Fiat Grande Punto 2012 Active 1.3

Fiat Grande Punto 2012 Active 1.3

Grande Punto recently got a 2012 make over. The all new 2012 changes include a mix of both interior as well exterior aesthetic changes. But will all the new changes be sufficient to tussle it out with the market leaders. Small car segment in India has been the most sorted after these days. Every manufacturer wants to pitch its own small offering. The intention is to increase the portfolio and also to make the brand more popular. We review the 1.4L petrol Grande Punto 2012 Emotion variant and discover more of the small beauty. It had everything that an Indian small car buyer demands: Looks, sturdy suspension, ride and handling, comfortable interiors, proven fuel efficient multijet diesel engine and improved service network. Perfect recipe for a winning formula. But what went wrong?. Knowing that the Fiat brand has a rich heritage and a strong fan following in India, the company did try to make amends by constantly evolving the vehicle and improving it, though many prospective customers kept on shying away from it, especially the 90 HP MJD which is a sales dud. But still, majority of owners who have bought this hatchback are very well accustomed to the broad range of talents that it exhibits. Come 2012, Fiat has relaunched and reengineered the punto based on what it says "feedback received from customers on how to make a good car better". There have been a host of changes like hike in ground clearance whch stands at an SUV rivalling 185 mm, improved and shorter close gear ratios aimed at improving driveability and refinement, a softer clutch, improved brakes, improved interior ambience and most importantly, bringng the Fiat brand closer to the people by opening a couple of caffes and starting with seperate showrooms and workshops in tier 1 metro cities (20 planned initially.). The car looks stunning and well proportioned from every angle unlike today's confused and cartoonish designs. Its a design that continues to be understated and timeless. Every angle you look at it, its a stunner. the new oceanic blue looks best along with red, though the fox trot azure pictured here is a more practical option considering the Indian climate and roads in mind. Based on Fiat's C platform shared with GM, the car rides on a Independent McPherson Strut with Helical Springs and a Stabiliser Bar at front whereas the rear is suspended with a torsion beam with helical springs and Fiat India has raised the height of shock absorbers to achieve a high road clearance of 185 mm (195 mm for 1.2 petrol variants). The raised stance is obvious and the gaps at the wheelwell look like an eyesore with the 15 inchers looking puny to the relation of the body proportions. Build quality over the years has improved and the car still maintains its solid and heavy body (1130 kg) though the build precision still has to climb some more ladders before it can match the VW/ Hyundai quality. Panel gaps are still pretty inconsistent, though tolerable and quality of rubber parts and few ancilleries still feel a notch down, especially considering the 6.8 lakh asking price of this emotion D variant.  Fiat sells the GP currently in 6 variants. The active and dynamic in 1.2 petrol and 1.3 diesel and the emotion in 1.4 petrol and 1.3 diesel. The model rejig in the name of logistics has seen in rebranding of vaiants and a simpler line up. Airbags for driver and passenger are standard on emotion and ABS is made available on all emotion and 1.3 diesel dynamic variants. The VGT 90 HP punto is currently available on order and has the ld interior colour scheme, only the GC has been raised. Talks are on for an upgraded "sporty looking" model that will be formally launched in April. Fiat equips its emotion variants with "blue and me" (with a USB port and steering mounted controls) which connects the car's audio to your mobile phone via bluetooth and even copies the phone book, makes you to take and receive calls, dial a specific number, read out an SMS and even change music tracks via a voice command. Same cannot be said about the quality of speakers which continue to be utter rubbish and distort on high volume. All active and dynamic variants make do with a CD-only MP3 player with 4 speakers.