For petrol, the Punto has a 1.4L, 90 HP top of the line variant that is definitely better and realistic than the typical premium hatchbacks which desperately stay in the 1.2L bracket. And if handling and suspension is your top priority, no hatch can match the Punto in that department. Regards.

For bad roads and a car that is rough and tough, what will you choose? The Punto has a higher ground clearance than the i20, The Punto has stiffer suspension and hence the effect of load is lesser than the i20, The Punto has a strong sheet metal engine guard under the engine bay which is totally absent in the i20, The Punto is the only hatchback…[Read more]

Its not common here in India due to the highly cost sensitive nature of the market and the fact that car makers can anyway get people to queue up for substandard, outdated or “Made for India” products. Turbo petrols are quite common globally and will soon be catching up in India as well. VW’s TSi range of petrol engines is a turbo petrol family.…[Read more]

Yes, pretty easily Devendra. Enjoy your trip and read our article on “How to Prepare your car for Leh” before you start. It will help.

People have been to Leh in Lauras. The Raid de Himalaya has been won in an 800cc Alto. No reason who your Polo will disappoint you. The Ladakh drive is no longer as wild as what it is projected to be.

Ground clearance too isn’t an issue on most parts of the road between Manali and Leh. The only areas you need to be careful are near the passes where the roads are bad and rocky. And near some water crossings, although the Manai – Leh stretch doesn’t have too many major ones.

Truth be told, the high passes apart, you’ll encounter some of the best paved and smoothest roads. The general level of infrastructure has improved by leaps and bounds, at least if you stick to the tourist circuit.

Yes, it seems to be a good deal to me. The Punto is amongst the best hatch backs to drive and offers very good fuel economy in its diesel avatar as well. The maintenance costs are also very reasonable.

It is tough to get such a good deal Binoy, I d say, go for it after its condition is ascertained.

Congratulations on the booking and have a great time with a great car…!!!

No real need of fog lamps, the stock headlamps are adequate. To keep the car shining like new, either polish it yourself every month or opt for the teflon pack at the dealer’s.

The Linea T Jet without a doubt on all parameters except durability and mileage.

City is the better bet considering reliability..
Honda cars are known for its reliability…
U can see 10 year old City or other Honda cars still running in good condition on roads…
U may expect a few more mileage from the City…
Rest on all terms Linea is a winner

While the Linea is solidly built, please keep in mind that it has a few rough edges when it comes to plastics and rubber components. They City’s build on the other hand is better. Also, the Linea is a heavier car putting more stress on the components compared to the feather light City. Shenoy has given you a very relevant example of Honda quality.

1. There is not an immense difference in fuel efficiency, the Linea delivers very close figures if driven similarly. Figures for the Linea would be 9 to 10 kmpl in the city and around 14 on the highway, primarily since its very hard to drive sedately. But if driven at similar speeds, the difference would be around 1 to 2 kmpl at the best. 2.…[Read more]

Agree. For features, it’s the T-Jet over the City. And also, it just feels a lot more involving to drive – the acceleration is nice. The new T-Jet is coming in a few days, so let’s see what the pricing is like (it will come in Emotion / leather trim).

Hi Dr Hameed. As Dave Jose says, a consistent 20 kmpl is very difficult for all the three cars mentioned here. This is possible if you drive on low traffic highways in the top gear, but if it involves a bit of city driving or bumper to bumper traffic, it will always dip below 20 kmpl. There is one problem with the Linea – it is a great car, but it…[Read more]

The Sunny diesel is a good choice for space and fuel efficiency, but service costs are still unknown in the long term. As others here have said, the Linea is a value-for-money product, except that service standards are an issue. If you are buying a Linea, first check out the service center in your vicinity and find out from other customers there…[Read more]

Both will be comparatively expensive. The 1.3MJD of the Linea and the 1.5K9K of the Sunny/Scala are the most economic engines to maintain.

My brother owns the top model. Service costs are in generally in 5 figures. Can be anywhere between 8-15k depending on how much work is done.

Anyone with knowledge can tell you that its the Punto, the Swift just has fan boys. How about Swift uses Punto’s lower spec engine? How about Swift uses an ECU from Fiat’s subsidiary? How about the Punto’s platform races in a higher category than the Swift’s on an international level? How about globally the publicly best available version of the…[Read more]

Purely from the standpoint as a car the Punto is a better car. But if you consider service network and dealer reach, there’s a reason why the Swift sells in large numbers.

@ Roshun – Do you think after sales of Maruti is slightly over hyped? Take these examples over the last week from Pune. A Maruti taken to the service center at 10 am (note the time) with PRIOR appointment for washing only, takes five hours for washing because there are too many vehicles and too much load. A Punto with a blown turbo pipe taken to…[Read more]

I know so many Maruti owners who grumble about inconsiderate Maruti staff. They have no consideration if there is no booking, and the booking simply means they will do something that day, not necessarily take care of the problem. Nothing against Maruti, just that their sales are a bit too much for their service to handle, maybe. Its good for…[Read more]

The Swift actually uses the 75 HP tune. Other tunes Fiat has are 70 HP and 105 HP, both not introduced in India. Also since India has BS4 pollution norms which are similar to Euro4, we get the second generation MJD. Otherwise Fiat moved to MJD II in countries where pollution norms are stricter.