gear kereta

The Fiat Grande Punto is available with two petrol engines viz. 1.2-litre and the 1.4-litre and the diesel variant is the 1.3-litre mill which is based on the multijet technology. The Grande Punto has a front-mounted transversely placed powerplant which propels the front wheels through a 5-speed manual gearbox.

The 1.4-litre FIRE (Fully Integrated Robotised Engine) is a petrol driven engine which even powers the Fiat Linea. It is 1368cc, 16-valve engine which cranks up 90bhp@6000rpm and produces a maximum torque of 115Nm@4500rpm. This is a modern short-stroke high rpm engine which has lower torque and higher rpm.

The engine is highly refined with very low NVH levels even while idling. The engine feels a bit sluggish at low rpm, however the engine comes on song after it crosses 3000rpm. Drive the car above 3000rpm and you will have no complaints about the engine's performance. The electronic throttle is responsive and the car responds well when you plant your right foot. In our test, the Grande Punto took 16.9 seconds to do a 0-100kph run and 20.4 seconds for a quarter mile.

Drivetrain:

The Grande Punto petrol is a short stroke and high revving engine which transmits power through a five speed gearbox. Considering the torque and rpm, the gear ratios for the first four speeds are short, which increase the drivability of the car and makes overtaking easier. However, the overdrive gear is meant for the car to cruise on highways.

The throw of the lever in the Grande Punto is small and the shifts are positive and move into the slots very smoothly. In our in-gear test, the Grande Punto clocked 30-50kph in 4.9 seconds in the third gear and 7.2 seconds in fourth gear, in the fifth gear it took 10.5 seconds to reach 50-70kph.

Fuel Efficiency:

The Grande Punto has an overall fuel efficiency of 10.8kpl. In our metal to petal test, the Grande Punto petrol returned a mileage of 8.67kpl.