Jazz is here; Fiat Grande Punto is coming next week

Honda Jazz as expected launched yesterday and I saw a demo car on my way to office. In fact almost every car maker in India has a showroom on Hosur Road. Jazz is priced at 7 lacs as starting price which is way too far from the current two competitors from the same segment - i20 and Fabia.

But Jazz offers some unique features when it comes to space inside the car; all the seats except the driver's seat can be positioned in different ways to accommodate different shapes of luggages. Also the fuel tank has gone under the front seats to make more room in the boot, 399 litres of boot space.

I think it's the brand name on Indian people minds is going to help Jazz win over i20 or Fabia.

Another competitor for these three cars to be launched in a week or so by Fiat. Grande Punto - looks similar to i20; I expect it to be priced competitively as the sibling Fiat Linea which is built on the same platform is priced very competitively. In fact Honda Jazz will have competition from few sedans as well due to it's high pricing.

My dad owns a Fiat Palio (2000) model and I just can't understand how Fiat lost to make their presence felt in India with such marvelous products.

I will try and test drive both Jazz and Grande Punto in the coming weeks.