Aria was showcased around 4 years ago in various Auto Expo across the world and it was officially launched in October 2010. I did take a test drive of this new crossover and wanted to share my experience on this new vehicle.

I am not going to categorize into various sections, as I used to … I thought a making it into a new ‘CrossOver’ Story.

I happened to see an advertisement on Internet and was wondering, how did I miss to get this info before the launch. However, I am not a journalist to keep myself always informed . By looking into this car, I was very impressed and wanted to take a ride and registered myself on Aria website for TD. I got a text message promptly from TATA Motors for TD with the contact person and number. I was supposed to go to Concorde Dairy Circle Showroom, instead, I informed the concerned person and redirected to Mysore Road showroom.

To my surprise, the sales person was very arrogant and I was very upset with their attitude towards customers. I am a loyal customer for Concorde from past 6years (then Indica and now the FIAT Multijet). However, my experience with sales person never changed .

After some discussion, then promised to send the vehicle to my home for TD. Atleast this time, they came on time for TD and from here it goes my impression on Aria.

First Look! It’s very impressive with bold grills (somewhat takes it’s styling from Manza) with stylish headlights. Aria has a very masculine look with bold bumpers. I felt bumper to bonnet step resembles more of Honda CR-V, very bold fog lamps, as it is needed for crossover. There is a remote headlight on/off switch on Key to switch on the headlight remotely and this is a very innovative feature. Side bodyline of Aria resembles more of Toyota Innova and the C piller resembles of Honda CR-V. The major fact for this masculine look are the wheels.. Overall, I felt the exterior looks resembles many cars / MUV’s .. Manza, Innova, CR-V…

I stepped inside to gain some driving experience and at first, I was really impressed looking at the quality and look n feel of interiors, this is something new in TATA vehicles and sometime ago it was even difficult to imagine these things in Tata vehicles. But, they proved it with Aria, that they can match with other MUV’s.. Let me describe in detail…

When I opened the door, the first catchy was the door panel, there is a lamp on the door panel to help us to get inside the car in dark. Electronic OVRM switch and power windows switch are located on the door panel. From outside, I felt it would be adventurous to climb inside. But, I was not, it’s more like a car!! I then sat on the pilot seat and felt to ergonomics aspects of seat height adjustment and started the engine. This vehicle runs on 2.2 DICOR engine taken from Safari and has been refined a bit for smoothness. There was no truck like feeling when I ignited the engine, which usually is the case in Safari. This is a good factor, which tells us about the engine improvement at first. Engaged first gear! Wow! it was a pleasure start sitting on top of the world. Pilot view from inside the car was brilliant, you can see anything and everything in front of you and next to you on either sides via OVRM. I drove for almost 10km going on katcha road / incline road and this just takes smooth, amazing 4×4 (all time 4WD) and all 4 wheels comes with disc brakes and I felt I am safe even when I apply sudden brakes, also to my safety are ABS and Airbags and Traction Control. Doesn’t it a good safe factor for me to consider this vehicle! yes! it is. To choose this car, there are other parameters and let me go on with that in next paragraph.

Aria, is a pleasure to drive on Indian roads. As even urban roads are close to country roads and Aria makes it no difference with large Tyre and superb suspension. Hit at 100+ and I felt the body roll while cornering, this is something to think about, this would make anyone to feel that the vehicle is about to topple down. But, it isn’t that easy … . Other than body roll, i did not felt any problems. This is a true Indian Cross over.

Dash? bored! not any more in Aria.. Dashboard is just precise and looks real luxury with GPS / Reverse Camera Display, Center console tower built-in ICE, Tower AC vents. All controls are ergonomically placed. Yet, you wont feel like you are missing SAFARI. Gear-Stick, Handbrake, utility console all reminds of SAFARI. I expected it be changed.

All three rows comes with AC vents … yes! vents on pillars, nice to see not sure how much will it make difference. As all MUV’s / SUV’s third row is no use. Its good only for small kids. I really liked the Boot. Very well desgined. The way the lamps are placed, the way the tools are kept, wiring section … all looks really brilliant.

IS THIS VFM ?????? NOOOO… The price of this vehicle is tooo expensive. On-Road comes close to 19L. I would bet on FORD Endeavour, Mitsubishi Outlander, newly launched Skoda Yeti, Toyota Innova, M&M Micro Hybrid Scorpio.

