FIAT Punto mk1 Cabriolet

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FIAT Punto mk1 Cabriolet

FIAT Punto Cabriolet Mk1


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blu73

The Force is strong with this one.
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All the charm of the mk1 punto except with endless head room
 

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Had one... but uncool.

I like them and like the look of them (even though with the roof up, there's a hint of scrappy tent to the design), but can any supermini with the top chopped off ever be "cool"? even a retro 90's one struggles IMO.
 
I think you can only call it once you have driven one.

I originally drove one in Spain and loved it. ( 2001 )

12 years later i bought mine.

Sub Zero.
 
Had one... but uncool.

I like them and like the look of them (even though with the roof up, there's a hint of scrappy tent to the design), but can any supermini with the top chopped off ever be "cool"? even a retro 90's one struggles IMO.

I know a cool supermini convertible: the Rover 100 Cabriolet, lol! :p
 
The 1.6 was a good car but the 1.2 16V was even more woefully under powered than the Super FIRE Sporting. Cool by Bertone default.

The 1.6 had low down torque, the 1.2 16v needed the nuts revved off it.

There was virtually no difference in power or pace, only where the power was and how you accessed it.

The 1.6 felt "chunkier" purely because of where the torque was.

For what it's worth though, i do agree the 1.6 suited the cabrio better in particular because it was a bit heavier than the tin top sporting so it made the 1.2 feel even peakier, and who really wants to be revving the nuts off of a convertible all the time?
 
For what it's worth though, i do agree the 1.6 suited the cabrio better in particular because it was a bit heavier than the tin top sporting so it made the 1.2 feel even peakier, and who really wants to be revving the nuts off of a convertible all the time?

Surely though, if it's a convertible with a nice, characterful Italian engine under the bonnet, you'd rev the nuts off it anyway?
 
That's interesting, because whenever I've looked to possibly buy a Cabrio I've been looking exclusively at the 1.2's as I was under the impression that they were more desirable. Is there much difference in MPG? The 1.2 would be in a lower tax band, too ...
 
The extra weight of the cabriolet made the torquelss 1.2 struggle most of the time. The Punto 75 five door was quicker and it weighed roughly the same. The 16V Cabriolet is the only Fiat I have ever had to use a crawler lane in. Including my Panda 1000 with a spare engine in the back.

I can appreciate and understand that emission laws dictated the end of the 128 based 1.6 engine but they could have waited and fitted the 1.6 16V from the Bravo/Brava or even the 1.8 HGT (Bravo/Brava HLX).

My 1.6 Sporting was superb. On my commute I'd pull away from traffic lights in second, short shift to fifth and stay there for the rest of the drive home. 30, 40, 50, 40, 50, 60, 70, 60, 40, 60, 40, 30 the only time I would need to brake or change gear was if I had to overtake someone. Best of all because I didn't have to down shift or "rev' the guts out of it" I managed near fifty mpg consistently.
My neighbor had a MkII 16V six speed and it was a joke. The older 1.6 Sporting would walk away from it while the MkII would make a lot more noise and went a lot slower. An unfair comparison as the MkII Punto handles terribly compared to the MkI (a good 5-10mph slower per corner) but I didn't know anyone with a MkI 16V at the time.

The 1.6 engine was great and I wish I'd stuck to the plan and fitted it to my X1/9 as because the best engine in the best handling chassis would have been unbeatable. :)
 
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if im honest, this is cool on the basis that it is different. not something i would want to own however.
 
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