How much I miss my Punto... everytime a white Punto is seen a few paces ahead, I crane out to check its number, is that my (ex) car?
Not a single day passes by without having this thought. For all the good service my Kwid AMT is serving me, the Punto is still missed by me, my son, and my wife.
To make the matters a bit complicated, during the month of January I had to make a trip of about 300 kms from Bengaluru with 5 on-board. After much contemplation I decided that Kwid would not be convenient. I called up a friend who has owns a Tata Bolt (XT I think - the top end) and swapped my car with him and there started a short affair with the Tata Bolt.
Now, we all know that Tata makes spacious cars, and they are bundled with exemplary ride quality. This one was no less. With 5 people and luggage (well... about 3 bags we could stuff with difficulty, 1 medium size and 2 small ones), the car just kept running and running. The 1.3 multijet coupled with the gearbox in this car is a real pleasure to drive. Turbo lag is very minimal but the gearing is sufficiently long in all gears. This makes the car easier to drive both in the city and on the highways.
The EPS on this car is also very nice... Neutral. Not too much feedback but not vague either, and weighs up well at higher speeds. Handling is neutral - a little body roll exists but not alarming. I could easily maintain a speed of 120 kmph over long stretches and didn't have to slow down much in the curves. And when driving through rural roads, the car simply glided over the uneven surfaces and speed breakers of a reasonable height. Though equipped with ABS, the braking just about felt adequate but considering that the car has run quite a bit, it gets benefit of doubt.
The Harman developed Stereo was quite good - but falls a bit short on MID range; sounds a wee bit artificial in its rendering, but it is way better than anything OEM.
Oh well.... the ride and passenger comfort! Another thing to write about is that there is even lesser driver and passenger fatigue than it used to be in my Punto... which means driver & passenger fatigue is next to nil. For once, my wife and son didn't complain about their want to throw up and were very very happy with the car. Even in the Punto, occasionally complained but not in this Bolt. My son still sings praise of the car almost after 2 months past the drive - it is still his second choice, though. His first choice is you know... our (ex) Punto.
Now, the drawbacks - very little storage space, flawed ergonomics (was very difficult for me to find a good driving position), average build quality of interiors (the car was abused a bit and there were a few rattles), and lack of luggage space.
Yet, a drive of almost 700 kms alround over 3 days and I kept thinking, this is a nice car... I was Bolt 'ed.
Its sad that the car did not do too well (it's big bro Zest did some decent numbers, though). Well, our country doesn't really care for a good car, do they?
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