Conclusion: Paying such a huge amount for TATA is not a wise decision. Yet! if we dont consider price, the vehicle is really good.

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion.

I am going to write about my opinion about first looks! I haven’t yet got the chance to sit in the new wind.

Over the years, Indian automobile industry has seen hatchback siblings coming with an additional boot. For example: Indica’s sibling Indigo, Swift’s sibling DZire, Palio’s sibling Petra etc. Does it sounds the same with VW?

To certain extent yes! but not completely. Let’s do a deep dive into this new car to know more about its features and specification.

Exteriors:
Vento derives most of its front looks from it’s world class car “The POLO”, which is doing pretty great in Indian market. The new front grill is going to be standard in all upcoming new VW cars. The first look at Vento gives us a feeling that it is a sibling of Skoda and yes it is, they are coming from same plant and stable.

Front grill is complemented by sleek yet sporty headlights on either sides and broad fog lamps with sporty classic sharp edge front bumpers. These put together adds a stunning looks. This is one of the cars which is tank build similar to its sibling Skoda. One can feel safe and comfortable, when you are inside the car. We always compare cars with it’s close competitors and Vento stands out of it in exteriors department. No car can match close to Vento in it’s looks and design. Very well crafted with minute details. Rear looks very similar to Skoda Laura with neatly placed “VOLKSWAGEN’ badge. Very simple yet bold rear.

As this car is going to take on Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti SX4. I don’t want to compare with any of these cars. Vento is coming from European Automobile Engineering. I just can’t compare Euro cars with any one of these. Euro cars are meant for Engineering and design.

Interiors:

Feeling like you are in Polo.. yes! you are feeling right. There is no significant change from Polo except few bits. I have been reading from many reviews that the dashboard of Vento is not upto the mark. Does it so? absolutely not, we can’t expect it be more refined than what Vento offers. Vento comes with dual-tone dashboard (black+beige), very well places instrument switches (easily reachable), AC vents are well placed with chrome outer ring and ICE is just above the gear lever to change your fav music tracks. On the left of the dash, not much stuff except small glove box to keep your car documents handy. Moving to instrument cluster, steering is very responsive, good grip and it comes with Tilt-Steering. Instrument console is not too techie, yet, gives adequate information. This is one area, where other car makers overtake euro cars. Euro cars does not provide too much of information on Instrument console. Shifting our eyes towards right of the dash, you will get headlamp switch with leveler..nice concept but difficult to adjust. On the driver door comes, boot lid switch (very very new concept), instead of a stick below the seat and electronic OVRM switch. Doesn’t dash looks impressive? for me .. yes it is.

Interior looks too roomy and airy because of large windows which gives good feeling and visibility to maneuver in city traffic. Seats are ergonomically designed which gives lumbar support, which is essential in today’s traffic. Front and rear legroom and headroom are superb. However, rear headroom is a bit low yet manageable. Vento can accomodate 5 adults easily without squeezing. People at rear, need not disturb driver to move the AC vents, they are at luxury to get fresh air from rear AC vents by sipping coke /coffee. They can rest their hands on arm rest by placing coke / coffee in rear cup-holders. Some storage space for cup and bottles are also provided in front center floor console and on door pockets.

I definitely felt the feel of Skoda Laura inside Vento, with it’s finish and some of the fine bits.

Engine / Technical Info:

I will not be mentioning about performance of this car, as I have not driven personally.

Do you want to own petrol / diesel car? yes, Vento offers both the versions to suit your needs. Both Petrol and Diesel engines are powered with 1.6 L engines with 4 cyl which will deliver 105bhp. The same engines have been deployed in Polo as well. Petrol version comes in both Automatic and Manual transmission whereas Diesel comes only with Manual Transmission.

More Technical Details are available on VW India Website : http://www.volkswagen.co.in/in/en/products/Vento/technical_data0/TechnicalData.html

Safety:

Vento also features some of the important safety components. It comes with 3-point seat belt adjustment, Anti-Pinch protection windows, ABS, Airbags along with Anti-Theft Alarm system. Hope these features will surely protect man and machine.

Service/Dealer:

There are less than 3 dealers / service centers in each state (approx.). I am not sure, how people can get Road-Assistance or emergency services when traveling away from service center zone.

