First impression

Fiat’s been around a while – we know that. They make brilliant cars – we’ve found that out time and again. They still haven’t cracked the code for India yet, but they’re certainly making a big effort now. Fiat India Automobiles Limited has had a new lease of life with the stylish and well-priced Linea, and their latest offering in this new vein is the Grande Punto.

At first glance, the Punto looks like a hatchback version of the Linea, which it essentially is, but look closely and you’ll find that there are subtle differences like the headlamps that lack the second bulb for high beam – but the car looks smashing nonetheless. We didn’t like the rear as much as we did the front, and we’re already in love with the alloy wheels. The proportions make for a lovely silhouette – this is one car everyone who is in the market for a big hatch will want to own.

The interior also reminds one of the Linea, but the space inside doesn’t seem to be so much when compared to the space the car occupies on the outside. For example, two six-footers sitting behind one another will be a little short on knee room. The dash sports an mp3 player and a climate control system, and the top-end Emotion Pack variant gets the Microsoft-developed ‘Blue & me’ technology that enables an occupant to synchronise their phone with the car to make and receive calls, and have the car read out SMSes to the driver. It’s a very useful addition to a car, but other things surprise the user and not in a pleasant way, like the hard-to-find USB port in the glovebox. There are a number of places to stow things, but some of them aren’t very useful, like the door pockets, which will hold only small bottles. There are cup holders in front of and behind the gearshift lever, but they’re quite shallow.

Fit and finish seem to be improving with every car that Fiat launches, but it still isn’t up to the standards of the leaders in the segment – some bits of the car weren’t up to the standards we’ve come to expect from a car today. We’ll reserve final judgement on this point when we get a car for a full road-test. The driving position is comfortable, but the space for the footrest isn’t enough if the driver’s got large feet.

Three engine options will be available to the Fiat customer: two petrols displacing 1.2 and 1.4 litres, and the omnipresent 1.3-litre multijet. We managed to get our hands on the 1.4 petrol and the multijet, and despite our petrolhead tendencies, we’d pick the diesel. The petrol is a vibe-free unit that sounds glorious when nearing the redline, but wakes up only post 4000rpm, which makes it hard work to drive quickly. The diesel offers a better torque spread, but still needs to be revved over 2000rpm to make quick progress. We suspect that the Punto has been geared and tuned for economy, not performance, but only a full road-test will tell us the story. The gearshift is positive, with our only complaint being the travel from fourth to fifth – quick downshifting from fifth was something we didn’t get used to for a while.

We’re very impressed with the ride and handling of this car. It absorbed all that NH1 had to throw its way without transmitting much shock to the cabin. Small bumps were dismissed with a muted thump and no loss of composure at all. For all the comfort the suspension offered we still made the tyres sing when we got to the twisties. There is a fair bit of body roll, but the car’s composure is very good. Steering feel is lacking in the petrol version, but the diesel’s steering weighed up nicely in the bends – probably that extra weight and firmed up suspension in the front helping things.

We think that the Punto is a great product – it looks good, is practical and even offers features like Blue & Me which are a first for the segment. The pricing makes it a very good value proposition, beginning at Rs 3.99 lakh for the base petrol variant and going on to Rs 6.11 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi for the top-end diesel variant. Our first impression is one filled with hope – this car could revive Fiat’s fortunes in India, just like it did worldwide. We have our fingers crossed.