Punto Diesel: Real Value for Money Car

 

Exterior The Punto has an extremely streamlined body and is easily the best looking hatchback on Indian roads today. Its sporty looks often makes heads turn.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) The Punto is quite spacious with adequate leg space and enough of boot space to carry luggage for a vacation. The multifunctional digital display gives useful information like: mileage, no. of kilometers the car can still run with the fuel in the tank, total km. etc.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine is very smooth running and sounds very much like a petrol engine normal speeds. It is very fuel efficient also. Though the Punto is a heavy car, it still  manages to give me 16 km per litre in city drive in Delhi. Recently, I took the car to Chandigarh and on the highway it gave me 20 km per litre with the AC on all the time. Pick up is quite good with my old version : 76 bhp engine. With the new 90 bhp engine it must be even better. As it is a heavy car, it may be slightly slower than other hatchbacks but the accelerations is still quite good. As long as you are not interested in using it in the Formula 1 racing it is fine! Gear changing is easy. I have now driven it for more than 25,000 km and its giving great performance.

As far as maintenance is concerned, Fiat has a tie up with Tata and there are plenty of places you can get your car serviced. The old impression that Fiat does not provide good service does not hold true now. In any case, regular servicing is require rarely because it uses synthetic engine oil which requires replacement only after 15,000 km. For me this translates into only one service per year which is very convenient.

Ride Quality & Handling This is perhaps the single most compelling reason why you should by the Punto. The ride quality is best in class. It simply gobbles up the small undulation or small potholes on the road to give a smooth ride. Even at high speeds it is rock steady. During my trip to Chandigarh I often drove at 100 km per hour but the vehicle remained as steady as it is at 40 km per hour. In heavy traffic, it is easy to handle with an extremely soft and responsive clutch and extremely good brakes. A very good car for both city driving as well as driving on the highway.

Final Words The Punto diesel is a great car. My advise is: If you are planning to buy a hatchback, DO NOT  take a final decision until you have taken a test drive on a Punto, specially the diesel model. You will be bowled over when you take the test drive.

Areas of improvement Probably the plastics. However, I am not sure as these may have already been improved in the current models. My car is now more than one and a half years old.

Great Looks, Superb ride quality, Sturdy body, Roomy interiors, Smooth and fuel efficient engineSmall rear glass pane, large turning radius