Guys - just visited the local FIAT dealer in my lunchbreak to check out to Grande Punto................Gotta say - VERY impressed by them....
The fit, finish and quality was very impressive.
Great styling with the Maserati front-end. I particularly liked the duo-tone colour of the dash and the front quarter windows by the A post to make it feel like a mini-MPV.............
Nice cars but I have to wonder why FIAT are now building this when it appears to compete with the Stilo?.......Best of luck to them anyway - I'm sure its gonna be a winner.....

as mentioned in another post they are slashing the price of the JTD stilo by up to 5k for new and ex demos to try and keep up

In all honesty I can't see why anyone would walk into a Fiat dealers and come away with a Stilo rather than a Grande Punto.

Well for starters if you want a petrol car, i would certainly leave with a Stilo rather than a punto...........stilos still bigger (if only marginly) Personally i still prefer the looks of the Stilo to the new Punto aswell

Buy hey all that ive just said is personal opinion

Ah yeah, of course, the above is only my opinion as well.

I cant make my mind up I think theyre both stunning cars, the 3 door stilo is still one of my favourite looking cars. I still love to just look at mine when its parked outside and even though i've owned it a while now i still think that is a great looking car, but im the same with new punto now as well.

Interior i prefer the new puntos but overall i wouldnt say theres much between it in my head. I've owned a stilo and loved it and now when i get my punto the end of march i'm sure i'll love that as well

activematt said:

Well for starters if you want a petrol car, i would certainly leave with a Stilo rather than a punto...........stilos still bigger (if only marginly) Personally i still prefer the looks of the Stilo to the new Punto aswell

Buy hey all that ive just said is personal opinion

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:yeahthat: 100% no compitition Stilo Stilo all the way and i dont like the way the front quarter panel/window got that on her in doors Meriva damn poor vision but remember what Apple sie said the other day Ive got rose tinted glasses {I think not}

Bob in disguise said:

I cant make my mind up I think theyre both stunning cars, the 3 door stilo is still one of my favourite looking cars. I still love to just look at mine when its parked outside and even though i've owned it a while now i still think that is a great looking car, but im the same with new punto now as well.

Interior i prefer the new puntos but overall i wouldnt say theres much between it in my head. I've owned a stilo and loved it and now when i get my punto the end of march i'm sure i'll love that as well

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What Punto are you getting mate ?

Steve said:

In all honesty I can't see why anyone would walk into a Fiat dealers and come away with a Stilo rather than a Grande Punto..

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Do they do a 2.4 inline 5 Grundie punto that sounds like a real beast then

I went to the dealer launch on Thursday for the Grande Punto, so had alot of time to look over the cars on display (including a Croma, but thats another story )

Cant say that a Punto would compete with a Stilo 5 door for internal size. Also the rear cabin can be pretty limited in the back of the Punto if the driver needs the seat back, which isnt an issue within the Stilo (which if I recall rightly, the 5 door stilo is regarded the biggest in class for cabin space)

Yeah the Stilo is very roomy, when I sat in the Golf GTi the other day it felt very small in comparison, just turning around to look in the back you could tell the difference, I would imagine the punto would have that same feel to it, I'm going up tomorrow to have a look now

There's no Grande Punto Estate... There is likely to be a convertible though, whether a fancy roof, or just a fabric one (so you actually have a boot when it's down!).

I think Fiat ought to have done more with the Stilo Diesels (as in have more than just the JTD 115 in the UK), and the semi-auto 'box on more than the Abarth. Now they're doing loads of diesels for the GP, so you can get an economical car, and soon will have dualoic for it too. Also the Euro NCAP *****, compared to the Stilo's **** (Punto Mk2 scored better than revised Stilo!). I like them both, but if I had to buy one then it would be a Grande Punto...

KoArAnG said:

What Punto are you getting mate ?

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I bought the 1.9 mjtd sporting one, all the miles i do to and from work had to get a diesel really to get the fuel economy

Back to topic about the stilo vs gpunto
the stilos boot is bigger than the puntos by quite a bit just by looking at it and although they may seem similar at the moment the new stilo isnt far off, which i bet will add some more difference between the 2 models

Bob in disguise said:

I bought the 1.9 mjtd sporting one, all the miles i do to and from work had to get a diesel really to get the fuel economy

Back to topic about the stilo vs gpunto
the stilos boot is bigger than the puntos by quite a bit just by looking at it and although they may seem similar at the moment the new stilo isnt far off, which i bet will add some more difference between the 2 models

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Bob, assuming you are a hairdresser (that's why you chose a Punto) that must be some clientel you have where fuel economy is a factor

Punto a hair dressers car, hmmmm but then ive heard the 3 door stilo called that as well not the words i'd use for either of the cars...

and no i work as a mechanical engineer in Maidenhead making gearboxes for race cars and live in Reading so have to drive 50ish miles a day to and from work, so on top of that i have all the driving i do on the weekends so i do about 20-22k a year and while yes my 1.2 16v returns around 45mpg, i wouldnt exactly call it a performance car if i want better performance and keep the fuel economy, the next logical step was to have a diesel...

Only joking mate. I was an hairdresser (in the 80's) and I drive a yellow 3 dr Stilo, and yes, I admit it, some have called my Stilo an hairdressers car. What do they know?

Well, I'm considering both but am swaying towards the Stilo simply because the finance deal from Fiat on the Stilo is 0%, whereas it starts at about 5.6% on the Grande Punto (If my memory serves me well...which i doubt it will!)

Think how rare Stilo's are at the moment. Now imagine how many Grande Puntos you'll see on the road by the end of March!

Don't get me wrong though, the 1.9 Multijet Grande Punto is still mighty tempting. Saw the black, light blue and dark blue colours today. Quite impressed with it.

So 0% finance on a car that they will struggle to shift may sway the decision between the two cars. I think Applesei has seen or heard of price drops on the Stilo due to the Punto Grande.

god the stilo is a much much better looking car and its more solid as well