New owner, review after 2 days of driving

 

Exterior This is easily the best-looking car in its class on the road, and that significantly influenced my decision to buy it.  (Well, I like the VW Polo too, but it has too long a waiting time, dealers weren't conveniently located, and I wasn't sure of service.)  The paintwork and finish looks top-notch.  And this morning I was rear-ended by a bus at a traffic signal, and the impact seemed significant but there is only a minor scratch on the bumper.  

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) It is a spacious and comfortable car.  I previously drove the Fiat Uno and that felt just a little roomier and airier: the Punto is luxurious but has a more "padded" feel.  It however feels much roomier than other comparable hatchbacks I've been in.  People complain about the fit-finish of plastics, but at least in the new car, it all looks fine to me.  The display is easy to read and useful (eg, tells you precisely which door is open, etc).  A lot of it is programmable.  Boot space is I think a little less than the Uno, but far more than most current hatchbacks in India.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine feels smooth to ride.  Pickup is excellent, even with the AC on, except in a narrow range when one shifts up to 2nd gear at around 1000 RPM: it seems to take a second or so for the accelerator to "kick in".  I haven't yet driven it outside the city, so the maximum I have touched is about 70 km/h.  It handles very well.  Gear shifts are smooth and my initial impression is that the fuel economy will be around 13-14 in city conditions with partial use of AC -- however, it is too early to say on that.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Excellent.  Handles bumps beautifully, feels very stable at high speeds.

 

Final Words It is a pity that Fiat has not found greater success with this car, which, it seems to me, is much better than most hatchbacks in its price range.   I bought this car because its predecessor, the Uno, was a great car and this seems a worthy successor.  The Uno's failure in India was mostly the fault of Premier Automobiles.  I hope the Fiat-Tata partnership will prove more enduring.

 

Areas of improvement The turning radius is much greater than the Uno's was, despite the power steering which my Uno lacked.  I'm sure this could have been improved.  But I don't know how it compares with other modern hatchbacks.  When driving the Uno, it seemed to me that other drivers took unnecessarily wide turns on the road -- but perhaps that's all that the newer cars are capable of.

 

The styling, the boot space, the comfort of the seats, performance2nd gear pickup sometimes poor, high turning radius