Whenever I read a review of a Fiat, I almost always see the words, 'Fun to drive, but steering lacks feel', or 'steering feels numb', or 'steering needs more weight'.

My girlfriend is not particularly strong (unless she is throwing something at me), but she says she never uses the 'City' button on her mk2 Punto because normal power steering is plenty light enough, so it is a complete waste. Instead, I think the 'City' button should basically be a power steering on/off button. When in town, turn it on, when on the twisties, turn it off, enjoy the extra feel and remove the reviewer criticism.

My brother's girlfriend is not exactly strong, and she adored the unassisted steering on my brother's mk1 Punto. She despises the lack of feel in his Celica (190 BHP), and would rather be driving the Punto (60 BHP).

I dont knw what its like in a punto cuz ive never drove one but in my stilo it makes it alot lighter, normal steering aint too heavy nor is it too light imo but sayin that i dont use the city button

MikeSalt said:

I think the 'City' button should basically be a power steering on/off button. When in town, turn it on, when on the twisties, turn it off, enjoy the extra feel and remove the reviewer criticism.

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The sporting range of cars have a 'sport' button instead of 'city'. It increases throttle response and reduces power steering effect.

Hydrolic Power Steering, or no power steering.

Never been a fan of these electric ones.

buy a mk2 punto without it then, personally I dont mind it & never had any cause for concern over the mk2's steering.

fenton_jd said:

Hydrolic Power Steering, or no power steering.

Never been a fan of these electric ones.

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My mk1 had Fiats' hydraulic system....that was rubbish too imagine driving round with the city button on all the time. At least it still worked after without issue after 12 years which is more than you can say for a good number of dual drive systems.

i like it
i feel it if i hit a kurb

dont get many vibations though

i dont drive it like i just stole it tho

but will take some turns and such at 50mph
onto a roundabout with rightof way as i join so its just a road

Yes. Drive a Fiesta or Focus then a FIAT. The steering is nothing short of intuitive. If you have accurate, intuitive turn-in, like the Fords, then the chances are the bend will be right. If the turn-in is late, then the chances are you will always be correcting. I've driven Focuses and one turn of the wheel allows you to place the car almost to the inch where you want it.

Under normal urban or Motorway driving I can't tell the difference between the two different kinds of PAS, but pushing on along a fast rural road, the Fiesta is far more satisfying than my Panda.

Of course the 1.4 Fiesta diesel engine (Peugeot?) is nowhere near as flexible or refined as the MJ in the Panda in any situation, nor as economical, but when it comes to roadholding and handling.....

power steering is for girls

craigb244 said:

power steering is for girls

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Oooh, I say, you're so butch tonight. First you've got 600 cc of Rotax, or Suzuki piston hurtling up and down towards your groin, now you think you can
manage without power steering.

Listen Mush, I used to drive trucks without power steering, so there. Bring back the starting handle and magneto, that's what I say you wimp.

oi have you tried kicking over and old BSA A65 that has no run in about 15 years with there so called "uber advanced electronic ignition". lets just say i couldnt walk right for a week and im sure my right leg is a little shorter now.

I driven a landrover without PAS cant imagine that been fun to use everyday.
but is it really needed on a small car?? seems so with there over assisted brake servo... abs...traction control... automated air to lung injection...

you know what they should fit lines into the road where you put in where you want to go and it drives for you. actually scrap that idea they can make one huge public car that drives itself... needs a snazzy name tho... how about bus or train

The Beard said:

Yes. Drive a Fiesta or Focus then a FIAT. The steering is nothing short of intuitive. If you have accurate, intuitive turn-in, like the Fords, then the chances are the bend will be right. If the turn-in is late, then the chances are you will always be correcting. I've driven Focuses and one turn of the wheel allows you to place the car almost to the inch where you want it.

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I miss my old work car, a diesel Focus estate! Sounds naff but the handling was bang on. Drove the old ST170 Focus for a few hundred miles once and had a blast.

craigb244 said:

power steering is for girls

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not really, my old tipo didn't have power steering, not bad, got hydraulic PAS on the Sedi, the only difference is when parking it's slightly easier but moving along you get just as much feedback, and apply the same pressure pretty much, it's not light by any means! though it does have a much bigger/heavier engine and bigger tyres!

Having had a large number of cars in a short space of time, I feel pretty qualified to mention what I have found

My Grande Punto, I find the steering very direct and sharp and you can place it pretty much where you want, although it is true, it's very vague (especially with the city steering on).

Astra SRi - The steering was pretty direct, had fair amounts of feel, but it wasn't a very quick motion. You couldn't change direction as easily.

Mk2 Focus - The steerin was almost bang on. Although not quite as good as the Mk1. This is due to the fact that they went from hydraulic to an electohydraulic set up. But it was still fantastic!

Fiesta the same, but as with the focus, they could have both been a little quicker.

That said, I have found driving the GP more fun than my other cars!

focus (mk1) had excellent feel & steering....engines was poor though.

They were indeed. Not enough power, not clean enough. Then in the Mk2, they introduced the VVT range and the 1.6 one of that was crap too. Think they dropped it in the original form after a while.

Ford now borrow French Diesels...

Garree001 said:

They were indeed. Not enough power, not clean enough. Then in the Mk2, they introduced the VVT range and the 1.6 one of that was crap too. Think they dropped it in the original form after a while.

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You actually driven the 1.6 VVT? It's the only up to date Ford petrol engine. Compared to the snore inducing none VVT 1.6 it actually has some go. It is still available in the Focus but is reserved for the Zetec-S now where as before you could get in the whole range. It is also in the Fastest new fiesta.

I have driven a Focus with one in. Had to be worked very hard in order to get any life out of it. I opted for the 1.6 diesel, which in my opinion, was a bit better than the petrol. I was also able to make a comparison as I drove them both 'back-to-back'. That said, the 1.6TDCi unit suffered from a bit of turbo lag, although I still found it preferable to the VVT one.

I also note that it was met with some fairly strong disappointment, as was the similar unit found in the VW Golf. I think Ford tinkered with the VVT engine before resurrecting it and whacking it in the Mondeo as well. VW did drop their original VVT engine in favour of a smaller TSi one, although I am aware it won't be completely identical to the Ford VVT one. They do have another 1.6 one now, which has less overall power.

Back on topic. If you want to add a bit of weight and feel to the steering add wheel spacers (correctly fitting ones ofcourse so you don't get horrendous wheel wobble etc).

I found after adding mine it added a bit more weight and feel to the steering and made it much less girly to drive (due to the wider track) .

And yes the fact my Sporting has a 'city' button is quite annoying I've never ever used it yet. Everyone I know gets in and asks what it does after pressing it

ChrisUK said:

And yes the fact my Sporting has a 'city' button is quite annoying I've never ever used it yet. Everyone I know gets in and asks what it does after pressing it

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Hahahaha I get that all the time in mine too!

Is the steering set-up different in the Grande Punto Sporting, when compared to the rest of the model line-up?