Hello, good afternoon,

I know this is a Fiat forum, so opinions on this might be biased, but I decided to ask anyway as it can bring some valuable insight to help me out.

I am currently looking at a second car.
A fun car to drive on weekends and also kind of a project car to improve and enhance the performance and driving experience.

For the same cost, I am looking at a Punto mk2 HGT or a BMW e36 318ti.
Both are 1.8 16v engines.
The BMW is rated at 140hp but is heavier at around 1270kg.
The BMW is also older. Both cars have the same mileage and both seem looked after.

My questions and the source of doubts:
- Is the punto faster and higher performance due to the lower weight?
- Which is more reliable? Is the HGT a reliable car?
- Does the HGT have lower running costs? BMW is known to be an expensive brand.
- Same goes for parts. Is parts availability and cost better on the Punto?
- Does the punto have a good chassis and good handling? How does it compare in the corners with the BMW?
- The BMW has the M42 engine. It is not much tunable and you cannot go much beyond the standard 140 horses without some serious money for forced induction or even an engine swap altogether.
How is the Punto?

That’s it basically.
What would you do and why?
Thanks!
Cheers!