In honour of my first Palio (a Weekend Stile), this new Palio section at fiatforum.com (thanks!) and because there's not diddly squat written in English about Palio's anywhere on the web, I'm going to try and compile a brief journal about Palio ownership, the ups and downs, hopefully including more happiness than tears. Maybe it'll be a little entertaining too.

Picking the car up tomorrow and will post first impressions then.

Ha ha!

I have my new car!

Specs: 2000/2000 Palio Weekend Stile 1.6 16v (103 bhp), 54K km.

Toys: A/C, leather, CD, alloy wheels, foglights, remote alarm.

Shweet.

Was cruising around all yesterday getting paperwork finalized, paid for the parking (our building doesn't have) and it's all good to go. Went to a dealer and picked up some floormats, with 'Palio' stitched in the center (red) and 'FIAT' at the side (blue, of course). Classy - until they get dirty, anyway.

It's a sweet drive, and it's fun blowing away the waves of 1.0 wannabes that wash all over the roads here. Not to mention the engine note is great, a nice grunt when you put your foot down. Somewhere, deep, deep down the lineage, there's a Ferrari there.



So, first problem. The gas gauge is a bit dicey. Will have to get that sorted. Other than that, got the oil changed, plus all filters and it's ready to go. Will post snaps as soon as the filthy weather clears up.

Entry three:

As I've heard, only niggly things go wrong with Fiats...

The alarm was a bit dodgy (aftermarket install, so can't blame Fiat for that one), seems the black (control) box is on it's way out - the antenna is going bad. No big thing, stuffed the antenna wire up through the dashboard so the remote control signal can hit it directly, better than having to immediately pay R$300 for a new setup.

The fuel gauge continued to have a mind of it's own, solved by the shop that sold me the car who replaced the rusted float in the fuel tank. For free, which is always a bonus. Nice guys over at Alpina, Tatuape, Sao Paulo - (11) 6918-2404.

Other than that, it's been great so far - loads of room in the back, enjoying the on-board toys. I like the doors that lock when the engine starts and open when it's shut off - nice touch. Thinking of fixing up the bike to throw in the back and take down to the park for ride - if the car's clean and I remember to take the digicam, perhaps I'll be able to get those pictures to post.

No road trips to report just yet, but soon.

let us know when the pics are up, be interested to see how the palio appears

Scorg

02 Stilo Dynamic 1.6
Sky Blue
01 Brava 80SX
Ink Black

Congratulations on the new car. Enjoy it, and get some pictures up! [8D]

I rented a Palio in Chile in January this year, great car. Drove 5800km (3600miles) in less than two weeks through the Atacama desert and it never gave any trouble. It was a 1.3mpi hatchback, with aircon (which stole a bit much power), and was seemed pretty quick, a fair bit of engine noise, but otherwise very refined, very comfortable seats as well. It didn't like high altitude much, I drove to 4600m on the Bolivian border, and was down to 2nd or first on all but the slightest hill, but that was no fault of the car as any other N/A car would be similar... not bad at all for a car that's under £4000 new.

I am now the proud owner of a new Palio 1.7 TD. Diesel is the reason I bought it because of the great fuel consumption. 5.3 litres per 100km driving around town (about 53 mpg). That means I get about 900km off a 47 litre tank. (560miles of a 10 gal tank) I haven't tried it on the open road yet but would expect a better consumption. I live in South Africa and the VW Polo TDi gets an incredible 63mpg around town and 72mpg on the open road. BUT, it's 50% more expensive than the Palio TD.

Although this is an entry level model in the diesel range with only power steering, central locking and colour coded bumpers as extra features, I am pleased with the overall way it drives, looks and feels. I paid the equivalent $13 300 USD or £7500 GBP. It is manufactured in South Africa so parts availablility is great and doesn't need to be imported.

Hi, I'm from Chile and bought a Palio too with the same fuel gauge problem, before changing anything please tell me where is the sending unit to check it out.. Thanks
PD: It's a great car... with a lazy fuel gauge..

Hi, Well firstly Congrats on ur new car. Also I agree there is not much on the net when it comes to the Palio. I'm from India and am a proud owner of the Palio 1.6 GTX producing 100 BHP. Its simply awesome when it comes to racing with the others and I have a few mods done to it. I have a free flow with headers and a K&N air filter.

I'm hoping to find someone who has any info about the mods possible to my Palio ....

Cheers