Peted, K&Ned, 1,76,000 Kilometers completed

Hey guys,
finally finished with putting the experience of owning the wonderful machine in words.
uploaded it to tbhp and doing the same here.
hoping that there are no issues due to the cross posting!!
if it doesnt fit, please feel free to remove the post.

Ok guys. So it’s been almost 22000 kilometers and 4 long months since getting the Punto EP 1.3 MJD on the roads. So here it goes.

Fell in love with the car as soon as I saw its pic. But the Swift was as faithful as a dog that gets its four square meals a day and guards you all day long. But then it hit the 2 Lacs mark and it had to be put to rest. Nevertheless, there was a friend who wanted to give it a new home and so it was.

To start with, there was the price factor. The ongoing price in Gujarat when I got my car was around 6.84 Lacs on road inclusive of the free insurance, the road side assistance dramatics, extended warranty and all the other paraphernalia. Then we talked to Ujwal Automobiles, Dhule, and after a lot of talking over the phone, getting a lot of mails across, the final price, after paying entry tax from Maharashtra into Gujarat was agreed at 6,50,806 on road.

Now came the financial part. The Swift was sold at a good price of 3.55 Lacs and even after foreclosure there was a fair amount of vitamin “M” left, which with a judicious application of some more vitamin “M” could be converted into the down payment for the new beauty.

Then came the whopper. I had had intimation from the HDFC guys about 6 months back that I had a pre approved loan of 5.5 Lacs on my salary account and would I be interested in using the same for something worthwhile? I had denied it then, but it had stayed in the back of my mind for quite some time, surfacing now and then, but since the need was never felt, it was never discussed in detail. The Zonal manager of HDFC, South Gujarat happened to be a good and valued friend of my younger brother. We sought his guidance regarding how to go about the loan and get the car home at the earliest. The Swift eventually had to be given off sooner or later and it was not good to hold on and clock miles on it unnecessarily. He asked me to call him up the next day when he was in office and he would let me know how everything felt to him.

The next day, as nervous as a bobcat about to have kittens, I punched his number on the phone and waited blinking , my hands a bit cold and my body buzzing with apprehension as the ring passed onto his phone. When he picked up, he had some good news. He had updated my loan limit to 8.50 Lacs and if I wanted, I could even buy the Linea just for the hell of it. When I asked him to elaborate, he asked me to just send across the quotation of the car, my pan card details, one proof of residence and 4 blank but signed cheques. He would do the needful and revert back in the evening. But evening it was not to be. It had been just about an hour or so after I had sent the documents to him when he called up again to say that I would have to pay a hefty down payment of 806 bucks and the rest of it could be taken as loan on a 5 year tenure with a reducing interest rate of 8.51 percent and an installment of 12,640 per month and also asked me if it was affordable to me. I consulted my dad and he asked me to go ahead with it. The agreement papers were on my table that evening. As I was putting my signature on the documents, my brother transferred 10 grand into the dealer’s account and requested them to hold a Bossa Nova White, Emotion Pack, 1.3 MJD for us and prepare to deliver it to the address being given on the 2nd of February 2010 during the entire day. A request was also made to send across a scanned copy of the advance receipt which was complied with in about 10 minutes of time. The deal was done. Now it was time to wait to be Puntoed. It happened at 10.30 PM on 2nd February 2010.

The loan procedure was started on the 27th of February and with all the paperwork being carried out and phone calls being made and mails being sent, it was cleared on the 30st of January. On the 1st of February, Ujwal Automobiles called up to intimate us that all the formalities were cleared and the money had been transferred directly into their account. As we talked, the car was being released from the stock yard and being taken up for PDI and other formalities. Our joys knew no bounds. We notified them that our driver will be there tomorrow to pick up the car and we would be sending appropriate letters of consent with him along with other relevant papers and requested them to please keep the car ready for pickup after a cursory check from our side.

