On going global recession affected many car manufactures . Fiat is one the victim of this and they were struggling to maintain the market presence they had earlier . For this they have picked their 4 year old international best seller Grande Punto and made it available in India as Just Punto . Currently they are running a massive advertising and media campaign for promoting Punto to the maximum extend . Punto shares the same platform that was used in Fiat Linea .
Fiat Grande Punto design : Punto’s front side design remembers us the design of Maserati ,especially the headlamp and bonnet . Linea like double grill and silver colored fog lamp surround improve the total looks from front side .Shoulder line from the mid portion of fender and the quarter glass are also adapted from Fiat Linea .
Tail lamps along the two side of backside glasses , extra large Fiat logo on the center portion of dicky , excellent alloy wheels , there are thousands reasons for spending our 3 hours around the new Fiat Grande Punto test piece we got . Punto’s interior design has much similarity with Fiat Linea . Dashboard ,Gear leaver ,steering etc . are same on both cars . Unlike in Linea , Grande Punto uses Grey color plastic instead of Beige in Linea . Quality of the plastic is not that better .Door are panels also not upto the mark . Steering wheels and driving seat are provides with rack adjust and height adjust ,but it took little time to order both . Dead pedal and clutch car in Punto is more closer than that in other Fiat models .Its gets difficult if you are using big shoes . There is not much space in back seats . Punto design offers more space in dicky ,but at the same time it reduced the leg room .
Fiat Grande Punto Engine :
This premium hatchback is designed to have two petrol engine options 1.4-litre FIRE Petrol and 1.2-litre petrol and the 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine .Throttle response and refinement at smaller speeds of the engine are impressive . Punto works well in First and second gears , but we found it needed extra energy in Third gear . Punto diesel come with the same Fiats engine used in Swift ,Ritz ,Indica Vista and Palio . Non availability of variable geometry limits the power to 75 bhp .1190 kg weight and gearing style of Punto are the causes for reduced acceleration than that in Swift . Hydraulically adjustable power steering in Punto is just awesome .This accurate steering along with body control makes Punto to stay on the right path we decide .190/60 R 15 Goodyear heavy grip tyre and ABS improves our security confidence while on drive .
Fiat Grande Punto India specifications :
Engine :multijet , 4 cylinder .
Displacement :1248CC
Max Power : 75 bhp
Max Torque :115NM@4500 rpm
Transmission : 5 speed manual .
Brakes: Front Disc;Rear Drum .
Suspension: Independent ,Coil springs .
dimension :1687 mm* 4030 mm *1490 mm
Fiat Grande Punto India price:
Fiat Grande Punto is available on four variants :the Active, Dynamic, Emotion and top notch model Emotion PK based on the price .
The lowest model Active is priced at 3.99 lakhs and it will the only model to include 1.2-litre petrol engine . Other variants in 1.4-litre FIRE Petrol will fall in a price range from Rs 4.55 lakhs to Rs. 5.71 lakhs .And the diesel model goes high upto 6.12 lakhs . Grande Punto will the flagship product of Fiat for the coming 2-3 years and will compete with Maruthi Suzuki Swift , Hyundai i20 and others in the same segment . Punto will be in first position in we count on value for money .
[...] i20 in Indian premium car segment . Hyundai i10 will fall in the category of Maruti Swift ,Ritz ,Fiat Grande Punto and Honda Jazz . Hyundai i20 is the modified version of Hyundai i30 , which is doing eastern and [...]