Fiat Grande Punto 1.3 Multijet

When it comes to ride and handling, it's the Punto that wins hands down

One look at the Punto will assure you that Italians are indeed great at design. The Punto's silhouette is well balanced, whichever angle you look at it. The big lights up front and the long nose look sporty and give it plenty of character. The rear gets compact lights mounted high up on the pillars. And the big wheels complete the purposeful stance. Well, Fiat owns Ferrari and Maserati; easy to understand once you look at the Grande Punto's design. Fiat's brand-new hatchback looks stunning from the outside. The long nose wouldn't be out of place on a Maserati and the compact rear with those angled, high-mounted lights gives the Fiat hatch a sporty look. In the half-light, the dash looks quite attractive with the glow from the chrome-ringed dials. The doors shut with a weighty thud you only get in European cars. You feel nicely cocooned from the outside elements and insulation from the road is pretty good.

Interior

Jump inside and the interiors aren't as roomy as you expect in a four-metre-long car. The front seats are large, there's plenty of headroom, seat travel is good and the cabin feels wide and airy. The steering and driver's seat both adjust for height too. However, the steering which doesn't adjust for reach is too 'in your face' and the front seats slope down a bit so they lack a bit of support.

Get into the back seat, especially behind a six-foot-tall driver, and legroom is in short supply. However, it's just the legroom that is a problem in the Punto. With the front seats pulled forward, the back seat is pretty comfortable.

The Grande Punto is also very well equipped. The Emotion variant comes with an iPod dock, voice-activated Bluetooth pairing for your phone, climate control, ABS and twin airbags. The information display informs you of cabin temperature and fuel consumption.

The steering wheel is great to hold and even the gear lever has a sporty feel. However, when you take a closer look, the quality of certain plastics is quite disappointing. The Grande Punto is short on storage space as well. It has shallow cupholders and small door pockets. The car, however, does have a largish boot that measures 280 litres, plenty of space for a car in this class.

Performance & Economy

The Grande Punto uses the similar 1.3 multijet engine that is doing duty in the Ritz, Swift, Vista and Stile. But the Punto weighs a substantial 115kg more than the Marutis. Punto also has shorter gearing and this has sacrificed the top-end performance for better drivability.

In traffic, there's adequate power and the Grande Punto feels quite eager in town. The shorter gearing also makes the engine work harder at higher speeds. It'll hit 100kph in 17.84sec, which is mainly because of its 1190kg weight and ECU tuning.

The gearshift is quite light too but nowhere near as slick as the Fabia's. However, the instant you want to make urgent progress, the diesel Grande Punto lacks sparkle. The initial turbo-lag is very much there but even after the turbo starts spinning, the strong tug or spike in the powerband, is missing. In fact, the motor feels strained when revved hard.

The in-gear timing is pretty good; especially the 40-100kph slog in fourth gear and the Grande Punto matches the lighter Swift.

Fiat has understood the importance of fuel economy the hard way after the first Palios, and the latest Fiats have all proved to be pretty frugal; the Grande Puntos are no exception. The diesel Punto gives a terrific 13.7kpl in the city and 17.5kpl on the highway.

Ride & Handling

There's little doubt about Punto's ride and handling prowess. It's the car you can enjoy most, thanks to a beautifully balanced chassis, fantastic grip, accurate steering and perfect damping. Over any surface at any speed, the Punto remains unfazed and the refined suspension simply goes about its job keeping you completely isolated from the crater you just drove through.

The Grande Punto drives over the broken roads with utter nonchalance. Nothing seems to faze the Fiat as it effortlessly skips and splashes over potholed tarmac. Key to the Grande Punto's terrific poise, especially over rough roads, are the large 195/60 R15 tyres, stiff chassis and absorbent suspension with a perfect spring and damper set-up. With its suspension raised for India, the Grande Punto does roll a bit into corners but this detracts little from the driving experience.

The superbly weighted and accurate hydraulic steering gives you an almost rally-car-like feel. What's also special is the flat and consistent manner in which the suspension works. There's none of the nose-heaviness or heaving that plagues most front-wheel-drive hatchbacks.

Quite simply, at highway speeds nothing comes close to the Punto. The suspension is amazingly quiet but it misses the low-speed suppleness of the Fabia, its only true rival in the ride and handling department.

Verdict

When it comes to ride and handling, it's the Punto that wins hands down. It's beautifully styled and a number of people will buy it just for this virtue. Still, its average interiors, dull performance and relatively tight-on-space rear seats are deterrents to what is otherwise a brilliant car.

The Grande Punto is the car that saved Fiat's hide. It took the European car market by storm as soon as it was launched in 2005 and gave Fiat a platform from which to launch its recovery. Can the Grande Punto propel Fiat to similar glory in India? The Punto looks superb, it is solidly built and comes with class-topping ride and handling.

Performance, fuel efficiency and refinement are not the class best and even the interiors left us disappointed. The Grande Punto makes up with the value it offers. With the base 1.3 version starting at around ₹5.29 lakh and the fully-loaded diesel retailing at ₹6.64 lakh, it may not be the cheapest hatch around but to take a line from partner Tata, the Grande Punto is a lot of car per car and pretty good value for money.

Technical Specs

Fact File

What it costs
Ex-showroom (Delhi) ₹4.70-7.10 lakh
Warranty 2 years/unlimited km

Engine
Fuel Diesel
Installation Front, transverse
Bore/stroke 69.6/82mm
Compression ratio 18:1
Valve gear 4 valves per cyl, DOHC
Power 75bhp at 4000rpm
Torque 20.08kgm at 2000rpm
Power to weight 63bhp per tonne

Transmission
Gearbox 5-speed manual

Dimensions
Length 3987
Width 1687mm
Height 1495
Ground clearance 171mm

Chassis & Body
Weight 1190kg
Tyres 195/60 R15,

Suspension
Front Independent, MacPherson Strut, stabiliser bar
Rear Non-independent, torsion beam, stabiliser bar

Steering
Type Power-assisted rack and pinion
Type of power assist Hydraulic

Brakes
Front 257mm ventilated discs
Rear 203mm drums

Performance
0-60 6.79
0-100 17.84
0-120 27.29
0-140 NA

Economy
City 13.7 kpl
Highway 17.5 kpl
Tank size 45 litres

Range at a glance - Engines
Petrol 1.2/1.4 litre
Diesel 1.3 litre

Get insights into Upcoming Cars In India, Electric Vehicles, Upcoming Bikes in India and cutting-edge technology transforming the automotive landscape.