Hey Grande Punto Owners.

Ive been speaking to my mate tonight who knows alot about Vauxhalls and said that the Grande Punto "probably has a joint venture with Vauxhall (GM) with these cars and are made in Poland???." Any light on information cause to me does not sound right but I dont know the anwser myself Just interesting to know anyways lol.

Been searching and researching for months and have decided after looking at many a car, I might order a Grande Punto Active Sport (espically with the current offer available). Ive never had a fiat and I know people have said in the past about the build quality as not the best known in the market but has the grande punto made real improvements with regards to build quality and reliability? I persume the steering rack problem there was has now been sorted on all new orders?

Thanks for the help.

Jonny :slayer:

The new corsa and Gpunto are indeed a joint a venture from before vauxhall/GM and fiat broke their partnership off...

The Punto is built in turin in italy but i've read there is gonna be or now may well be another place producing them in poland...

The build quality on the GP is a big improvement compared to the older models and as for the steering rack problem i think that was just a small fault with some batches of cars and i would think its sorted now as fiat are aware of the problem and what caused it

GM and Fiat once entered a joint venture to build the new Corsa and Grande Punto on the same platform. They are no longer partners, however, the cars still share this platform. You may notice some similar design features such as the wing mirrors and those small front pillar windows. I believe the Grande Punto's steering rack and door lock issue has been sorted on all new built models. Don't worry about Fiat's build quality. It may not be Bentley standard but compared to rival manufacturers it's just as good, if not better

Bob in disguise said:

The new corsa and Gpunto are indeed a joint a venture from before vauxhall/GM and fiat broke their partnership off...

The Punto is built in turin in italy but i've read there is gonna be or now may well be another place producing them in poland...

The build quality on the GP is a big improvement compared to the older models and as for the steering rack problem i think that was just a small fault with some batches of cars and i would think its sorted now as fiat are aware of the problem and what caused it

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Ah interesting to know and as for the build quality would you see just as good as any fiesta or corsa models you can buy today??? I might pay a visit to my Bedford dealer on Saturday for a peep.

Shortride said:

I might pay a visit to my Bedford dealer on Saturday for a peep.

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I think you will prefer the GP

Shortride said:

Ive never had a fiat and I know people have said in the past about the build quality as not the best known in the market but has the grande punto made real improvements with regards to build quality and reliability?

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true, fiat have come a long way and made big improvements, but most of the competiton has come just as far, if not further, so relatively fiat are the same as they were. even companies like kia, proton and hyundai have more than caught up. go compare a GP to the other cars available for the same price, you'll see pretty much every one of them has the same build quality, spec and deals. its more a choice of style these days, unlike not so long ago when you bought a jap because because it would work, and a german car because it wouldn't fall apart, these days all cars will work and stay in one piece so let price and looks influence your decision more than a badge. dont need to worry about fiat anymore, or anyone else, they're all much better these days thanks to modern manufacturing processes and improved materials.

Shortride said:

Ah interesting to know and as for the build quality would you see just as good as any fiesta or corsa models you can buy today???

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according to most reviews fiat is still a little bit behind vauxhall and ford in reliability and build quality, but its not much difference really, and fiats look so much better so you cant have everything.

i think i read somewhere it still shares abotu 30% of the components with the corsa while the other 70% have gone to making the gp look sweet while the corsa looks like a cut and shunt astra

VindiVee8 said:

I think you will prefer the GP

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Nothing beats a good old Bedford! hehe I might go and have a look at the Grande Punto and Fiesta whilst im there (as they both on the same estate) and gain a comparison on the two of them with quality and that. Many of you having to take your punto back to garage because of problems???

Thanks :worship:

Jonny

Jonny, Fiat cars are great, I have had 4 brand new ones and never had serious problems, only minor issues. Try joining other brands forums and you will read about their problems too and not just Fiat's. If anyone thinks Fiat cars fall apart, rust or are unreliable just stay off them in the first place. Ford only got good since the intro of the Focus and apparently still had issues with them, Opel had serious problems with the Astra (not the latest model, the one before), VWs also have problems as do lots of French cars. I speak to lots of people and mechanics, I hear far worse problems with other brands rather than Fiat cars although yes they do have their fair share of problems too. Up to now my GP has turned heads wherever I went with it.....

AGN111 said:

Jonny, Fiat cars are great, I have had 4 brand new ones and never had serious problems, only minor issues. Try joining other brands forums and you will read about their problems too and not just Fiat's. If anyone thinks Fiat cars fall apart, rust or are unreliable just stay off them in the first place. Ford only got good since the intro of the Focus and apparently still had issues with them, Opel had serious problems with the Astra (not the latest model, the one before), VWs also have problems as do lots of French cars. I speak to lots of people and mechanics, I hear far worse problems with other brands rather than Fiat cars although yes they do have their fair share of problems too. Up to now my GP has turned heads wherever I went with it.....

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Yeah I'm aware not every car is going to be perfect was just that maybe the lil punto may have slightly more reliablity problems than others. Youa re right however have been on other forums and seen faults for other cars so guess just same for everyone. But sounds pretty good. Many people got a fault free grande puntos? I think the active sport is a good all rounder would that be correct?

