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Thanks to the new engine, the new diesel Palio scores big on refinement and driveability. This car could tickle the interest of even those who are not diesel enthusiasts.

Peppy and very rev-happy.

The Fiat Palio Stile can hold its own even set alongside the current crop of small cars. It was always one of the best-engineered and elegant looking sub-compacts in the market. What its recipe for the India-spec Palio lacked in was a pinch of engine and gearbox refinement and a big helping of fuel efficiency.

Marrying engine refinement and class leading fuel efficiency is a science that the Japanese seem to have perfected, even for cars meant for the Indian market. The Europeans have always been good with the quality of their engineering. In the last few years they have caught up quickly with the Japanese in the fuel-efficiency department too.

A better mill

The new Fiat Palio Stile MultiJet diesel is a good example of this. The Palio was first launched with two petrol engines (a 1.2-litre and a 1.6-litre sport) and a 1.9-litre diesel engine. Now, two of the engines have been replaced to boost the overall fuel-efficiency of this small car. And unlike the petrol 1.1, the new 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine scores big on refinement and driveability too.

We have been waiting for this new engine. The 1.3-litre MultiJet is the same mill that is offered as the DDiS diesel unit in the Maruti Suzuki Swift.

In terms of performance characteristics too, the engine that is featured in both the cars are similar. With the kerb weights of the diesel variants of both the Fiat Palio Stile and the Suzuki Swift DDiS being identical the power-to-weight ratio is also the same.

The new Fiat Palio Stile MultiJet sports the same 1,248cc, 4-cylinder, common rail diesel engine that Maruti Suzuki has a licence to produce and it uses in the Swift. The engine generates a similar peak power of 75 PS at 4,000 rpm and a peak torque of 184Nm at 2,000 rpm.

This mill is one of the most refined small diesel engines that are currently available in the country.

Noise levels are intrinsically low with the MultiJet engine and the Palio’s sturdy build and decent NVH packaging allows for a quiet cabin even though on the outside the engine’s sound makes it evident that it is a diesel.

Minor facial

Apart from the big change inside the bonnet, Fiat has made few changes externally and internally to the Palio Stile MultiJet diesel. From the front, the new Palio diesel sports a slightly different multi-slatted bonnet grille with the new Fiat chrome and red logo.

The other elements externally remain the same, including the elegant clear-lens headlamps and the chunky bumper with extra-large air dam. The rear of the new Palio Stile diesel again features the same elements, including the ‘squarish’ teardrop shaped tail-lamps and the clean hatch door. The addition is the MultiJet logo and the new variant appendage.

Inside the new Palio diesel, the dashboard layout, the dual-tone beige and brown colour theme, the seats and the door trim type and finish are all elements that have been carried forward for the diesel variants depending on trim level.

The instrument cluster in the MultiJet diesel now features an additional rpm meter and the dials are all black, in contrast to the white dials in the petrol Palio.

The finish quality in the new Palio Stile MultiJet feels a tad bit below that of some of the others in the segment like the Suzuki Swift.

But despite cost cutting, the plastic quality, door trim quality etc., feel better than what was offered in the original Palio variants. Non-shiny plastic trim for the top of the dashboard feels very similar to what is offered in other B+ segment cars. Top-end SDX variant gets brushed metal facia for the centre console.

Peppy engine

The MultiJet engine in the Palio Stile feels perfect for a car this size. It has got lots of low-end torque that starts building up right from about 1,700-2,000 rpm. Yes, below that rpm-level the engine feels a bit slow on the uptake. But that lag is only barely felt and is very similar even in the Swift.

During our test drive, on the boil, the MultiJet engine was great fun. Peppy and very rev-happy, the engine is frankly a performance-oriented mill that can be attractive to any car buyer; to even those who are not looking at a diesel-variant for leveraging the fuel price differential. Compared to the Palio Stile 1.1-litre petrol, the new MultiJet can be a much more engaging to drive and that super fuel efficiency, rumoured to be 12-14 kmpl on average (city/highway), is a bonus that comes with the car.

The could-have-been

The change that we would have liked to see in the new Palio diesel is in the gearbox department. The same slightly sticky, long-throw stick shift and five-speed gearbox has been carried forward into the new MultiJet also.

The Palio Stile MultiJet comes in three variants — SD, SDE and SDX, with prices ranging from about Rs 4.3 lakh to Rs 4.7 lakh (ex-showroom).

To add more value to the package, Fiat is offering many features like body-coloured bumpers, power steering, tubeless tyres and full wheel covers as part of standard fitment.