As with most Italian car makers they focus on style/design first then work on other aspects such as quality, reliability etc. We love the styling of the new Punto, a cut above the rest in this small car market. Just make sure you go for the right colour + spec which will compliment the stylish exterior A typical Fiat owner experience where fortunately in our case the pluses outweighed the minuses Plus points: nippy engine, very advanced auto/sequential gearbox, good mpg for an auto compared to other makes. Fits 5 people with good legroom, excellent audio system as standard inc. 6 speakers + 100w subwoofer. Decent handling but poor ride quality picks up every bump although maintaining correct tyre pressure vastly improves on this. ELX spec is excellent for this group of car. Usual refinements plus useful touches e.g. city button, electrics on after engine switched off, trip computer, economy, and sport mode Minus points are common Fiat quality problems: creaking of chassis on gradients, noises from boot or other place but you just can’t pinpoint exact source. Black strip coming off edges, rattle in sunroof, dash warning lights coming on as and when even though no fault diagnosed Great little car, enjoy it but accept the minor quality niggles, go for a low mileage used buy, ELX or above, avoid the crap orange, dark green colours. |
