Fiat Punto Evo long term review: After 11 months and 21,000km
After the last update on the Punto, the Italian lady went in for a routine check-up. She had clocked around 18,000km at the time, which was slightly over the scheduled service at 15,000km. The Punto had no hiccups even then and the only concerning bit was a clunky sound from underneath the car. Upon inspection, we found out that it was a loose mount for the exhaust canister, which wasn't surprising considering the kind of roads that the Punto was subject to during its time before the service. The car had also picked up a dent on the rear wheel arch after an encounter with one of its Fiat 1100 ancestors dressed in black-and-yellow. The cost of service and the dent removal cost us around Rs 10,000. The latter took majority of it since the dent-removal of wheel arches and character lines require higher level of skill and labour.
As the rains set in, I took the Punto for recce runs to scout for new locations that we could test and shoot at and a particular trip to the Mulshi Ghats off the NH17 threw over 50km of awful roads at our signora. With the number of punctured cars I saw on that trip, I was pretty certain that the Apollo rubber too would give in to a puncture or two, but it held up well. The car tackled the broken roads quite well without scraping the underbody, but despite the higher ride height of the Evo, the suspension wasn't great on the ride quality even at slower speeds. On the relatively cleaner sections of the ghats though, the car was bearable. The fuel economy showed marginal improvement after the service and the engine seemed smoother as well. But having spent almost 10 months in the OD garage now, it is time for her to leave. And despite her annoying little habits, it always pains me to say ciao to a Fiat. I hope I can fill up the empty space with a Punto Abarth now. Hint hint.
Total mileage: 21,032km, date acquired: Jan '15 This month: mileage 5,312km, fuel consumed: 434 litres, fuel efficiency: 12.1kmpl
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