Conclusion:

Needless to say, Vento impressed me. Liking is very subjective and as a auto freak, some of the fine crafting, design, engineering impressed me to a great extent. I have not compared this car with any other competitor, which I don’t believe, as each and every European machine has it’s own identity and class touch.

Disclaimer: This is purely my personal opinion.

Link: http://www.autocarindia.com/news/marutis-wear-vw-skoda-badges

World’s No.1 Auto maker and it’s subsidiary company Skoda Auto India will be taking A-Star and WagonR from Maruti Suzuki India Ltd by early 2013. VW already owns 20% stake in Suzuki and they want an already existing vehicle to be placed below Polo, which is the only lowest car entry in their stable in India. The idea behind this is very exciting and very encouraging in Auto Industry by collaborating with each other.

Maruti Suzuki A-Star will wear VW badge and Maruti Suzuki WagonR will wear Skoda badge

How does it matter to buyers like us / me ??

VW and it’s subsidiary companies are known for their quality across the world. VW entered India recently, however, their subsidiary companies like Skoda Auto and Audi are already operating in India for a long time.

When we decide upon buying a new car, we always end up with a huge questionnaire. Sometimes, it will be very confusing for us to answer all questions to finalize the deal.
- What is my budget?
- Car Resale Value
- Service and Maintenance
- Quality
- Company’s Presence and Reputation etc…

Many of the car makers are known for their “Q” factor over decades and they are not “Number Game” players. If we take up Toyota, Honda, VW, Skoda, Audi etc… brands talks only and only about QUALITY.

I always believe, when we buy Maruti vehicles, we definitely won’t lookup to the “Q” factor. We always believe in service cost, service network, resale value. In this scenario, if A-Star and WagonR wear the badge of VW and Skoda, then are they compromising on “Q” factor for these two brands? If yes, then it’s a no-good deal atleast for buyers.

VW and Skoda service reputation will increase, if A-Star and WagonR continues to be services by Maruti’s, as VW and Skoda service reputation is not so great in India. I have read about these in many forums and articles.

Hope VW, Skoda and Maruti will gain more from this deal in Indian Auto Market.

Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion

POLO is a old horse under VW stable in Europe and the same horse has come to India with new bold look and style to India. With this, we have another strong competitor for i20, Fabia, Swift, Punto and also the latest Figo.

Let’s first go with the style and looks as this is the first thing which attracts everyone with this machine.

Exterior:
Front: Classy finish with superb sporty skirting below the bumper, which gives very sporty look and very creatively designed with sharp edges. Clear and big rectangular fog lamps for better visibility during night and fog. Headlamps comes along with day light, which we see in most expensive cars. This really adds a lot for this hot hatch to attract the crowd.

Pause!!! The rest of the exterior design seems to be very familiar with Indians.

No doubt, Polo has some nice finishing but it resembles of FIAT Palio. Look at the grill and the headlamps, Palio has a curve finish whereas Polo has a sharp finish. Ofcourse, headlamps are different.

Side:

Dont see much difference between Polo and Palio. Except rear bumper finish and lower skirting finish. yes! Polo has got wider windows and split rear window, which adds for good look. Polo hatch bodyline is very stylish, which looks more sportier.

Rear:

Polo’s rear is very simple, elegant and classic. Tail light’s are not that new design, this is similar to Fiat Uno (but not exact). POLO logo goes superb with VW logo at the center. We can see new kind of hatch lid, you need to push VW logo on the hatch to open as against conventional pull feature. I felt, there is not much grip to pull up the hatch by pushing the VW logo, as the door is very heavy… be prepared to use both of your hands to open the door .

Front, Side, Rear …. what next! yes… I cannot ignore wheels, which is supporting the whole car!!! Superb alloys that gives more sportier look with 15″ tubleless tyres.

Overall exterior is very good with superb styling, skirting and body guage.

Interiors

Let’s get more picture about Interiors…. come on! get inside the car … felt good! yes! … it’s classic black plush interiors and classic dual-tone dashboard welcomes you inside the steel fort!!! . Did you had trouble in getting in and out of car? if so, then you should be 6+ feet tall guy. I did not had any problem in moving, as I am well below 6+ feet .

