Fiat Palio 1.3 Multijet Test Drive Report

The most awaited Fiat Palio 1.3 Multijet Diesel was launched on March 11. Oh! that's a beauty.


Here is a brief report.

Let me start off to the point. I had spoken to one Mr.Divya Kumar, sales executive of Manipal Motors,expressing interest in the test driving the palio multijet. Since the vehicle was unavailable till Friday, I went on Saturday 4 30 pm. Right outside the showroom was parked a silver Palio Multijet. My eyes lit up seeing the multijet badge. The new grille doesn't look bad either. There were three customers already waiting for the TD and I had to wait till they all finished. Then finally at 5 30 pm, I had the key in my hand.

Here are some salient points.

1. I started the engine and it instantly brought a smile on my face. Super silent engine.

2. I started off slowly at the first gear because it was my first diesel vehicle. Then I switched to the second gear and really felt the diesel power. Turbo Charged Multijet engine. OMG its awesome.

3. I had a lot of problems with the clutch. he clutch is a hydraulic clutch, you have to Tress it fully with your might to engage the gear (this is specially so for 2nd gear which does not slot in properly if on half clutch). The foot-rest is too close to the clutch which makes it even harder to press the clutch. Many times my foot got stuck in between the cutch and the foot-rest. I happened to stop once due to this, and had a Qualis honking behind me. Thanks to avoidance of multi cranking, I had to fully switch engine off and recrank again.

4. I deliberately went on bumpy roads to test the suspension. No problems what so ever.

5. AC on / off didn't matter too much. Pickup was more or less the same. Have to mention here -- AC is too good, press the button and you feel the chill.

6. Get on to 3rd and 4th gear, and the car is an absolute beauty to drive. I pressed the A pedal and the car was just cruising away. Its a poweful 75 bhp engine.I reached a speed of 80 kmph.

7. Even thought there were no ABS, the braking is too good. Really good. No second thoughts.

8. Interiors are still yuck !! Palio needed new interiors. No digital dashboard, fonts on dashboard are not good either. There is no leather covering for gear knob.

To sum it up, an Unbelievable car. GOOD JOB FIAT.

I would have loved to get some goodies along with the car like leather upholstery and music system with speakers, but the dealer said " no offers on fiat " :(.

All the best Fiat, Welcome back to the market.