Eight years ago, India was at the threshold of another war with its western neighbours. Men, weapons and shells flew on either side. Our IT guys were too busy trying to fix the Y2K problem, with doomsayers predicting another meteorite shower just over earth. While people lost their lives and their sleep, Fiat India woke up from their slumber, dumped the Magneti Marelli carbs for Mikunis in the Fiat Uno and missed the opportunity of placing a bigger, 1108cc carburetted FIRE engine built by Fiat South Africa. Eight years later, Fiat India is back on another resurrection platform and seem hell bent on improving on their past mistakes. And their new ally is that same 1108cc engine they should have put in the Uno in 1999 in the first place.
The Palio, one of the cars from Fiat's much-vaunted A178 world platform, has spent more than five years on Indian roads since its mega launch in September 2001. Its most successful variant, the 1.2 had earned its fair share of bouquets, brickbats and sobriquets. So much so, that Fiat even did a 'neighbour's NV, owners pride' number. Neither worked and in 2006 when Fiat tied up with Tata to retrieve its diving fortunes, the Palio was the first to go to the smithy.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Fiat Palio Stile 1.1, Fiat India's great hope for 2007 till the Grande Punto and Linea debut next year. And if you were to gaze at the spec sheet, you might feel a tad disappointed. The 1242cc, 72 bhp 8-valve engine has been replaced by a 1108cc, 56 bhp 8-valver. Torque is now rated at 9.2 kgm versus 10.4 kgm for the outgoing Palio 1.2. Doesn't look good, does it now? But maybe you are jumping the gun. Kerb weight is down by 25 kg, price is down by nearly Rs 50,000 and fuel costs should be down by a further 500 bucks fuel tank-to-fuel tank if you have a lead foot. Now are you interested? Maybe a rev-limit that goes all the way up to 7100 rpm might add sparkle to your eyes, but don't fret, peak power comes in at 5250 rpm, making the 1850 additional rpm not reason enough to stop eyeing that used Type-II Honda City VTEC.
Slot the car into first and the same ol' Palio gearshift quality can be nearly enjoyed. It may be a tad notchier than the 1.2's, but I'm quite ok with it, considering I have lived with some rather forgettable ones from a couple of other manufacturers. Don't expect to ride on a torque wave of sorts, 'cause despite the fact the full force of it arrives at 2750 rpm, you still need to cane that engine to be going anywhere. Mid-range though is decent with enough power to keep you moving with the traffic. Unlike the 1.2, the 1.1 has considerably altered the character of the car, quite like the slotting of the diesel engine in a Swift has done to its character. It does behave a lot like pre multi-injection days, but if you do enjoy an engine that begs to be caught by its throat and has controls that are on the heavier side, you should be happy with the net result.
Once you are done checking maximum speeds through the gears (1st does 45 kph, 2nd 84 kph and I saw 110 kph in 3rd before I ran out of road, a cliche ), head for a corner. I'm not sure why Fiat has allowed the car to pitch a lot. As soon as you downshift and start building momentum as you exit, the lateral movement is a fair bit. So much so that the spring and wheel arch must be enjoying the game of shadow boxing. If that's disconcerting, the AC blower noise might probably beat it to the top slot. It's quite noisy at settings three and four. Also it cuts in a little too early when you stop for a signal, but its ability to cool can't be faulted. There is though a perceptible strain on the engine during idling and even a tendency of the AC to get caught in an air-lock as our test car whistled away a couple of times at traffic signals.
The interiors are still the same, but with some changes to the trim and colours. The centre-console and AC louvers have a steel finish that could be best avoided, the lower half of the dashboard is in beige (some inspiration from the Xeta, perhaps) while the steering boss has a slightly off-white shade to it. While overall fit is fine, finish has much to be desired with sharp edges around the instrument binnacle. Space is still one of the Palio's strong selling points with the ride still as good as ever, beating even some new C-segment cars to the podium.
The Palio was one of the best looking hatchbacks in its segment and just about manages to stay in the top echelons. The new headlamp design, which looks as if it's been lifted from a BMW or Volkswagen, merges with a chrome grille. The blend is nice, but sort of robs away some character that the erstwhile Palio exhibited in sackfuls. The new tail-lamp cluster too loses the artistic effect of its predecessor, being more utilitarian than a work of art.
At the end of it all, I'm not sure, whether waiting for eight years was the brightest idea since the invention of the wheel. Back then, the Uno with 55 bhp would have been a good idea and could even have made life hell for the carb Zen. But today, if a city commuter with loads of space, good ride quality, a company claimed average of 15.5 kpl and a price tag that starts at just under Rs 3.5 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai is all you desire, maybe giving the Palio a second chance is not a bad idea after all.
source: BSM