Superb interior quality-top-notch. I could not find a single equipment inside cabin, which is of low quality.  True European…Quality at it’s best.

Seats are ergonomically designed, which gives comfort for your lumbar and thigh (most important). All pedals are comfortably placed. However, I could not find Dead-Pedal, which causes discomfort on long rides. Perfectly placed rear-hatch opener on the right hand side of the steering. Headlamp switch also placed next to steering, which is quite odd. Very good instrument cluster, you will get integrated Music system on Comfortline and Highline versions. Highline carries Automatic Climate Control system. Air vents are neatly placed and looks great. Only top 2 versions have chrome finish around air vents. 

Front and Rear rows leg and headroom are brilliant for a hatch. Clear and neat multifunctional display. It has 285 lts of boot space and very good storage space in the dashboard.

Overall interiors are top-notch

SafetyPolo comes with “Anti-Theft Immobilizer” in all three variants. Airbags and ABS are only available on Highline

Variants

Polo comes in both petrol and diesel versions

Petrol – 1.2 and 1.6 L
Diesel – 1.2 L

Detailed technical specification are available on www.volkswagen.co.in (official site of VW India)

Engine and Performance

I had a opportunity to drive 1.2L petrol version of POLO and here goes my experience:

The moment I started the engine, I asked the sales representative to confirm whether this is a petrol / diesel version of POLO. I was surprised / shocked when he said it is petrol. Engine vibration was too much and it sounded exactly like diesel. I drive both petrol and diesel and never thought a petrol engine giving me a feeling of diesel. I could feel too much of vibration on clutch pedal. I was really concerned and I enquired about the test drive car (no.of KM it has completed and also since how long this car was in test drive bay). It just completed around 2000 km and in 2 weeks. 

Coming to performance, it handles great in corners, very solid feeling and confident at high speeds, steering is very responsive. I did feel turbo lag till 2200 rpm. I am not sure, if this is only in TD car or not.

I am very disappointed with the engine and performance. I hope this is only in TD car !!!!!

OVERALL: POLO looks great, solid, stylish. It handles great and confident. Interiors are top-notch, good saftey features but I feel it lacks in engine/performance (TD Car)

Disclaimer: This is not an expert opinion. This is my personal opinion.

I can read your mind … I know you are thinking that why I am writing this article after 6 months since it’s launch….

Absolutely! This article is not about FIRST LOOK! rather this is more about collection of experience, collection of expectations and collection of trust….

Right! I will describe my opinion about “FIAT Grande Punto” in next few sentences…

We can say “Grande Punto” and “Linea” are two real jewels for FIAT in India, which helped FIAT to survive in India.

I have taken “Grande Punto” for this article and let me start with it .. enuf of introduction.. I know you are waiting for more tech info on this hot hatch..

Grande Punto … was a much awaited and anticipated car from FIAT’s stable in India. Since the new Palio was launched in 2008 (MJD), this was in news and it used to vanish from news now and then.. One fine morning, I don’t know someone from FIAT took decision to launch this vehicle to give surpise to all auto freaks … It was a surprise to most of them but many of them had look of this cutie yet stylish horse on net / magazines … it was no fun for some…

Yet! lots of them did not ignore the surprise, they went and booked for TD and wrote their own reports / reviews / opinions / suggestions and many also conducted / held their own forums… Quite impressive for FIAT … Cheers! guys! … But…But… I don’t think anyone from FIAT had time to hear from these auto freaks / experts to implement minor changes…. hmmm . .. hope they were busy .. possibly.. with huge bookings for Punto and Linea.. they should be busy ….. It’s good to see FIAT back on Ferrari’s horse in India

Exterior / Styling:

What do you think? any guess! …. What I think?  here it goes.. this machine from front looks very solid, agressive with stunning grills hosting FIAT and “MultiJet” logo (grills taken from Maserati) and stylish fog lamps… just if we move little further toward bonnet… classy bonnet design with sharp pointed headlamps.. Wait! I somehow did not like the headlamps design… if you closely observe the headlmap… 50% of it is hollow… not much “Multi-Reflectors” .. yes thay are covered with ‘heat absorbers’ ..

My view on side body line is very solid, superb styling .. very sleek and curvy .. OVRM are placed on doors, which gives great look for this machine..

