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New Fiat Grande Punto
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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It is doing well according to new buyers and it is on my short list. But my short list becomes my long list with my '01 Kia Sportage now just over 125,000 miles and running like a champ. But this new SX4 from Suzuki helps to prove the point that Fiat is not your old "Fix It All-the-Time" car that we learned about Fiat from in the 70's.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
If you wanted to you could leave your transmission in 2WD-FWD all the time and get around 30mpg. Good choice, I would think! I just love the new car's bodystyle. It has the specialized Italian bodystyling and IMO the style shop did a great job with this new entry from Suzuki.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Incidentally, today's Wall Street Journal had an article about the SX4, and gave it what amounted to a so-so evaluation. The main deficiency cited was fuel economy, which is significantly less than competing models. Good fuel economy is important to buyers of small cars, and while the SX4 was praised in terms of fun, its mediocre fuel economy is a serious deficiency for this class of vehicle, don't you think?
As for the Suzuki SX4 sedan, yes, it's a go and yes, it will have 2WD-FWD as the main powertrain setup. As to whether Suzuki/Fiat will decide to make the sedan a vehicle that will have AWD-Lock and AWD-Auto(like the current SX4)I don't know the answer to that. My guess is that Suzuki will build the car as FWD, period. That's what makes this hobby so fun, we get to save that thrill for finding out later!
Also, off this topic, I am really interested in the Scion xA and Scion xB replacement we'll see later this year. I like one of the old Scion's, the xA and the tC. I could do without the xB to be honest with you. I like the Scion tC and tC Spec that are currently live production models.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
With all the choices out there, yes, I do mind less than 30 mpg in an economy car.
Later this year Suzuki will bring to the table an SX4 sedan that will be FWD only. No other drivetrain options will be available to you. What will be interesting is how good the FWD sedan's mpg will be.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
FWD usually has a 1-2 mpg advantage over AWD, so Suzuki will have to find additional ways to improve fuel economy to be competitive in this area. The recent Wall Street Journal report on the SX4 mentioned that it was geared somewhat low, for performance, so gearing is one variable that could be tweaked for better mileage. Of course, acceleration and responsiveness would suffer accordingly, so, not having driven the SX4, I'm not suggesting that higher gearing would be a good tradeoff. It seems to me, though, that the company that produced the Geo Metro and the Suzuki Swift is capable of figuring out how to deliver good fuel economy. We'll see.
Again, thanks.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
A significant positive is that, despite their low volume in North America, Suzuki's Canadian car plant is very efficient, helping their car business to be profitable.
Returning to Fiat, with the renewed emphasis on fuel economy, maybe Fiat's Panda and new Cinquecento models could make a go of it in the US. The latter will compete with the Smart in Europe. For a Fiat relaunch to succeed in North America, I think their cars would have to be positioned and marketed as smart, nicely appointed, fun-to-drive urban cars, priced above the price leaders.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Fiat owns Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati, all premium brands, to one degree or another, with Alfa and Lancia being primarily mid range mass market. Ferrari and Maserati have the margins to be profitable here, and there are plans to relaunch Alfa, which has a better shot at being a profitable business case than a cheaper car.
Agreed, and as discussed in another forum conversation, perhaps the way to go is licensing their products to another company. In this case, Chrysler if there is a divestiture from Daimler.
As to Alfa Romeo, I believe the intention is to sell cars through the existing North American Maserati dealerships.
YipYipYipee
I drove a Grand Punto while in the U.K., albeit with the 1.2L engine. Good enough for urban environments, but definitely out of puff when on the highway.
The interior has a clean, simple and functional design (to some, maybe even bland). Some cheap plastic in some areas, but rarely in the areas you'd see at eye-level and/or regularly touch. Same could be said for some VW Golf/Rabbit cars, including the GTI.
Externally, a very handsome looking car at most angles. And the ride is a big improvement over the previous generation Punto. Bigger wheels make it look great, but the ride-quality would be compromised, but I expect it would be tolerable. Car I drove had steel wheels and covers.
YipYipYipee
I have to say that it had great handling, great pickup, and was a sharp looking car. Mine was the Diesel and I managed to hit 180 kph (111 mph) in it while driving down the Adriatic Coast.
The car got me out of trouble when some idiot sped up on my right and cut me off. For about 200 kilometers (120 miles) I had heavy winds blowing across the highway and the car still handled well at 120 kph (75 mph).
If Fiat sold in America, I would buy a Grand Punto. I wish that they sold one with AWD.
I drove a FIAT Panda around Florence for 2 days and while it's a great little city car, It didn't feel as stedy on the highway. I would, however buy a Panda in 100 hp version since that suspension seems more firm.