Thanks

Shortride said:

Nothing beats a good old Bedford! hehe I might go and have a look at the Grande Punto and Fiesta whilst im there (as they both on the same estate) and gain a comparison on the two of them with quality and that. Many of you having to take your punto back to garage because of problems???

Thanks :worship:

Jonny

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I have to take my JTD Sporting back for a couple of niggles, but nothing serious. Stuff like one of the displays on the climate control flashing, a chip on the hand brake lever (cosmetic) passenger door adjustment and a bit missing from the cargo box. These were all sorted really quickly. BTW the leather seats optional on the Sporting are mega comfy, the best I have ever sat in, I can drive all day (literally) and feel relaxed at the end. My last car was a MG ZS 180 (BHP) and on paper the MG should be much quicker, but on the road the GP feels quicker, yesterday I drove a mates Octavias Vrs (again 180 BHP) and that actually felt slow. Once the engine starts to loosen after about 3000 miles, it just keeps suprising you. Two weeks ago I went for a all day drive around Yorkshire, I wasn't taking it slow, but enjoying myself (but not been daft) I was returning 51.5 mpg (I even spent one hour in a traffic jam), the MG I would have been lucky to get 20mpg. All the GP's are great cars, I think some of the lower models are a bit underpowered, but my Sporting makes me feel every time I drive it. For the money and the style I dont think you can go wrong with a GP, much better than a Bedford Rascal.

There is an article on Pistonheads relating to all righthand drive Grande Puntos having a reinforcement plate missing from the steering rack. In a crash, this can lead to the steering column moving and injuring the driver. For Fiat to claim 5 Stars in the euro tests, they are going to recall all cars sold!!
Other then the 8V models having clutch judder problems, the car is a match for any other and IMO is far the prettiest car out there.

Andy.

Shortride said:

Yeah I'm aware not every car is going to be perfect was just that maybe the lil punto may have slightly more reliablity problems than others. Youa re right however have been on other forums and seen faults for other cars so guess just same for everyone. But sounds pretty good. Many people got a fault free grande puntos? I think the active sport is a good all rounder would that be correct?

Thanks

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Hi Jonny, I have an Active 1.4 8valve, Exotica Red with Skydome....got it for a bit over 2 months now and it's absolutely perfect, a joy to drive. Don't waste anymore time....go place an order for 1 right now

Johnny....dont listen to people that tell you things about Fiats being crap....as they 99% of time dont own one! Listen to others hear that own the Punto grande...they drive them daily/live with them.

A few points if I may (wouldn't be like me ).....

Yes Fiat did venture with Vauxhall for a while (and came out very well financially ) as most major car manufacturers are doing the same,this obviously cuts down on design/production costs...after all all it takes is one bad review & that car is doomed with tremendous financial loss to the maker.
The new ducato uses the Ford diesel puma engine (after sorting out a couple of its 'weak spots') & Iveco engines,the sedici is made with Suzuki & Fiat are again in league with Ford in different projects...mainly cause Ford want multijet engine design as they cant make decent small diesels engines.
All new cars have few 'teething' problems/recalls....none more (as Jug mentioned) the Focus....probably more than any other car yet still became top selling car.However I disagree with Fiats(we are talking modern day ones here) being a little behind Ford/vauxhall in terms of realibility.

Just to add the vauxhall 1.3 CDTI found in the current corsa is the same as the 1.3 multijet engine found in the GP....or was the same

Fiat designed it as well IIRC

Well I decided today I would go to the Fiat dealer (who when last knew was still at Bedford) as Ford has just opened its doors. When I went for a look they wernt there anymore as Ford have moved in too both the Fiat garage and the Mazda garage so I think will have to travel 20 miles to find the next closest dealer. Will now go searching... By the way thanks for all the comments regarding the fiats promising to hear will definately go searching for the dealer near me

Well there is an actual demo model of the new corsa outside xscape in Castleford West Yorkshire in an ice blue style colour

You can definately see the GP elements of it. It looked alright, it is definately the biggest car in the supermini class now, easily disposing of the new clio. It does look like an astra from the front, but the back is completely different.

Interior fixtures looked a bit fresher than the GP, a bit more modern in my eyes.

Apparently the silly yellow random lights around the interior have been dropped from all of the models so a representative from vauxhall told me.

It wasnt driveable due to the amount of stickers on the windscreen but it felt no different in terms of comfort than the GP when sat in.

An interesting point is they will be pitching this very model on display (1.2 life) approx 500 cheaper than the equivalent GP (im gathering is the active) with the 1yr free insurance for ages 19-80 straight from launch, so theyre obviously going for the GP's jugular vein from the off, according to this rep.

It may be a load of talk however but we will find out in a few weeks/months if this is true

Overall i give it a 6/10 nice colour and interior, shame theyve copied everyone else in terms of the design

Let me put on my anorak....

The Punto is built at the Melfi plant, in Southern Italy - an area largely ruled by communists and well known for its labour disputes!

The Corsa is built in Spain.

I am led to believe that the joint venture between GM and Fiat was effectively broken off by GM having promised to essentially buy Fiat out then deciding they couldn't actually afford it but then having to pay a s**t load of money to Fiat in compensation (and I mean mega bucks!).