Rear look looks stunning… with center mounted FIAT logo and amazing Punto’s logo .. very cool … Rear bumpers have reflectors and rear Fog lamp, which adds for its look. Tail lights are very elegant and neatly placed.

Let’s not forget! This solid rock is standing on 4 wheels .. which really adds for it’s overall look … (195/60 wide profile tyres on 15″ alloy wheels)

Overall Exteriors are really impressive…

ENGINE / Performance:

Punto comes with two fuel versions i.e., Diesel and Petrol.

Diesel version Engine is called as MultiJet which is 1.3 L engine generating 76bhp@4000 rpm with torque of 197NM@1750 rpm and petrol engine is called FIRE which comes in 1.2 and 1.4 L.

These engines are BS IV and BS V compliant and very eco-friendly and pocket friedly as well . Very good mileage in City as well as on Highways.

Performance… hmm .. what to say .. ??? yes! we are not talking about actual condition testing .. here I would like to emphasis on day 2 day performance, which you and me are interested.. am I right? FIAT has always pioneered with advanced technology and Punto has it’s share too … this comes with a very good engine with very good gearbox (Palio was missing very good gearbox) complimenting each other.. There is a bit turbo lag till around 2000 rpm, once crossed 2000 rpm, you are on a road rocket :0). Amazing handling, no body roll, classy cornering.. feel safe while cornering and precise .. that’s important..

Thinking how you feel inside this car? don’t worry.. you won’t feel the potholes or humps of Bangalore in this hatch.. Superb suspension and dynamics. It’s quiet inside the cabin, good noise dampning and overall you are on a hard yet soft cushion ..

When we talk about performance, most of us stick to fuel efficiency.. This car is not too great in terms of FE but overbeats many cars in this category. City Driving (12kmpl) and Highway (16kmpl) with 100% AC on. To be precise, this depends on individual’s driving skills..

Overall Engine . Performance are really impressive…

INTERIORS:

Interiors ?? yes! let’s talk about some of the pros and cons of interiors, which I feel is very important when talking about FIAT cars .. Lately, FIAT has improved with interior design and quality, when compared the Palio and it’s siblings.

Enter the Punto… you feel cool with superb steering and on-steering controls. Seats are very well ergonomically designed with center instrument console featuring Auto AC (Emotion) and ICE which is well placed. Center Console helps you to see the music tracks / incoming call / outgoing call / KMS / Temp etc … this is bit clumsy .. There is a small display in the center console in between speedo and rpm meter and this shows all info.. which is difficult to read while driving. They should have placed at the center of the dash..(my opinion)

Storage Space:

Glove box is really inadequate for anything, except for car documents. This is of not much use at all. Cup holder’s are OK but not that good and there is not much space for storage in this car.

Boot space is 290lts.. but does not feel so in terms on width. We can keep one big suitcase and a kit bag. Not that impressive. Loading is a bit difficult as it is high rise..

Storage space is not that impressive..

Legroom is quite good for both front and rear passengers. However, headroom is not that good for rear passenger. Rear seats have 60:40 split seat, which is good.

Dashboard of Punto and Linea are same to same not much changes. Punto comes with Blue&Me functionality, which is unique and compliments this car.

Overall Interiors is good.. not that impressive

Conclusion: Solid built, aggressive, stylish and powerful car with minor improvements on interiors front…

Disclaimer: This is my personal opnion and not an expert review.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is using 1.3 MultiJet Engine from FIAT for all it’s DIESEL variant cars that includes SUZUKI SWIFT, SWIFT DZIRE and also upcoming SX4. Maruti got a very good opportunity to deploy MJD engines via GM, as GM was holding nearing to 20% of stake in Suzuki and GM had license to share MJD from FIAT-GM-BOSCH Consortium (MJD was developed jointly by these three auto majors).

Recently Volkswagen AG, world’s No.1 Auto Maker recently bought 20% stake in Japan’s leading automobile company “SUZUKI”. This development might make Maruti to think about deploying 1.2 TDI Diesel Engines from VW AG. This engine is already been deployed in VW’s group company SKODA AUTO’s  “FABIA”. The same will be deployed in upcoming most anticipated and exepected VW POLO.

