DESIGN:
This car has design, I mean this is the most stunning hatchback on Indian roads period. The Maserati like front is like no other, when standing besides the car, you feel like there is no front bumper in this car, it looks like that. Wherever we went, the car was just being stared at by almost everyone. There is just no bad angle to look at this car from. If you are style conscious and want to make a statement that you have arrived, this is the car that will do it for you.
The fuel lid did not close easily
INTERIORS:
Overall this car has an upmarket feel to it and thankfully there is no beige in the cabin. About 75% of the cabin feels solid, the reason I am saying 75% is because a few plastic parts feels so flimsy that it is hard to imagine this is a FIAT. For example, the glove boxes both the upper and the lower do not close fully, there is visible gap even when they are shut. The lower one is loose since we got our car and it falls down on every bump this car takes. It is just very bad plastic and very thin and cheap. Next in the list of bad plastics is the driver side seat height lever. This lever apart from very bad finish has a lot of play, moves around almost an inch on each side and feels like will break with the slightest of pressure. The plastic around the key starter is the worst I have seen. Even Nano wins here.
The bad bits:
These do not close fully
Cheap plastic around the starter
The rest of it is simply awesome, once you roll up the windows, there is nothing you can here from outside. The cabin is sealed effectively, the doors need some getting used to, they are solid, really solid and could put an Octavia to shame. The console on the Emotion is amazing and looks upmarket and coupled with orange lighting, looks pretty radical. The leg room at the rear could get tricky if the front seats are pushed back. Well rear room is not much and just about okay. The carpeting is plush and so is the information display which tells you which door is open or how much fuel is left, range, outside temperature and the works. The doors automatically lock once the car reaches 20kmph which is great. The key is jazzy too. Once you get on the drivers seat, you have a long dashboard, you could not touch the front end of it even if you tried, giving you a very very big car feel.
ENGINE, PERFORMANCE:
The 1400cc FIRE engine puts out a healthy 89 bhp and 11.7 KGM of torque which on paper looks impressive, but on road the story is a bit different. Once you crank the engine, the refinement can be noticed, the engine is very silent and free revving and settles down quickly. Shift it into the first and the car moves forward quite nicely and you usually throttle, the vehicle speeds up. Now what needs to be noticed here is that the car is tipping the scales at 1190 Kilograms and moving it is not an easy task. It is heavier than an Opel Astra. You need to really work the gears to get it moving to higher speeds. 100kmph comes in a leisurely 17 secs which even the decade old 800cc Matiz achieved easily. So the engine is nothing to write home about, nor is the performance. The car struggles a fair bit to say the least and though the engine is a fairly refined unit, it does not protest at all. Gears are taller overall than short, which hinders city driving considerably forcing to half clutch it many times. The car pulls only after 2500rpm and at third gear it is acceptable. It rushes forward with a diesel like surge at this stage and the throttle response is better on higher speeds/rpm than lower. The gearbox is okay, chunky enough to operate comfortable. Slotting into gears comes real easy and it was only rare that I had to look for the slot to push the lever in.
The fuel tank is 45 litres and you could expect a mileage of 11 - 13 kmpl in city depending on the way you drive.
DRIVING DYNAMICS AND RIDE QUALITY:
The car is simply the best handling car in its segment and also takes getting used to. Swing the steering wheel at a bend and it holds the road so well that you almost over steer. The suspension is so solid that it really takes a lot to unsettle this hatch. Doing triple digit speeds never felt so safe in any car. The steering wheel has the best feedback and the chassis feels so perfect that you wonder why this car just has a 1400cc engine. In my opinion, the 1.9TSi petrol would do real justice to this vehicle's capabilities. The 175/65 R14 tires too were a bit less for a car of this size and weight. This vehicle needs a faster engine and bigger 195 tires. The ride is such that no Suzuki can match it in rigidity and solidity. It is perfect and well wighted.
OVERALL:
The car is marred by some lower quality plastics and a less inspiring engine, but the rest of it makes it an excellent package for the price. The car scored about 7.5/10 which could improve if they do not source parts from Tata vendors. If you are a first time driver and not much into spirited driving but want a value for money hatchback with all the frills and features and want to have all the safety just in case you step out on the highways, this car is for you.
Don't buy it if the only thing you want is performance or all you want is fuel efficiency.
