My 27 year old Premier Padmini.

[*Arkin_Young*]

1983. That was the year when my PP came into existence. A gray Deluxe BE with a magnificent black plastic grille and shiny wheel covers, w/o floor shift. It initially belonged to a then Minister, known to my grandad. A few years down the lane, the gentleman passes away, and the car is sold to someone, who in turn sells the car to my grandfather in 1989, for a 'princely' sum of Rs 60,000, with 35000 km on board, in not too bad a condition. It has served my grandfather and our family, ever since, giving us slightly less trouble than any other "Fiat".



Here is what my grandad and yours' truly feel about the PP.
Looks: What can one say about the Fiat 1100, the Italian beauty!
Performance: It has had enough grunt to let us negotiate through small towns, go upto 90-100 (my grampa claims 110, but he says he has not dared go above 90) on highways. At times, it sounds like it lacks power. It is just a 1061cc engine.

FE: 15 KMPL after getting a Maruti carb (). The car also has an RTO approved LPG kit.

Brakes: Until the Brake Cyl. kit was repaired, the brakes were just about satisfactory. Not really responsive, but they did the trick.
Handling & Stability: Cyrus should comment here. The last time I was in the car when it crossed 50-60kmh was very long ago.
Interiors: 2 rows of Bench seats. The front seat, better the less talked about, the rear seat, comfy enough. It has carried 5 people + a kid (when I was one) on many occasions.



Reliability & AfSS:
Anyway, better than an old amby in terms of reliability, most parts easy to source, some very tough to. Serviced at a garage trusted by grandad.

@Raj5004 & Ilango[Speedthirst]:
What do you think of my ICE?


The PP was recently given "away" to a relative from my gandpa's uncle's village. I will get to see the car as and when I want, and will take the car back, after a few years, and restore, with inputs from Cyrus.
I guess I'm posting this really late. Anyway, my Maruti 800's and Indigo's reports are pending too.

 

[raj_5004]

Nice review buddy, good to see a PP.

@Raj5004 & Ilango[Speedthirst]:
What do you think of my ICE?

simply the best.

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Oh, and I forgot. My uncle, now abroad loved the car too.
Any other Fiat 1100 owners here too?

 

[mukeshus]

Nice review Arkin.
Good to see this car in working condition.
Hardly i can see a few car in Bangalore.

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Yes, old Ambys and PP are disappearing fast in Bangalore. And the car is registered in the erstwhile state of Mysore. MEK

 

[ilango[speed thirst]]

Good pics and report .
i hope it is in running condition , the radiator caps are missing.
my dad's friend owns up a pp still. - he services it once in 3 year. so bad of him.

ICE - i hope that is old gen speakers which are paper made. they accumulate dust but are best when used in home. My lancer had that model speakers in them- paper make. present days one are hard material

We can't say fiat lost its charm , its fading away. stylish compared to the amby - kinda youngster's car in those days!

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Thanks Ilango.

Good pics and report .
i hope it is in running condition , the radiator caps are missing.
my dad's friend owns up a pp still. - he services it once in 3 year. so bad of him.

ICE - i hope that is old gen speakers which are paper made. they accumulate dust but are best when used in home. My lancer had that model speakers in them- paper make. present days one are hard material

Oh really? The speakers in my Premier were fitted in the early 1980s.

 

[Akash]

Hey Arkin, nice report. Even my dad owned this italian beauty. We sold it about 6-7yr ago.

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Oh! I see. Please shed some more light on your PP. Like which year, which model, color and such.

 

[cooldhaya]

Oh great to see a PP owner here. Even we used to have one and that was also not floor shift. We sold it around 15 years ago when i was a small kid and then bought a TATA Sierra.

When was the pictures taken? I see the number plates are still in the old format! Yeah even i noticed the radiator caps are missing.

And BTW are you astonished by the FE of 15kmpl?! I am!!


But anyways the car looks to be in good condition!

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

Max. FE is 15 Kmpl. Nice to a 3rd (ex) owner of the Fiat 1100. here.
Thanks

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

I was wondering, are my rear speakers and HU classics ?

 

[RSM]

Great to see nicely maintained Premier Padmini.

 

[Mehul H K]

Hi friends, its normal that we all have pity view of premier padmini, I have one 96 S1 AC, which I have tired to change the way its been looked.

 

[raj_5004]

WOW, your PP looks amazing mehul. I loved the color combo.