Became Punto Emotion-ed on 27th Jun 2012!

[carfreak]

Nice initial review mate. Pics are less but both are really good. We want more pics. While driving I was thinking and was comparing other hatchbacks with PUNTO. Found that leaving apart A$$ Punto is total VFM car that provides you everything. While other cars always lack something or other.

Very true Dharmesh, Total VFM car! Planning a long drive in couple of weeks time. Surely will post more pics after that

Look's like you are sticking with your sunfilm, Have you faced any problems in Bangalore with sunfilm's on? i seriously haven't found a single cop who is interested in this law.

visran, Nope! My car doesnt have the sunfilm. The second pic is posterized effect; hence appearing so Yeah, Blore cops havent been very strict till date. But yesterday, near my office (UB City) saw a cop stopping a Santro which had real dark films. Dont know whether he was fined or not

Congratulations for the beauty...

Many thanks Mukesh ji! Nice to hear from you!

Congrats buddy.. welcome to the club. Even I own Punto Emotion 2012, and I'v done 3k kms.
Even I have encountered the sound you have mentioned from the passenger side door, gave it to service station and they gave it back without fixing it.

Anyways, what FE figures are you getting?

Thanks anand_p_r. Well in my case it was an issue with door lock alignment. I was getting metal screech noise (like when two metals are rubbed against each other) Initially thought it was a rattle from door pads but everything was fine. Then the body shop manager asked me to drive the car with left front door open. He was holding by his hand and the noise disappeared! So in the end it was a 2 mins door lock alignment adjustment job for which I made the body shop people remove door pads and check all possible loose nuts / bolts But Aadya people were really patient in resolving my issue.

Ooops! Missed out a para in my review where I had wirtten about mileage. Please see below for the same -

Review Cont..

Saga with my Red hotty so far: Have driven 1000 + kms in under a month. Driving this beauty has been really a wonderful experience till date. Yes, the car does have the initial turbo lag but after that it’s a monster. Keep the engine spinning in the turbo zone and you always have ample power with just tap of the pedal. The car is just a breeze to drive on highways. Brakes inspire tremendous confidence for the driver. Being a new car, haven’t pushed her too much till now. So cant comment much about high speed cornering ability etc neither can I comment on mileage at this point of time with just 1000 + kms on the odo!

However for statistics sake, here are the figures (Note: all figures are with 100% AC) – Short highway trip of about 70-80 kms: @ 18 kmpl with 5 people on board & luggage, Normal city traffic - @ 14 kmpl, Bumber to bumber city traffic and short distance drives (5-6 kms) - @ 12.5 to 13 kmpl

One more Dislike which I missed out earlier:

Stock speaker provided by Fiat is not great! I feel Ford offers best in class stock speakers!

But Blue&Me feature with voice recognition commands is awesome! It picks the accent very fast and hardly have faced an issue while using Voice command feature till date

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

Congrats bro for such a lovely ride, sorry for late wishes. It looks really awesome. It is shining more than mine don't know, why?

 

[visran]

However for statistics sake, here are the figures (Note: all figures are with 100% AC) – Short highway trip of about 70-80 kms: @ 18 kmpl with 5 people on board & luggage, Normal city traffic - @ 14 kmpl, Bumber to bumber city traffic and short distance drives (5-6 kms) - @ 12.5 to 13 kmpl

That is some serious mileage figure you are getting which will go up even further once the engine settles down, any plans of upgrading the stock speakers?

 

[carfreak]

Congrats bro for such a lovely ride, sorry for late wishes. It looks really awesome. It is shining more than mine don't know, why?

Thanks Vivek! Well, mine is just a month + few days old car. Hence might be the shine. Should observe the lusture after a year or so. Later on probably might go for 3M Paint protection / restoration [Did the same for my Alto also]. As of now giving my hotty weekly two washes with Sonax Shampoo. Thats it!

That is some serious mileage figure you are getting which will go up even further once the engine settles down, any plans of upgrading the stock speakers?

Hope so buddy that mileage improves after few thousands kms on Odo. Yeah, upgrading stock speakers is definitely on at the back of mind. Have not given it a serious thought still. Probably few months down the line.

 

[visran]

Any other mod's planned?

 

[carfreak]

No buddy! Nothing planned as of now. Seat covers, Linea arm rest and aftermarket speakers are on cards. Thats it. Otherwise happy with the stuff that has been loaded as factory fitment.

 

[VivekRj.Dieselhead]

Then go for armrest first, as it is cheapest, easy to install(take 30 min max as diy) and coumfy as well. You'll get addicted.

