Bought by me at 15 months/8,500 miles old. Ex fleet. Now 4.25 years/43,000 miles. Excellent car, no problems. At 8,500 it still felt very new - stiff and jerky. Now it is much more smooth and supple and accelerates better in 5th gear. Fuel consumption about 45mpg overall. I never use supermarket or other cheap petrol and I occasionally have a tankful of super grade. I have it serviced every 6,000 miles at a local small garage. Original front tyres lasted to 36,000 miles and rears to 41,000. Lot of minor body rattles when I bought it - front bumper and air intake to radiator, grille below windscreen/wiper motor, wiper motor inside tailgate. All were loose, so I put in bits of rubber etc as packings. Also I found many plastic clips, self tapping screws etc in various body cavities. GOOD POINTS: relaxed and comfortable for long distances/high speeds (60 - 90 mph) - smooth quiet engine, high gearing, stable suspension, precise steering. Big well-shaped front seats seem hard at first but are very comfortable for driving all day. Roomy. All equipment and fittings are well thought out, practical and user-friendly. BAD POINTS: At low speed (up to 60 mph) the suspension is too hard and road noise is too intrusive. OVERALL: The Punto is cheap and very cheerful. Too many other cheap cars are just cheap. |
