Hi guys,

I'm a new 'R' driver with a late 2002 Punto Active 1.2 8v. The car was purchased with 79000 miles on the clock and has both MOT and TAX certs going back to early 2007. It had 3 previous owners from new and was driven by an old woman previously, so I know the car has been maintained fairly well and is road worthy.

I'm not sure if i'm just getting familiar with the cars performance or if the performance is slowly getting worse.

When I first bought it, it was surprisingly quick however the MPG was quite poor. This improved dramatically when I adjusted the tyre pressure to 30/31 PSI from about 27/20(!). The car was also low on oil at purchase so I got 5L of 10w/40 part synth oil and added about 1/3rd of that, also topping up coolant, washer fluids and checking the air filter condition whilst I was at it. The filter is fairly clean as is the oil, it's quite clear however both could do with a change in a month or two probably which I intend to do.

I done a 80mile round trip on tuesday and if memory is correct it used about 1/5 of a tank of fuel and the computer said I was averaging 49mpg. I was generally doing 60-80mph (90mph peak) on a straight straight dual carriageway the entire journey. Does this sound about right? (I know i'm an R driver but I believe sticking to 45mph is more of a hazard than me sticking to the speed limit of the road 2bh.


The car has no problem reaching its max speed of 95mph however it's the length of time it takes that concerns me. For example, changing into a faster lane on the motorway and overtaking someone doing 30mph in 3rd gear is a major risk. I feel like i'd need to drop into 2nd in order to get the power to perform the task but then you get that "kangaroo" effect. Basically I can shift into 3rd at 25mph and floor it and it would take maybe 20-30 secs before it would reach 50mph, with my foot to the floor.

If this seems unusual, can anyone advise on steps to check/restore/improve performance? I was tempted to buy some redex to see if this has had any effect? Ive also driven it like I stole it, hitting the injectors in 2nd @ 60mph,albeit after having it floored for about a minute, but it made little to no improvement.


Also the brake fluid light and handbrake (!) light will flash on occasion for a split second and I was just wondering how I could check this for a dodgy earth/wiring etc?

I appreciate that there is probably only about 50hp by now under the hood, but i'm unsure if there is an issue present or wether i'm just craving more horsepowers?

Grateful for any advice given.

Thank you!

I'd say thats pretty normal... good even... 1.2 is a bit of a slowcoach & it's more likely you are getting used to the car. Happened to me with my 1.9 MJet Grande which was re-mapped to 194BHP. I also remember my daughter saying how dangerous a 1.2 Grande Punto felt in terms of poor power / acceleration when she had one as a loan car when her 1.5 petrol Swift went in for a Warranty repair.

Give the car a good looking after, keep it a year or two to earn your spurs then move on up, Insurance allowing... so keep a NCD ready for when the time is right

It does sound about right. Overtaking you need to hold well back and get a run up. On roads with bends start to accelerate early (even if you can't yet see if its clear) then when you can see the road ahead your speed carries you through. If its not clear you simply brake and stay safe. A car will always slow much quicker that it can accelerate.

An advanced driving course will teach you how to get the best from your car and yes bumbling along at 40 in a 60 zone is very bad driving. Sadly, UK officials have made so much fuss about speed kills its a struggle to drive any faster than 40 because so many drivers crawl along.

Today's diesels are the best bet. The punchy accel is ideal for today's roads and remapped they can be amazing. The only snag in Puntos the clutch can struggle with all the low revs torque.

Thanks for the prompt replys which have cleared my concerns. I didn't have access to an equiv 1.2 corsa etc to compare so I thought something was wrong! I will hold off on the service until MOT in November in that case.

I only plan to keep the car for a year and sell it on. I could have insured it to a friends address 2 miles away and my insurance would have went from £2.5k to £1.4k, but then I risk voiding my insurance if in an accident and as I work for a government body, that also includes risking my job and so on, therefore a it's a risk not worth taking. My insurance will however drop to £1.2k after a year so i'll definately be replacing it after a year no doubt! This time next year it will probaby have 95k at most on the clock and 5-6months tax and mot. I expect to get £500 for it atleast having paid £850 for it. Is that realistic for this car?

Also any advice on how to resolve the occasional flicker of handbrake and steering (correction) light on the dash and is it worth while throwing a bottle of that redex into it on next fuel fill or is it just a complete gimmick?

Thanks again for the information, extremely helpful.

Redex wont do anything for the brakes / steering. It's for engine internals only. You may have a defective level warning indicator for the brake fluid, check / clean the connectors & see if the float has brake fluid in it causing it to partially sink & flash up warnings. Good idea to check the battery charge & the alternator charge rate, low battery voltages can flash up sporadic alert lights.

Its a low cost small car so fair to assume its been neglected. To avoid problems the car needs to be serviced. Don't trust anything that's on the car unless you have receipts to show its been properly fixed.

Properly examine the brakes. Clean the front disc pad slots and make sure the rear drums are not grooved. If discs are grooved they are only about £12 each to replace and you can get cheaper if you haggle at the parts factors.

Hand brake problems usually mean the rear brakes need to be overhauled. Full axle sets with drums shoes and wheel cylinders are about £80.

A weak battery will cause the steering to do strange things. Get it stress tested and if in doubt replace with a good quality battery. The extra £30 over a cheapo is good insurance.

If the car has aftermarket music, check the battery for current drain with the ignition off. They are often wired wrongly.

Chemical flush the cooling system and run it on distilled water for a few days until sure there are no leaks. Drain and top up with 2 litres of red coolant. This might expose some leaks but is better to know and fix them before they fail on the road. Always bleed the system properly see the numerous threads and guides about this.

To be honest if the rad looks old I would simply change it anyway and then flush the system. Its just not worth the hassle to have a poor cooling system. New radiators are about £30 and are easy to fit.

Change the oil and oil filter. While underneath get a good look at the sump pan they rust (and leak) high up near the mounting flange.

Excessive road noise usually means a failing wheel bearing. If one rear has failed change them both and be sure to get the correct type if the car has ABS.

If the clutch pedal action is not 100% smooth all the way down or has a bouncy feeling, then its failing and gears will eventually get hard to select.

I need a hill to get my 1.2 up to 95!