 

[carfreak]

Hi friends, time for an update – In recent long drive, my Red hotty completed 3000 kms. So far it has been pure pleasure driving this Italian beauty and after sales experience with Aadya motors also has been excellent till date. Never, they have let me down in terms of resolving any issues / queries (how ever minute they might be).

Would like to share an incident to remember at Aadya: Before my recent long drive, even though it’s a new car felt like checking the fluid levels to double confirm as I was driving with my family and that too during night. By the time I reached Aadya, it was almost closing hours for the day. Approached the Service representative and told her my requirement. Initially, she was like – “Sir, workshop is already shut and most of the workers are busy finishing their allotted cars. Also we need to get your car to the service area to check which is time consuming” I was little disappointed and decided to walk back. But to my surprise, she asked me to hold on for a second and made couple of phone calls. In under 5 mins, she arranged a service mechanic who came with me to my car as it was parked at a distance from the showroom. The guy was really helpful and did a thorough check up of fluids and did not brush away saying it was a new car. Then drove off with peace of mind and a smile on my face!

Keep the good work going guys and really looking forward towards 'to be opened' FIAT exclusive showroom and service by Aadya Motors

 

[dharmesh]

Nice instant FE you are getting at that speed. I hope you were keeping you attention more on road than on MID while driving at that speed. :-)

 

[carfreak]

Hi Dharmesh, since my car is run just @ 3k, for the time being not worried much about the mileage as FIAT engine opens up little late. But yes, for a new car, I shall settle for this mileage.

Haa haa, yes my attention was absolutely on the road and it was my wife who clicked the pic

 

[carfreak]

Hi guys, A feel good incident to share:

Today morning had a very good experience with a Figo guy. I was returning from Davangere to Bangalore via NH 4 (Davangere to Blore is @ 275 kms). Mid way through caught up with a Goa registered Figo and we almost drove (note: not race) wheel to wheel for @ 100 kms distance together. Couple of times he let me go and on other occassions I let him. It was total fun! Then finally we ended up stopping for a coffee break at the same restaurant (Kamat Upachar, btw Tumkur & Blore). Both of us exchanged pleasantries and admired each other's rides. He was driving from Goa to Bangalore. In the days of road rage, this was one of rare good highway experience that too with a stranger.

If people can set aside their ego and enjoy their drive, roads will be so much more fun and safer place to be!

 

[jayadev]

Hi guys, A feel good incident to share:

Today morning had a very good experience with a Figo guy. I was returning from Davangere to Bangalore via NH 4 (Davangere to Blore is @ 275 kms). Mid way through caught up with a Goa registered Figo and we almost drove (note: not race) wheel to wheel for @ 100 kms distance together. Couple of times he let me go and on other occassions I let him. It was total fun! Then finally we ended up stopping for a coffee break at the same restaurant (Kamat Upachar, btw Tumkur & Blore). Both of us exchanged pleasantries and admired each other's rides. He was driving from Goa to Bangalore. In the days of road rage, this was one of rare good highway experience that too with a stranger.

If people can set aside their ego and enjoy their drive, roads will be so much more fun and safer place to be!

This happen always with Petrol heads.

I had similar incident , we stopped at a railway crossing, shared some owrds then I realized he is a member of the forum were we did a lot of discussions before.

 

[carfreak]

@ jayadev, Shoot! Forgot to ask him whether he is a member of TAI. If not, would have asked him to join immediately

 

[carfreak]

Punto on travel: Blore - Ooty - Coimbatore - Blore

Friends, it has been a fantastic experience with my Italian beauty till date. Completed 4500 kms in @ 3 months and have enjoyed every km driven! Here is a teaser pic of a memorable drive with my beauty. Travelogue and more pics to follow

 

[carfreak]

Time to celebrate 5k mark!

So guys, few weeks back achieved the first milestone with my Red hotty - completed 5k mark without realizing how the time flew with Punto! So, it was time to give my hotty first service. Booked appointment with KHT Motors. Mr. Suresh (GM-Service) from service got in touch with me and was really helpfull through out. I had requested for the first available slot and insisted that I will wait till the service is through because getting back to my place from KHT doesnt make sense due to distance.

I was at KHT on the appointment time (9am) and as promissed, my car was attended to promptly and Ms. Suresh himself supervised the whole service. Being the first service, there were no specific problems to attend but I asked them to get the wheel balancing done along with alignment. Hence overall bill came to @ 700 INR. The service was quick but some time was lost out in wheel alignment and washing due to heavy saturday rush! But waiting room was neat and comfortable. The best part of it was I could see my beauty while the service technicians attended it.

I wanted to fix Absolute Edition mud flaps and door sills. But the accessories werent available. Was told that it would be in stock in couple of weeks time.

My car was finally ready by @ 12.30-1 pm. Thanks to KHT team for a nice experience overall.