The morning had been full of anxieties as my friend called me up at 6 AM to inform me that his driver was on the way to Dhule to pick up the prized possession. Even the driver called me up that he had received all the papers and money for conveyance, fuel and everything else. By 10.30, the driver’s phone was unreachable and our anxiousness was mounting. A couple of hours later, the Ujjwal guys called up again to let us know that they had received a call from the driver and he’d be there to pick up the car in an hour or so. Joyful again. The driver called up again after inspecting the vehicle and starting his return journey. We sat at home counting the time passing by and estimating the kilometers he would be covering at given times.

At 10.30 in the night, unable to control myself, I just popped my jeans and sandals and climbed the three storeys down to the parking lot and out to the road just for some fresh air. As I came out on the road, a brand new, un registered Grande Punto, Bossa Nova White came to a halt inches from my knee caps. My hackles rose as I admired the clean lines and the flared arches of the car. The fact of the matter being that I was so full of the Swift that I did not realize that I was looking at my own new car. The realization hit me like Mohammed Ali’s punch thrown from out yonder and the smile that spread across my face could put the stupidest man in the world to shame. The driver handed me the keys, asking me to have a look around and relieve him so that he could go home and have a nice sleep. The morning bus ride had played havoc with his back. Thanking him profusely and putting some money into his hands (I realized later that it was 500 bucks) I let him go. I pulled out my phone and called my family down to be a part of my happiness.

Any good thing has to be started by offering prayers to the God Almighty and seeking the blessings of our elders. My brother pulled out a coconut from his six pockets while mom and my bhabhi carried out the customary rituals on the car. My dad and I stood there looking at the Fiat. Rituals performed, it was time to see how the car rode. But first we had to check if the five of us fit into the car or not. Fortunately, we did. More joy.

Desmodronic key in hand, my dad unlocked the car and got into the driver’s seat. All others took their positions around. The first thing that one notices in the car is that it’s totally different than the Japanese cars that most of us have learnt our driving on. The hardest thing to come to terms was the European style switches on the wrong side of the steering column.

After a pat on our backs, dad and mom retired to our humble abode. The three of us, my brother, my bhabhi and I decided to take a drive to see how it felt. This is where the comparison with the Swift started. While we missed some features of the Swift on the Punto, a lot of things on this one were miles ahead of the Swift.

The seating posture could be adjusted infinitely here as there was also the height adjustment on the driver seat which made life a lot easier for all of us. It also brought into light the other face of our family. With 4 people in the family driving the car now and then half of our days were spent coming to terms with the adjustment of seats. As we got to know the car better and better, this problem started disappearing. With the Swift, it was just push back and drive, which during the tenure of owning the Swift was the easiest thing to do besides driving the car.

The adjustable steering was another feature that could not be overlooked, again with 4 people driving the car on and off. Gradually, since it was my dad and I who were doing most of the driving, and I amongst the two of us who did more than the most, the three of them came to terms with the driving position and except for once in a while when someone else is doing a long stint behind the steering wheel, the positions remain unchanged. The Swift never had this feature so there could be no comparison. But I’ll give the Swift this that all the positions in that car were ergonomic and spot no. No doubt how you enter into the car, you don’t have to fumble for anything. But then when you have driven a car for so long you usually don’t have to fumble for anything.

The steering mounted music controls and other features, plus the on board diagnostic features on the multi function display were in a league of their own. Blue and me was a first and the in dash CD player was decent enough for songs that were meant to be heard at decent volumes. The USB detected pen drives up to 16 GB without any issues. Since the Swift had a good music system with custom components, it was pointless to compare it with this average sounding unit, but I’ll say this. The system that comes with the Dzire sounds better than this one, and it’s a four speaker system compared to this being a six speaker unit.

Storage space was better compared to the Swift or maybe it was because the Punto didn’t have a sub installed and hence that space wasn’t at a premium.

Looks….The Punto could kill a lot of its competition at a hundred paces. The Swift looked good too. But plus one to the Punto.

