Linea Diesel Emotion 2015 Initial ownership Review. Review on Fiat Linea

Linea Diesel Review

Note: This write up has a short initial review somewhere in between my ramblings on related matters.

I bought a Linea Diesel Emotion 2015 January model, Pearl white colour in February from Ramkay Fiat, Chennai.  This is my third FIAT; earlier I had a Palio ELX(bought in 2002) and later a Palio Stile 1.6 from 2009 onwards.  For extraneous reasons I had bought the latter from a used car dealer; it was 1.5 years old when I bought, with 27K km on the odo.  I had many niggling problems with this 1.6, though I managed to use it for more than five years with technical support from Palio Users Group -especially Master Vijay.  Till about a year ago there was no support for Palio from FIAT; Tatas had stopped servicing Palio(though going to a Tata service centre for my Palio was the last thing I wanted to do).

I mention all this because when I wanted to buy a new sedan, Linea was not in my list since I was not happy with FIAT organization or lack thereof.  I test drove Honda City iVTEC, Skoda Rapid, Linea(though I was not considering it), Maruti Ciaz, Tata Zest and Ford Ecosport.  I found it difficult to decide after short test drives, and my choice has been largely influenced by users reviews online, especially on Team BHP, mouthshut and carwale.  It was not easy to decide between diesel and petrol, given the drop in fuel prices, narrowing of the difference between petrol and diesel prices and my usage of only about 10000 km/year, but I decided to go for diesel since I wanted to experience the ‘power of diesel’, and since diesel cars have become more maintenance-free in recent years; savings from fuel efficiency of a diesel are anyway nullified(for my kind of users) by the higher price of the car.

Now I am very much aware that FIAT is least selling of all manufacturers in India – I look up data in Team BHP website - and my only concern was they should not shut shop and get out!  But considering various factors I reckoned that this will not happen in the foreseeable future.  Honda City is of course the king in this segment, and it took me many months to decide in favour of Linea diesel.  Honda city diesel engine, I beileve, is noisy and unrefined(?); among the petrol cars the City is probably the best.  When we say ‘the best’ it also includes positive feedback due to the sheer number sold every month and the brand value.  Add to this the fact that Maruti is king here with more than half the total market share; that Hyundai is also doing pretty well, with Verna not doing so badly; Rapid is selling rapidly; Vento has more prestige value any day compared to a Fiat; even Nissan Sunny with its wishy-washy image is selling much more than Linea, etc.  In this scenario it takes some guts(or some would say a bit of madness) to go for a car that sells the least – however good it is – and I am happy with my choice of Linea diesel.

Now a quick brief review: It is true that the initial pick up is sluggish, but it is definitely not a deal-breaker.  Once we cross 1700 rpm or so it becomes an altogether different beast and takes off.  It is a pleasure to drive.  AC is OK, though not a great chiller.  I may have to get used to Auto AC; if I set it to 20 or 19 deg. C, it does a decent job.  No difference in engine power whether the AC is On or Off when we are at normal speeds, though it seems to make a difference at first and second gears.  I have driven 1300 km in about month, and I find the Linea to be an excellent vehicle, nor surprisingly. ~Half of my driving is on highways, and the stability, ride and handling are excellent.  The fit and finish are also very good, no vibrations, squeaks, etc.  Huge ground clearance of 185 mm lets you drive carefree on any kind of speed breakers.  I get 17 kmpl in my daily use in rural area(I live some 60 km away from Chennai city) with light traffic and fairly good roads and 20 on highway drive(60 km only) on the East coast road.  I did not find much difference between the car’s computer and full tank to full tank method.

Looks wise we know ‘beauty lies in the beholder’s eyes’, it is rather subjective.  I am not a great fan of the front looks of Linea; I believe the City wins here, though the earlier version is better; Vento looks good; even Rapid is better than Linea.  I am not too fond of the curvy Verna, Swift, etc.  Rear view of Linea is better than its front view, though again the City and the look-alike Ciaz are better.  Linea’s side profile looks excellent and may be comparable to the City.  Obviously the best looking cars sell more, and Linea, though it looks good according to most of its admirers(who are not many!), doesn’t measure up in this area.  FIAT has to do some more homework.

It looks to me that people’s choices are largely driven by invisible peer pressure and perceptions.  I believe almost all cars are good(at least whatever I test drove); there may be slight differences in features; some of the diesel engines may be somewhat noisy/unrefined; individual choices are determined by the importance one attaches to the various things.

Okay, one major reason I went for Linea is Safety.  13 years ago I had come to the conclusion that FIAT cars are safe, and that perception remains.  This is not to say that other cars are not safe, but my belief is that Linea is safer than many others.  Safety comes at a price, and Palio was heavy, paying a heavy price of not selling well due to the wrong perception of being fuel inefficient, as if 1-2 kmpl difference matters more than life itself.  The same holds for Linea diesel, though it fares much better in terms of fuel efficiency.  When people test drive a car, they gauge how smooth the engine is, how good the pickup is, how comfy the seats are, how spacious and good looking the interiors are, etc., but the invisible factor of passive safety is not in anyone’s mind; it is a case of out of sight and out of mind.  India figures high on the list of countries with largest number of road accidents, and passive safety should actually be among the most important in the list of things to look for in a car, IMHO.  Another thing people do not usually evaluate is highway traits.  People who drive only in cities – where speeds do not exceed 40-60 kmph - may be justified in ignoring highway drive, but many/most people who do drive on highways are not attaching enough importance to highway manners of a car and safety aspects.  Linea I believe wins hands down in this segment when it comes to highway drive.

FIAT India is an also-ran.  Most of the problem lies with FIAT itself for not marketing their cars well.  They seem to be content selling their diesel engines to Maruti and Tata.  They can surely do with some aggressive marketing highlighting the safety aspect.  Though most cars in India nowadays come with airbags, I believe the passive safety associated with robust build quality and crumple zones in Linea and Punto have to be emphasized, perhaps making use of real-life accident situations/photographs.  Passive safety is the first line of defense in case of a collision.  FIAT should go for Euro NCAP tests and publish/advertise the data vis-à-vis other cars.  Subtle negative image creation/perpetuation by competitors in reviews in magazines has to be tackled suitably.  The wrong image of associating FIAT with Premier Padmini has to be erased, and in its place the true modern image of an excellent manufacturer associated with Ferrari, etc., has to be cultivated.  Lastly I have even wondered whether an Arvind Kejriwal type seeking of apology from the Indian customers for the past wrong doings(like leaving Palio/Uno users in the lurch, poor after sales service and non-availability of parts, tie up with Tatas?, and unethical hiking of prices of Palio when it started selling well soon after its launch) by FIAT Italy CEO will help!  Indians are forgiving and reasonable, and when enough reasons to go for a FIAT are shown/seen, the company may even make a turnaround, who knows!