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Oil sleek
What's the Fiat Palio like, with a diesel engine under the hood?
Text by Sameer Kumar Photos Parameswaran

There's something about diesel. Once the almost exclusive preserve of commercial vehicles and Mahindra jeeps, this propellant has been finding increasing acceptance of late, in the mainstream passenger car segment. For good reason of course. Whether it's eco-friendly or not may still be debatable, but what's for sure is that diesel is a lot cheaper than petrol! And when it saves you ten rupees on every litre of fuel bought, a diesel ngine's noise and vibration suddenly become bearable for many people. It's not only the penny-pinchers who opt for diesel these days. With increasing levels of refinement and sophistication, the good old oil-burner is going places even with those who don't really care how much they spend on tanking up on fuel. We, at Motoring, have loved the Hyundai Accent CRDi in recent times, and even our long-term Scorpio has been nothing less than brilliant. Driveability, once the bane of diesels because of their excessive NVH levels, is now their selling point.

Status quo?
Which brings us to the Palio D, the new diesel-powered Fiat. Last-generation Fiat diesels - the Uno 1.7D and the old Siena TD60 - weren't spectacular success stories, but that has not stopped Fiat from bringing in a new diesel mill for the Palio, which has been doing well since it was launched in mid-2001.

Since its inception, the Palio has garnered praise from all quarters, and is a competent performer in most areas except one. And an important one at that. The perception is that the Palio twins, the 1.2 and 1.6, have an unnatural liking for unleaded. And when " gaadi average kitna deti hai ?" is the pervasive question, the Palio's mileage figures just don't work. That's because it is seen as a 'small car' and people expect those to be frugal with fuel. The solution? A new diesel engine that'll make sure running costs are kept low...

Except for the badging on the boot, the Palio D looks exactly like its petrol brother, which is okay by me. When the car came out two years ago, its styling drew mixed reactions. Some said it looked like the Indica in profile, and that wasn't so nice. For me, the Palio's styling is safe and dependable if nothing more. There is a certain aura of quiet solidity to the car which the Japanese/Korean/Indian competition doesn't have. And though it doesn't look half as handsome as its cousin, the Weekend Adventure (which also gets a diesel variant now), the Palio's proportions manage to work.

Inside too, the Palio D is the same as ever. Only, this time we have plastic-wood trim on the front facia. Fabrics and plastics appeared to be of good quality, and better than those on, say, an Indigo. Packaging is a Palio strong point, and the car scores on interior space - for passengers as well as for luggage.

Wired!
To come to what the Palio D is all about, it is of course, the engine. Fiat claim that this normally-aspirated 1910 CC inline-four diesel powerplant is 'inspired by aircraft technology'. That is because it uses 'drive-by-wire' technology, which does away with the usual cable link between the throttle pedal and the fuel pump. Instead, an "accelerator pedal potentiometer" is used, which reads the driver's inputs at the throttle pedal, converts those to electrical signals and sends them to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that governs the car's digital fuel injection system. In addition
to throttle position, the ECU also factors in other parameters before deciding precisely how much fuel it needs to squirt into the engine, so as to ensure maximum combustion efficiency at all times. What it translates to you and me is 63 bhp at 4500 rpm and 12.2 kgm at 2500 revs. These figures are roughly at par with the diesel Lancer (2000 CC powerplant) or the diesel Indigo (turbo'd 1400 CC engine) and better than the diesel Zen/Esteem (old 1500 CC Peugeot engine).

To get away from power figures for a minute, the Palio D doesn't really feel very sluggish to drive. The key to getting the best out of this car is not to over-rev the engine, and use its low-rpm torque to keep the car cruising along briskly. The Palio 1.9 D chugged up inclines at slow speeds in third gear, where a Weekend Adventure (petrol), which was also on test with us at the time, always required a downshift. The diesel Palio keeps up with traffic, and overtaking other cars is also not a problem as long as you time it right. Remember, no unnecessary downshifts - just coast by on low-rev torque.

The car we tested was riding on 13-inch pressed-steel wheels (the Palio 1.6 GTX gets 14-inch alloys), and tyres were 165/80 Bridgestone S248s. These, combined with the soft-ish suspension set-up, provided good ride comfort. The independent front suspension - McPherson struts, coil springs and stabiliser bar, combined with the torsion axle (coil springs and stabiliser bar) rear is optimised for occupant comfort rather than all-out handling prowess, which perhaps is how most buyers would want it. Italian genes or not, this is supposed to be an economical little family hatchback, so there.

Those who care about safety (or maybe that should read 'those who can afford safety') can opt for the top-end ELX SP variant of the Palio D, which comes equipped with anti-lock brakes, and electronic brake force distribution. We did not have a chance to test an ABS-equipped car, but the regular car we tested, with ventilated discs at front and drums at the back, provided adequate 'feel' and stopping power, but could've been sharper - some more 'bite' wouldn't have gone amiss. Maybe it's time for those rear brake drums to be replaced with discs?

Call of the diesel
Does the Palio D make the grade? Well, it seems to be a sturdy, dependable little car which you can probably count on for in-city running as well as the long haul. Performance-wise, it's a bit staid, but fuel economy is not so bad. We only got around 10 kpl, but that was during testing, which included several high-speed runs and acceleration and braking tests. For 'normal' driving, I suppose you could expect about 12 kpl with the AC on, but only if you exercise some restraint with your right foot.

Pricing (ex-showroom, Delhi) has been announced at Rs 4,19,500 for the base version, going up to 4,75,000 for the top-end variant which comes with ABS. (The diesel Weekend Adventure has been priced at Rs 6,99,000).

All things considered, I'd say the Palio diesel is fairly good value. It certainly won't keep you entertained like a CRDi will, but it's more refined than an Indica and feels better put together than an Indigo. The Palio D's running costs should be low, and the car will likely be a reliable workhorse for the family. If you've decided to go the diesel way, you'd do well to have a look at this one.