Ergonomics/Build/Refinement:
- The car is blessed with a dead pedal, but that said, it’s placed too close to the clutch pedal for comfort. It’s not much of a grind, but hampers enthusiastic driving to a certain extent.
- NVH levels are simply outstanding. Fiat has put extra noise insulation paraphernalia under the bonnet to achieve some class leading refinement. Diesel clatter on the inside is virtually non-existent, and so are other kinds of noises from the road, tires and the wind. So much so, that people were finding hard to believe that they were piloting something with an oil-burner residing under the hood till they saw the rev counter.
- The steering feels great to hold and is adjustable for rake, but not for reach. Initially the steering wheel feels a tad too close to the chest but a spirited drive through the hills makes you forget that quickly
- Due to the cab-forward architecture of the Punto/Avventura, the thick A-pillar hampers visibility a tad, creating blind spots that could land you in a spot of bother when the going goes twisty.
- The five-speed gearbox has fairly precise throws, but is marred by being a bit rubbery, especially in the lower gears.
- That external spare wheel looks pretty cool, but the cover is a chore to get off, featuring a plethora a locking points and annoying latches. In fact, Fiat India should offer an extra booklet with the user manual depicting the whole process in detail.
- That cool spare wheel is prone to rattles and vibrations as well- even visually one can see the whole unit dance away happily when the car gets up to speed.
- More on that spare wheel- the whole party needs to be out of the way for the rear hatch to open, so one has to open the unit all the way out to make way for the hatch. In cramped parking spots, forget about that bit of luggage you had lying around in the boot. [But then again, in sparsely populated Panchghani, the natural habitat of the Avventura, it wasn’t an issue]
- Some more about that spare wheel [the last point, we promise]- With the spare gone from its original space in the boot, that cave has been filled with a removable thermocol thingy that houses the toolkit, first-aid box and other itsy bitsy stuff. We figured Fiat could have utilized that area better, freeing up more boot space.
- Overall fit and finish levels are pretty good actually, with the insides benefitting from a wide and smart range of materials and trims- the adventurous Fiats are pretty well put together.
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