Drive impressions of Fiat Punto Abarth

As per Indian notions, automobiles or cars are purposely built to haul people or luggage from one place to the other. These machines are merely judged on their spec sheets and by spec sheet I mean the mileage, feature list, touchscreen size and quality, number of automated buttons and all the other creature comforts followed by the design which play a vital role in determining their sales figures. This is the fundamental reason why Indian roads are flooded with cars that befit the saying, “all show and no go”. It’s not that we Indians are deprived of good cars with powerful IC engines but due to the lack of awarenes for good IC engines, such cars were soon shoved off from the market. The very examples are the Fiat Palio 1.6, Maruti Esteem 1.6 GT, Hyundai Getz 1.5 GDi, Opel Corsa Sail 1.6, Ford Fusion 1.6 and so on. These cars back then offered an unparalleled joy that no other car in their respective segments could. But these cars were launched at a time when our market wasn’t matured enough to understand such vehicles and their capabilities. It took several years for us to fathom and welcome cars that were much more than just machines to ferry occupants. With the growing popularity of the Polo GT and the Baleno RS, it was evident that finally the automotive awareness provoked people to indulge themselves into the world of automotive performance. However, the hard core enthusiasts were still left wanting for more, something intriguing enough to claim the hot hatch tag, until Fiat launched their home grown scorpion, the Punto Abarth. Punto, a car which was known for its solid build, reassuring chassis along with a powerful diesel engine, brought in a new 1.4 litre turbo charged petrol motor with the Abarth tag. Now for the people who claim this engine to be stripped off the Linea T-Jet and slapped on to the Punto, I would like to add that it is not actually what engineers at Fiat did. Sure the motor was first introduced with the Linea T-Jet in India, however this engine is in a different state of tune and boasts of a much larger turbo charger. To geek out in technical terms, Punto now uses the bigger VL38 turbo vs the VL37 turbo unit that we used to get in the Linea. Also, here is the list of the parts that have been modified in the engine department:

 Turbo charger

 Exhaust manifold

 Intake Camshaft

 Exhaust Camshaft

 Intake Air Fuel Module

 Pressure sensor

 Boost pressure and Temperature sensors on Intake Manifold

 Fuel Rail

 Spark Plugs

 Injectors

 Battery

 Different Map for ECU

All of the above listed enhancements help this 1.4 L engine dish out a max power of 145bhp @ 5500rpm and 212nm @ 2000- 4000rpm. These power figures are adequate to catapult the Punto to 100kmph from a standstill in a mere 8.8 seconds. This car is seriously fast and if performance is what you’re looking for, your search ends here. It’s really hard to put this car into a segment, because as per price, this wild scorpion just demolishes everything and everyone. With just a couple of tweaks, you’ll be in the league of Polo GTI and the Mini Cooper S. In fact in European countries Punto is considered to be one of the most highly tuned hatchbacks and it’s not hard to understand why tuners love this car.

If we talk about the mechanicals, what we get here from the factory is one of the best chassis currently in business for a hatchback, coupled with a hydraulic steering unit and a manual gearbox means, you’re really in heaven! The gear ratios are well spaced to keep you engaged by providing ample torque throughout the rev range. Only gripe with this transmission are the gear shifts as it feels a bit rubbery sometimes. I wish they had it swapped with a slick shift unit. To sum up the overall drive experience in words; burry the throttle hard between 2500-3000rpm, wrestle with the torque steer by firmly holding that brilliant steering all the way to its red line. And wrestle you’ll have to as this scorpion pulls wheel spins in 3rd gear as well. That’s some serious performance in my books. Next up, are the suspensions where all the superlatives fall short to describe how phenomenally they work. Carlo Abarth is known for making some serious performance oriented cars like the Abarth 5oo series, Abarth 125 series and that legacy is followed to the Punto as well. The Punto in its Abarth tune comes shod with Independent McPherson Struts in the front along with Coil Springs at the rear. Also, the Helical Coil springs, Double Acting Telescopic Dampers and Stabilizer Bar provide great stability by keeping the body role in check along with a rock solid and planted composure over our less than perfect smooth roads. This setup is stiffer than the regular Punto and might not be as cushy as a Maruti or a Hyundai, but believe me when I say that these cars won’t even see which way an Abarth Punto went on a winding section. With this level of equipment and grunt from the motor it’s indispensable to have good stopping power and once again Fiat impresses us with disc brakes at all four corners unlike the Figo S and the Polo GT which have drums at the rear.

So, with the amazing suspension, great steering, good brakes and a composed chassis means that the Punto Abarth as an overall package is perfect, but it isn’t! Every single time you floor the throttle or even a hard dab results in wheel spins. The car just struggles to put the power down cleanly. That’s because the 195 section rubber is not enough to tame the Abarth. An upsized 205 section tyre with a stickier rubber might help. Also, the car is a hit and miss when we talk about ergonomics. The A-pillar is too thick, the rear C-pillar blocks your rear quarter vision, the space at the footwell is cramped, the infotainment unit looks like a decade old, there’s only one cubby hole at the front and the door pockets can’t even hold a regular sized bottle. Though the newer models get reverse camera, but what about traction control or even ESP? Getting into a good driving position is quite a task as you’re always sitting a bit high even in the lowest seat height setting with the steering awkwardly close to your chest. Despite the amazing build quality, the cabin fails to impress you as the design is showing its age and the plastic and overall material quality just cannot justify the price tag. The boot space is nowhere close to class leading standards and the average fuel economy is just, average!

But let’s just hold up for a second and think, are performance oriented cars really about practicality or fuel economy? The philosophy behind performance cars goes with “smiles per gallon” rather than “miles per gallon”. Name a super car that is supposed to do your daily chores, help you drive through city traffic, could be used as a daily driver. There’s almost none and in the light of this theory it cannot be deemed right to put the Abarth Punto within the bracket of practicality. However, on the contrary I believe that it’s the perfect budget oriented hot hatch that can be used as a daily driver as well. You can take it to work, the fuel efficiency is bearable, ride quality isn’t spine jarringly stiff, boot can swallow a weekend’s luggage for a nuclear family and it’s a mile muncher on highways with all that extra oomph.

So, is the Punto Abarth worth considering? It would be a big “Yes” if I would have to put my money on it. To further clarify the perception behind this answer, it is very important for us to understand the purpose of a car and the place in which it belongs. The point that I want to make here is that the Figo S, Polo GT and the new kid, the Tiago JTP still have some time left with them, but the fate of the Abarth Punto is nearly sealed in India. The production of the Abarth Punto has stopped and rumours suggest no signs of restart. If we as enthusiasts will not show our eagerness and awareness towards good cars, good cars shall not be made in our market. We probably are the last generation of car junkies who can still pick their choice of IC engines before the world goes all electric. So, the judgement finally rests in your hands, whether you’ll be logically decisive or just go with the choice that drives you from within!

Soumil Dey - Author