However, lots of reviews from Auto Experts have proved that 1.3 MJD is much far better than 1.2 TDI. Let’s have to wait and watch…

Typical story … is when you go and take advice from anyone about FIAT … you will get a standard answer .. “FIAT eh? No … it has not got resale value, no spares, no service … and there is nothing in FIAT” .. I hope I am right.. )

I had the same experience, when I first decided to got with PALIO after I sold my TurboJet Indica in 2008.. Like everyone, I love carz and I try to learn and understand more about them … I am not just a Driver …. I give my 100% love towards my cars…

I finalized on FIAT Palio 1.3 MultiJet Diesel Engine – SDX version – Furnace Red. I would like to share my ownership report with you .. and here it goes ….
 
This horse is powered by 1.3MJD which produces 75 horse-power @ 4000 rpm, which is also used in Maruti SWIFT, Tata Indica Vista, Tata Indigo Manza, FIAT Linea and FIAT Grande Punto…Torque is less when compared to other cars, where it delivers 184NM. Swift generates 190NM and Punto 194NM.. This means the pickup / peppiness is bit less…But, this did not bother me, as I drive slowly and don’t like to be kicked . It takes on the road smoothly with good road-grip and stiffness. No matter, how hard you hit the peddle… you will be safe in this bullet proof tank. PALIO is nothing short of any small tanker when it comes to body.

Ride and Handling:
I believe this is the only car which is tooo strong in ride and handling. Amazing dynamics, this gives more confidence when driving on highways with 120+ or in city with 20+. No worries about cornering, very solid movement. Its difficult to explain, one must feel in Palio.
Rating: 10/10

Fuel Efficiency:
1.3 MJD is known for fuel efficient and environmental friendly engine which is BS IV certified.
I drive at a contant speed with less braking and more control with accelerator and clutch and with 100% AC ON. This returns me of 16.7 kmpl within BANGALORE City and 18.5 kmpl on HIGHWAYS (Mixed Mode). This is quiet impressive and less pressure on my pocket
Rating: 10/10

Interiors:
I have been reading in many articles, that the dashboard of PALIO is dated. Yes, I agree, does that mean lack of required features!!! lack of plastic quality !!! No .. I am not just defending by this statement, I mean it. I have no problems with interiors. There is a two tone dash in Palio, which looks more spacious and all buttons are ergonomically placed.

Good Cabin space for 5 adults. Good leg room and headroom for front passengers, superb headroom and leg room for rear passengers. 360lts of boot space is more than adequate for this hatch. I have had no problems till today in these aspects.

NOT SO GOOD: FIAT has compromised too much for SD / SDE version when compared to SDX version. FIAT does not offer even digital clock on SD / SDE version.. . ;-( this is bad.. Missing 60:40 split rear seat.

SOME ISSUES FACED:
 - Dashboard Vibration at lower RPM’s (I tried to get it fixed 4 times, later, I got adjusted to it and have changed my driving style to avoid vibration heheheh )
 - Front Co-passenger door rattling sound (This was later fixed by Service Engineer)
 
Rating: 07/10

SERVICE:
FIAT !! SERVICE !!! oh! no .. pathetic… THIS IS THE USUAL SENTENCE U HEAR FROM MANY FOLKS!!!! RIGHT!!!! HOLD ON!!
I have a different story to tell you.. Its real story and not reel…
As most of the customer face, I too faced some issues with my car.

1st - AC Condensor was damaged and it was not detected during PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection). I got this replaced with 3 days as Warranty Replacement..
2nd - I have given my car for service for 4 times now and each time I feel I am being treated with good respect and honour and as well this holds good to my car… Even HE FEELS PROUD.
3rd (important – related to parts) – Unfortunately, I met with an accident and was happened to get some of the parts replaced. This took me not less than 2 weeks to get Surveyor inspection (from insurance company), Assessment and to get parts. I used to get status through email from Concorde Motors, Bangalore and from FIAT, Pune every other day. Doesn’t this seems to be strange from FIAT and TATA. Yes! I too felt it! But, this is truely amazing.

