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Punto (Mk1) 1994 Punto Cabriolet ELX 90

Introduction

This is my recently acquired '94 Cabrio ELX, I bought it very cheap as a project to do up hopefully for the summer.

Initial Thoughts
When I went to look at the car the first time it was obvious its quite tatty. it has dents everywhere, scratches, moss growing in places etc. I took a test drive (fortunately it wasn't raining so put the top down) it is a pleasant drive, rides quite well but my main concentration was on the engine, the 1.6 is not fast... It's not slow either but its very mediocre... Secondly it has VERY short gears which I don't understand since surely the 1.6 would have longer gears than the other models yet it doesn't, in fact all the Cabrio's have shorter gears than their hardtop equivalents, presumably due to the extra weight. At 70mph in 5th the engine is spinning at just over 4000rpm :eek:

Background
The car came with the original manual which I assume is probably a rarity as many of them will have been lost/not passed on between sales. The car includes the original sales receipt from 1994 and some service history for the first 5 years of its life where it only covered about 1500 miles a year which probably meant it was a summer only car. Then there is a 9 year gap between 1999 and 2008 where I have 0 history for the car. From 2008 to 2016 I have MOT's and the odd service receipt, in those years its only averaged about 1000 miles a year too, with it passing every MOT after general serviceable items were replaced such as bulbs, worn brakes/tyres, wiper blades etc.

So here is the car as it stands now after a very quick wash,









A few months later and half a polish

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I've not driven an 85 but we've got a mk2 1.2 16v that I've driven a lot, it doesn't feel as rewarding to wind it out honestly although it is a CVT so that changes the whole experience completely. I prefer the mk1 to drive over the mk2 by a long stretch, I'd go as far to say a Grande is more involving than a mk2 is to drive
 
My 2005 1.2 was a much better drive than the 1.2 GP, no air con and much more responsive.
 
My 2005 1.2 was a much better drive than the 1.2 GP, no air con and much more responsive.
If the GP was a 1.2 8v I completely understand, the GP being considerably fatter I don't think it should have ever been sold with that engine, the 1.4 8v engine should've been minimum. In comparison to a mk1 Punto the mk2 lacks steering feel and felt a bit more 'tin can'. The GP doesn't really have a lot in the way of steering feel either tbh but it felt more composed to drive. All opinions of course, not stating facts here.
 
Agree entirely, I drove a mk2, mk2b sporting and Grande punto and decided on..a mk1 85 elx.

Once that died unfortunately I left fiat although the modern pandas are probably as close as they get to the mk1 punto.

Used to love the 1.2 85 16v, revved so good in a way the later cars with drive by wire, longer gears and more weight couldn't match even with the 1.4 starjet (Which I've driven in both a 100hp and a 2b sporting).
 
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the P75 mk1 was not a fast car, but the 75 engine was/is more powerful than the 1.2 8v in the mk2 and GP even the new 1.2 8v are less powerful.

Figures here are pulled from my head so maybe off a few (i'm comparing the 75 to the newer ones cause it was mpi like all the newer ones unlike the the p60). but the P75 was 75hp but the mk2 punto 1.2 8v was only 60hp - the newer 500 and panda 1.2 is 68hp but some versions of the 1.2 8v have been as low as 59hp, so many fiats with the 1.2!!! and so many different outputs but none of the 8v 1.2 since the mk1 75 have ever been as powerful.

So if we then look at the weights of said car (again ballpark numbers due to all the different trim levels), we can see that its a myth really that the newer cars are having to drag around more weight and thats why they feel slow by comparison really, yes the GP is the heaviest of them all but not by much really.

Mk1 P75 - 900kg
Mk2 Punto 1.2 8v - 875kg (yes they really are lighter in poverty spec)
GP 1.2 8v - 1015kg
mk3 Panda 1.2 8v - 860kg
500 1.2 8v - 940kg

The difference is in how the engine delivers its power, cams make a huge difference here, the 75 has a pretty mad cam compared to the new ones, and then of course how its mapped and the gear ratios etc. I'd argue they feel slower cause fiat made them to feel more comfy - they all feel soft when compared to an earlier fiat and OK I'm just postulating here but i feel fiat tried to make their cars feel more refined and smooth and as a result of what they did the cars feel a bit wallowy and spongy and although not bad not that engaging when compared to their older cars. You can take any car i have mentioned and stick sports orientated suspension and they are handle amazingly well really but are let down massively, for me at least, by steering feel. Like my 100hp, cracking car but my biggest gripe would be steering followed by the non linear throttle which is merely a result of the fly-by-wire throttle, god i hate poor fly-by-wire throttles. That whole thing of pressing a sport button and it making the throttle more responsive is just sillyness, all they do is make x throw of the pedal equal more movement of the butterfly and to me that just makes the pedal feel crap, halfway down feel basically same as all the way down as a result and it all feels less linear, i actually much prefer the panda not in sport mode from the throttle point of view however, turn sport off and the steering goes fluffier than a marshmallow. Anyway, I'm rambling now so i'll stop.
 
Couldn't agree more with modern 'warm/sport' hatches having overly numb disconnected steering. They try and keep them still as city cars so super easy for Gran to drive to the shops in but when you've got a relatively low HP car where you want to carry your speed as much as possible having engaging steering makes a heap of difference. I had a Twingo GT a few years ago and I loved a lot about that car, the engine was great, not powerful by a long shot but really rewarding but it had completely dead lifeless power steering which let the whole car down.
 
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