Leatherette seat covers were on the agenda. Matting and mud flaps were wangled out of the dealer free of cost and fitted at the showroom itself. A decent smelling perfume, a light tinted sun film on the glass area had also been provided by the dealer after a bit of persuasion. A penny saved is a penny earned. The seat covers went in the next day at a local accessory shop of good repute a couple of kilometers away from home. No feedback on the drive part as yet as the car hadn’t been taken out for anything more than 5 kilometers and that too at very low speeds to gauge a response from the engine and the gearbox. The Swift though felt more responsive in city driving than the Punto, or maybe it was the couple of years of driving it that made it easier. Or maybe it was the weight of the Punto that made it sluggish. We’d have to wait and watch. The car went in for registration at the RTO office. It was named GJ 15 AD 98. The insurance was free.

4th February, 8’o clock in the morning when the watchman comes in to get the new car keys to wash. He is awarded with a small box of sweets and 151 rupees. Happy as a cat that’s got all the cream and crooning Nepali songs, he heads down to wash the car. I follow him down, still in my shorts, to rip the plastic covers off the seats and all.

Heading for office has never been so exciting. We get down all dressed and I get into the driving seat and adjust it to my comfort. A little toggling will be done later on to fine tune it but for the time being the position is fixed. The steering comes to its lowest position. The door is shut with a nice confidence inspiring thud which says “You are Safe here”. As I turn the key, the starter neighs and the engine gurgles to life. Idling at a nice 900 RPMs (most of the engines do so nothing new at that); I let it do its stuff and settle down for a minute or so. The A/C, a climatronic unit instantly starts showing that its money well spent. The cabin is comfortable within no time at all.

I depress the clutch and feel its unusually long travel. This is going to take time to get used to and this is also going to cost a happily revving engine some RPMs, I think. But let’s see. Putting the car into first gear, we move on. The first is extremely short and so is the second with a little relief felt in the third. The fourth and the fifth are strictly highway gears with the fifth coming into play adequately only once the car has been revved to over 80 kph. Or maybe it’s my driving style. The weight of the car is apparent as it starts to move forward sluggishly, the absolutely gorgeous 15 inch alloys shod with absolutely crappy Goodyear GT3s making their presence felt. As the car gains speed and we enter the main traffic course to join the highway, the sturdiness and the solid build of the car becomes apparent. Sound damping from external noises is good. But equally pathetic are the car’s own equipment noise levels. The air intake, devoid of a resonator has a typical sound which may be fun to people like us but irritating to most of the dads. It takes getting used to. And so is the noise of the engine until it reaches its operating temperature, when it quitens down a bit but not quite satisfactorily. It also has a booming characteristic at higher speeds which I discovered later as the car notched up kilometers. GJ 15 AD 98 is viewed by people with appreciating and at the same time envious glances. We move on eager to get the car on the highway.

A rough patch comes up abruptly which it does every day. The Swift had its rally based suspension setup which though a bit on the stiffer side lacked the comfort on such patches. The Punto, sitting squat on its soft springs and dampers and taking advantage of its body weight and body roll, merely shrugs its shoulders and keeps on going, the bad patch now a distant rumble prominent because of the poor acoustics of the car. I am impressed and so is dad. This setup is going to be appreciated later on too.

The features of the multi function display and everything else will be discovered as we keep driving the car, read feedbacks and tips from other users and such. The adjustable seat belts were a pleasant surprise and were appreciated. So was the dead pedal. Not appreciated were the door pockets and no decent sized cubby holes around to plonk in stuff for later use.

The road from the city to the highway has some bad patches and it was quite a nice feeling when the car went over them without much aplomb. We joined the highway traffic and as it was a bit on the lower side, decided to put the car through its paces. Careful not to cross the 2500 rpm mark before crossing 5000 kilometers, we did just that. The acceleration is not as awe inspiring as the Swift, where as you spur the accelerator pedal, you are seized by those amazing Newton meters of torque that propel the car forward like it was a cowboy with his pants on fire and the driver backward like he had suddenly hit a giant wall of air. Here the acceleration is more linear and you love to take it to your desired RPMs in every gear you want. Miscalculated or mismatched gear ratios make it a bit tiring to drive in the city and you can’t help but remember the days of yore when you used to putter around in the city with your Swift in the fourth gear. You simply can’t forget that.