Rating: 10/10 (STRANGE )
Snapshot
- I have covered 24000 kms in just 12 months.
- 4 Services completed (3 free service + 1 paid service)
- Average Fuel Efficiency in CITY – 16.7 kmpl (100% AC on)
- Average Fuel Efficiency on Highways – 18.5 kmpl (100% AC on)
- Average Serivce Cost (1250 Rs / Service.. Considering 4th Paid Service that includes labour)
- Accidental Parts Replacement Cost (74000/-)
 1.AC Condensor
 2.Radiator
 3.Intercooler
 4.Front Bumper
 5.Cross Rail (Exterior and Interior)
 6.FAN Assembly
 7.Painting
 8.Tinkering
 9.Labour

Let me tell something about CONS
- No Rear Split Seat (60:40)
- No ABS / AIRBAGS
- No cupholders for rear
- No Builtin ICE (Can be used from Punto)
- Not much of storage space
- Gear Transmission is hard.

OVERALL OWNERSHIP: SUPERB … Touchwood…

FIAT India is working towards facelifting existing PALIO on the lines of newly launched Brazilian Palio. Existing version of Palio was launched 2yrs back with facelifted radiator grill, headlights and rear cosmetic changes along with dual tone interiors by powering with 1.3 MJD and 1.1L, 1.6 Petrol engines.

Facelifted Palio will be launched during Q1 of 2010 and would be priced very competatively to attract new buyers. New Palio will have new radiator grill, headlights and ALL NEW DASHBOARD, this is what most of the car freaks are expecting from FIAT.

GREAT NEWS from FIAT.

Being an auto freak and I have been following almost all updates / launches. Next few sentences give you about my first impression about Manza.

FIRST LOOK! You’re right! You spotted it as Indigo…

ENGINE / FE:

Well, you name any new car from FIAT, Maruti and TATA, they use the world acclaimed engine from FIAT. TATA has rechristened FIAT’s MultiJet engine to QuadraJet (Diesel) and FIRE engine to SAFFIRE (Petrol).

I believe, there is no need for us to discuss about FIAT’s engine, as we know now there is a plan to deploy this engine in BMW Mini (there is a JV that is going on… read it in a article) and also in FORD Ka (Ka will be manufactured in FIAT’s plant in Europe).

Fuel Efficiency: 21kmpl (Highway) and 14kmpl (City) – ARAI has certified

Exterior:
No fresh look. We can just spot this car as Indigo with some refinement. This is not a good news. We were expecting TATA to launch all new fresh sedan rather than upgrading it’s already existing sedan. This is built on J300 platform, same as Vista.

Front view of the car is almost like Vista. Hold on! you know what, TATA might have copied Swift Dzire in changing the radiator grill. If you have observed, SWIFT has a jet black radiator grill and SWIFT DZIRE has got steel lines crossing the radiator grill. You will see the same thing in Vista and Manza.

Headlights seems to be standard, as almost most of the cars use the same kind on headlights now-a-days, including design.

I did not feel that there is a difference in the existing Indigo compared with Manza from side looks, except a bit long.

Rear look seems to be same but with different tail lights. Interesting, you see inverted triangle tail light instead on conventional triangle tail lights, which was used in Indigo. This reminds me of old Nissan Teana, which earlier used inverted triangle tail lights.

Amazing Boot Space of about 480lts (I don’t know why they calculate in Litres. We store only solid items, which we measure in dimension and not litres. ). Length and width of the car is bigger than Indigo XL, which was the lenthiest car from TATA’s car stable.

Overall Exterior is not that impressive. 06/10

Interiors:

TATA has improved on interiors. Interestingly, Manza does not have central instrument console, as in Vista. Dashboard design is almost like FIAT’s Palio (Top) and the cluster resembles of Linea / Punto (it’s good FIAT and TATA are sharing technologies, parts and also the plant)

Manza has some interesting facts, which is not very common in sedans manufactured in India

1. This has got Blue5 (Bluetooth Connectivity), as in Linea / Punto (Blue&Me). 1st Car in India to get this feature other than FIAT’s Linea/Punto in this segment. Great feature.
2. USB Reader. Yes! you can insert the stick and can play songs.

3. Illuminated Glove box resembles of Hyundai i20. Very spacious and also it has a seperate Pen and Visiting cards holder (hmm … too much improvement)

4. Illuminated Ignition key hole ring

5. Brilliant illuminated driver information system at the center of the dashboard (top) which gives about fuel consumption, avg mileage, time and temperature.
6. Steering mounted Audio/Blue5 controls.
7. Tiltable steering
8. 2 Front cup holders
9. Rear seat has got 2 cup holders.
10. Good Legroom and headroom, as always in TATA Cars.

