It will not fare to compare 1.6 with 1.3

Steering -
Verna's steering is super light, i liked the mounted controls very much.
Linea's steering is one of the best, i did not like the mounted controls on it, some times need to press twice.

Dashboard -
Verna's dashboard is one of the best feels more premium.
Linea - music player should be upgraded by Fiat to feel more premium according to competition.

Keys -
Verna's keys seems to be made of very delicate material, I have replaced both under warranty due to poor material quality.
Linea's key seems to be build to last long material is of good strength and quality.

few pics of both cars, second pic was taken when my Verna completed 20K kms.

2013-03-24 09.12.32.jpg

2013-03-30 15.44.39.jpg

2013-08-13 18.47.54.jpg

2013-08-13 18.47.13.jpg

2013-08-14 09.32.03.jpg

100_9695.jpg

2012-02-25 12.22.34.jpg

2012-02-25 12.27.40.jpg

100_2201.jpg

100_2199.jpg
 
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@ Dadasaheb, very nice piece of machines you own.

Curious to know how much do you have to pay in Pune/MH to get those special numbers?
 
Thread Starter #8
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Is there any specific calculation for that ?
When my Verna was registered at that time for this number 7K were charges, but this number was already registered from car's series at RTO, this number is taken from bus's series at 3 times the price of number according to RTO rule.

For Linea :
there was charges of 7500 , and as there were multiple applications made to RTO for the same number so there was closed bidding through Demand Draft and I have putted bid amount as 16500 for DD (considering that if i have to take number from different series then have to pay 3 times, so why not here for bidding [:)] ) luckily got the number from bidding.
 
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Great comprehensive comparison and writeup of two totally different cars in the same segment! I am interested to know which one is your favourite from the two. [;)]

Cheers,
Carfreak97
 
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Wow. Those are really two beauties actually three [Your gorgeous daughter][:)]
The only reason why I did not go with Linea was their after sales service and now they have even launched a lower model, otherwise I would have loved to own this beauty with all that auto lights/wipers and all.:lol!: No regrets with verna either except ofcourse that paint quality.[frustration]
Same question as carfreak97, which car do you prefer to drive more now?


Regards
Midnkight
 
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@Dadasaheb,

Why you chose to buy two diesel sedans ? Usually people go for different class of cars when they have more than one.
 
Thread Starter #12
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@Dadasaheb,

Why you chose to buy two diesel sedans ? Usually people go for different class of cars when they have more than one.
actually I was searching for diesel hatchback, I have test driven Punto before Linea.
was willing to go for it, then as you know onion prices this year, onion farmer went for sedan instead of hatchback as he has more cash at his disposal [;)]
you know the criteria for second car from Linea buying experience.

Great comprehensive comparison and writeup of two totally different cars in the same segment! I am interested to know which one is your favourite from the two. [;)]
When I am driving Linea, missing Verna's engine and while driving Verna missing handling and ride quality of Linea, consumer has never ending expectations [:)]

Wow. Those are really two beauties actually three [Your gorgeous daughter][:)]
The only reason why I did not go with Linea was their after sales service and now they have even launched a lower model, otherwise I would have loved to own this beauty with all that auto lights/wipers and all.:lol!: No regrets with verna either except ofcourse that paint quality.[frustration]
Same question as carfreak97, which car do you prefer to drive more now?
replaced right front door of verna a year back and have to wait for it for 15 days.
so i think we should give Fiat a fair treatment as they are also willing to improve their after sales, there were few issues reported in First service of Linea and those were addressed to my satisfaction.

my expectations - Linea with a Verna's engine
Verna - with Linea's build, ride and handling
 
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Congrats on owning one of the most beautiful(verna) and best handling(Linea) car in its class[clap]. Any mods you are planning?. You can give a try for pete's tune for linea if you really miss those extra horses[roll]. Care to share why you opted for diesel for both cars alternatively you could have gone for Linea T-jet , then you would have never complained about the power[glasses]
 
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Hi Dadasaheb,

Two lovely sedans in your garage and both have very-different behaviour on-road.

What is your personal preference out of the two, when you want to take one of them for a long drive?

I think you will select Linea, still would like to hear from you!!
 
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Comparison between the beauties

Looks -

I like both the cars they are stunning in looks department, I like Linea a bit more than Verna, may be due to curves of Linea.
my wife likes Verna more than Linea.
It's actually a tie. But we all know whose opinion matters. Verna wins a point.
Linea 0 - Verna 1

Build Quality -

here Linea is the winner, heads down. it takes almost double power push to close a door of Linea than Verna.
Clear winner - Linea.
Linea 1 - Verna 1

Ride and Handling -

Linea is more comfortable on broken roads thanks to the great suspension
Verna is having soft suspension feels bouncy when compared to Linea.
Again Linea.
Linea 2 - Verna 1

Head lights –

Both high and low beams of Linea are more powerful and give better visibility on highways than Verna.
Once again Linea.
Linea 3 - Verna 1


Seats & Belts –

Both have similar seating comfort at front and rear, material of seat belt for verna is harder and linea is softer , no marks on body specially on shoulders if I drive Linea for long drives
Again and again Linea.
Linea 4 - Verna 1

Engine –

Verna does not need accelerator for normal driving car simply moves forward at 40 kmph in 4th gear and 30 kmph in 3rd gear, not a case in Linea accelerator needed at every point other than deceleration.
Verna.
Linea 4 - Verna 2

Steering -

Verna's steering is super light, i liked the mounted controls very much.

Linea's steering is one of the best, i did not like the mounted controls on it, some times need to press twice.
Again Verna.
Linea 4 - Verna 3

Dashboard -

Verna's dashboard is one of the best feels more premium.

Linea - music player should be upgraded by Fiat to feel more premium according to competition.
Once again Verna.
Linea 4 - Verna 4

Keys -

Verna's keys seems to be made of very delicate material, I have replaced both under warranty due to poor material quality.

Linea's key seems to be build to last long material is of good strength and quality.
Linea takes the lead.
Final Score: Linea 5 - Verna 4
 

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