The brakes of course are one of the best, with the ABS calibrated to work in perfect tandem with the braking feedback. You tend to brake later than non ABS cars and you tend to brake for shorter durations because of the ABS. It’s quite good when you compare it with the Swift which was a light car compared to the Punto, due to which it was felt to be overpowered and the brakes were not sufficient to bring the car to a stop just where you wanted it to. I owned the non ABS Swift so I wouldn’t comment on the ABS version. I’ve seen too many Swifts around in the garages with ruined cooling systems and intercoolers just because the car couldn’t stop soon enough. I had two close encounters of the third kind myself to actually feel the need of ABS.

The steering is a bit on the heavier side but considering it to be a hydraulic power steering without any electronic assist like the Swift and the weight of the car, the heaviness can be discounted. It actually feels kind of nice to have a well weighted steering wheel in your hand. I still drive a Dzire sometimes just for kicks and I feel sorry for that light steering wheel it has. It’s only after acquiring finer things that you come to know the deficiencies of some of the other things that serve the same purpose. A Swift with 195/65 R14 tires would have a somewhat weighted steering wheel due to the added width of the tires it has to rotate, but when you compare a stock Emo Pk with a stock Vdi, the difference is apparent.

The drive to my office has to pass through some nice ghats with gentle curves and rolling highs and lows. This is where, the Punto proved itself to be a superior handler than any other car I have driven. I switch around a lot on cars as the company owns a couple of Indicas, Indigos, a Hyundai Sonata Embera Transform, a Swift Dzire, and a Ford Fiesta. A couple of friends own Accent CRDIs, Skoda Octavias and one also owns a Ford Endeavor and a Skoda Superb. I’ll not say that all these cars are bad handlers. I’ll just say that the Punto handles better than all of these. The way it goes into turns without lifting your foot from the accelerator and then the way it keeps going with the precise amount of steering feedback passing between the tires and the driver’s hands is simply mind blowing. When I compare it to my Swift, the Punto is definitely my choice for a better cornering car than my earlier baby. The Swift had its own way of attacking the corners. It always did that very aggressively with the Continental Premium Contacts doing what they do best (keeping the car where it’s supposed to be). The Punto will only manage to better itself once it gets a new set of shoes. The Goodyears do not let you do much and leave a lot to be desired. And the noise they make? It’s better not to talk about it.

So I started getting used to the car and within no time it was 3000 kilometers. Time for the car to visit the workshop for the first time. Having friends at a dealership and service center is always good. I have four. The service was booked for 9.30 AM and I was there at 9.30 AM. My friend, the Quality control in charge, took the car for a spin, brought it back and instructed the service advisor on what not to do. The tires had nitrogen in them and the alignment was perfect. The mechies were advised not to touch them even with a 10 foot pole. They complied. Oils were topped, the air filter cleaned, the underbody inspected a couple of faintly heard squeaks fixed, the car washed nice and clean and was delivered to me in the blink of an eye. Only here the blink seemed to be of about the duration of 2 hours. Happy again. Fast service, car OK.

I’d removed the Pete’s Tuning Box from my Swift when I’d sold it off and was itching to put it in the Punto. But since I’d vowed (like I always do) to run in my car for the first 5000 kilometers, I kept my itches in check. 2nd March dawned with an exactly 5000 kilometer reading on the odo. It had to be done today. The tuning box had to go in today. But then came some more good news. We had to go to Ahmedabad tomorrow to pick up the Sonata Embera diesel and my dad had to proceed to Udaipur for some office work. Some more highway running.