Interiors is pretty impressive: 08/10 (Need to improve upon plastic quality)

Overall FIRST IMPRESSION is GOOD.

Let me take Test Drive and will comment on Performance, Handling and Comfort

Disclaimer: This is NOT an expert review. This is purely my personal opinion

Disclaimer: The below review is personal opinion and not an expert review.

Review on Hyundai i20 MAGNA Petrol.

Hyundai Motor entered into premium hatch market with it’s “i20″ somewhere around 7-8 months back. Currently, i20 is being manufactured in Chennai, India for Global market (This is now an OLD news ) . Hyundai is planning to shift i20 manufacturing unit to somewhere in Europe (only for Global Market). For Indians, we still get it from Chennai.

I happened to take a Hyundai i20 test drive and also bought one couple of weeks back. I am sharing my observations below.

ENGINE/PERFORMANCE/FE:

Hyundai has used 1.2 Kappa engine in i20 Petrol, which generates 80 ps @ 5200rpm. This is quite sufficient in city roads. Engine is not that peppy but still does it’s job pretty well. I am satisfied with its performance on Bangalore city roads.

I did take this new hatch on Bangalore-Mysore highway (This is a really good stretch) and cross 100 on my speedometer. I did not feel difficult to touch 100+ however, felt really tensed. Car seems to be too light and it does not take pot-holes or kattcha road. You can feel the pot-holes / humps. You cannot take this on off-road (even for small distance). Suspension is good for good roads and bad for bad roads .

Front Suspension: Mc Pherson Strut with Gas shock absorber
Rear Suspension: Couple Torsion Beam Axle with Gas shock absorber

I would have preferred Independent Wheels Suspension and Double Acting Dampers with Stabilizer Bar with McPherson (This is there in Grande Punto) 

Tyres are good, Magna gets Tubless Tyres from MRF (175/70 R14), which does a pretty good job. Handling is not bad, it’s managable. Not much issues with it, but should be careful while cornering.

FE (Fuel Efficiency) impressed me, as most of the Premium hatch does not give us good figures.
City: 14kmpl (with 100% AC)
Highway: 16kmpl (with 100% AC)

ENGINE Rating : 08/10
PERFORMANCE Rating: 07/10 (Should impress me on Highways , though I drive slowly)
FUEL EFFICIENCY: 09/10 (I am greedy need more mileage, so can’t give 10/10)

EXTERIORS:

Damn gorgeous from front and side (not from rear) and masculine. I read in many artciles that the front shape was inspired by Mercedes .. hmmm .. that’s great .. atleast I own a car that is inspired by Mercedes.. if not Mercedes

I liked the Windshield water sprinklers, they are not placed on bonnet, which I really liked.. Front bumpers are too masculine by looks, multi-reflector headlamps are neat and adds value to the masuline body. OVRM are big and can catch a truck stading close by completely . Doors seems to be a good guage, though body doesn’t seems to be while driving.

Rear shape of the body did not impress me much. but ….. its neat and good. All badges are placed perfectly with body shape and the tail lights look really well.

Overall, SUPERB exteriors…

EXTERIORS Rating: 09/10

INTERIORS 

First Impression WOW!!!… its simple superb and is the best in it’s class. Probably, quality might be a concern , however, no problems for the amount we are paying. Really cool interiors. 
- IN-DASH ICE (neatly designed and placed)
- Tower shape AC vents.  
- Tilt Steering
- Glove Box Cooler (Nice Feature, can keep chocs and ice-cream when AC is running)
- Elegant Digital Meter (Displays Distance Covered in TIME, Trip A/B, Outside Temperature, Date and Time)
- Good Storage Space
- Rear AC Ducts (nice feature, but I haven’t seen it .. however, felt it )
- 4 Speakers + 2 Tweeters (factory fitment)
- Really good legroom, even 6+ feet person can easily sit, get-in and get-out.
- Dual Tone Interiors

Not so good: ALL BROWN INTERIORS  (DASH, Seat, Steering and even parcel tray)

 INTERIORS Rating: 9/10

Conclusion:
- Value for Money
- Good Premium Hatch
- Execellent A.S.S
- GO FOR IT! UBER COOL