I called up Vishal at Automators. A good friend, an amazing guide when it comes to the mechanicals of the car, he had played a major role in my decision to buy the Punto. He’d sold his Getz petrol for a Punto. His was one month older than mine and 4000 kilometers younger than mine. Incidentally he was the one who had hooked me to the K&N and the Tuning Box. A K&N was a must for the Punto. A little more power never hurt. Nor did a little more fuel efficiency. A consistent mileage of 18 had been observed from day one. Hovering on the plus and minus one routine, it was quite satisfactory. But when you compared it with a Swift that did flat outs, it felt a tad low, with the Swift sipping diesel at a stately rate of 1 liter for every 23 kilometers with the aircon always on. So the K&N was ordered and we started for Ahmedabad. Since we were still not running the car over 3000 RPM, we carried out at a leisurely pace of 120 KPH on the expressway. The drive was more comfortable than the Swift with the only sour point being the engine and induction noise permeating into the cabin. The way the car stuck to the road and the way it cornered never failed to impress me every time the car went into a turn.

Since I had to return the same day with the Sonata, I didn’t know the after effects of the K&N until I drove the car again after a couple of days when it got back from Udaipur. Dad was all praises for the way it handled in the ghats and how the brakes were oh so good and how the A/C never stopped cooling and everything was so tightly put together that there was not even a squeak or rattle from anywhere even after 5000 kilometers on all kinds of roads. If it would have been the Swift, everything would’ve fallen apart. Mileage was around the same 18 kilometers which again was quite satisfactory.

I Peted it the next day and that was when the actual fun started. Since most of the cars come with ECMs which have a stock factory setting and a learn mode which keeps on adjusting the parameters according to the way a driver drives the car in order to give the best of both worlds, the car had already learnt how to handle itself with the K&N. The initial acceleration had gone up a bit and even the drivability in the third and fourth gear had improved. With more air going into the engine, it was time to put in the balance amount of fuel and try to get something more out of it. The box from the Swift fit it perfectly. The only thing remaining was getting the ECM to learn how to drive with its pants on with the Tuning Box. It took a couple of hundred kilometers for either the car or myself to get a hang of it, but once it happened it turned out to be a better car than what it already is. Since the torque went up, the drive became all the more fun. Gear changes less frequent. Fuel economy remained at its constant 18 kmpl. The car was 7500 kilometers old when the first trouble came.

We were returning from the factory in the evening and I was running just the pilot lights and foggies. As it started becoming dark, I switched on my headlamps. A truck was in the way and I dipped my beams for side and came back to uppers. The switch didn’t stay on uppers. It just dipped of its own whims and fancies. Suspecting the headlamp holder to be the culprit we left it as it is for that day. Checking it the next day cleared our doubts that it wasn’t the holder. Now came the big question. If the combination switch was a goner, would Tata Fiat be able to procure the parts immediately or as early as possible?

Fearing the worst, I called up my friend at the Service Center. He asked me to come over so he could check the car. On inspection, our fears were confirmed and it was found that the combination switch had gone to meet its maker and would not be in a position to come back. The only option was a replacement under warranty. Doubtful and apprehensive, I hesitantly approached my friend for it. He assured me that the part would be there day after tomorrow and he’d send an electrician over to the factory to change the switch with all the necessary paperwork by around 12 in the noon.

I’d completely forgotten about the day after tomorrow thing. As legend has it, Fiat parts seldom turn up on time. But my doubts were put at rest when promptly at 12 in the noon; the security at the gate gave me a call telling me that a mechanic from Tata had come to check my car. I asked them to bring him in at the earliest and put him to work on the car. He was done within 20 minutes and came to me to get the job card signed and papers cleared so that he could leave. I fed him biscuits and tea and sent him on his way after giving him a suitable Baksheesh.

Fortunately that was the first and the last problem I faced in the car. Except for the diesel filling routine and topping up the windshield washer fluid, the car has not even suffered a puncture until 21000 kilometers. One day, it was found that there were two nails embedded in the side walls of the rear left tire. The tire guy said that a tube had to be put if the tire was to be used regularly. I asked him to patch it up with a heavy duty patch and put it as the spare wheel and put the spare wheel on the runner. Running perfectly.

The 15000 kilometer service was another great experience. It came in exactly 3 months after purchasing the car. The service was booked and when I reached the service center, as usual my friend was there to welcome me. The car was taken for a test drive wherein a couple of small problems were discussed and noted. I’d carried a bottle of gearbox additive to be put into the gearbox which he agreed to do it for free but without noting it on the job card. The only downside was the despite having the K&N on the car which they didn’t discover until later, a new air filter had to be purchased due to some warranty policies. Since it was a 200 rupee item, I didn’t go into the depth of it and agreed to get it. It still lies in the boot of my car, a remnant from the past. One thing the guys noticed was that this car ran freer and with more power than any other Punto they’d ever seen. I just smiled and kept my mouth shut, happy at receiving the admirations of being such a technically sound and knowledgeable driver. Little did the guys at Tata Fiat know that all that I shared with them came from my experiences on TeamBHP and interaction with likeminded friends. The car was delivered the same day in excellent condition. Even the interiors had been decently and completely vacuumed and the best part was that even the Aircon grills were free from dust.

The oil change tipped the scale in the favor of the car. It ran more freely, felt more responsive and ready to go than earlier. The engine noise had also gone down considerably. A couple of wheels were balanced and except for that they had checked the alignment just for kicks. The bill came to 4710 rupees. If it would have been the Swift, the car would have gone through 2 services and the bill would’ve been around the same or bit on the plus side.

It’s been almost 7000 kilometers after the service and there are still no issues with the car. I love driving it more than a lot of other cars and when my brother borrows it for his stints and hands over his Honda City 1.5 EXI (the old one) to me I don’t feel very good. After 22000 kilometers on all kinds of roads, there is no body rattle or any other noise from the underpinnings. All the side panels and everything else is still as solid as it was on day one or before that when the car was manufactured.

All in all in 22000 kilometers I can say the following:

A lot of girls have asked whets this car I am driving. Some of them even ask for my phone number. I don’t give it out: D. Its more fun driving this car.
It is better than the Swift in a lot of ways
The Swift is better than the Punto in many other ways
They should start giving better tires with the car
The interiors could do with more fit and finish
Nothing comes close when the sturdiness of the car is concerned
Fiat could’ve done with a stiffer suspension setup
The VGT could work wonders on this car
A slightly unrestricted exhaust is also suggested
The throw of the clutch should be brought down
The gearbox from the Swift should be plonked in
Services are economical
Part availability is not a big issue
Service guys are friendly and ready to help
If Fiat keeps it this way they have a winner on their hand
I’ll remap the car soon and then Pete it: D
I get goosebumps on my goosebumps once the tacho crosses 2500 and the torque starts building up
My tubbits for all you guys out there who are just contemplating to buy a Fiat Punto Emotion Pack 1.3 Multijet. Just buy it.

--Mandeep--

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

Hey Mandeep, good to see you hear. And thanks for that superb review on your Punto. Please do post some pics.

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

when you like your job and you get to drive a car you like, miles are never a problem
even otherwise, traveling is an important part of us. havent been in a train since the last fifteen years or so.

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/alb ... 316&ref=mf
Pics for your reference guys. Not many but will keep upload some more in a couple of days.

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

"Man",..
It was indeed a good read.(I did finished reading it at a single stretch) and what to say, even reading the article brought goose bumps . Now, it if its on the Punto, no doubt it will.
And your "Run Rate" is wow!

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

Great review on your Punto... Nice to read it man

Re: Peted, K&Ned, 22K Kilometers, 4 Months

Nice review.

I am keeping a hawk's eye on this ownership report for one reason - Pete's. I have been toying with the idea of peteing my Punto too but concerned about reliablitiy. Do post your driving impressions after you peted the car. I believe the box costs about Rs.35,000. A simple question is : Is the extra Rs.35,000 worth it? In this whole forum, only you can answer that question!